Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to free up hospital beds and support individuals whose families delay hospital discharges to avoid paying for health care costs.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Enabling people to be discharged from hospital promptly with the right care and support contributes to better outcomes and a speedier recovery for patients, as well as preventing the loss of independence.
As set out in the statutory guidance on hospital discharge and community support, people do not have the right to remain in an acute or community hospital bed if they no longer have a clinical need to be in hospital. When a person is medically fit for discharge, local areas should, as far as possible, offer choice for individuals on the care and support they receive, and National Health Service bodies and local authorities have a duty to involve patients, carers, and their families, where considered appropriate, in this process. Further details can be found at the following link:
In instances where a person’s preferred care package or placement is unavailable, an appropriate alternative should be offered whilst a person awaits availability of their preferred choice.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made potential impact of the number of ICU beds on trends in the level of cancellations of scheduled and vital surgeries; and what steps he is taking to help ensure that surgeries that have been rescheduled for this reason are not cancelled.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No specific assessment has been made on the specific impact of intensive care unit (ICU) bed unavailability on levels of cancelled surgeries. However, tackling waiting lists is a top priority for the Government, and this includes ensuring that patients requiring inpatient treatment will have access to high quality post-operative care.
Between July and September 2025, 0.91% of elective admissions were cancelled last minute by the provider for non-clinical reasons, with 20,189 last minute cancellations, an improvement of 0.06% from the same period the previous year when 0.97% of elective admissions were cancelled last minute, with 21,249 last minute cancellations.
The Department does not hold data broken down by the reason for cancellation, but the rescheduling rate has also improved. If an NHS hospital cancels a patient's operation for non-clinical reasons on the day of admission or day of surgery, the NHS Constitution states it must be rescheduled within 28 days. Between July and September 2025, 21.2% of cancelled elective operations which were not treated within 28 days, so, whilst there is still work to do, this is an improvement from 22.7% in the previous year.
This winter, local systems have been asked to place a particular focus on reducing bed occupancy and improving patient flow. More broadly for 2025/26, we have asked NHS trusts to focus on eliminating discharge delays of more than 48 hours caused by issues within the hospital, and to work with local authorities to eliminate the longest delays, starting with those of over 21 days. This will mitigate against the risk of cancelled or rescheduled operations due to intensive care bed unavailability. Our Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, also set out actions to enhance perioperative care, which can shorten patients’ length of hospital stay and minimise postoperative complications, freeing up hospital beds for those who need them.
Wider elective care reforms will also help make the best use of clinical capacity, so that if a patient’s surgery is cancelled on the day due to ICU bed unavailability, they can be offered a new date for their procedure without delay. This includes new and expanded dedicated surgical hubs to deliver common procedures, thereby freeing up capacity for more complex patients, tackle missed appointments, introduce more straight-to-test pathways, and reduce unnecessary follow up appointments through widening remote monitoring and patient-initiated follow-ups.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to introduce financial support for family’s impacted by brain tumours following the concerning findings in the Brain Tumour Charity’s recent report; and what plans his Department has to increase support for the charities who help families impacted by brain tumours.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
To ensure people living with brain tumours have care which addresses their financial concerns, NHS England has committed to ensuring that every person diagnosed with cancer has access to personalised care. This includes needs assessments, a care plan, and health and wellbeing information and support. Through the provision of information, personalised care empowers people to manage their care and the impact of their cancer, including the financial impact on their families.
The Department for Work and Pensions provides a range of benefits and support for families with people with a range of health conditions and disabilities, including for those impacted by high grade or life limiting brain tumours. These include Universal Credit, Employment Support Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Carer's Allowance, and Access to Work. The Pathways to Work Green Paper was built on the principle that the Government should support those who can work to do so, while protecting those who can’t, and we have already made significant progress bringing forward proposals from the Green Paper to transform the support we offer.
To support charities, including those who help families impacted by brain tumours, the Department of Health and Social Care has a Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Health and Wellbeing Programme. This is a mechanism through which the Department, NHS England, and the UK Health Security Agency work together with VCSE organisations to:
In addition, the National Cancer Plan, which is due to be published shortly, has featured significant ongoing engagement with charities, covering topics such as how to improve the experience of people living with cancer. The plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, including support for people living with brain tumours and their families.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the accuracy of Ofcom data on phone signal in Worcestershire; and what plans her Department has to improve connectivity in Worcestershire.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom is responsible for the reporting of mobile coverage across the UK but does not publish mobile coverage data at a county level.
