Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to protect coastal towns from flooding.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to supporting coastal communities and ensuring flood and coastal erosion risk management is fit for the challenges we face now and in the future.
Delivering on the Plan for Change, the Government is investing at least £10.5 billion by 2035/6 to construct new flood and coastal schemes and repair existing defences. This funding will better protect nearly 900,000 properties. Between April 2024 and March 2026, around £667 million is being invested into protection from sea flooding, tidal flooding and coastal erosion.
We delivered 151 schemes in our first year in Government and have redirected £108 million into urgent flood and coastal defence maintenance.
The Environment Agency (EA) has a coastal resilience team who operate at a national level. The team are supported by operational coastal specialists located in EA area teams around the coast of England who work closely with coastal local authorities to ensure that coastal flooding and erosion is managed in a coordinated way.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
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 impact of NHS Pensions' ability to meet the revised deadlines for issuing Remediable Service Statements set by the Government on 31 March 2025 on NHS members' i) financial resilience ii) ability to make informed choices regarding pension benefits.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the importance of providing NHS Pension Scheme members certainty about when they will receive their McCloud Remediable Service Statements.
An independent review of the NHS Business Service Authority’s (NHSBSA) revised plans for the delivery of the McCloud remedy for NHS Pension Scheme members is underway. This will provide an additional level of scrutiny and assurance of the NHSBSA’s delivery plan and the timetable for the remaining statements.
I expect to be able to update the House on the review’s progress and the remedy delivery timetable before Christmas recess.
In the meantime, the NHSBSA continues to provide Remediable Service Statements to affected members, prioritising those who may be experiencing immediate financial hardship due to the discrimination highlighted by the McCloud judgment. Additionally, members who meet specific criteria can request to receive a prioritised Remediable Service Statement. Further information is available at the following link:
https://faq.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/knowledgebase/article/KA-29429/en-us.
The Government is committed to ensuring that affected members are not subject to financial disadvantage due to these delays. Pension arrears arising from the McCloud remedy are paid with 8% interest, and a compensation scheme is available for members who have experienced other direct financial losses.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
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 ability of NHS Pensions to provide members with Remediable Service Statements.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the importance of providing NHS Pension Scheme members certainty about when they will receive their McCloud Remediable Service Statements.
An independent review of the NHS Business Service Authority’s (NHSBSA) revised plans for the delivery of the McCloud remedy for NHS Pension Scheme members is underway. This will provide an additional level of scrutiny and assurance of the NHSBSA’s delivery plan and the timetable for the remaining statements.
I expect to be able to update the House on the review’s progress and the remedy delivery timetable before Christmas recess.
In the meantime, the NHSBSA continues to provide Remediable Service Statements to affected members, prioritising those who may be experiencing immediate financial hardship due to the discrimination highlighted by the McCloud judgment. Additionally, members who meet specific criteria can request to receive a prioritised Remediable Service Statement. Further information is available at the following link:
https://faq.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/knowledgebase/article/KA-29429/en-us.
The Government is committed to ensuring that affected members are not subject to financial disadvantage due to these delays. Pension arrears arising from the McCloud remedy are paid with 8% interest, and a compensation scheme is available for members who have experienced other direct financial losses.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
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 ensure Members of NHS Pensions receive timely Remediable Service Statements.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the importance of providing NHS Pension Scheme members certainty about when they will receive their McCloud Remediable Service Statements.
An independent review of the NHS Business Service Authority’s (NHSBSA) revised plans for the delivery of the McCloud remedy for NHS Pension Scheme members is underway. This will provide an additional level of scrutiny and assurance of the NHSBSA’s delivery plan and the timetable for the remaining statements.
I expect to be able to update the House on the review’s progress and the remedy delivery timetable before Christmas recess.
In the meantime, the NHSBSA continues to provide Remediable Service Statements to affected members, prioritising those who may be experiencing immediate financial hardship due to the discrimination highlighted by the McCloud judgment. Additionally, members who meet specific criteria can request to receive a prioritised Remediable Service Statement. Further information is available at the following link:
https://faq.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/knowledgebase/article/KA-29429/en-us.
The Government is committed to ensuring that affected members are not subject to financial disadvantage due to these delays. Pension arrears arising from the McCloud remedy are paid with 8% interest, and a compensation scheme is available for members who have experienced other direct financial losses.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he will complete the review into NHS Pensions' ability to meet the revised deadlines for issuing Remediable Service Statements set by the government on 31 March 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the importance of providing NHS Pension Scheme members certainty about when they will receive their McCloud Remediable Service Statements.
