Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he plans to take to help improve victims’ confidence in the justice system.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We are putting victims first with a record £550 million investment in specialist support services over the next three years, alongside reforms to ensure our justice system delivers swift, fair justice.
We will soon be consulting on a new Victims’ Code which, once launched, will help to ensure victims know their rights.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
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 bring down NHS ADHD assessment waiting lists.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has recognised that, nationally, demand for assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future, recognising the need for early intervention and support.
My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 4 December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD and Autism. The purpose of the review is to provide advice and recommendations to the government on evidence on trends in mental health conditions, ADHD and autism in the population over the last decade, including how these changes have affected demand for NHS mental health, ADHD and autism services, including assessment.
The independent review will inform our approach to enabling people with ADHD to have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to ADHD assessment in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
Through the Medium Term Planning Framework, published 24 October, NHS England has set clear expectations for local ICBs and trusts to improve access, experience, and outcomes for ADHD services over the next three years, focusing on improving quality and productivity.
NHS England also published management information on ADHD waits at a national level on 29 May 2025 as part of its ADHD data improvement plan, and has also issued technical guidance on 3 June 2025 for those who submit ADHD data, to improve recording of ADHD data, with a view to improving the quality of ADHD waits data.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will meet the plastics manufacturing industry to discuss upskilling and the training of existing employees.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and ministers often meet with stakeholders regarding a range of matters. We are currently focusing our skills plans on the Government Priority sectors aligned to the industrial strategy which focuses on eight priority sectors.
We continue to engage with industry to support the upskilling and training of employees. The reforms set out in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper support adult skills training for industries across our economy through the Growth Skills Levy, which received an additional £725m of investment at Budget 2025, the Adult Skills Fund, and the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) which will be available from academic year 2026/27.
Government provides a range of support that can help employers develop their workforce including apprenticeships, the growth and skills levy and free courses for jobs. In addition, Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) and the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) can bring significant benefits to existing employees. HTQs can help employees move into higher-paying technical or managerial roles without needing a full degree. The Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) allows employees to access funding for these courses flexibly over their lifetime, reducing financial barriers.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the extended producer responsibility regulations on the costs of (a) reporting, (b) compliance and (c) other matters for (i) smaller and (ii) all breweries using (A) bottles and (B) cans.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
A full impact assessment of the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 is available. Impact on wider producers is covered in Section 8 of that impact assessment. Around 70% of producers, including many smaller breweries, are exempt from paying Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) fees due to thresholds of £2 million turnover and 50 tonnes of packaging. Businesses with turnover over £1 million and placing more than 25 tonnes of packaging must still collect and report packaging data. Where larger producers supply empty packaging to exempt smaller breweries, the larger producer is responsible for the associated fees.
Final fees for glass bottles were set at £192 per tonne in June 2025, down from the earlier illustrative rate of £240. Aluminium and steel cans are charged at different rates depending on material type. Fees are calculated per tonne and reflect local authority waste management costs, apportioned by weight and volume. From 2026–2027, fees will be modulated based on recyclability, with less recyclable packaging incurring higher charges, assessed using the Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM).
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker would apply to workers in community pharmacies.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Through our Crime and Policing Bill, this Government has introduced a new specific standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to help tackle the epidemic of shop theft and violence towards shop workers that we have seen in recent years and protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
Those working in pharmacies, where they are not otherwise captured by the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act will be covered by the new offence.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS GP surgeries have closed in each year since 2010; and how many new NHS GP surgeries have been built in each of those years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold this information centrally.
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of new or redeveloped primary care facilities required following Lord Darzi’s independent investigation into the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The primary care estate is in mixed ownership between general practices (GPs), property companies, and integrated care boards (ICBs), and can be funded through a variety of routes. The Care Quality Commission regulates sites that provide National Health Services, including primary care facilities, with further information on their data available at the following link:
https://www.cqc.org.uk/about-us/transparency/using-cqc-data
Prior to 2016, new surgery premises were delivered either by GPs or by third parties. NHS England does not keep a register of the projects funded through these routes.
In the period 2016 to 2025, the upgrades programme delivered 90 new GP or primary care schemes, alongside several refurbishments and extensions of existing sites, at a cost of £996 million. For 2024 to 2025, the NHS Property Services and Community Health Partnership was given £15 million to adapt the existing estate, so that it could be used more intensively.
