Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) patient and (b) staff safety within NHS services in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Everyone working or being treated in the National Health Service has a fundamental right to be safe.
The Government is focusing on enhancing patient safety and fostering a learning culture within the NHS. Key reforms under the 10-Year Health Plan and Dr Penny Dash’s report on the patient safety landscape aim to clarify accountability across the system.
Additionally, as set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will introduce a new set of staff standards for modern employment for NHS staff which will cover issues relating to staff safety including tackling violence, racism, and sexual harassment in the workplace.
The Care Quality Commission is the regulator responsible for ensuring that service providers meet standards for patient and staff safety. It will do this, in future, by operating two broad models of inspections, namely rapid response inspections where serious concerns are identified and routine planned inspections.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has had recent discussions with Surrey Heath Borough Council on support for pubs in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the vital role of pubs and hospitality businesses in our communities and economy, including those in Surrey Heath, and that’s why we’re taking targeted action to support them with the pressures they face.
In April, we launched a Taskforce to consider ways to create a more balanced premises licensing system that not only safeguards communities but also supports responsible businesses. On 7 October the Government issued a Call for Evidence on Reforming the licensing system - GOV.UK (deadline: midday, 6 November 2025). These reforms are part of the Small Business Strategy, which also tackles late payments, improves access to finance, and cuts red tape. We want planning and licensing systems to work fairly for businesses and residents.
Additionally, we’re creating a fairer business rates system, including permanently lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties under £500,000 rateable value and continue to work closely with the sector, including through the Hospitality Sector Council to boost productivity and resilience by working together to address the challenges facing businesses.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of houses in multiple occupation on levels of (a) loneliness and (b) mental health issues in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has no plans to make such an assessment. We will keep the regulation of HMOs under review.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of removing the requirement for local authorities to publish statutory public notices in local newspapers on (a) local transparency and (b) democratic accountability in Surrey.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is concerned about the sustainability of local journalism and DCMS is developing a Local Media Strategy in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. We also recognise that local press continues to play a vital role in informing local communities, and that public notices can be important in helping inform the public of decisions made by their council which may affect their quality of life, local services or amenities, or their property.
However, we are also aware of concerns from some sectors about the audience reach of these notices and the desire for greater digitalisation. In this context, the sector’s Public Notice Portal is a welcome innovation, taking advantage of print publishers’ growing digital audiences and providing a centralised resource for all types of public notice. We also welcome the Portal's current expansion to include archive and consultation functions to help public bodies and commercial entities engage with the public more effectively.
DCMS is monitoring the progress of the Portal, and the effect that it has on the audience reach of public notices. This type of industry innovation and collaboration is integral to securing the sector’s future. It will be taken into account in our planned review of public notices as part of the Local Media Strategy, which will more broadly consider the merits of making changes to existing requirements to place public notices in print local newspapers, including the impact this has on local transparency and democratic accountability across the country, including in Surrey. More will be announced on the Strategy and the review in the coming months.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to help tackle the use of catapults by young people to harm pond wildlife in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government takes crimes against wildlife seriously and is aware of the ongoing and horrific misuse of catapults against wildlife.
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 protects all wild birds and some wild animals in England and Wales. It is illegal under this Act to deliberately attempt to kill, injure, or harm protected species of wild birds. There are a range of other offences found in further legislation to protect wild animals from cruelty such as the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Significant sanctions are available to judges to hand down to those convicted of crimes under these Acts.
While Defra will continue to keep relevant legislation under review, there are sufficient laws in place to protect wildlife from targeted use of catapults and existing powers are already available for the police to tackle their misuse. Defra therefore has no current plans to take further steps to tackle the use of catapults by young people to harm pond wildlife.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the personal allowance for pensioners in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
This Government remains committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement.
Through our commitment to protect the Triple Lock, over 12 million pensioners benefitted from a 4.1% increase to their basic or new State Pension in April 2025. Over the course of this Parliament, the full yearly rate of the new State Pension is expected to increase by around £1,900 based on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest forecast.
The Personal Allowance - the amount an individual can earn before paying tax - will continue to exceed the basic and full new State Pension in 2025/26. This means pensioners whose sole income is the full new State Pension or basic State Pension without any increments will not pay any income tax.
