Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many train delays have there been each year since 2020 caused by trains hitting animals on the track.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not hold a centrally published series showing the number of train delays that were caused specifically by trains striking non-human animals on the railway. Operational incident and delay attribution data are recorded and managed by Network Rail and train operators.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times faults have occurred on Evero trains operating on the West Coast Main line since their introduction.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not hold figures for the number of faults that have occurred on Avanti West Coast’s Class 805 and Class 807 Evero trains since their introduction into passenger service. However, the fleet performance metrics which are monitored by the Department show that the reliability of both fleets has steadily improved since they entered service, continues to do so, and is line with expectations for such fleets.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the health of the River Mersey.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
River ecological health status is based on Cycle 3 classifications in the River Basin Management Plans (RBMP), which were classified in 2019, partially updated in 2022, and again partially updated in 2025. The 2019 and 2022 classifications are publicly available, and the 2025 classifications are being readied for publication this Summer. Alongside this, the Environment Agency is currently reviewing all river classifications, reasons for failure, waterbody-level measures and river basin plan objectives, preparing for the December 2027 publication of Cycle 4. Cycle 4 baseline classifications are expected in 2028.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many training places were allocated for GPs in each year since 2015.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publishes the number of posts and fill rates for medical specialty training programmes, including general practice training. Data for 2013 to 2025 is available at the following link:
https://medical.hee.nhs.uk/medical-training-recruitment/medical-specialty-training/fill-rates
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the requirement for consultant radiologists in the the NHS as of 1 June 2026 and what number were employed.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England publishes monthly information on the composition of the workforce employed by National Health Service trusts and integrated care boards in England. This includes information on the number of consultant radiologists. The information can be found at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics
Information on the number of doctors by grade and specialty can be found for each month in the file ‘NHS HCHS Workforce Statistics, Trusts and core organisations – data table, [date]’ on worksheet ‘4’.
No specific central assessment has been made of the requirement for consultant radiologists in the NHS, with decisions on the provision of local services being managed by individual NHS service providers and commissioners.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK based Start-up businesses have contacted his Department in the past 12 months seeking to inquire on or bid for defence related work.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence does not hold centrally recorded data on the number of UK-based start-up businesses that have contacted the Department in the last 12 months to enquire about, or bid for, defence-related work. A "start-up" is not a category routinely captured within the Department's supplier or engagement systems, and businesses engage with Defence through a wide range of channels, including correspondence, meetings, supplier engagement events, trade shows, webinars and online platforms. In addition, unsuccessful bidders are not recorded by company growth stage, and therefore the Department cannot provide a reliable figure.
The Ministry of Defence is committed to improving access for small and innovative businesses. In January 2026, the Defence Office for Small Business Growth was established to help reduce barriers to entry, simplify engagement with Defence, and support non-traditional suppliers and start-ups seeking to work with the Department.
Asked by: Derek Twigg (Labour - Widnes and Halewood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients were diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in each year since 2015.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) collects data on cancer incidence across a range of tumour types and stages. Data showing the annual incidence rate of stage four lung cancer can be found at the following link:
https://nhsd-ndrs.shinyapps.io/incidence_and_mortality/
The following table shows the incidence rate of stage four lung cancer from 2015 to the most recently published data available, from 2023:
Year | Geography type | Stage | NDRS main | Incidence |
2015 | England | 4 | Lung | 18,563 |
2016 | England | 4 | Lung | 18,821 |
2017 | England | 4 | Lung | 18,315 |
2018 | England | 4 | Lung | 18,158 |
2019 | England | 4 | Lung | 16,998 |
2020 | England | 4 | Lung | 17,149 |
2021 | England | 4 | Lung | 17,136 |
2022 | England | 4 | Lung | 16,663 |
2023 | England | 4 | Lung | 15,942 |