Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of people who (a) have indefinite leave to remain status and (b) are employed in the (i) NHS and (ii) social care sector.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The information requested is not centrally held.

The Home Office publishes quarterly statistics relating to decisions on applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain, and those made through the EU Settlement Scheme, in the Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK publication, both of which provide an overview of those persons with indefinite leave to remain in the UK. However, we do not link indefinite leave to remain grants to current occupation.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to expand defence procurement processes to enable greater participation by (a) advanced manufacturers in the Calder Valley valve industry and (b) other small and medium sized businesses.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) hold a crucial place in UK defence. They are the backbone of the UK economy and are vital to delivering the innovation, expertise and agility that we need now and in the future. This is recognised in the Defence Industrial Strategy, as well as the Department’s Social Value policy.

We work with our largest suppliers through a network of their SME Champions, trade associations and SME representatives to ensure that smaller companies have access to opportunities in our supply chain and that our prime contractors are adopting policies, such as fair payment practices, that support small businesses working in defence. We are also introducing a new SME Commercial Pathway as part of our broader acquisition transformation. Through this pathway, Defence will increase the number of opportunities for SMEs, and make our contracting processes simpler, less onerous and faster.

This Government has already announced an ambitious but achievable target to spend £7.5 billion with SMEs by 2028 which will see direct spend increase by approximately £700 million during the next three years, and we will launch a new Office For Small Business Growth to provide SMEs with better access to the defence supply chain, ensuring that thousands of small businesses in the UK, including those in the Calder Valley, continue to lead the way in developing the world-beating technologies and services that we will need.

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 presumption against building onshore wind developments on deep peat on the Government’s (a) biodiversity and (b) peatland restoration targets.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has considered the impact of planning regulation around wind farm development on peatland restoration and biodiversity.

The Government recognises the importance of England’s peatlands for biodiversity, water, and carbon storage. That’s why we are investing significantly in protecting and restoring nature, including peatlands.

There are existing protections for peatland habitats within the National Policy Planning Framework. In addition, this Government recently consulted on updated National Policy Statements for renewable energy development, which included updated guidance around peatland and onshore wind developments.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions his Department has had with the (a) General Medical Council and (b) Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service on the implementation of the new Guidance for MPTS Tribunals, published in October 2025.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Discussions have taken place between the Department and both the General Medical Council and the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service to understand how the updated guidance will influence tribunal decision making and whether the new sanction bandings in the guidance, which set out recommended sanction levels based on the type and severity of the case, will lead to more consistent outcomes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of doctors accused of sexual misconduct were placed under interim suspension by the GMC between 2018 and 2025.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold this information centrally.

The General Medical Council (GMC) is the regulator of all medical doctors, physician assistants, and physician assistants in anaesthesia, still legally known as anaesthesia associates and physician associates, practising in the United Kingdom. The GMC is independent of the Government, being directly accountable to Parliament, and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties. The United Kingdom’s model of healthcare professional regulation is founded on the principle of regulators operating independently from the Government.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any doctors were erased or struck off due to sexual misconduct between 2018 and 2025.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold this information centrally.

The General Medical Council (GMC) is the regulator of all medical doctors, physician assistants, and physician assistants in anaesthesia, still legally known as anaesthesia associates and physician associates, practising in the United Kingdom. The GMC is independent of the Government, being directly accountable to Parliament, and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties. The United Kingdom’s model of healthcare professional regulation is founded on the principle of regulators operating independently from the Government.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee’s Second Report of Session 2024–25, Gridlock or growth? Avoiding energy planning chaos, published on 7 July 2025, when he plans to publish the Government’s response.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Government is grateful to the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee for its scrutiny of the draft updated National Policy Statements. The Committee’s conclusions and recommendations have been carefully considered and the Government response will be published once the final updated National Policy Statements are laid in Parliament later this year.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of introducing a presumption against building onshore wind developments on deep peat on the UK’s ability to meet its carbon emissions reduction targets.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government has considered the impact of planning regulation around wind farm development on peatland, including on deep peat, recognising the importance of England’s peatlands for biodiversity, water, and carbon storage.

There are existing protections for peatland habitats and deep peat within the National Policy Planning Framework. The Government also recently consulted on updated National Policy Statements for renewable energy development, including guidance around peatland and onshore wind.

This will ensure a balanced approach to onshore wind development and peatland protection, where Government can enable nature’s recovery while not impeding our commitments to Net Zero and Clean Power 2030.

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 whether the absence of mandatory strike‑off in the new MPTS guidance for proven sexual misconduct by doctors adequately protects patients.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The new guidance for Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service tribunals includes more detail about assessing the seriousness of an allegation and the features that may increase the seriousness. The guidance now also includes sanction bandings. These indicate the range of outcomes that can be expected in different case types, once a tribunal has decided whether a doctor poses a low, medium, or high level of risk to the public.

In cases relating to sexual misconduct, because the level of current and ongoing risk to public protection will generally be considered medium or high, tribunals should consider suspension or erasure. The guidance sets out that in cases where misconduct is found to be sexually motivated, the inherent seriousness is likely to be high, and that makes any outcome short of erasure from the register inappropriate.

The Department monitors how regulators perform their duties and will continue to engage with the General Medical Council, including assessing how the new guidance impacts the outcomes of tribunal findings in cases of sexual misconduct.

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 effectiveness of (a) (i) communications and (ii) public advertising on NHS dentistry and (b) oral health initiatives to improve patient access to NHS dental services.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are currently no national communication campaigns on National Health Service dentistry and oral health initiatives to improve patient access and therefore no assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the communications and public advertising on NHS dentistry and oral health initiatives aimed at improving patient access to NHS dental services.

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local populations and to determine the priorities for investment. They are also responsible for deciding how best to communicate about their services for patients.

NHS England is responsible for maintaining and updating the NHS.uk website for England, which provides information and services to help patients manage their health including on dentistry.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much NHS England spent on (a) communications and (b) public advertising relating to NHS (i) dentistry and (ii) oral health initiatives in each of the last five years.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England has spent no money on communications or advertising relating to National Health Service dentistry or oral health initiatives in the last five years.

Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local populations and to determine the priorities for investment. They are also responsible for deciding how best to communicate about their services for patients.

Found: Josh Fenton-Glynn will start the questions.

Found: Josh Fenton-Glynn will start the questions.

Found: Q19 Josh Fenton-Glynn: What are the influencers saying?