Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme on (a) job creation and (b) other economic developments.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Final Impact Assessment, published in November 2025, considers the impacts of a DRS on all sectors of society - this includes costs and benefits, and any wider impacts identified.
There are external studies that look at the number of jobs created by DRS which the Impact Assessment draws upon, including the 2011 Eunomia study that estimated that the additional number of jobs created from the introduction of a DRS could be 3,000-4,300 across the UK.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
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 improve access to GP appointments in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is determined to work with the National Health Service to fix the front door of our health service and to ensure that everyone can access general practice (GP) appointments and services, including in North East Somerset and Hanham. Through our 10-Year Health Plan, it will be easier and faster to see a GP. The 8:00am scramble will end, we will train more doctors, and we will guarantee digital consultations within 24 hours.
In October 2024, we invested £82 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme to support the recruitment of 1,900 individual GPs into primary care networks across England, helping to increase appointment availability and improve care for thousands of patients.
We have also delivered the biggest boost to GP funding in years, an £889 million uplift, with GPs now receiving a growing share of NHS resources. Additionally, the new £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund will create additional clinical space within over 1,000 GPs across England. This investment will deliver more appointments and improve patient care.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help support SMEs to (a) access finance, (b) innovate and (c) grow in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Business Secretary's announcement of a new Business Growth Service is designed to simplify access, advice and support for Somerset businesses looking to grow, innovate and thrive.
Small and medium-sized enterprises in Hanham and across Somerset can access the West of England Growth Hub which offers specialised guidance on scaling up, entering new markets, and exploring various financial support options, including through the British Business Bank
Additionally, Innovate UK is the national innovation agency, supporting businesses across all sectors and regions through grants, loans, investor partnerships and innovation procurement.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent progress her Department has made on reform of the leasehold system.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government took swift action in the early months of the Parliament to implement provisions in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 relating to rent charge arrears, building safety legal costs and the work of professional insolvency practitioners.
On 31 October 2024, the government commenced further building safety measures.
On 31 January 2025, provisions to remove the two-year qualifying rule in relation to enfranchisement and lease extensions came into force.
On 3 March 2025, the right to manage provisions (expanding access, reforming its costs, and voting rights) came into force and we published the Commonhold White Paper, which is a crucial first step in ensuring commonhold becomes the default tenure for flats.
On 4 July 2025, we published a consultation on Strengthening Leaseholder Protections for charges and services. It can be found on gov.uk here. It can be found on gov.uk here. The consultation seeks views on how to implement the relevant measures in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, and includes proposals to extend aspects of it to social housing tenants.
We will publish an ambitious draft Leasehold and Commonhold reform Bill later this year.
For an overview of the government’s approach to leasehold and commonhold reform, I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244).
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
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 is taking to ensure adequate funding for the repair of council housing stock North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July 2025 (HCWS771).
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce shoplifting in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Through our Safer Streets Mission, we are committed to key reforms to ensure people feel safe on our streets and in their communities, including reducing shop theft.
We are providing £5 million over the next three years to continue to fund a specialist analysis team within Opal, the National Policing Intelligence Unit for serious organised acquisitive crime.
We are also investing £2 million over the next three years in the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime.
Via the Crime and Policing Bill we will repeal the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence. This will send a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal. Also included in the Bill is a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
I chair the Retail Crime Forum which brings together the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement agencies to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers and to promote collaboration, share best practice and to work collectively to tackle the serious issue of retail crime. This includes the development of a new strategy to tackle shop theft published by policing, retail sector representatives and industry as part of collective efforts to combat shop theft.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to limit the use of smartphones in schools.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Mobile phones have no place in our schools. Schools should prohibit the use of mobile phones and other smart technology with similar functionality to mobile phones throughout the school day, including during lessons, the time between lessons, breaktimes and lunchtime, as set out in the ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance, published in 2024.
The department expects all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.
New research from the Children’s Commissioner, with responses from nearly all schools and colleges in England, shows that the overwhelming majority of schools (99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools) already have policies in place that limit or restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed expansion of free school meals on levels of child poverty in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026.
It will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.
Department for Work and Pensions data shows that 3,500 children in the North East Somerset and Hanham constituency will be eligible for FSM from September 2026.
Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent progress she has made with the banking industry on the roll out of banking hubs in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and high streets in North East Somerset and Hanham, and across the country.
This is why the Government is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK. The UK banking sector has committed to deliver these hubs by the end of this Parliament.
Over 230 hubs have been announced so far, and over 170 are already open.
The location of these hubs is determined independently by LINK, the industry coordinating body responsible for making access to cash assessments. When a cash service such as a bank branch closes, or if LINK receives a request directly from a community, LINK assesses a community’s access to cash needs. This assessment may lead to a recommendation for the establishment of a banking hub in that community.
A temporary banking hub is now open in Keynsham, while the search for a permanent location is underway.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
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 speed up diagnosis and treatment for people living with dementia in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government wants a society where every person with dementia receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.
A timely diagnosis is vital to ensuring that a person with dementia can access the advice, information, care, and support that can help them to live well and remain independent for as long as possible. To support recovery of the dementia diagnosis rates and implementation of the Dementia Care Pathway, we have developed a memory service dashboard for management information purposes. The aim is to support commissioners and providers with appropriate data and to enable targeted support where needed.
We have published the D100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool to help simplify best practice for system leaders and help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia. The D100: Pathway Assessment Tool launched in April, and is available at the following link:
To prepare for any potential new treatments, NHS England is working closely with regulators to ensure that arrangements are in place to support the adoption of any new licensed and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended treatments as soon as possible.
The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will address the challenges diagnosed by Lord Darzi and will set the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of complex health and care needs. It will set out how we support and enable health and social care services to work together better to provide that joined-up care.