Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many meetings (a) he and (b) the former Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government have had with housebuilders who complete more than 500 units per year since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on gov.uk here.
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 his Department is taking to (a) improve medical supply chains and (b) ensure that patients are able to obtain medications prescribed to them; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a framework requiring follow-ups with patients issued prescriptions to confirm they have successfully accessed medication.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In early August, the Department published the policy paper Managing a robust and resilience supply of medicines, which provides greater transparency of the supply chains we rely on, the actions we take to protect patients from medicine shortages when they occur, and the steps we are taking to enhance resilience in our supply chains. The publication outlines a number of actions which are underway, including:
Although the Department has made no specific assessment of the potential merits of a framework requiring follow-ups with patients issued prescriptions, it is worth noting that prescribers are expected to provide information to their patients regarding their medicines and ensure that suitable arrangements are in place for the monitoring, follow-up, and review of medication.
Pharmacists also play a key role in enabling patients to access medicines. For example, the New Medicine Service is an advanced service offered by community pharmacies, providing patients with advice to address any possible side effects, issues, or questions that patients who are prescribed a new medicine may have.
The service focuses on treatments for long-term conditions including asthma and hypertension. Early interventions of this type can improve medication adherence, patient outcomes, and can reduce pressure on the wider National Health Service.
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 of the adequacy of the provisions in place to make NHS healthcare accessible to people who are (a) deaf or (b) have hearing loss; and whether he plans to improve these provisions.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the needs of their local population, including deaf people and people who have hearing loss.
Under the Equality Act (2010), health and social care organisations must make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled people are not disadvantaged.
NHS England are rolling out a Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag which enables the recording of key information about a patient and their adjustment needs, to ensure support can be tailored appropriately.
Since 2016, all National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers are expected to meet the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), which details the approach to supporting the information and communication support needs of people with a disability, impairment or sensory loss.
On 30 June 2025, NHS England published a revised AIS. NHS England is working to support implementation of the AIS with awareness raising, communication and engagement, and a review of the current e-learning modules on the AIS. The intention is to ensure that staff and organisations in the NHS are aware of the AIS and the importance of meeting the information and communication needs of disabled people using NHS services.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's timetable is for reviewing the Personal Independence Payment assessment process and whether his Department plans to consult with (a) disabled people, (b) carers and (c) the wider public during that review process.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
To ensure lived experience is at the heart of its work, the Timms Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, clinicians, carers, experts, MPs and others. We have also confirmed that a majority of the Review’s leadership group will be disabled.
This group will not work alone: it will shape a programme of participation and engagement that brings together the full range of views and voices.
Over the summer, I met with disabled people, disabled people’s organisations, disability, welfare and carers’ charities, think tanks and other experts to discuss and listen to how we should approach co-production in the Timms Review.
We are working through this feedback and will provide an update shortly.
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 his Department is taking to (a) work with GP practices to ensure nursing staff receive pay increases in line with national recommendations and (b) facilitate the shift of pay awards from October to April so that no portion of annual remuneration is lost; and what assessment he has made of the need for a framework that guarantees government-allocated funding for staff pay is used for that intended purpose.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to ensuring that the general practice (GP) nursing workforce is sustainable, supported, and valued for the work they do.
As self-employed contractors to the National Health Service, it is up to GPs how they distribute pay and benefits to their staff. Funding for GP nursing pay is not ringfenced and contractual arrangements do not place any specific obligations on GPs with regard to GP nurse terms and conditions.
The independent review body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration has recommended an uplift of 4% to the pay ranges for salaried GPs, and to GP contractor pay for 2025/26. We have provided an increase to core funding for practices to allow this 4% pay uplift to be passed on to salaried and contractor GPs.
We expect GP contractors to implement pay rises to other practice staff in line with the uplift in funding they have received.
The Government has committed to a new substantive GP Contract within this Parliament cycle, and we will continue to engage constructively with the General Practitioners Committee England on issues such as staffing.
