Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had recent discussions with South Western Rail on the role of open access rail operators in supporting (a) connectivity, (b) passenger choice and (c) service quality within the UK rail network.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There have been no such conversations with SWR regarding Open Access. Open Access Operators can improve connectivity and choice for passengers but can also increase costs to taxpayers and create additional performance pressures. We have been clear that Open Access must deliver value, not merely divert revenue from existing operators. Open Access applications are also subject to assessments on whether there is sufficient network capacity to accommodate them in a process overseen by the ORR, this is to ensure that new services don’t put too much pressure on the network and adversely affect passengers and freight operators.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to improve access to minimally-processed foods for (a) all consumers and (b) children and young people.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s Eatwell Guide already advises that people should eat more fruit and vegetables, and wholegrain or higher-fibre foods, as well as less processed meat, and food and drink that is high in sugar, calories, saturated fat, and salt.
The Eatwell Guide principles are communicated through a variety of channels, including the NHS.UK website and Government social marketing campaigns. For example, the Better Health Healthier Families website and the Healthy Steps email programme, which aims to help families with primary aged children in England to eat well and move more.
A range of actions that have already been taken to create a healthier environment to help children reduce their consumption of processed foods that are high in energy, saturated fat, salt, and free sugars, and to improve access to affordable minimally processed foods, include:
- the Healthy Start scheme, which supported over 361,000 people in April 2025;
- the Nursery Milk Scheme, which provides a reimbursement to childcare providers in England and Wales for a daily 1/3 pint portion of milk to children and babies; and
- the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme, which provides approximately 2.2 million children in Key Stage 1 with a portion of fresh fruit or vegetables per day at school.
In relation to foods and drinks high in calories, saturated fat, salt, and free sugars, work on our commitments is progressing through:
- implementing the television and online advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink;
- consulting on plans to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 years old; and
- giving local authorities stronger, clearer powers to block new fast-food outlets near schools and where young people congregate.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the trends in the levels of ambulance callouts to the same patient more than once in a 24 hour period.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made. The assessment and management of frequent callers is made at a local level by the relevant ambulance trust.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to improve ambulance response times in (a) Surrey and (b) Hampshire.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that ambulance response times, including in Surrey and Hampshire, are not meeting the high standards patients should expect.
We are determined to turn things around, and our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26, backed by almost £450 million of capital investment, commits to reducing ambulance response times for Category 2 incidents to 30 minutes on average this year.
Our 10-Year Health Plan sets out how we will reform the National Health Service, including urgent and emergency care services, with a key focus on shifting urgent care into the community through new Neighbourhood Health Services.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to repatriate British citizens in Tel Aviv.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Support to British nationals remains our top priority and we have worked at pace to ensure those who wanted to leave left safely. Consular teams have worked round the clock to support British nationals in the region. As soon as Israeli airspace re-opened UK government charter flights left Israel carrying more than 380 people on six flights. In allocating seats, we prioritised those who were most vulnerable, including those with medical needs, children, and the elderly. Commercial flights are now available.