Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion GPs were not in General Practice in England one year after receipt of their Certificate of Completion of Training in each of the most recent five years for which data are available.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Thanks to actions taken by the Government, we have the highest number of fully qualified general practitioners (GPs) since 2015, at 30,038 full time equivalent in February 2026. Leaver rates also remain low by historical standards, at 7.5% in December 2024 to December 2025.
The following table shows the total and proportion of Specialty Trainee Year 3 (ST3) GPs not seen in the National Workforce Reporting Service (NWRS) within one year of the last appearance in the ST3 role, from March 2020 to December 2024:
Quarter last seen in ST3 role (year/month) | Total ST3 GPs not yet seen in NWRS within one year of last appearance in ST3 role | Proportion of ST3 GPs not seen in NWRS within one year of last appearance in ST3 role |
2020/03 | 84 | 44% |
2020/06 | 621 | 44% |
2020/09 | 187 | 50% |
2020/12 | 278 | 53% |
2021/03 | 166 | 55% |
2021/06 | 796 | 51% |
2021/09 | 264 | 63% |
2021/12 | 292 | 54% |
2022/03 | 182 | 58% |
2022/06 | 762 | 52% |
2022/09 | 246 | 60% |
2022/12 | 310 | 52% |
2023/03 | 215 | 56% |
2023/06 | 740 | 46% |
2023/09 | 270 | 51% |
2023/12 | 298 | 44% |
2024/03 | 216 | 53% |
2024/06 | 681 | 38% |
2024/09 | 262 | 40% |
2024/12 | 331 | 43% |
Notes:
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department's estimate of local authorities’ projected SEND deficits in 2028/29 assumes that 6.8% of pupils will have an EHCP in the academic year 2027/8, 7.3% in academic year 2028/9 and 7.7% in academic year 2029/30.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Office for Budget Responsibility, as the independent authority, publishes estimates of future spend.
From 2028/29, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) spending will be covered by the overall government departmental expenditure limit budget, meaning local authorities are not expected to fund future SEND costs from general funds once the Statutory Override ends at the end of 2027/28.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the total historic SEND deficits accrued in local authorities in England up to the end of (a) 2024/5 and (b) 2025/6; and what estimate she has made of the level of funding that will be required from central government to offset these historic SEND deficits.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We have set out plans to address Dedicated Schools Grant deficits up to the end of 2025/26, providing grants to cover 90% of each council’s deficit as at 31 March 2026, once they have produced and received approval for a strong plan to drive sustained and energetic action. This is in accordance with our new system set out in the Schools White Paper, which will begin to improve outcomes for children and bring costs under control through effective early intervention stopping needs from escalating.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's announcement of 11 February 2026 entitled 10-year plan to revitalise schools and colleges for every child, how many and what proportion of secondary schools do not have an inclusion base, SEN units or pupil support unit.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The number of state-funded secondary schools with resourced provision or special educational needs units, as of January 2025, was 485. This represents 14% of all state-funded secondary schools.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the effect of the changes outlined in the February 2026 white paper to the school funding formula on average per-pupil funding in (a) Hampshire (b) the East Hampshire parliamentary constituency, assuming current pupil characteristics.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The distribution of additional funding for schools in the Inclusive Mainstream Fund for the 2026/27 financial year will be confirmed shortly.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to issue to local planning authorities guidance on the recommended mix of dwelling sizes in new housing developments in light of recent changes in the birth rate.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 33286 on 3 March 2025.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the change in business rates liability for the university sector in 2026/7 relative to 2024/5.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information about business rates, including changes that will come into effect on 1 April 2026, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/introduction-to-business-rates.
As universities are independent of government, they are responsible for understanding the potential impact of these changes and ensuring their business models enable them to address emerging risks effectively.
The Office for Students (OfS) is responsible for monitoring the sector’s financial sustainability. The department works closely with the OfS to understand the sector’s changing financial landscape and level of risk.
While the sector is autonomous, this government is committed to creating a secure future for our world-leading sector so it can deliver for students, taxpayers, workers and the economy. Our decision to raise tuition fees annually in line with inflation, alongside refocusing the OfS on monitoring the sector’s financial health, demonstrates this commitment.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her Answer of 12 January 2026 to Question 104726 on Department for Education: Business Rates, what estimate she has made of the change in business rates liability for the 2026-27 financial year compared to 2024-25 financial year for the (a) schools (b) other hereditaments for which her Department and the Education and Skills Funding Agency covered the business rates liability in 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Claims for national non-domestic rates for schools are processed on a reactive basis by the department, once all claims have been submitted for payment. Claims can be made and adjusted for up to six years, which means that levels of payment and reimbursement for the 2024/25 financial year will continue to be subject to change. The department is therefore not yet able to provide a final figure for the 2024/25 financial year.
Regarding the change in business rates liability between the 2024/25 and 2026/27 financial years, the department does not hold a central estimate on changes between financial years. This is because payments are made on a reactive basis and will continue to be subject to change, depending on the rates that the Valuation Office Agency and billing authorities charge to individual schools.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 12 January 2026 to Question 104726 on Department for Education: Business Rates, what was the level of (a) payment and (b) reimbursement of business rates in (a) her Department and the (b) Education and Skills Funding Agency in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Claims for national non-domestic rates for schools are processed on a reactive basis by the department, once all claims have been submitted for payment. Claims can be made and adjusted for up to six years, which means that levels of payment and reimbursement for the 2024/25 financial year will continue to be subject to change. The department is therefore not yet able to provide a final figure for the 2024/25 financial year.
Regarding the change in business rates liability between the 2024/25 and 2026/27 financial years, the department does not hold a central estimate on changes between financial years. This is because payments are made on a reactive basis and will continue to be subject to change, depending on the rates that the Valuation Office Agency and billing authorities charge to individual schools.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the change in business rates liability for the further education college sector in 2026/7 relative to 2024/5.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic.
In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion, to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down next year. This also means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.