Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to prevent unitary authorities formed through the Local Government Reorganisation requiring exception financial support.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 5 February, the Government issued invitations to councils in two-tier areas in England and neighbouring unitary councils to prepare proposals for local government reorganisation. The invitation sets out the criteria against which proposals will be assessed, including that unitary local government must be the right size to achieve efficiencies improve capacity and withstand financial shocks. It is for councils to develop robust and sustainable proposals that are in the best interests of their whole area.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with representatives of the Council for Disabled Children on the potential impact of SEND reforms on (a) special needs children and (b) EHCP allocation.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department regularly works with a range of stakeholders, including the Council for Disabled Children (CDC), on a number of areas relating to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) policy. We regularly meet the CDC to discuss the development of SEND reforms and their impact on children and young people with SEND and their families. We have appointed Dame Christine Lenehan, former director of the CDC, as SEND adviser to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2025 to Question 52818 on Slaughterhouses: Closures, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of access to slaughter facilities for livestock producers in Farnham and Bordon constituency.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The provision of and access to abattoir facilities is a matter for individual business. However, Defra recognises the importance to livestock producers across England of having access to smaller abattoirs who provide local slaughter facilities particularly for rare and native breeds while also supporting local food production and rural economies.
Defra continues to engage regularly with abattoir and livestock sector stakeholders, particularly through the Small Abattoirs Working Group and the Small Abattoirs Task and Finish Group. These established forums provide a platform for the industry to raise and address both national and local concerns with the Department.
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 steps his Department is taking to increase the provision of dentistry services in Farnham and Bordon constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Farnham and Bordon constituency, this is the NHS Frimley ICB. ICBs have been asked to start making extra urgent dental appointments available from April 2025. The NHS Frimley ICB is expected to deliver 6,626 additional urgent dental appointments as part of the scheme.
ICBs have started to advertise posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of promoting workplace apprenticeships as an alternative to sixth form or college education.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Too many young people are struggling to access high quality opportunities, and this government wants to ensure that more young people can undertake apprenticeships.
The department is widening the apprenticeships offer into a growth and skills offer, to deliver greater flexibility and choice for learners and employers, including through new foundation apprenticeships for young people.
Foundation apprenticeships will be a work-based training offer that will provide young people with clear progression pathways into further work-based training and employment. Construction will be one of the key sectors that will benefit from new foundation apprenticeships. This will inspire more young people into the construction industry and give them the tools they need for a sustained and rewarding career. As part of this new offer, employers will be provided with £2,000 for every foundation apprentice they take on and retain in construction.
The department continues to promote apprenticeships to young people through the Skills for Life campaign and the apprenticeship ambassador network (AAN). The AAN, which has around 2,000 volunteers, aims to champion apprenticeships for young people by aligning an ambassador to every state-funded secondary school by March 2026.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on support for (a) parents and (b) schools in understanding the legal routes to raise concerns about people who pose a potential safeguarding risk.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government believes that action must always be taken to protect children from any safeguarding risk. That is why we are taking forward system reforms in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and have published a government progress update to the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. The Keeping Children Safe mission board, chaired by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of Education, will ensure that there continues to be a cross-government focus on safeguarding, including how parents can be best supported.
We have also provided robust statutory safeguarding guidance for all schools on the policies and procedures they must put in place to safeguard and promote the welfare of their pupils. This guidance not only sets out the different types of abuse and harm but also supports all staff to know what signs to look out for, including how they must respond to any concerns about a child and when to make a referral to local safeguarding partners, the police and Prevent services.
Advice for parents is also clear that where there are child protection concerns, these should be reported to local authority children’s social care departments or to the police if a child is at immediate risk of harm.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to prohibit (a) Government agencies and (b) Departments from (i) engaging and (ii) endorsing commercial intermediaries that charge users for access to otherwise free public services.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
It is for those departments providing services to the public to ensure that third parties do not mislead citizens into making additional or unnecessary payments for accessing those services.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to prevent unofficial websites from charging fees for government services that are otherwise free of charge.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
It is for those departments providing services to the public to ensure that third parties do not mislead citizens into making additional or unnecessary payments for accessing those services.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to incorporate the needs of small-scale meat (a) producers and (b) processors into his Department's (i) food strategy and (ii) future rural support programmes.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Developing a food strategy is not a job for the Government alone. We are forming a coalition with the food sector, academics and charities, citizens, and key thinkers to pool our collective ideas, influence, and effort. As part of our engagement, we are holding sectoral and thematic conversations through May and June, utilising existing Defra forums. This includes the Livestock Chain Advisory Group, in which small-scale meat producers and processors are represented by sector bodies and associations.
This is just the start of the conversation, and all stakeholders across the food supply chain will be engaged.
Defra plans to simplify and rationalise grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and nature. We are currently working to agree our capital settlement as part of the Spending Review. Once agreed, we will consider how best to use capital to achieve outcomes and will confirm any future grant rounds in due course.
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 assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to Food Standards Agency inspection charges on the financial viability of (a) small abattoirs and (b) private kill services.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on the 2025/26 charge rates for official controls (inspections) conducted in meat premises is available on the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) website.
https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/charges-for-controls-in-meat-premises
As in previous years, the impact of charges will be offset by a taxpayer-funded discount which provides the greatest proportional support to smaller businesses. The impact of the discount on different sized food businesses in England and Wales for 2025/26 is set out in the Cost Data Slides the FSA has published.
The FSA is currently conducting an evaluation of the discount and will assess the impact of any changes it might propose in the light of this evaluation. No decisions have yet been taken.