Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
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 increase the allocation of new dental school places.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will provide £11 million per annum at steady state, to increase the number of new dental school places by 50 each year. This is the first sustained expansion of domestic dental training places since 2007 and will take effect from the 2027/28 academic year.
The Minister of State for Skills and I have written to the Chair of the Office for Students (OfS) to increase the maximum fundable limit for dental school places in England from 809 to 859 places. The OfS has statutory responsibility for allocating funding for dental school places. The Minister of State for Skills and I have asked that the OfS focuses the expansion on new dental schools approved by the General Dental Council, but which do not currently receive government funding for places.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the maximum fundable limits for dental schools in England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government will provide £11 million per annum at steady state, to increase the number of new dental school places by 50 each year. This is the first sustained expansion of domestic dental training places since 2007 and will take effect from the 2027/28 academic year.
The Minister of State for Skills and I have written to the Chair of the Office for Students (OfS) to increase the maximum fundable limit for dental school places in England from 809 to 859 places. The OfS has statutory responsibility for allocating funding for dental school places. The Minister of State for Skills and I have asked that the OfS focuses the expansion on new dental schools approved by the General Dental Council, but which do not currently receive government funding for places.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 69859 on AJM Healthcare: Wheelchairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that Integrated Care Boards adequately deal with complaints made about commissioned providers.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, based on the needs of their local populations. There are a range of providers of National Health Service wheelchair services across England, and ICBs are responsible for monitoring service provision and effectively managing contracts with their commissioned providers. Complaints management is included as part of overall assurance for ICBs.
NHS England is aware there have been a number of separate complaints about the quality of services provided by AJM Healthcare, which are being dealt with on an individual basis by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. NHS England are working through the appropriate regional teams to gain intelligence from ICBs on quality concerns and contracting arrangements to fully understand the issues being raised. In addition, the 10 Year Health Plan makes a commitment to reviewing the complaints regulations, and NHS England and the Department are developing plans to achieve this.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2026 to Question 111545 on AJM Healthcare, what discussions his Department has had with ICBs on complaints about the quality of services provided by AJM Healthcare.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, based on the needs of their local populations. There are a range of providers of National Health Service wheelchair services across England, and ICBs are responsible for monitoring service provision and effectively managing contracts with their commissioned providers. Complaints management is included as part of overall assurance for ICBs.
NHS England is aware there have been a number of separate complaints about the quality of services provided by AJM Healthcare, which are being dealt with on an individual basis by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. NHS England are working through the appropriate regional teams to gain intelligence from ICBs on quality concerns and contracting arrangements to fully understand the issues being raised. In addition, the 10 Year Health Plan makes a commitment to reviewing the complaints regulations, and NHS England and the Department are developing plans to achieve this.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support England Hockey to help ensure there is appropriate provision of playing facilities for amateur hockey clubs.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding into grassroots sport across England, including providing support for England Hockey.
We are also investing £98 million into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities across the UK through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2025/26. Projects funded through the programme include new artificial multi-sport grass pitches, changing pavilions and floodlights. At least 40% of funded projects have a multi-sport offer, allowing more people to participate in a wider variety of sports.
£85 million will be invested through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities across the UK in 2026/27, with £68.35 million to be invested in England. An additional £15 million will be invested into innovative facilities in England, to allow more people to participate in sports they wish to.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help support the provision of multi-use pitches.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding into grassroots sport across England, including providing support for England Hockey.
We are also investing £98 million into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities across the UK through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme in 2025/26. Projects funded through the programme include new artificial multi-sport grass pitches, changing pavilions and floodlights. At least 40% of funded projects have a multi-sport offer, allowing more people to participate in a wider variety of sports.
£85 million will be invested through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities across the UK in 2026/27, with £68.35 million to be invested in England. An additional £15 million will be invested into innovative facilities in England, to allow more people to participate in sports they wish to.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support Sport England.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, has access to and benefits from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.
That is why we provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s length body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million of National Lottery and exchequer funding.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she taking to help support councils to seize and crush vehicles involved in fly-tipping.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has conducted a review of council powers to seize and crush vehicles used by suspected fly-tippers, and we are working to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool. Defra is exploring options and intend to bring forward best practice guidance shortly.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Written Statement HCWS1232 on 12 January 2025, what steps she is taking to minimise disruption to road users as a result of additional highways maintenance.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government has provided a record investment of £7.3 billion for local highways maintenance over the next four years. Investing into improving the condition of local roads is crucial to reduce disruption to motorists, for whom potholes can pose a safety risk or lead to damage to vehicles.
Local highway authorities themselves are responsible for maintaining their network and for the delivery of maintenance works. By providing them with long-term funding certainty, the Department enables them to move away from reactive repairs towards planned and preventative maintenance approaches. These keep roads in good condition for longer, prevent potholes from forming, and reduce the need for unplanned emergency repairs which can often lead to the greatest disruption.
In addition, the Department has introduced an incentive element to its highways maintenance funding. To gain access to their full funding allocation, local highway authorities will have to publish highways maintenance transparency reports and set out how they comply with best practice, including in relation to minimising disruption to road users. This is also considered by the Department’s recently published rating system for local highway authorities. The ratings will be updated annually to provide an incentive to local highway authorities to adopt best practice, and to enable the Department to identify where they need to improve and to support them. Further guidance on minimising disruption from maintenance works is also available in the Code of Practice for Well Managed Highway Infrastructure.
Asked by: Lewis Cocking (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of roadworks on the economy.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is unable to provide a current estimate of the overall impact of roadworks on the economy. This is because road and street works are carried out by a wide range of organisations, for different purposes, and the Department does not collect the data that would be required to produce a reliable national estimate.
Road and street works are essential to maintaining and upgrading utility services and the road network, and they play a vital role in supporting economic growth by enabling continued investment in critical infrastructure. Where street and road works do result in disruption, we recognise the wider impacts this can have on the economy. We remain committed to minimising these effects wherever possible. This includes strengthening penalties to improve compliance, enhancing coordination through the use of digital tools, and supporting local highway authorities to adopt lane rental schemes, which encourage works promoters to plan and deliver works more efficiently, thereby reducing delays and congestion.