Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in the provision of prison education on future reoffending rates.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice remains firmly committed to reducing reoffending by ensuring that prisoners can access high‑quality education, skills training and work opportunities. Rising delivery costs have impacted the level of provision that can be commissioned through the Core Education contracts, but this is one part of a much broader offer designed to support rehabilitation.
Prisoners continue to benefit from a wide range of educational opportunities, including digitally enabled in‑cell learning, locally commissioned programmes, library services, higher‑level study, vocational qualifications, apprenticeships and work in prison industries. Governors retain the flexibility to commission provision that best meets the needs of their population. We will monitor delivery and outcomes through contract management and a full evaluation of the new Prisoner Education Service.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he will consider reopening the Magistrates Court in Chichester.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There are currently no plans to reopen the former Chichester Magistrates’ Court.
The building has been closed since 2017 and is now in very poor condition. With the neighbouring Chichester Combined Court having transitioned from a Nightingale court to the permanent estate, HMCTS is now reviewing options for the future of the former Magistrates’ Court site, including its disposal.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has for the Magistrates Court building in Chichester.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There are currently no plans to reopen the former Chichester Magistrates’ Court.
The building has been closed since 2017 and is now in very poor condition. With the neighbouring Chichester Combined Court having transitioned from a Nightingale court to the permanent estate, HMCTS is now reviewing options for the future of the former Magistrates’ Court site, including its disposal.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what processes are in place to ensure that companies registered with Companies House are not linked to organisations subject to UK sanctions or counter-terrorism measures.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Companies House supports the enforcement of UK sanctions and counter‑terrorism measures and works closely with partners across Government to prevent misuse of the register. UK sanctions law prohibits designated persons from forming, acting as a director of, or being involved in managing a UK company under the Counter‑Terrorism (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. These financial sanctions also extend to entities owned or controlled by designated persons.
Companies House uses identity verification, enhanced data sharing with government bodies, the UK Sanctions List, and reporting channels operated by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation to help prevent sanctioned individuals from exploiting the register.
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, with reference to the Government’s decision not to provide compensation following the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on changes to women’s State Pension age, whether his Department holds data that would allow it to estimate the potential cost of compensation for women affected by those changes in individual parliamentary constituencies.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has made its decision on this case based on due process and careful consideration of the body of evidence. The detailed reasons for this decision have been placed in the House library.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of introducing a statutory close season for the brown hare during its breeding period on levels of conservation.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government considers the need for a close season for hares to be justified primarily on the grounds of animal welfare. It committed to consider how to bring forward and introduce a close season for hares in England in its Animal Welfare Strategy, published in December 2025. In short, a close season should reduce the number of adult hares being shot in the breeding season, which runs from February to October, meaning that fewer leverets (infant hares) are left motherless and vulnerable to starvation and predation. A close season is also consistent with Natural England's advice on wildlife management that controlling species in their peak breeding season should be avoided unless genuinely essential and unavoidable.
Defra has not made an assessment of the potential impact of introducing a statutory close season for the brown hare during its breeding period on levels of conservation. The department is aware that while some stakeholders have suggested a close season running from February to October may provide capacity for brown hare population growth, others have argued that brown hare conservation would not necessarily be accelerated by a close season.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help protect hare populations in (a) West Sussex and (b) Chichester constituency.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The department has supported West Sussex County Council in preparing its Local Nature Recovery Strategy, which is expected to be published shortly. This strategy will set nature‑recovery priorities and map specific proposals for habitat creation and improvement that will support many species, such as hares.
Nationally, protection of the brown hare population is provided through hare‑coursing legislation introduced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. Together with improved police tactics, intelligence, and information sharing, it is reasonable to assume that these measures are reducing levels of hare coursing, which will play a part in the recovery of the species.
In addition, the Government’s recently published Animal Welfare Strategy contains a commitment to consider introducing a close season on shooting brown hares.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing temporary emergency price controls on retail petrol and diesel prices.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government and the CMA are closely monitoring petrol and diesel prices in light of instability in the Middle East, while the CMA are considering what options they have available if there is evidence of unfair practices.
The government are also engaging regularly with refiners, importers and distributors to ensure any emerging risks are identified and managed promptly. Households should be reassured the UK benefits from strong and diverse security of energy supplies, and there are no issues with fuel supply.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what guidance has her Department issued for for families in the UK on reporting family members stranded overseas as a result of the ongoing situation in Iran including if they have lost contact with them.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Any family members in the UK concerned about the wellbeing of a British national overseas can routinely contact the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's consular support service, which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to support British nationals in need of help. Further guidance can be found at this link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-deal-with-a-crisis-overseas.
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, whether the Government has considered writing to every pension-age person to inform them they can phone or go in-person to book a GP appointment following the introduction of the online booking system on 1 October 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The contractual change made on 1 October 2025 required general practices to keep their existing online systems open during core hours, allowing patients to contact the practice online between 8am and 6.30pm. Telephone and in-person routes continue to operate as before. As non-digital routes remain available, a separate assessment of the impact on digitally excluded patients was not required.
It is not a standard practice to write to citizens where services remain unchanged.
National Health Service organisations must ensure all patients have equitable access to care, and that decisions or policies do not unfairly disadvantage people or lead to an increase in inequalities. All NHS organisations are legally obliged not to discriminate. Although digital first services are encouraged for those who choose to use them, a non‑digital solution must be available for patients who cannot or do not wish to engage digitally. The GP contract is clear that telephone and face to face access must remain in place, and online tools can only be provided in addition to not instead of other routes.
These requirements apply across all NHS services. We recognise that not all patients can or want to use online services. To ensure that patients are not digitally excluded, the GP Contract is clear that patients should always have the option of telephoning or visiting their practice in person, and all online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing a GP. We have also committed to work with digital transformation teams in integrated care boards (ICBs) and with groups at risk of digital exclusion to ensure digital solutions are inclusive.
Based on the data currently available, the time between booking and attending a GP appointment has remained stable following the introduction of the 1 October 2025 contractual requirement for online consultation systems to operate throughout core hours.
Data for October to December 2024 and the corresponding period in 2025 show only marginal variation. 37.9% to 46% of appointments were booked on the same day in 2024 compared with 38.7% to 46% in 2025, and 74.9% to 82.7% were seen within two weeks in 2024 compared with 75% to 82.8% in 2025. This is consistent with the fact that many practices were already operating their systems in this way prior to the contractual change. Access to general practice has continued to improve. In December 2025, 88.8% of appointments not usually booked in advance were seen within 14 days, the highest proportion in 2025. Nationally, patient satisfaction with GP access has also improved, rising from 61% in July 2024 to 75.2% in December 2025.