The Government recognises that there are discrepancies in some cases between peoples’ lived experience and the level of coverage that Ofcom reports should be available. The launch of Ofcom’s updated mobile coverage checker ‘Map Your Mobile’ in June 2025 was a positive step forward in helping address this.
Government, however, recognises that there is further work to be done and we continue to encourage Ofcom to improve the accuracy of mobile coverage reporting across the UK, allowing consumers to make more informed choices about which operator provides the best level of service in their area.
Our ambition is for all populated areas, including communities in Worcestershire, to have higher quality standalone 5G by 2030.
The Government continues to work closely with the mobile network operators to ensure their continued investment into the expansion and improvement of mobile networks, and that investment translates into benefits for communities right across the UK, including those in Worcestershire.
We are also working to identify and address barriers to deployment of mobile infrastructure. This includes recently launching a call for evidence to help determine where planning rules could be relaxed to support the deployment of digital infrastructure.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Valuation Office Agency being able to increase property valuations without visiting the premises on business rates.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency collects a large amount of rental and trade evidence from occupiers and landlords for revaluations, and then applies one of three RICS-approved valuation methods. We inspect properties when we need to gather additional information or confirm facts. This has been the established practice for all revaluations since 1990.
Rateable values reflect the open market rental value of a property at a specific date.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the potential merits of introducing a defined timeframe for GPs to complete the necessary licensing forms for shotguns.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Medical checks are an important part of the firearms licensing process to ensure that the police have all relevant medical information before them as part of their assessment of the suitability of an applicant for a firearm or shotgun certificate.
There is no defined timeframe for GPs to complete the medical proforma, which is a matter between the applicant and their GP.
Since the Statutory Guidance for Chief Officers of Police on firearms licensing was introduced on 1 November 2021 it has been a requirement that medical information be provided as part of all firearms licensing applications submitted to the police.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate he has made of the time it will take to create 1,000 new jobs in the energy sector in Aberdeen.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
Great British Energy published their strategic plan at the end of last year and have committed to directly supporting more than 10,000 jobs by 2030 through GBE-backed and funded projects, including in areas historically dependent on oil and gas.
But of course, this job creation must happen in partnership with industry, and we are seeing major investments from Scottish Power, SSEN and others create hundreds of good quality clean energy jobs in Aberdeen and across Scotland.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has been made of the potential impact on victim support arising from the announced reduction, by nearly half, in funding for the West Mercia Police Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre; and in light of these funding cuts, how will the Department ensure that all survivors of sexual violence referred to this centre continue to receive the timely and high‑quality support they deserve.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
My Department is committed to the Government’s pledge to halve Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in a decade. We have committed £550 million to victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date.
On 1 December 2025, all Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and recipients of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund (RASASF) received confirmation that their Ministry of Justice grants will be extended for two years until March 2028, with a 2% year-on-year uplift. This includes the grants the Ministry of Justice holds with West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (WMRSASC) and with West Mercia PCC, who will make decisions on which organisations to fund locally, based on their assessment of need.
The grant the Department holds with WMRSASC has been unchanged since August 2023 when the RASASF was recompeted via an open competition.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the annual heat pump installation targets are for each year between 2026 and 2035.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government does not set annual targets for heat pump installations, however we are working to facilitate the growth of the market, consumer offers available, and the market for green finance. We will continue to support households with the cost of heat pump installations through our support schemes. We will set out more details in the Warm Homes Plan.
We support supply chain growth through the reformed Clean Heat Market Mechanism, invest in manufacturing capacity through the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator, and help installers train through the Heat Training Grant.
Our expectation is that the vast majority of end-of-life heating system replacements will be with heat pumps and other low-carbon technologies, as these become the natural, affordable choice.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who die each year from wildfire smoke.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Whilst Defra considers smoke from wildfires to be important the department has not, to date, made an estimate of the number of people who die each year from wildfire smoke.