Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to improve tumour tissue preservation capacity for brain cancer patients in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Members to the answer provided on 22 September in response to Question HL2877.

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 help parents plan for changes to their Universal Credit entitlement when a child leaves eligible education or training in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)

Published Universal Credit guidance provides detailed information explaining when children cease to be regarded as qualifying children/young people, and therefore claimants no longer qualify for an extra amount in their UC award.  In addition, claimants are periodically prompted to confirm that their children remain in full-time non-advanced education or approved training, making them aware that a change in the child’s status may lead to a change to the award.  This allows claimants to prepare for changes to future entitlement.

Further information can be found on Universal Credit if you have children - GOV.UK.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve access to brain cancer clinical trials for patients in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon. Member to the press release issued on the GOV.UK website on 14 October 2026, available at the link below, which provides the latest update on the action the Government is taking in this area across the country as a whole:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/brain-cancer-patients-to-see-faster-development-of-new-treatments

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of increased opportunities for outdoor play and outdoor learning in primary schools on (a) educational attainment, (b) attention spans, (c) behaviour, and (d) wellbeing.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department believes that outdoor play and outdoor learning can be a valuable part of a rich and broad education, for example in physical education and geography, or a school’s enrichment offer. Nature, outdoors and adventure is one of five categories of enrichment set out in the new Enrichment Framework for schools and colleges. The link for this framework can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-enrichment-framework-for-schools-and-colleges.

Current UK and international evidence, including work supported by the department and the University of Oxford, shows that school-based nature programmes benefit young people’s mental health and wellbeing, particularly by reducing stress and anxiety. The studies suggest that greater access to green space in schools is associated with lower rates of pupil absence. The study in question can be found here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1353829226000997.

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 ensure that support under the Crisis and Resilience Fund takes account of costs faced by households affected by disability and long-term health conditions in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Crisis and Resilience Fund provides support to households with a wide range of needs, including those affected by disability and long-term health conditions. Local authorities such as Surrey County Council have the funding, flexibility, and discretion to design support that reflects local needs and priorities within the broad scope of DWP’s guidance.

DWP has compliance and monitoring processes to monitor delivery, including requiring local authorities to submit annual delivery plans and six-monthly management information returns.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of operating costs on the ability of hospices to maintain care services in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 13 July in response to Question 16185, which sets out the steps the Government is taking to support hospices throughout England.

The Prime Minister and my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, have made clear their commitment to improve the quality and availability of palliative care and end-of-life care through a new Modern Service Framework, as set out in the answer of 14 September to Question 27682.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that NHS funding for hospices reflects the cost of providing palliative and end of life care in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 13 July in response to Question 16185, which sets out the steps the Government is taking to support hospices throughout England.

The Prime Minister and my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, have made clear their commitment to improve the quality and availability of palliative care and end-of-life care through a new Modern Service Framework, as set out in the answer of 14 September to Question 27682.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Department is taking to help support access to hospice care for patients and families in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 13 July in response to Question 16185, which sets out the steps the Government is taking to support hospices throughout England.

The Prime Minister and my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, have made clear their commitment to improve the quality and availability of palliative care and end-of-life care through a new Modern Service Framework, as set out in the answer of 14 September to Question 27682.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that hospices have sustainable funding in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 13 July in response to Question 16185, which sets out the steps the Government is taking to support hospices throughout England.

The Prime Minister and my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, have made clear their commitment to improve the quality and availability of palliative care and end-of-life care through a new Modern Service Framework, as set out in the answer of 14 September to Question 27682.

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 improve access to retraining for low-income adults who are already in work, including people with chronic health conditions.

Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department supports low-income adults in work to develop their skills, increase their earnings and, where appropriate, retrain for new careers.

Through Jobcentre Plus, Work Coaches can help individuals identify skills gaps and access training, and refer claimants to a range of provision, including Skills Bootcamps, apprenticeships, sector-based work academy programmes, Free Courses for Jobs, and English, maths and digital skills training.

The ASF supports eligible adults aged 19 and over to access education and training up to and including level 3 qualifications where they meet the relevant funding criteria. This includes fully funding eligible adults in work but earning less than £26,800, as well as co-funding for those earning above this threshold.

Learner Support and Learning Support funding can help those facing financial hardship and people with disabilities or health conditions to participate effectively in learning. For people with health conditions, specialist support is also available through programmes such as Access to Work.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether he has discussions with the European Commission on the potential impact of the proposed EU Industrial Accelerator Act on the level of UK jobs in the automotive sector.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

My department is looking carefully at the proposed measures in the EU’s Industrial Accelerator Act. Where these measures, as currently drafted, could disadvantage the UK’s automotive sector, or UK-EU integrated automotive supply chains, the Secretary of State, Minister Sarwar, and I have and are continuing to engage positively with EU member states, Commission counterparts, and MEPs. The Secretary of State and I continue to engage industry to assess potential impacts to business, including job numbers.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of replacing the Household Support Fund with the Crisis and Resilience Fund on access to emergency financial support for disabled households in Surrey.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) provides support to households with a wide range of needs, including those affected by disability and long-term health conditions. Local authorities such as Surrey County Council have the funding, flexibility, and discretion to design support that reflects local needs and priorities within the broad scope of DWP’s guidance.

Local authorities are required to report the number and value of awards that support disabled people. This will help DWP to understand how the CRF is reaching these households.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential benefits of increasing funding for outdoor play and learning opportunities in schools in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Each year, schools receive core funding from the department to cover their expenditures. The funding schools receive is not ringfenced for any specific form of expenditure, and it is for each school to determine how this money will be best used to support their individual circumstances. That includes expenditures on outdoor play and learning opportunities.

Through the schools block of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), Surrey local authority, which allocates funding for Surrey Heath, is receiving £6,361 per pupil on average in the 2026/27 financial year (including premises funding but excluding growth funding). That is a 2.5% increase in funding per pupil compared to the 2025/26 financial year.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support SEND pupils who are over 16 with home-school transport provision in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

In Surrey Heath, post-16 transport support is provided under Surrey County Council's county-wide Post-16 Transport Policy Statement. Transport is not automatically free after age 16, but assistance may be available for eligible learners, including young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and those aged 19 to 25 with an education, health and care plan. Eligibility is assessed against factors such as need, distance, accessibility and financial circumstances, and support may include travel passes, allowances or other travel assistance.

The 2026 SEND consultation recognised that some children and young people are required to travel long distances where suitable support is not available locally. The proposals aim to improve early support, strengthen mainstream inclusion and develop more consistent local provision through greater collaboration between education, health and local authority partners, helping more children and young people have their needs met closer to home and reducing reliance on longer-distance travel.

Remembrance Day 2026

Military Homes Standard for Single Living Accommodation

Microplastic filters for washing machines

Celebrating Scotland’s links with Malawi

Surrey devolution agreement and the Budget

Congratulations to Harry Kane on winning the 2026 Ballon d'Or

River Lavant

National strategy for fertility

Application of Extended Producer Responsibility

Sustainable Farming Incentive 2026

Oil and chemical spills at sea

E1 settlements

Lake View Pond, Pagham

World Menopause Day 2026