Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) improve access to GPs and (b) increase the number of FTE GPs (i) in work and (ii) on permanent contracts.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are increasing the capacity in general practices by investing £160 million via the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) to recruit more general practitioners (GPs) to ensure the delivery of more GP appointments. Since October 2024, 3,073 individual GPs have been recruited into work, preventing them from graduating into unemployment. Further flexibilities were made to the ARRS to enable primary care networks to recruit recently qualified GPs, including removing caps on the number of GPs that can be recruited through the scheme to increase the number of both part-time and full-time GPs in employment.
As a result, 6.8 million additional appointments were delivered in the year to December 2025, compared with the previous 12 months, and there is now the largest number of fully qualified GPs since 2015
We have invested an additional £1.1 billion in GPs to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service, bringing total spend on the GP Contract to £13.4 billion in 2025/26. This is the biggest cash increase in over a decade and will facilitate the recruitment of GPs. The 8.9% boost to the GP Contract in 2025/26 is greater than the 5.8% growth to the National Health Service budget as a whole.
The Government is also committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan which will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. The plan will also ensure that staff are better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles, and hope for the future.
Importantly, after a decade of declining satisfaction, patient experiences with access to their GP has improved significantly. As of December 2025, 75.2% of patients report that they find it is easy to contact their GP, a 14.3 percentage point increase since July 2024.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of student finance support for dentistry students.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Students attending undergraduate dentistry courses qualify for support from Student Finance England for the first four years of their course. For the fifth and subsequent years of their courses, they qualify for the NHS Bursary and for reduced rate loans for living costs from Student Finance England. Students attending the first year of a four-year graduate entry accelerated programme, qualify for support from Student Finance England. For years two to four, they qualify for the NHS bursary and for reduced rate loans for living costs. We are increasing loans for living costs each year in line with forecast inflation with students from the lowest income families receiving the largest year-on-year cash increases in support. Maximum loans for living costs will increase by 2.71% for the 2026/27 academic year. We will continue to engage with the Department for Health and Social Care to consider the financial support that students in dentistry receive.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department has issued to conveyancers, the Land Registry, or other stakeholders on the application of perpetuity rules to commercial land instruments following the enactment of the Perpetuities and Accumulations Act 2009.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No guidance has been issued by the Ministry of Justice since the Act came into force. The explanatory notes to the legislation set out the effects of the changes to the law: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/18/notes/contents.
This is a complex and technical area of law. Individuals should seek independent legal advice on how the Act applies to their unique circumstances.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
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 financial pressures on dentistry students’ ability to complete training.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such assessment has been made. The Department for Education provides the primary student support package for domestic dental students in higher education through Student Finance England (SFE).
From year five of an undergraduate and year two of a graduate-entry course, these students can access the NHS Bursary. For this academic year the Government increased the NHS Bursary tuition fee contributions, maintenance grants, and all allowances by 3.1%, in line with increases to SFE support.
This is the second academic year the Government has increased support for medical and dental students through the NHS Bursary. Prior to this the maintenance grants had not been uplifted since 2015. We understand that these uplifts do not go far enough to make up for the historical lack of uplift. However, this is a step in the right direction, and we continue to keep funding for dental students under review.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decision to discontinue Island Forums on island communities; and whether he plans to introduce alternative mechanisms.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We recognise the unique opportunities and challenges faced by island communities, including those on the Isle of Wight, and it is essential that they are still able to raise issues with government. We also recognise that there has been positive and constructive engagement across and between Forum members, and we encourage them to continue working closely with colleagues to share best practice and develop effective, evidence‑based solutions.
The decision to discontinue the Islands Forum at the 2024 Autumn Budget was taken considering the difficult fiscal circumstances we are facing. Since then, we have been working closely with other UK Government departments to determine the future of the forum and agree responsibilities for future engagement - we wanted to get this right.
It has been agreed that officials from the Offices for Nations will now take forward island engagement in their respective nations, whilst MHCLG will continue working with island communities in England, on issues that are our responsibility respectively. My officials are also able to help island communities make connections with other departments across government.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the car practical driving test waiting time was in weeks in each driving test centre in Great Britain in each month since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The attached Excel spreadsheet shows the car practical driving test waiting time in weeks for each driving test centre (DTC) in Great Britain, in each month since July 2024 to January 2026.
Please note, some DTCs no longer conduct car tests or have closed. There are also some DTCs that did not conduct car tests in some individual months.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department conducted an impact assessment before ending Island Forums.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We recognise the unique opportunities and challenges faced by island communities, including those on the Isle of Wight, and it is essential that they are still able to raise issues with government. We also recognise that there has been positive and constructive engagement across and between Forum members, and we encourage them to continue working closely with colleagues to share best practice and develop effective, evidence‑based solutions.
The decision to discontinue the Islands Forum at the 2024 Autumn Budget was taken considering the difficult fiscal circumstances we are facing. Since then, we have been working closely with other UK Government departments to determine the future of the forum and agree responsibilities for future engagement - we wanted to get this right.
It has been agreed that officials from the Offices for Nations will now take forward island engagement in their respective nations, whilst MHCLG will continue working with island communities in England, on issues that are our responsibility respectively. My officials are also able to help island communities make connections with other departments across government.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions Minister in his Department have had with Alan Milburn about the costs of clinical negligence since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Details of internal ministerial meetings are not routinely declared.
As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC is providing expert policy advice on the rising costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims. The review is ongoing, following initial advice to ministers and the recent National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee reports.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, since 1 January 2024, how many additional employees have been recruited by DFT Operator Limited (DFTO) on a headcount basis; and what the net change in total employee headcount at DFTO has been in each quarter from January 2024 to the most recent quarter for which figures are available.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The table below sets out the number of employees recruited from January 2024 and the change to net employee headcount per quarter for DFT Operator Limited (DFTO). The increases in headcount are as a result of the progressive public ownership programme managed by DFTO. The increase in staff costs are being offset by the savings in fees that would otherwise be payable to the former private sector owners.
Quarter | Employees recruited | Employees left | Total headcount | Net change |
Q1 2024 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 3 |
Q2 2024 | 6 | 1 | 19 | 5 |
Q3 2024 | 11 | 2 | 28 | 9 |
Q4 2024 | 10 | 0 | 38 | 10 |
Q1 2025 | 22 | 1 | 59 | 21 |
Q2 2025 | 17 | 0 | 76 | 17 |
Q3 2025 | 31 | 4 | 103 | 27 |
Q4 2025 | 26 | 6 | 123 | 20 |
Q1 2026 | 22 | 5 | 140 | 17 |
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce the proportion of legal costs as a percentage of overall clinical negligence costs.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The rising costs of clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service in England are of great concern to the Government. Costs have more than doubled in the last 10 years and are forecast to continue rising, putting further pressure on NHS finances.
Although forecasts remain uncertain, it is likely that the costs of clinical negligence will continue to grow substantially. As the question describes, the Government Actuary’s Department forecasts that annual payments for compensation and legal costs will increase from £3.1 billion in 2024/25 to £4.1 billion by 2029/30.
As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, David Lock KC is providing expert policy advice on the rising costs of clinical negligence and how we can improve patients’ experience of claims. The review is ongoing, following initial advice to ministers and the recent National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee reports.