Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made representations to the Foreign Secretary on the potential for British International Investment to contribute funding to the Tropical Forest Forever Facility.

Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government continues to be supportive of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility and has reviewed a range of options to support an investment, including the potential of BII to contribute to funding the Facility.

The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and his officials have been working closely with their counterparts across government, including in the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of British International Investment contributing funding to the Tropical Forest Forever Facility.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 11 November in response to Question 87351.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with the British International Investment on the Tropical Forest Investment Fund.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 11 November in response to Question 87351.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to ensure that hospices receive the funding required to raise staff pay in line with nationally agreed NHS pay rises.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.

Hospices, as independent organisations, are free to develop and adapt their own terms and conditions of employment and, therefore, it is for them to determine what is affordable within the financial model they operate, and how to recoup any additional costs they face, including what contractual arrangements are reached with their commissioners.

NHS England uprates national allocations in line with the pay rises for ICBs. It is down to the local contractual arrangements, whether this includes the increases for pay rises or not, as to what the hospice can afford. There is, therefore, no single model which is consistent across England.

The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. The MSF will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end-of-life and enable ICBs to address challenges in access, quality and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care.

We will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of our MSF. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting ICBs to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087 I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government of the potential impact of the fair funding formula on levels of inequality of access to services.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

This government is delivering fairer funding for councils in England. By targeting money where it is needed most, these reforms will improve services for people in deprived places and have positive equalities impacts. Following extensive consultation and engagement, we consulted on allocations at the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement and will set out final allocations at the final Settlement in February.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled Patients in poorer areas to get better access to GPs, published on 9 October 2025, how funding will change in Bedfordshire.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

It is vital that funding for core primary medical services is distributed equitably between general practices (GPs) across the country so that resources are targeted where they are most needed. In October 2025 we launched a review of the GP funding formula (The Carr-Hill Formula), with the objective of better matching funding with higher need from poorer health.

Through our 10-Year Health Plan, it will be easier and faster to see a GP. We will end the 8:00am scramble for appointments, train more doctors, and guarantee consultations within 24 hours for those who need one. In October 2024, we invested £160 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme to support the recruitment of 2,900 individual GPs into primary care networks across England, helping to increase appointment availability and improve care for thousands of patients. The new £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund will create additional clinical space within over 1,000 GPs across England. This investment will deliver more appointments and improve patient care. There are 13 approved schemes across the NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB being supported by the fund.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2025 to written question 89790, how much the annual cap is.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Funding for the eligible apprenticeships has been capped in line with 2023/24 start numbers, which is equivalent to £8.4 million per financial year for new apprenticeship starts. Funding will be allocated according to workforce need, training provider capacity and the priorities set out in the 10-Year Health Plan to ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it.

Found: Richmond Park) Tristan Osborne (Labour; Chatham and Aylesford) Michael Payne (Labour; Gedling) Blake Stephenson

Found: Richmond Park) Tristan Osborne (Labour; Chatham and Aylesford) Michael Payne (Labour; Gedling) Blake Stephenson

Found: Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Chair); Mr Clive Betts; Anna Dixon; Rachel Gilmour; Sarah Olney; Blake Stephenson

Found: Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Chair); Mr Clive Betts; Anna Dixon; Rachel Gilmour; Sarah Olney; Blake Stephenson

Found: Richmond Park) Tristan Osborne (Labour; Chatham and Aylesford) Michael Payne (Labour; Gedling) Blake Stephenson

Found: Anna Dixon; Rachel Gilmour; Rupert Lowe; Catherine McKinnell; Sarah Olney; Tristan Osborne; Blake Stephenson

Found: Richmond Park) Tristan Osborne (Labour; Chatham and Aylesford) Michael Payne (Labour; Gedling) Blake Stephenson

Found: Barry Gardiner; Sarah Gibson; Chris Hinchliff; Sojan Joseph; Martin Rhodes; Dr Roz Savage; Blake Stephenson

Found: ; Sarah Green; Lloyd Hatton; Chris Kane; Rupert Lowe; Catherine McKinnell; Tristan Osborne; Blake Stephenson

Submit Evidence (by 6 Apr 2026)

Data centres are regarded by ministers as being central to UK economic growth and were designated critical national infrastructure (CNI) in September 2024, offering them more legal protections. But their electricity consumption is expected to quadruple by 2030, according to the National Energy System Operator, raising concerns about their sustainability