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, what fiscal steps he is taking to support the community ownership of assets in Surrey.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government is empowering communities to protect and take ownership of valued local assets through the new Community Right to Buy. This will give communities the first opportunity to purchase a registered asset of community value when it is put up for sale by its owner.
In addition, our £5.8 billion Pride in Place programme is supporting 284 of the most in-need areas with funding to support a range of local activities, including restoring or taking ownership of assets they value. The Pride in Place Impact Fund will also provide up to £150 million of funding to 95 places to support the development of community spaces, public space and to revitalise local high streets.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help ensure reliable broadband services in hard to reach areas of Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Project Gigabit is the government’s programme to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to UK premises that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans.
As part of Project Gigabit, Openreach is delivering a contract to extend coverage to hard-to-reach areas of Surrey. This contract currently includes approximately 1,900 premises in the Surrey Heath constituency, of which almost 900 premises have already been given coverage.
We will aim to cover the remaining premises that are not currently included in Project Gigabit or suppliers’ commercial delivery plans as far as possible as funding becomes available, in line with the objective of achieving nationwide gigabit coverage by 2032.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Government funding for repairing potholes in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is investing a record £7.3 billion in local highways maintenance over the next four years, which is in addition to a £1.6 billion investment in 2025/26, a £500 million increase on the previous year. The responsible local highway authority for the constituency of Surrey Heath is Surrey County Council. Surrey County Council is eligible to receive £164,080,000 over the four year period.
To support improvement, the Department has introduced a new annual traffic‑light rating system assessing each authority’s road condition, maintenance spending, and use of best practice. Surrey received an overall amber rating, and all ratings are available on GOV.UK.
These ratings encourage strong asset management and a preventative approach to reduce potholes. The Department is also providing £300,000 in development support to help councils adopt best practice, improve their ratings, and enhance the condition of their roads.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to review the funding formula used for (a) road maintenance and (b) pothole repairs.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government plans to review the funding formula that it uses to distribute capital funding to local highways authorities to see whether it can be adjusted to consider, for example, the conditions that affect the wear and tear of local roads.
However, the Government cannot commit to any changes to the allocation methodology until each option has been assessed for feasibility and deliverability, in line with the normal policy making process. The Government would also expect to engage with local highway authorities about any methodology to understand how any changes might impact on their services.
The Department’s review of the highways maintenance guidance it provides to local highway authorities in the Well Managed Highways Infrastructure Code of Practice will progress in addition to this and will be completed by the end of 2026.
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, what steps he is taking to support the creation of well-paid jobs in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade is supporting the creation of jobs and opportunities across the UK, including in the Surrey Heath constituency. We are doing this by supporting small and medium sized businesses to export, including developing a new Business Growth Service to simplify finding the advice and support they need. We are also supporting high streets by delivering long overdue reforms to rebalance the business rates system. We have also developed the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy and are investing in growth sectors like life sciences, advanced manufacturing and digital technologies.
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, what progress she has made on reducing air pollution in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under the Environment Act 1995, local authorities have a duty to review and assess local air quality and to take action to reduce pollution where air quality objectives are exceeded.
Where these objectives are being met, as is the case in Surrey Heath, Defra’s Local Air Quality Management Statutory Policy Guidance 2022 states that local authorities should produce a Local Air Quality Strategy to enable a proactive approach to reducing air pollution. Surrey Heath Borough Council have a draft local air quality strategy for 2026 - 2029, setting out the actions they plan to take to maintain compliance with air quality objectives and continue improving air quality.
As set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025, Government is committed to supporting local authority delivery and reducing the time and investment needed to act on air quality at a local level. To help with this, we are refreshing guidance, webinars and materials for air quality officers.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March 2026 to Question 121982 on Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention, what the expected timeframe is for publishing the evidence submitted to the consultation on UK accession to the Pan‑Euro‑Mediterranean Convention.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government’s response to the call for evidence on UK accession to the Pan-Euro Mediterranean Convention (PEM) was published on 26th March 2026.
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 the expected timeline is for the announcement by Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust on the new hospital at Frimley Park Hospital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pursuant to the answer given to the Hon. Member on 23 March 2026 to Question 121160, any announcement on a provisional preferred site for the new hospital at Frimley Park Hospital will be down to the Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust to announce.
This will be subject to the trust having secured all the relevant business case approvals and commercial agreements with landowners. The trust expects to be able to announce the site in the coming months, subject to pre-election period guidance.
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, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential economic merits for (a) the Treasury and (b) UK businesses of the UK joining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In the UK’s Trade Strategy, the government recognised the potential merits and impacts of UK accession to the Pan-Euro Mediterranean Convention (PEM) and committed to engaging business further. The government ran a five-week call for evidence from November to December last year to understand the potential impacts of accession on businesses. The Government will publish the findings in due course.
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, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of negotiating UK access into the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In the UK’s Trade Strategy, the government recognised the potential merits and impacts of UK accession to the Pan-Euro Mediterranean Convention (PEM) and committed to engaging business further. The government ran a five-week call for evidence from November to December last year to understand the potential impacts of accession on businesses. The Government will publish the findings in due course.