Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
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 take steps to help ensure that developers do not remove affordable housing when sites are deemed unviable.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is committed to strengthening the system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure.
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals relating to developer contributions and viability which seek to promote greater clarity on expected contributions at the plan-making stage, and reduce cases of unnecessary site-specific viability assessment by clarifying when it may be appropriate at the decision-making stage.
We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure the new digital service will handle applications with greater efficiency and consistency to tackle to backlog in medical license issues and renewal wait times.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The DVLA’s new casework system for driving licence applications where a medical condition must be investigated will deliver significant improvements and the DVLA is also launching a new digital medical services portal in April. These enhancements, alongside the recruitment of additional staff to deal with medical applications and answer telephone calls, will deliver real improvements in services and turnaround times for customers.
Applicants renewing an existing licence may be able to continue driving while their application is being processed, providing they can meet specific criteria. More information on this can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1180997/inf1886-can-i-drive-while-my-application-is-with-dvla.pdf.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, following the National Screening Committee Report on prostate cancer screening in November, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) establishing an NHS information campaign to raise awareness of prostate cancer referral routes for GPs and (b) issuing specific guidance to GPs on informing patients about the (i) NICE and (ii) PCRMP referral routes.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 28 November 2025, the UK National Screening Committee opened a 12-week public consultation on a draft recommendation on screening for prostate cancer. This consultation has now closed, and the Committee is considering the responses.
We anticipate a final recommendation soon. After this, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will make a decision on whether to accept the recommendation, and what next steps are needed. At that point, he will make a decision on implementation, including any resources that may be required for general practitioners and other healthcare professionals to support his decision.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
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 (1) help tacklethe number of NHS dental practices in and around Dorking and Horley that are not accepting new NHS patients; and (2) increase access to NHS dentists accepting new patients in those areas.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Patients in England are not registered with a National Health Service dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend. Some dental practices may operate local waiting list arrangements.
Integrated care board (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population. For the Dorking and Horley constituency, this is the Surrey Heartlands ICB.
In the Surrey Heartlands ICB, the ICB for Dorking and Horley, 14,625, or 4%, more NHS dental treatments were delivered in April to October 2025 compared to the same period before the election.
The Government is committed to ensuring people can access urgent dental care when they need it. Over the past year, ICBs have been commissioning additional urgent dental appointments and there is now an urgent care safety net available in all areas of the country. We are broadening the scope of the 700,000 dental appointments commitment so that the additional appointments can be used for more patients, not just those who meet the clinical criteria for “urgent” care.
We are committed to delivering fundamental reform of the dental contract before the end of this Parliament. As a first step, on 16 December we published the Government’s response to the public consultation on quality and payment reforms to the NHS dental contract. The changes will be introduced from April 2026. These reforms will put patients with greatest need first, incentivising urgent care and complex treatments. More information is available from the following link:
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to the email of 18 December 2025 from the hon. Member for Dorking and Horley on Surrey County Council's management of their statutory SEND responsibilities.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department attaches great importance to the handling of correspondence from parliamentarians and is working to provide a response to the email from the hon. Member for Dorking and Horley.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she plans to undertake a public awareness campaign to promote the new Highway Code rules as part of the Road Safety strategy.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Improving road safety is one of my Department’s highest priorities. Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users.
That is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all.
Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.
Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.
However, as set out in the strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.
As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. As announced in the strategy to support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK, the government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to close asylum hotels, particularly the Four Points Hotel in Horley.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government inherited a broken asylum system, with tens of thousands stuck in a backlog and claims not being processed, wasting millions in taxpayer money. We will empty asylum hotels as soon as possible, and by the end of this Parliament. That is a complex process that must be delivered through a controlled, managed and orderly plan of work.
For the safety, security, and wellbeing of those we accommodate, we do not publicly comment on individual hotels which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office, nor do we provide details of those we accommodate at any site.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many non-commissioned officers ranked Staff Sergeant or above, have left the Army in the last 3 years, broken down per year.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Figures for outflow of non-commissioned officers ranked Staff Sergeant or above can be found below.
Army Trade Trained Regular Non-Commissioned Officer Outflow, Staff Sergeant to Warrant Officer 1 | ||
Financial Year (FY) | Numbers Outflowing | Outflow Rate |
2022-23 | 1,250 | 12.6% |
2023-24 | 1,148 | 11.8% |
2024-25 | 1,091 | 11.2% |
| ||
Notes/Caveats
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2026 to Question 104026 on 7 January 2026 on Channel Tunnel: Fares, what discussions she has had with the Office for Road and Rail on (a) consumer protection and (b) customer oversight.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Office of Rail and Road is the independent economic and safety regulator for Britain's railways, including international rail services, and is also responsible for some consumer protection matters.
The Minister of State for Rail recently met with the ORR’s Chair, Declan Collier, and the Board to discuss a range of matters within the ORR’s remit, including facilitating competition within the international rail passenger market given the consumer benefits this is expected to bring for passengers. DfT officials also engage regularly with ORR counterparts to discuss these matters.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to help improve reciprocal visa-waiver arrangements with the EU.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
HMG officials and Ministers, including myself, regularly engage the EU and EU Member State counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals. The UK and the EU allow for visa-free, short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals.
The UK allows EU citizens visa-free travel for up to six months; the EU allows for visa-free travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period which is standard for third nationals travelling visa-free to the EU. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State. The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.