An independent review of the NHS Business Service Authority’s (NHSBSA) revised plans for the delivery of the McCloud remedy for NHS Pension Scheme members is underway. This will provide an additional level of scrutiny and assurance of the NHSBSA’s delivery plan and the timetable for the remaining statements.
I expect to be able to update the House on the review’s progress and the remedy delivery timetable before Christmas recess.
In the meantime, the NHSBSA continues to provide Remediable Service Statements to affected members, prioritising those who may be experiencing immediate financial hardship due to the discrimination highlighted by the McCloud judgment. Additionally, members who meet specific criteria can request to receive a prioritised Remediable Service Statement. Further information is available at the following link:
https://faq.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/knowledgebase/article/KA-29429/en-us.
The Government is committed to ensuring that affected members are not subject to financial disadvantage due to these delays. Pension arrears arising from the McCloud remedy are paid with 8% interest, and a compensation scheme is available for members who have experienced other direct financial losses.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Creative Industries Sector Vision (a) supports and (b) expands (i) existing skills training schemes and (ii) new training programmes.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Our Creative Industries Sector Plan, published in June 2025, sets out our approach to developing a high quality, responsive, inclusive and targeted education, skills and training offer, meeting the workforce requirements of the creative industries.
This includes refining and developing the growth and skills offer to deliver apprenticeships and skills training that recognise the particular needs of the sector, supporting existing schemes like flexi-job apprenticeships, and introducing new flexibilities such as short courses. The Government introduced new creative Higher Technical Qualifications in September, and will continue to expand the quantity of creative training pathways more broadly, including through further regional creative skills bootcamps.
Access to a high-quality arts education supports the pipeline into the creative industries and cultural sectors. Under this government, access will not be the preserve of the privileged few, but the entitlement of every child. The Curriculum and Assessment Review and the government's response has been published. We are committing to revitalising arts education, putting it back at the heart of a rich and broad curriculum through high-quality support for teachers of creative subjects and the new National Centre for Arts and Music Education.
The National Centre for Arts and Music Education will launch in September 2026, improving access and opportunity for children and young people and strengthening collaboration between schools and industry. It will promote high quality arts education, provide continuous professional development to teachers, and boost partnerships between schools and creative organisations.
We are also supporting music and dance through Arts Council England which provides £450,000 per annum to the National Youth Dance Company, which offers high-quality training and performance opportunities; and £420,000 per annum to the National Youth Music Organisations who help develop talented young musicians across all kinds of music styles.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to ensure that music and dance education remains central to the creative industries.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Our Creative Industries Sector Plan, published in June 2025, sets out our approach to developing a high quality, responsive, inclusive and targeted education, skills and training offer, meeting the workforce requirements of the creative industries.
This includes refining and developing the growth and skills offer to deliver apprenticeships and skills training that recognise the particular needs of the sector, supporting existing schemes like flexi-job apprenticeships, and introducing new flexibilities such as short courses. The Government introduced new creative Higher Technical Qualifications in September, and will continue to expand the quantity of creative training pathways more broadly, including through further regional creative skills bootcamps.
Access to a high-quality arts education supports the pipeline into the creative industries and cultural sectors. Under this government, access will not be the preserve of the privileged few, but the entitlement of every child. The Curriculum and Assessment Review and the government's response has been published. We are committing to revitalising arts education, putting it back at the heart of a rich and broad curriculum through high-quality support for teachers of creative subjects and the new National Centre for Arts and Music Education.
The National Centre for Arts and Music Education will launch in September 2026, improving access and opportunity for children and young people and strengthening collaboration between schools and industry. It will promote high quality arts education, provide continuous professional development to teachers, and boost partnerships between schools and creative organisations.
We are also supporting music and dance through Arts Council England which provides £450,000 per annum to the National Youth Dance Company, which offers high-quality training and performance opportunities; and £420,000 per annum to the National Youth Music Organisations who help develop talented young musicians across all kinds of music styles.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a waterbourne taxi passenger service across the Solent.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department has made no assessment. We recognise the benefits of cross Solent services, such as the Gosport Ferry, particularly in relation to accessing jobs and recreational opportunities. However, these services operate in a commercial environment without any intervention from the Government.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that children from non-privileged backgrounds have access to music and dance schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Funding of approximately £36.5 million is committed for the 2025/26 academic year for the Music and Dance Scheme, which provides income assessed bursaries to enable exceptionally talented children, regardless of their personal and financial circumstances, to attend specialist music and dance institutions.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress she has made on the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers will launch in October 2027 across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Earlier this year we appointed UK DMO as the deposit management organisation for the schemes in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, and they are continuing to progress at pace with delivery of the scheme.