Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 25 June 2025, HCWS736, on Simplified Local Leadership Structures, what her Department's planned timetable is for making those changes to local leadership structures.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Councils operating the committee system which are not part of local government reorganisation will be given one year from the date of the legislation coming into force to make the transition. Where a council which operates the committee system is to be dissolved under local government reorganisation it will be exempt from making the change. All new councils will be required to operate the leader and cabinet model of governance.
Legislation on this matter will be introduced when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of appeal Tribunals in relation to (a) PIP, (b) DLA and (c) ESA has the Department not contested in the last 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP does not contest appeals. Claimants have a legal right to dispute decisions made by the Secretary of State in relation to aspects of their Social Security entitlement. They do so by lodging appeals against those decisions with His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), in most cases following a Mandatory Reconsideration.
There are no cases in the First-tier Tribunal where DWP would bring an appeal against a claimant. DWP acts as a respondent to the appeal, and will provide a written response in all cases clarifying the current decision and the legal and evidential basis on which it was made. HMCTS considers the available evidence, including evidence provided in the hearing by the appellant, and will determine whether to overturn or uphold the decision.
If the decision of the First-tier Tribunal contains a potential error in law, either party to the appeal may seek leave to challenge the tribunal’s decision. The decision may be set aside by a District Judge of the First-tier Tribunal, or go on to be considered by the Upper Tribunal.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the document entitled Remote attendance and proxy voting in local authorities: consultation results and government response, published on 5 June 2025, what her Department's planned timetable is for bringing forward legislative proposals to allow (a) remote attendance and (b) proxy voting in local councils.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 5 June, we published the gov.uk ‘Remote attendance and proxy voting in local authorities: consultation results and government response’ where we announced that we plan to legislate when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
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 plans to take to help ensure that housing developments are completed after they have been granted planning permission.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government wants to see homes built faster and we recognise the frustrations that stalled or delayed sites can cause to communities.
Once housebuilders have been granted permission for residential development, meeting local housing needs and preferences, we expect to see them built out as quickly as possible.
Local planning authorities already have powers to issue a completion notice to require a developer to complete their development if it is stalled. If they fail to do so, the planning permission for the development will lapse.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December includes policies designed to support increased build out rates, including the promotion of mixed tenure development.
On 25 May, the government published a Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out (which can be founded on gov.uk here) inviting views on further action the government should take to speed up homes being built.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will review the decision by NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board to close Westbourne Surgery.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department understands that the general practice (GP) partners at Emsworth Medical Practice have arrived at the decision to propose the closure of the Westbourne Branch Surgery and that the proposed date of closure is 27 June 2025.
There are no plans to review the decision by NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board to close Westbourne Surgery. There is a high bar set out in guidance for intervention by my Rt. Hon. friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in contested reconfiguration cases, who would expect all avenues of local resolution to be exhausted before a call-in request is made.
Responsibility for the delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for services ultimately rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioner, in this case, NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB), rather than the Department. The closure of a GP surgery is an issue that is considered and decided upon by local commissioners following an application from a GP provider.
Local health and care organisations are best placed to make decisions on commissioning services for their communities, working with local authorities, stakeholders, and local populations to meet people’s needs.
When a practice does close, patients will be informed of the closure and advised to register at another local practice of their choice within their area. Commissioners must put in place appropriate measures to ensure that the affected patients have access to GP services.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the capital funding settlement for road investment strategies on infrastructure investment along the A27.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced on 11 June 2025, this Government will deliver notable improvements to people’s everyday travel by providing £24 billion of capital funding between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve roads across the country. We will provide updates on what this means for specific schemes and routes in due course.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if his Department will take steps to lower the Information Commissioner's data protection fee for smaller (a) organisations and (b) charities.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The data protection fees fund the Information Commissioner’s statutory responsibilities in relation to data protection and privacy and electronic communications. There are three tiers of fees payable, based on the size and turnover of organisations. Small organisations typically pay £52 or £78 annually (compared to £3763 for large organisations), with charities always classified in the lowest tier. A £5 discount also applies to payments made by direct debit. The Government will keep the fees under review to ascertain whether they remain fit for purpose and ensure that the income generated is proportionate and sufficient.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to ensure improved access to schooling for children with (a) visual and (b) hearing impairments in Chichester constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
All education settings have duties under the Equality Act 2010 towards individual disabled children and young people. Part 6 of the Equality Act outlines that schools must make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services for disabled children, to prevent them being put at a substantial disadvantage.
The government announced £740 million of high needs capital for the 2025/26 financial year to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and/or who are in alternative provision. This funding can be used to adapt classrooms to better meet the needs of all children, including the provision of sensory equipment within mainstream schools, alongside continuing to provide and adapt spaces to support pupils with the most complex needs in special schools. Local authorities may additionally wish to consider using this funding to invest in assistive technology interventions as a means of supporting pupils in mainstream schools.
The last local area SEND inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission for West Sussex was in November 2023, which found inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The department’s regional team has put in place systems to track outcomes against the five areas for improvement highlighted by the report, including one area specific to the sufficiency of high quality provision, and the progress made by children and young people with SEND.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to ensure that local authorities that do not reach the 20-week deadline for education, health and care plans have effective improvement plans in place.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department wants to ensure that, where required, education, health and care (EHC) plan assessments are progressed promptly and, if needed, plans are issued as quickly as possible so that children and young people can access the support they need.
Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to assess whether children and young people have special educational needs that require an EHC plan. Plans must be issued within twenty weeks of the needs assessment commencing so that children and young people can access the support they need.
The department continues to monitor and work closely with local authorities that have issues with EHC plan timeliness. Where there are concerns about a local authority’s capacity to make the required improvements, we help them to identify the barriers to this and put in place an effective recovery plan. This includes, where needed, securing a specialist special educational needs adviser.
In the 2023 calendar year, 50.3% of new EHC plans were issued within twenty weeks. This is a slight increase compared to 2022, when the figure was 49.2%.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timeline is for responding to the Competition and Markets Authorities recommendations in their report into the infant formula and follow-on formula market, published on 20 February 2024.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Infant feeding is critical to a baby’s healthy growth and development. The Government is committed to giving every child the best start in life, and that includes helping families to access support to feed their baby.
Whilst breastfeeding has significant health benefits, we recognise that for those families that cannot or choose not to breastfeed, it is vital that they have access to infant formula that is affordable and high quality. Infant formula regulations ensure that all infant formula is suitable for meeting the nutritional needs of babies, regardless of the price or brand.
The Government welcomes the Competition and Markets Authority’s market study into the United Kingdom’s infant formula and follow-on formula market. We are working closely with other Government departments and the devolved administrations to carefully consider its findings and recommendations, and will respond fully in due course.