As a first step in response to the Darzi Report, in 2025/26 £102 million has been allocated for modernisation and improved utilisation in primary care. Capital budgets for 2026/27 onwards will be considered through Phase 2 of the Spending Review process and the launch of the 10-Year Health Plan in Spring 2025. This will give the necessary strategic direction and funding certainty as we shift to a Neighbourhood Health Service and treating patients closer to home. The following table shows the schemes, capital investment, and new facilities delivered from 2016 to 2025:
Scheme | Period | National capital investment | New facilities delivered |
GP or third-party developer | Before 2016 | N/A | N/A |
Primary care estates and IT | 2016 to 2020 | £800 million | 50 |
Local authority joint schemes | 2019 to 2025 | N/A | 30 |
Sustainability and transformation plan upgrades programme | 2020 to 2025 | £196 million | 10 |
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much capital funding has been allocated by Government for the development of new NHS primary care facilities in each year since 2010.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The primary care estate is in mixed ownership between general practices (GPs), property companies, and integrated care boards (ICBs), and can be funded through a variety of routes. The Care Quality Commission regulates sites that provide National Health Services, including primary care facilities, with further information on their data available at the following link:
https://www.cqc.org.uk/about-us/transparency/using-cqc-data
Prior to 2016, new surgery premises were delivered either by GPs or by third parties. NHS England does not keep a register of the projects funded through these routes.
In the period 2016 to 2025, the upgrades programme delivered 90 new GP or primary care schemes, alongside several refurbishments and extensions of existing sites, at a cost of £996 million. For 2024 to 2025, the NHS Property Services and Community Health Partnership was given £15 million to adapt the existing estate, so that it could be used more intensively.
As a first step in response to the Darzi Report, in 2025/26 £102 million has been allocated for modernisation and improved utilisation in primary care. Capital budgets for 2026/27 onwards will be considered through Phase 2 of the Spending Review process and the launch of the 10-Year Health Plan in Spring 2025. This will give the necessary strategic direction and funding certainty as we shift to a Neighbourhood Health Service and treating patients closer to home. The following table shows the schemes, capital investment, and new facilities delivered from 2016 to 2025:
Scheme | Period | National capital investment | New facilities delivered |
GP or third-party developer | Before 2016 | N/A | N/A |
Primary care estates and IT | 2016 to 2020 | £800 million | 50 |
Local authority joint schemes | 2019 to 2025 | N/A | 30 |
Sustainability and transformation plan upgrades programme | 2020 to 2025 | £196 million | 10 |
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many new NHS primary care facilities have been built using central Government funding in each year since 2010.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The primary care estate is in mixed ownership between general practices (GPs), property companies, and integrated care boards (ICBs), and can be funded through a variety of routes. The Care Quality Commission regulates sites that provide National Health Services, including primary care facilities, with further information on their data available at the following link:
https://www.cqc.org.uk/about-us/transparency/using-cqc-data
Prior to 2016, new surgery premises were delivered either by GPs or by third parties. NHS England does not keep a register of the projects funded through these routes.
In the period 2016 to 2025, the upgrades programme delivered 90 new GP or primary care schemes, alongside several refurbishments and extensions of existing sites, at a cost of £996 million. For 2024 to 2025, the NHS Property Services and Community Health Partnership was given £15 million to adapt the existing estate, so that it could be used more intensively.
As a first step in response to the Darzi Report, in 2025/26 £102 million has been allocated for modernisation and improved utilisation in primary care. Capital budgets for 2026/27 onwards will be considered through Phase 2 of the Spending Review process and the launch of the 10-Year Health Plan in Spring 2025. This will give the necessary strategic direction and funding certainty as we shift to a Neighbourhood Health Service and treating patients closer to home. The following table shows the schemes, capital investment, and new facilities delivered from 2016 to 2025:
Scheme | Period | National capital investment | New facilities delivered |
GP or third-party developer | Before 2016 | N/A | N/A |
Primary care estates and IT | 2016 to 2020 | £800 million | 50 |
Local authority joint schemes | 2019 to 2025 | N/A | 30 |
Sustainability and transformation plan upgrades programme | 2020 to 2025 | £196 million | 10 |
Asked by: Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to ensure building construction sites secure cavity nesting bird habitats.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 22080 on 15 January 2025.