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Written Question
Parkfield School Christchurch: Closures
Tuesday 3rd June 2025

Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to (a) sell or (b) transfer the site of Parkfield school in Hurn when it closes in July; and whether the premises will be retained for educational use.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The freehold site is currently owned by the Reach South Academy Trust, and this will be transferred to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, on behalf of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, on termination of the funding agreement, when the school closes permanently.

The department will always aim to recover assets and identify alternative educational or other public sector uses for sites in such circumstances. It is only when this is not possible that we retain the option to sell the site for a commercial return. All options are currently being explored.


Written Question
Bank of England (Inflation Targets) Bill
Tuesday 3rd June 2025

Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will meet with the hon. Member for Christchurch to discuss the Bank of England (Inflation Targets) Bill.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

I would be happy to meet with the Honourable Member for Christchurch to discuss the private members bill he introduced on Bank of England (Inflation Targets) as the Chancellor’s parliamentary deputy on economic issues.

My office will contact the Honourable Member in due course to arrange a meeting.


Written Question
Surgery: Dorset
Tuesday 3rd June 2025

Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the letter of 16 May 2025 from NHS England to ICBs on referrals for elective surgery, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reducing the rate of referrals for elective surgery on waiting times for NHS operations in Dorset.

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

No specific assessment has been made of the potential impact of reducing the rate of referrals for elective surgery on waiting times for operations in Dorset.

Actions to ensure care is delivered in the most appropriate clinical setting, to reduce unnecessary demand on elective care, are set out in the Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, which also details all the reform efforts needed to deliver our commitment that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment by March 2029.

The Government has set out expectations that integrated care boards (ICBs) should focus on strategic commissioning, by planning services that meet the needs of local populations. In this regard, NHS England’s letter of 16 May 2025 calls on ICBs to implement strategies to reduce unwarranted demand for all elective care, including surgery. By reducing unnecessary appointments and tests, these interventions will free up clinical time and resources for patients who do require elective surgery and other forms of elective care, and will reduce the time these patients wait for their care.


Written Question
Surgery: Dorset
Tuesday 3rd June 2025

Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make a comparative estimate of the number of people who underwent NHS elective care in Dorset in the (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25 financial years; and how many people were forecast to undergo elective care in the 2025-26 financial year (i) with and (ii) without elective Care demand management.

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

In the financial year 2023/24, there were 17,411,620 completed Referral-to-Treatment (RTT) pathways in the NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board. In the financial year 2024/25, there were 18,116,099 completed pathways. Please note that patients may be on more than one RTT pathway. These figures exclude non-consultant led care, and the subsequent care or monitoring that occurs after a patient has had their first definitive treatment.

Forecasts of those who will undergo elective care in 2025/26, with and without elective care demand management, are not available.


Written Question
General Practitioners: Christchurch
Friday 23rd May 2025

Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) face-to-face and (b) other GP appointments conducted at (i) Highcliffe Medical Centre, (ii) Christchurch Medical Centre, (iii) Burton Branch Surgery (iv) The Stour Surgery and (v) The Grove Surgery in (A) 2022-23, (B) 2023-24 and (C) 2024-25.

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

A table showing the number of face-to-face and other general practice appointments conducted for the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Centre, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Surgery is attached. Data for the Burton Medical Centre is not available as it was a branch of the Christchurch Medical Practice. The Burton Medical Centre became a branch practice in October 2017, and was subsequently closed in October 2024.


Written Question
GP Practice Lists: Christchurch
Monday 19th May 2025

Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of new patients registered at (a) Highcliffe Medical Centre, (b) Christchurch Medical Centre, (c) Burton Brunch Surgery, (d) The Stour Surgery and (e) The Grove Surgery in the (i) 2023-24 and (ii) 2024-25 financial years; and how much was paid to each practice for those additional patients.

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

Changes in the number of registered patients reflects both new registrations as well as existing patients being taken off a practice’s list, such as where they have moved practice or have died. As a result, it is not possible to identify the number of new registrations from the published data, and it is not possible to determine the additional funding practices have received from new registrations.

Practices receive global sum payments based on their registered patient list, which are weighted using the Carr-Hill formula. This takes into consideration factors such as the age and sex of patients, and additional pressures generated by factors such as geographical location and patient turnover.


