Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support will be available after 2026/27 for international care workers in England who have been displaced following the revocation of a sponsor’s licence.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the challenges concerning recruitment and retention within the adult social care sector, which is why – as well as continuing to roll out the Care Workforce Pathway – we will introduce the first ever Fair Pay Agreement for that workforce in 2028, backed by £500 million of funding to improve pay and conditions.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care also announced in September that we would build on the Fair Pay Agreement by introducing the first ever pension scheme for the social care workforce, and bringing forward a social care workforce plan, focusing on routes for progression, better pay, training, and job security.
The International Recruitment Regional Fund was introduced as a time-limited programme to support the adult social care sector during a period of significant workforce pressures. The current fund will end on 31 March 2027.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to publish a national plan for domestic recruitment, retention and career progression in the adult social care workforce.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the challenges concerning recruitment and retention within the adult social care sector, which is why – as well as continuing to roll out the Care Workforce Pathway – we will introduce the first ever Fair Pay Agreement for that workforce in 2028, backed by £500 million of funding to improve pay and conditions.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care also announced in September that we would build on the Fair Pay Agreement by introducing the first ever pension scheme for the social care workforce, and bringing forward a social care workforce plan, focusing on routes for progression, better pay, training, and job security.
The International Recruitment Regional Fund was introduced as a time-limited programme to support the adult social care sector during a period of significant workforce pressures. The current fund will end on 31 March 2027.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what consideration she has given to the potential merits of requiring tenancy agreements to include a plain-English summary section to improve comprehensibility for landlords and tenants.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Regulations came into force on 1 May 2026 requiring private rented sector landlords to provide specified information in writing to tenants at the outset of new Assured Periodic Tenancies. We expect landlords will include this information in written tenancy agreements so that tenants receive key information about the terms and conditions of their tenancy. Guidance on what information should be included can be found on gov.uk here.
The government does not consider it appropriate to mandate a specific tenancy agreement template or wording. A single approach will not be suitable for every tenancy, and landlords and tenants should be able to agree terms that reflect their individual circumstances. Landlords should ensure tenants have sufficient opportunity to understand, or seek advice on, the terms of any tenancy agreement before entering into it.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential safeguarding implications of children not being named or disclosed on tenancy agreements.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Tenancy agreements are contractual arrangements between landlords and tenants which set out the terms of occupation and the rights and responsibilities that apply to the tenancy. Legal tenancies can only be granted to adults aged 18 or over.
Housing authorities have an important role to play in safeguarding vulnerable young people. Working Together to Safeguard Children statutory guidance 2026 sets out the responsibilities of individual organisations responsibilities under Section 11 of the Children Act 2004.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 is introducing new legislative measures to strengthen multi-agency child protection and prevent children falling through the cracks, including a clear legal duty for agencies to share information for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and establishing multi-agency child protection teams in every local area.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress her Department has made in increasing the use of upfront property information as part of the Homebuying and selling reform roadmap, updated on 19 June 2026.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 17679 on 17 July 2026.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will set out how her Department will measure the impact of the Home buying and selling reform roadmap, updated on 19 June 2026.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 17679 on 17 July 2026.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 plan to take to reduce the number of young people on housing registers in a) Newbury b) West Berkshire and c) England.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 1 September 2026 (HCWS299).
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the time taken to complete home purchases.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Home Buying and Selling Reform Roadmap which my Department published on 19 June. It can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of community pharmacies on managing medicine shortages, prescribing issues and medicines optimisation.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Community pharmacies help patients to use medicines safely and effectively, and manage any medicine shortages, working alongside the Department and NHS England. Leaflets on national shortage management advice and supporting patients safely are available on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website at the following link:
https://sps.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Advice-for-patients-during-a-medicines-shortage.pdf
Community pharmacies also support medicines optimisation, including at the point of discharge from hospital and for newly prescribed medicines. Further information is available at the links below:
www.england.nhs.uk/primary-care/pharmacy/pharmacy-services/nhs-discharge-medicines-service/
www.england.nhs.uk/primary-care/pharmacy/pharmacy-services/nhs-new-medicine-service/
NHS community pharmacist prescribers can address local shortages as agreed with their integrated care board and, following discussion with the prescriber, issue new prescriptions where needed for timely supply. This is supported by the Prescription Management Guidance, NHS Community Pharmacy Prescribing Specification and Professional Assurance Framework for governance and assurance, all available at the links below:
www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-community-pharmacy-prescribing-prescription-management-guidance/
www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-community-pharmacy-prescribing-specification/
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what additional steps her Department will take to support households in West Berkshire that rely on heating oil to heat their homes.
Answered by Polly Billington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This Government is determined to ensure that consumers who are reliant on heating oil are treated fairly and better protected, including during times of international volatility.
The CMA found that recent increases in heating oil prices were largely driven by higher wholesale costs rather than a lack of competition or excessive profits.
The Government published its formal response to the CMA heating oil report on 13 October, confirming it will take forward proposals to introduce stronger regulations for the first time, and agreeing with the CMA that we will not be replicating the gas and electricity price cap. Instead, we will focus on a programme of reform to strengthening consumer protections.
A Written Ministerial Statement can be found here: Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament
The full response can be found here: Government response to the CMA heating oil market study - GOV.UK
The Government does recognise the impact that heating oil price increases has had on households, which is why we took action to introduce over £50m of support to help with costs. Households can access immediate support from their local authority through the Crisis and Resilience Fund.
For those considering alternatives to oil heating, the Government is supporting the installation of low-carbon heating through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. A time-limited higher grant of £9,000 is available to the end of March 2027 for eligible off-gas-grid properties replacing oil or LPG heating systems, helping households and small businesses most exposed to volatile fossil fuel prices to switch to low-carbon heating.