The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the policy making process. The Chancellor will announce any changes to the tax system at fiscal events in the usual way.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support schools experiencing staffing challenges in implementing SEND provision in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Recruiting and retaining expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child. This is why the government’s Plan for Change is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across secondary and special schools, and colleges over the course of this parliament.
In May 2025, the department announced a 4% pay award to school teachers and leaders, which, combined with the previous year’s 5.5% award, will mean school teachers will see an increase in their pay of almost 10% over two years.
The department’s interventions are having impact, with 2,346 more teachers across secondary and special schools in 2024/25. The latest census reported one of the lowest leaver rates since 2010, with 1,300 fewer teachers leaving the state-funded sector, and more teachers are returning to state schools than at any point in the last ten years. The latest data showed 17,274 teachers returned to the classroom.
There is significant work underway to ensure there is an appropriate training offer in place to support teachers and school leaders to create an inclusive school environment.
Our core teacher training offer includes significantly more content on adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and this is supplemented by further SEND-specific training that is easy to access at any point in a teacher’s career through the Universal SEND Services contract. This programme aims to support the school and further education workforce, particularly in mainstream settings, to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND earlier and more effectively.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of classroom support ratios in mainstream schools in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
School support staff, including classroom support staff, play a vital role in children’s education.
Headteachers are responsible for recruitment and deployment in their schools as they are best placed to understand the specific needs of their pupils and make staffing decisions accordingly.
The Education Endowment Foundation’s guidance report ‘Deployment of Teaching Assistants’ makes a number of recommendations to help schools make decisions about how to deploy their teaching assistants to ensure they are used effectively.
In October 2024 the department released the new Financial Benchmarking & Insights Tool to support schools. This service helps schools view and improve their spending, provision and deployment of staff by making comparisons to similar schools.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support older people experiencing (a) emotional and (b) financial hardship in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to supporting pensioners and ensuring they have financial security and dignity in retirement.
The State Pension remains the foundation of our support for pensioners. In April this year, both the basic and new State Pensions increased by 4.1%, benefitting over 12 million pensioners by up to £470. And our commitment to maintain the Triple Lock – helping to raise over time the value of the State Pension – for the entirety of this Parliament will see pensioners’ yearly incomes rising by up to £1,900.
Pension Credit continues to provide vital financial support for pensioners who, for whatever reason, find themselves on a low income. It was introduced by the last Labour Government specifically to help pensioners in financial hardship. It does this by guaranteeing a minimum level of income – called the Standard Minimum Guarantee – which was also increase by 4.1% in April to £227.10 week for a single pensioner or £346.40 week for a couple.
Receipt of Pension Credit also opens the door to other financial support, including Housing Benefit, Council Tax support and help with NHS costs as well as help with fuel bills and a free TV licence for those over 75. That is why we continue to promote Pension Credit across the whole of Great Britain, including to eligible pensioners and their family and friends in Surrey Heath. Our ongoing campaign features adverts on television and radio; on social media and on digital screens in GP surgeries and Post Offices, as well as in the press.
DWP’s visiting service can also provide face-to-face support for vulnerable individuals with complex needs, ensuring they can access services—especially when they may have no one else to support them.
The Household Support Fund remains available for those facing financial hardship, with funding extended to March 2026.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to limit levels of pension investment into unsustainable fossil fuel practices.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK pension sector is increasingly playing a role in investing in a more sustainable future, with many schemes setting net-zero targets and actively engaging with companies to reduce emissions. As part of the pensions legislative and regulatory framework, there are requirements for regular reporting, including through Statements of Investment Principles, Implementation Statements and annual reports aligned with the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), along with voluntary Stewardship Code Reports. Taken together these requirements mean pension schemes must disclose how they are managing risks from any exposure to fossil fuels.
The Government has consulted on new UK Sustainability Reporting Standards aligned with international sustainability standards, and on our manifesto commitment on climate transition plans. Analysis of industry feedback currently underway will help shape future policies in these crucial areas. These measures aim to improve transparency and accountability across the economy, helping investors, including pension schemes, understand how climate and nature-related issues affect their portfolios.