Written Question
GP Practice Lists: Christchurch
Monday 19th May 2025

Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients were registered at (a) Highcliffe Medical Centre, (b) Christchurch Medical Centre, (c) Burton Brunch Surgery, (d) Stour Surgery and (e) The Grove Surgery on (i) 1 June 2024 and (ii) 14 May 2025.

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

The data below shows the number of registered patients at the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Practice, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Medical Centre as of 31 March 2025, as this is the most recent available data, and as of 31 March 2024, to align with the most recent data.

Data for the Burton Medical Centre is not available as it was a branch of the Christchurch Medical Practice. The Burton Medical Centre became a branch practice in October 2017 and was subsequently closed in October 2024. The following table shows the number of registered patients at the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Practice, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Medical Centre as of 31 March 2025:

Practice name

Total patients

Highcliffe Medical Centre

15,308

Christchurch Medical Practice

16,303

Stour Surgery

10,684

The Grove Medical Centre

12,978

In addition, the following table shows the number of registered patients at the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Practice, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Medical Centre as of 31 March 2024:

Practice name

Total patients

Highcliffe Medical Centre

15,153

Christchurch Medical Practice

16,938

Stour Surgery

10,399

The Grove Medical Centre

13,016


Written Question
General Practitioners: Christchurch
Monday 19th May 2025

Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much was spent on GP services by Dorset Integrated Care Board in Christchurch in (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-2024 and (c) 2024-25; and what the budget is for 2025-2026.

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

In 2022/23, total National Health Service payments to general practices in the Christchurch constituency, including COVID-19 and primary care network payments, were £17,452,214, including any deductions for Pensions, Levies and Prescription Charge Income. Data for the years after 2022/23 has not been published yet.


Written Question
General Practitioners: Christchurch
Monday 19th May 2025

Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full-time equivalent (a) GPs and (b) other clinical practitioners were employed at (i) Highcliffe Medical Centre, (ii) Christchurch Medical Centre, (iii) Burton Brunch Surgery, (iv) Stour Surgery and (v) The Grove Surgery on (A) 1 June 2024 and (B) 14 May 2025.

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

Figures are provided in the tables below on full time equivalent (FTE) general practitioners (GPs) and other clinical practitioners employed at the practices for which the Department holds data. We have provided the most recent data available, which captures staff employed on 31 March 2025, and compared this to 31 March 2024.

Data for the Burton Medical Centre is not available as it was a branch of the Christchurch Medical Practice. The Burton Medical Centre became a branch practice in October 2017, and was subsequently closed in October 2024.

The following table shows the number of FTE GP doctors and other clinical staff in the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Centre, the Burton Brunch Surgery, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Surgery, as of 31 March 2025:

Practice name

GP doctors

Other clinical staff

Highcliffe Medical Centre

9.9

11.4

Christchurch Medical Practice

10.2

21.7

Stour Surgery

4.7

7.1

The Grove Medical Centre

11.1

16.2

In addition, the following table shows the number of FTE GP doctors and other clinical staff in the Highcliffe Medical Centre, the Christchurch Medical Centre, the Burton Brunch Surgery, the Stour Surgery, and the Grove Surgery, as of 31 March 2024:

Practice name

GP doctors

Other clinical staff

Highcliffe Medical Centre

8.7

11.4

Christchurch Medical Practice

10.7

23.0

Stour Surgery

4.9

7.1

The Grove Medical Centre

12

17.3

Notes:

  1. the data does not include estimates for practices that did not provide fully valid staff records; and
  2. FTE refers to the proportion of full time contracted hours that the post holder is contracted to work. 1 would indicate they work a full set of hours, 37.5 hours, and 0.5 that they worked half that time. For GPs in training grade contracts, 1 FTE is equal to 40 hours, and in this table these FTEs have been converted to the standard Workforce Minimum Data Set measure of 1 FTE equalling 37.5 hours, for consistency.

Written Question
Combatting Hate against Muslims Fund
Friday 16th May 2025

Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which (a) charities and (b) organisations have received funding from the Combatting Hate Against Muslims Fund.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The department has not yet awarded funding to any charities or other organisations via the Combatting Hate Against Muslims Fund.

The deadline for submitting applications to the fund is 18 May. Funding will be awarded in July 2025. Further information can be found in the fund’s prospectus, published on gov.uk here.