Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to Bus Service Improvement Plan funding on school travel costs.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We are providing nearly £700 million per year to help local transport authorities deliver their Bus Service Improvement Plans, including more than £29 million allocated to East Sussex County Council over the next three years. This funding can be used to help reduce the cost of bus travel to education.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many probation officers have been recruited since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Between 5 July 2024 and 30 September 2025, 55 qualified Band 4 probation officers joined HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). This figure reflects only those who already held the required qualification at the point of appointment.
The majority of Band 4 probation officers join HMPPS as trainees and qualify within the Department, rather than being recruited directly into Band 4 roles.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers have been recruited since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
There have been 2,623 Band 3–5 prison officers who joined HMPPS between 5 July 2024 and 30 September 2025.
This data only covers Public Sector Prison establishments in England and does not include Private Sector Prison establishments.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners who are biologically (a) male and (b) female are housed in prisons designated for the opposite sex.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
As of 1 February 2026, there were seven prisoners on E Wing, the separate unit for transgender women at HMP Downview.
The information requested cannot be provided for the general female or male prison estates without breaching our legal obligations under data protection legislation. Where a request is made for statistical information and the total figure amounts to five or fewer, we must consider whether this would be likely to lead to the identification of individuals, and whether disclosure of this information would be in breach of our statutory obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Transgender women with birth genitalia and/or any history of violent or sexual offending cannot be placed in the general women’s estate except in exceptional circumstances, where an exemption has been granted by Ministers. No transgender women have received such an exemption under this Government.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of new prisons places that will result from the building of prisons that received planning approval since 5 July 2024; what his proposed timetable is for these prison places to become available.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
As set out in the December 2024 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, we are committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places and aim to do so by 2031. Around 4,300 of these places have received planning permission since 5 July 2024. This includes full planning permission for a c.1,500 place prison near the existing HMPs Grendon and Springhill and outline planning permission for a c.1,700 place prison near the existing HMPs Garth and Wymott. We will seek to deliver these new places as quickly as possible and continue to identify opportunities to accelerate delivery of places wherever possible.
There are currently c.5,000 places under construction across the prison estate, including c.1,700 at our next new prison, HMP Welland Oaks, in Leicestershire.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to build new female prisons during this Parliament.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We are committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places and aim to do so by 2031; we have already delivered more than 2,900 of these places since taking office.
The 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy set out our ambition to establish a pipeline of future supply beyond these 14,000 places. Decisions regarding the female estate are kept under continuous review and are balanced against government ambition, demand for places, and the need to protect both prisoner and public safety.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what (a) statutory protections and (b) appeal mechanisms are available to people who are subject to charges arising from covenants imposed by freeholders.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Permission fees and administration charges should only be used where necessary and should cover only any reasonable costs incurred.
Any fees and charges should be justifiable, transparent, and communicated effectively and that there should be a clear route to redress if things go wrong.
By law, variable administration or permission charges must be reasonable, and leaseholders can challenge them by applying to the tribunal for a decision if they do not believe they are fair.
Measures in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 require landlords to publish an administration charge schedule, giving leaseholders more information and providing clarity on potential charges they face.
Leaseholders and freeholders burdened by a restrictive covenant have the option to seek modifications or discharges through the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) under Section 84 of the Law of Property Act 1925, which outlines specific conditions that must be met for a successful application. The respective restrictive covenant and the likelihood of getting it removed will be case specific and landowners should seek independent legal advice.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
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 you ensure that NHS workforce planning in England, including for the upcoming 10-year Workforce Plan, is independent and regular.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have committed to publishing regular workforce planning. This will start with the 10 Year Workforce Plan, which will include updated workforce modelling and its underlying assumptions when published in spring 2026. The updated workforce modelling will be supported by independent external scrutiny to assess and test it.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
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 numbers and distribution of specialists needed for Parkinson's care in the NHS across England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Official National Health Service workforce statistics provide an overview of the total number of doctors in general specialties like neurology and geriatric medicine, rather than by sub-specialty or specific condition expertise. Therefore, the Department has made no specific assessment of the numbers and distribution of the specialists needed for Parkinson’s care.
NHS England has published a service specification for specialised adult neurology services, which includes Parkinson’s disease as part of its scope. The specification sets out requirements for multidisciplinary care, including access to Parkinson’s disease nurse specialists, consultant neurologists, and allied health professionals. Local commissioners then determine the appropriate workforce within this framework, including exact staffing numbers, based on population needs and service demand.
NHS England is also implementing initiatives such as the Neurology Transformation Programme and the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, which aim to improve access to specialist care, reduce variation, and develop integrated models of service delivery for conditions including Parkinson’s disease. These programmes align with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on Parkinson’s disease, reference code NG71, which recommends that people with Parkinson’s have regular access to specialist staff with expertise in the condition.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many consultant geriatricians in England have specialist training in Parkinson’s disease.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
While the Department does not hold data specifically on the number of Parkinson’s specialist staff in England, we do hold data on the number of doctors working in the wider specialities of neurology and geriatric medicine. As of August 2025, there were 2,010 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the specialty of neurology and 6,284 in geriatric medicine in National Health Service trusts and other organisations in England. This includes 1,025 FTE consultant neurologists and 1,687 FTE consultant geriatricians.
These figures are based on NHS Digital’s workforce data and reflect staff employed by NHS trusts and other core NHS organisations in England. They do not include doctors working in private practice or outside NHS organisations.
The Department does not hold specific data on the number of specialist Parkinson’s nurses currently working in the NHS in England. These roles are commissioned and managed locally by NHS trusts and integrated care boards as part of neurology and movement disorder services.
NHS England has published a service specification for specialised adult neurology services, which includes Parkinson’s disease as part of its scope. This specification sets out requirements for multidisciplinary care, including access to Parkinson’s disease nurse specialists, consultant neurologists, and allied health professionals.
NHS England is also implementing initiatives such as the Neurology Transformation Programme and the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, which aim to improve access to specialist care, reduce variation, and develop integrated models of service delivery for conditions including Parkinson’s disease. These programmes align with the National Institute for Care Excellence’s guidance on Parkinson’s disease, reference code NG71, which recommends that people with Parkinson’s have regular access to specialist staff with expertise in the condition.