Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications to the Court of Protection for statutory wills were made in each of the last five years; and how many applications were granted in each of the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The latest published Court of Protection (COP) statistics on application and order volumes by type, are all available in the Family Court Statistics 2025 published quarterly in tables 20 and 21.

Volumes of applications and orders relating to wills (applications to execute wills) are grouped together currently with applications for gifts and orders for settlement due to the low volumes and their paths through the court being similar with Official Solicitor involvement.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) the annual sitting cap for fee-paid judges and (b) judicial availability in the (i) tribunal system, (ii) Immigration and Asylum Chamber and (iii) Social Entitlement Chamber on the number of tribunal hearings cancelled or delayed in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice does not collect data on the number of tribunal hearings that have been delayed or cancelled specifically due to annual limits on the number of sitting days by fee-paid judges. While tribunal performance statistics are published quarterly, they do not disaggregate delays or cancellations by cause.

Any hearing delays or cancellations in the tribunal system, which can occur for a range of reasons, including judicial availability, would not be directly attributable to sitting caps, as these would be applied before sitting days are scheduled.

It is the Chamber President’s responsibility to set expectations around how many days individual fee-paid judges should sit in the tribunal each year. It is a long-standing practice for reasons of fairness and well-being that no fee-paid office holder should exceed the level of business days of a salaried counterpart. Moreover, sitting levels will vary considerably between individual fee-paid judges. Operational decisions regarding judicial deployment, including sitting day allocations, are managed by HM Courts and Tribunals Service in consultation with the judiciary.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information her Department holds on the number of tribunal hearings that have been (a) delayed and (b) cancelled due to annual limits on the number of sitting days by fee‑paid judges in (i) total, (ii) the Immigration and Asylum Chamber and (iii) the Social Entitlement Chamber in each of the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice does not collect data on the number of tribunal hearings that have been delayed or cancelled specifically due to annual limits on the number of sitting days by fee-paid judges. While tribunal performance statistics are published quarterly, they do not disaggregate delays or cancellations by cause.

Any hearing delays or cancellations in the tribunal system, which can occur for a range of reasons, including judicial availability, would not be directly attributable to sitting caps, as these would be applied before sitting days are scheduled.

It is the Chamber President’s responsibility to set expectations around how many days individual fee-paid judges should sit in the tribunal each year. It is a long-standing practice for reasons of fairness and well-being that no fee-paid office holder should exceed the level of business days of a salaried counterpart. Moreover, sitting levels will vary considerably between individual fee-paid judges. Operational decisions regarding judicial deployment, including sitting day allocations, are managed by HM Courts and Tribunals Service in consultation with the judiciary.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department is taking steps to help prevent victims of financial abuse being barred from bidding on social housing when in temporary accommodation because of debt accrued by their abuser.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is committed to ensuring that those who need to escape from domestic abuse are given as much support and assistance as possible so that they are able to re-build their lives away from abuse and harm.

On 24 September, the Prime Minister announced an ambition to better support victims of domestic abuse to access housing. Regulations, which came into force on 10 July, mean that victims of domestic abuse moving as a result of that abuse will no longer need to meet a local connection or residency test in order to access social housing.

Local authorities are able to use local flexibles to take account of individual as circumstances such as on debt and statutory guidance on social housing allocations makes clear that local authorities are expected to take proper account of special circumstances by making provision for appropriate exceptions. We keep our statutory guidance under review.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending statutory guidance to improve access to social housing for survivors of domestic abuse with debt living in temporary accommodation.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is committed to ensuring that those who need to escape from domestic abuse are given as much support and assistance as possible so that they are able to re-build their lives away from abuse and harm.

On 24 September, the Prime Minister announced an ambition to better support victims of domestic abuse to access housing. Regulations, which came into force on 10 July, mean that victims of domestic abuse moving as a result of that abuse will no longer need to meet a local connection or residency test in order to access social housing.