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 of the potential merits of modular construction for the delivery of healthcare infrastructure within the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the merits of modular construction for delivering National Health Service health infrastructure, including faster construction times, cost savings, minimised disruption, higher quality and safety standards, and the use of sustainable materials and methods.
Modular construction is a modern method of construction (MMC). A toolkit has been developed to support MMC opportunities in healthcare, which is publicly available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-modern-methods-of-construction-assessment-tool-user-guide/
The toolkit is recommended for use on all healthcare infrastructure projects and is mandated for projects over £25 million to meet the business case requirements of 70% new build and 50% refurbishment using MMC.
The New Hospital Programme is already transforming the way that hospital infrastructure is constructed by using a national standardised approach, called Hospital 2.0. Hospital 2.0 uses a standardised ‘kit of parts’ for hospital components, ranging from doors to full bathroom pods, that can be assembled into different size hospitals in an optimised, consistent, and repeatable way and with off-site manufacturing and with modular construction, reducing costs and accelerating construction.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how her Department (a) disposes of small boats used for illegal channel crossings and (b) ensures that those boats are not (i) retained by and (ii) returned to smuggling gangs.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Border Force do not return seized boats/dinghies/engines or lifejackets to France. All vessels that have been subject to seizure, are held by Border Force until the completion of criminal investigations and any resulting legal proceedings. The majority of boats/dinghies are not fit to ever go to sea again, as they arrive in very poor condition and may be damaged during the recovery process. The boats/dinghies/engines are disposed of by Border Force’s approved contractors and where appropriate, any suitable materials are recycled.
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 assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of household water bills in 2025; and what discussions her Department plans to have with Ofwat on levels of water bills.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is Ofwat's responsibility to independently scrutinise water company business plans and ensure that the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate.
On October 9, the Competition and Markets Authority published its provisional decision that, for the five companies that appealed, bills should increase further. This decision remains subject to consultation and they will not publish their final decision until early next year. This is an independent, statutory process.
The Government has acted decisively by consulting on reforms to WaterSure - the statutory scheme which caps bills for low-income customers with necessary higher water usage and by introducing new and increased compensation for companies to pay customers in the event of unforeseen disruption to supply.
We expect water companies to ensure that their customers know what support schemes are available and how to use them if they need help.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support the enforcement of the prohibition on the sale and possession of nitrous oxide cylinders in Bromsgrove constituency; and whether her Department plans to take steps to increase enforcement actions for offences involving the recreational use of nitrous oxide.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Nitrous oxide is controlled under Class C of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. This makes it an offence to supply and possess it for ‘wrongful inhalation’, namely the inhalation of the gas for its psychoactive effect.
There is a maximum sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine or both for supply, and a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine or both for possession.
Legitimate uses of nitrous oxide, such as for baking and cooking, are not prohibited by the Act.
The police are operationally independent, but we expect them to tackle crime, including drug-related crime. There were 2,564 seizures of nitrous oxide by police and Border Force in England and Wales in the year ending March 2024. This is an increase of 237% upon the previous year’s figure (761). Police forces accounted for almost all nitrous oxide seizures (2,552). The quantity of nitrous oxide seized by police forces increased by 170% over the same period.
Nitrous oxide sold online is subject to the provisions of the Online Safety Act. This requires that all technology companies take robust action against illegal content, such as the sale of nitrous oxide for wrongful inhalation
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment with the Minister for Women and Equalities of the adequacy of access for disabled people on rail travel; and what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) all newly constructed railways and (b) upgrades to existing lines will sufficiently address the challenges disabled people currently face on rail travel.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has standards in place requiring all new and upgraded rail infrastructure to be accessible. This is set out in the Accessibility National Technical Specification Notice and the Code of Practice: Design Standards for Accessible Railway Stations. Failure to meet these standards may result in enforcement action by the Office of Rail and Road, as compliance is a condition of operator’s licences.