Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 34 of his Department's policy paper entitled 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, published on 3 July 2025, what the outcome will be if a patient and care team do not agree on the contents of a care plan.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our 10-Year Health Plan will ensure that people with complex needs are supported to be active participants in their own care. As part of this, 95% of people with complex needs or long-term conditions will have an agreed personalised care plan by 2027.
We recognise that care plans should be developed collaboratively between patients and care teams. Reaching agreement is essential, as a lack of consensus can lead to delays in care and reduced patient engagement.
Patients have the right to autonomy over decisions about their own care, and both clinical and personal aspects should be approached as shared decisions. Where disagreements arise, particularly those relating to funding, can be escalated to the integrated care board for resolution.
Work is currently underway to determine how care plans will be delivered, including escalation routes if agreement can’t be made.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the maximum distance a patient should be from a (a) neighbourhood health centre and (b) GP surgery is under the 10 Year Health Plan.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no centrally stipulated limit on the distance a patient should be from a general practice surgery or a neighbourhood health centre (NHC). Integrated care boards are required to commission services that meet the reasonable needs of the population they serve.
The Government has committed to deliver a NHC in every community across the country over the course of the 10-Year Health Plan. The Department is currently determining how best to trial NHCs, including identifying potential site locations.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
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 require New Towns Development Corporations to produce a design code for new towns.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has been clear that the next generation of new towns must be well-connected, well-designed, sustainable, and attractive places where people want to live and have all the infrastructure, amenities, and services necessary to sustain thriving communities.
Building on lessons learned from past initiatives, the New Towns Taskforce developed draft placemaking principles. These were set out in the Taskforce’s interim update on the new towns programme which can be found on gov.uk here. They highlighted the importance of long-term vision and stewardship, as well as the central role of local communities in shaping the place they live in. Importantly, the principles also include a 40% affordable housing target, with an emphasis on homes for social rent.
The Taskforce has now submitted its final report to the government. This includes its final recommendations on design and placemaking. The government will now take a short period to consider carefully the Taskforce's recommendations and we will then publish both the report and a formal response.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 61248 on Green Belt: Maps, whether local authorities will be required to publish a map of grey belt areas within their areas during the local plan process.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is for individual local planning authorities to undertake the necessary assessments to identify if land is grey belt, either through plan making or through considering specific applications that come forward.
Similarly, it is for authorities to determine whether and how to evidence, justify, amend, and set out Green Belt boundaries through the preparation or updating of statutory plans.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction on levels of fishing at the Blue Hole in the South Atlantic.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in conjunction with the Falkland Islands Government, continue to collaborate closely to assess the implications of the Agreement on fishing in the South Atlantic. During the Informal Consultations of State Parties to the UN Fish Stocks Agreement (ICSP-18), held at the UN in May 2025, Defra colleagues recommended initiating further multilateral discussions to explore the implications of the Agreement. In parallel, both departments are continuing to work with the Falkland Islands Government to address concerns around unregulated fishing in the Blue Hole and to ensure their interests are represented in international fisheries meetings.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of student visa holders attending universities are in the (a) top and (b) bottom quartile of education standards.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold data on the proportion of student visa holders attending English universities who are in the top and bottom quartile of education standards. This data is not reported to the department by universities.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of medical students who graduated in each of the past five years were working in the NHS on 1 September 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information requested.
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, published 3 July 2025, we will work across the Government to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training. We will also prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training. We will set out next steps in due course.
Over the next three years, we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is the greatest need.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of medical students who graduated at the end of the 2024-25 academic year who will begin work in the NHS in the 2025-26 academic year.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information requested.
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, published 3 July 2025, we will work across the Government to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training. We will also prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training. We will set out next steps in due course.
Over the next three years, we will create 1,000 new specialty training posts with a focus on specialties where there is the greatest need.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of how many and what proportion of people who entered the UK on a skilled worker visa in each of the past ten years continue to (a) live in the UK and (b) work in an occupation on the qualifying list.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Obtaining the specific information requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple systems owned by multiple teams across the Home Office and, therefore, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The Home Office publishes data on sponsored work visas by occupation in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on grants of visas are published in table ‘Occ_D02’ of the sponsored work visas by occupation and industry dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. Data is from January 2021 up to the end of June 2025.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the provision of humanitarian aid to the Gaza strip.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer my Hon Friend to the statement made to the House by the former Foreign Secretary on 1 September.