Local authorities are able to use local flexibles to take account of individual as circumstances such as on debt and statutory guidance on social housing allocations makes clear that local authorities are expected to take proper account of special circumstances by making provision for appropriate exceptions. We keep our statutory guidance under review.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the number of health and social care staff will be unable to renew their visas as a result of the new salary threshold for Health and Care visas (a) nationally and (b) among those employed by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust.

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

My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has regular discussions with My Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department on a range of subjects, including immigration policy.

From 9 April 2025, the minimum salary for Health and Care Worker Visa holders increased to £25,000 per year. This applies to new Certificates of Sponsorship assigned on or after that date. No specific assessment has been made on the impact of this change on the delivery of National Health Service and social care services in Somerset and other rural areas.

Entry level NHS Agenda for Change band 3 roles do not meet the new minimum salary threshold for a Health and Care Worker visa. However, Agenda for Change NHS pay band 3 staff currently on the Health and Care Worker visa are not required to meet the new minimum salary threshold until the point at which they need to renew their visa. At this point, we expect the majority of staff to have accrued two or more years’ experience and therefore be at the top of pay band 3, which is above the new minimum salary threshold.

Information on the number of health and social care staff who are unable to renew their visas as a result of the new minimum salary threshold for the Health and Care worker visa is not collected centrally.

Whilst we hugely value our international workforce and the skills and experience they bring, we are also committed to growing homegrown talent and giving opportunities to more people across the country to join our NHS. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will outline strategies for improving retention, productivity, training, and reducing attrition, thereby enhancing conditions for all staff while gradually reducing reliance on international recruitment, without diminishing the value of their contributions.

International recruitment has also played a valuable role in helping grow the adult social care (ASC) workforce and has given the health and care sectors the benefit of the skill and commitment of overseas workers who wish to work in the UK. However, it is the Government’s policy to reduce reliance on international recruitment in ASC and improve domestic recruitment and retention.

The Department monitors ASC workforce capacity, bringing together national data sets from Skills for Care’s monthly tracking data, the Capacity Tracker tool, and intelligence from key sector partners.

We will also use annual estimates of demographics within the ASC workforce from Skills for Care to monitor trends in the number of posts within the sector which are filled by British nationals, supplemented by additional intelligence.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed increase in the Health and Care Worker visa salary threshold on the delivery of (a) NHS and (b) social care services in (i) Somerset and (ii) other rural areas.

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

My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has regular discussions with My Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department on a range of subjects, including immigration policy.

From 9 April 2025, the minimum salary for Health and Care Worker Visa holders increased to £25,000 per year. This applies to new Certificates of Sponsorship assigned on or after that date. No specific assessment has been made on the impact of this change on the delivery of National Health Service and social care services in Somerset and other rural areas.

Entry level NHS Agenda for Change band 3 roles do not meet the new minimum salary threshold for a Health and Care Worker visa. However, Agenda for Change NHS pay band 3 staff currently on the Health and Care Worker visa are not required to meet the new minimum salary threshold until the point at which they need to renew their visa. At this point, we expect the majority of staff to have accrued two or more years’ experience and therefore be at the top of pay band 3, which is above the new minimum salary threshold.

Information on the number of health and social care staff who are unable to renew their visas as a result of the new minimum salary threshold for the Health and Care worker visa is not collected centrally.

Whilst we hugely value our international workforce and the skills and experience they bring, we are also committed to growing homegrown talent and giving opportunities to more people across the country to join our NHS. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will outline strategies for improving retention, productivity, training, and reducing attrition, thereby enhancing conditions for all staff while gradually reducing reliance on international recruitment, without diminishing the value of their contributions.

International recruitment has also played a valuable role in helping grow the adult social care (ASC) workforce and has given the health and care sectors the benefit of the skill and commitment of overseas workers who wish to work in the UK. However, it is the Government’s policy to reduce reliance on international recruitment in ASC and improve domestic recruitment and retention.

The Department monitors ASC workforce capacity, bringing together national data sets from Skills for Care’s monthly tracking data, the Capacity Tracker tool, and intelligence from key sector partners.

We will also use annual estimates of demographics within the ASC workforce from Skills for Care to monitor trends in the number of posts within the sector which are filled by British nationals, supplemented by additional intelligence.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on ensuring that the new Health and Care Worker visa salary threshold does not undermine NHS workforce planning.

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

My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has regular discussions with My Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department on a range of subjects, including immigration policy.

From 9 April 2025, the minimum salary for Health and Care Worker Visa holders increased to £25,000 per year. This applies to new Certificates of Sponsorship assigned on or after that date. No specific assessment has been made on the impact of this change on the delivery of National Health Service and social care services in Somerset and other rural areas.

Entry level NHS Agenda for Change band 3 roles do not meet the new minimum salary threshold for a Health and Care Worker visa. However, Agenda for Change NHS pay band 3 staff currently on the Health and Care Worker visa are not required to meet the new minimum salary threshold until the point at which they need to renew their visa. At this point, we expect the majority of staff to have accrued two or more years’ experience and therefore be at the top of pay band 3, which is above the new minimum salary threshold.

Information on the number of health and social care staff who are unable to renew their visas as a result of the new minimum salary threshold for the Health and Care worker visa is not collected centrally.

Whilst we hugely value our international workforce and the skills and experience they bring, we are also committed to growing homegrown talent and giving opportunities to more people across the country to join our NHS. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will outline strategies for improving retention, productivity, training, and reducing attrition, thereby enhancing conditions for all staff while gradually reducing reliance on international recruitment, without diminishing the value of their contributions.

International recruitment has also played a valuable role in helping grow the adult social care (ASC) workforce and has given the health and care sectors the benefit of the skill and commitment of overseas workers who wish to work in the UK. However, it is the Government’s policy to reduce reliance on international recruitment in ASC and improve domestic recruitment and retention.

The Department monitors ASC workforce capacity, bringing together national data sets from Skills for Care’s monthly tracking data, the Capacity Tracker tool, and intelligence from key sector partners.

We will also use annual estimates of demographics within the ASC workforce from Skills for Care to monitor trends in the number of posts within the sector which are filled by British nationals, supplemented by additional intelligence.

Dentistry in Taunton and Wellington

Found: _NC1 Mr Lee Dillon Gideon Amos Vikki Slade Manuela Perteghella Mr Will Forster Clive Jones Sarah Dyke

Found: _NC1 Mr Lee Dillon Gideon Amos Vikki Slade Manuela Perteghella Mr Will Forster Clive Jones Sarah Dyke

Found: _NC1 Mr Lee Dillon Gideon Amos Vikki Slade Manuela Perteghella Mr Will Forster Clive Jones Sarah Olney

Found: _NC32 John Milne Mr Paul Kohler Ellie Chowns Sarah Dyke Gideon Amos Chris Coghlan Alex BrewerHelen MorganSteve

Found: Not called_NC32 John Milne Mr Paul Kohler Ellie Chowns Sarah Dyke Gideon Amos Chris Coghlan Alex BrewerHelen

Found: Maguire Rachel Gilmour Susan MurrayJosh Babarinde Marie Goldman Andrew GeorgeMr Joshua Reynolds Gideon Amos

Found: Maguire Rachel Gilmour Susan MurrayJosh Babarinde Marie Goldman Andrew GeorgeMr Joshua Reynolds Gideon Amos

Found: 19 REPORT STAGE Tuesday 9 September 2025 _NC32 John Milne Mr Paul Kohler Ellie Chowns Sarah Dyke Gideon Amos

Found: New Amendment: NC1 _NC1 Mr Lee Dillon Gideon Amos Vikki Slade Manuela Perteghella ★.

Found: Maguire Rachel Gilmour Susan MurrayJosh Babarinde Marie Goldman Andrew GeorgeMr Joshua Reynolds Gideon Amos

Found: _NC32 John Milne Mr Paul Kohler Ellie Chowns Sarah Dyke Gideon Amos Chris Coghlan Alex BrewerHelen MorganSteve