Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS dental appointments have been a) delivered and b) cancelled in i) Preston and ii) Lancashire in the last 3 years.

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

The following table shows the number of National Health Service dental treatments delivered in the first seven months of the 2025/26 financial year, in the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, which includes Preston and Lancashire:

Source: Monthly National Dental Activity data – England July 2023 to October 2025, available at the following link:
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/dental-activity-data-england-july-2023-to-october-2025

In addition, the following table shows the available data for the number of NHS dental treatments delivered in 2023/24 and 2024/25 in the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board:

Source: Dental statistics for England for 2023/24 and 2024/25, available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202425

Data for dentistry is measured in courses of treatment, not appointments. One course of treatment can be more than one appointment. Data on the number of NHS dental appointments cancelled is not held.

The data for 2023/24 and 2024/25 are not directly comparable with the 2025/26 data due to the 2025/26 data being provisional. Final data for 2025/26 will be published in August 2026. Furthermore, the 2025/26 data covers seven months of activity, but the 2023/24 and 2024/25 data covers the full 12-month period.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent the loss of UK moth species.

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

Defra is committed to delivering legally binding biodiversity targets including halting the decline in species abundance by 2030, reversing declines by at least 10% by 2042 compared with 2030, and reducing risk of national species extinction by 2042. The composite indicator we use to measure progress towards our species abundance targets includes over 400 moth species.

The Environmental Improvement Plan sets out actions we are taking to deliver these targets, including delivering a refreshed Pollinator Action Plan, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environmental-improvement-plan-2025/environmental-improvement-plan-eip-2025 which will set out key actions for pollinators, including moths, in England.

Natural England is working with partners such as Butterly Conservation to take specific action for threatened moth species, including specific grazing and cutting regimes in chalk grassland areas for Black-Veined and Straw Belle moths in Kent, and translocations such as the Rosy Marsh moth in Cumbria.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her department has made of the impact of increasing oil and gas prices on fixed-rate mortgages in light of the conflict in Iran; and what steps her department will take to support homeowners affected by potential increases in mortgage rates.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government does not comment on specific market movements. It is normal for sterling markets to vary in response to global developments. Mortgage rates, which are influenced by a range of factors, are a commercial matter for lenders in which the Government does not intervene.

There are significant measures in place to protect vulnerable mortgage borrowers. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require lenders to engage individually with their customers who are struggling or who are worried about their payments. The Mortgage Charter also remains in place, providing additional flexibilities to help customers manage their mortgage payments over a short period.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to mobilise private finance for the development of defence technology, a) in the start-up sector and b) from European investors.

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

The Strategic Defence Review 2025 set out Defence’s role in seeding innovation and growth to keep the Integrated Force at the forefront of warfare. To deliver this, we established the UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) with a £400M ring-fenced annual budget to fund and scale UK-based companies.

UKDI provides a bespoke, strategic service, and capital for high-growth potential UK and allied SMEs, helping them attract private co-investment into defence innovation. As of October 2025, £9 million in Innovation Loan funding has helped 11 successful SMEs raise an additional £29 million in private finance, and 42% of the 72 businesses supported to date have secured £85.4 million in follow-on investment.

To support European and international investor engagement, the Ministry of Defence partners with the National Strategic Security Investment Fund and the NATO Innovation Fund to leverage opportunities for the UK and provide targeted engagement for defence and security SMEs.

We continue to break down barriers and open new avenues for innovation and technology funding through the Defence Finance and Investment Strategy which will be published this spring.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that inward investment agreements for new datacentres include binding requirements on energy efficiency, renewable power sourcing and heat‑recovery obligations; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential environmental risks arising from the absence of a single cross‑government standard for datacentre sustainability.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government is committed to ensuring that new data centres and AI infrastructure are developed responsibly, with due consideration of environmental impacts.

UK data and AI infrastructure is subject to the UK’s environmental and planning frameworks, which require assessment of impacts such as energy use. Larger data centres, which will be able to apply through the recently introduced Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project route, will also be subject to these requirements.

DSIT works closely with DESNZ, DEFRA, and MHCLG to ensure that the UK’s data centre growth align with wider policy objectives, including on sustainability and Clean Power 2030 ambitions. The AI Energy Council, co-chaired by Secretaries of State for DSIT and DESNZ, brings together regulators, energy companies and tech firms to address the growing energy demands of AI in a sustainable and scalable way.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support young people identified as Not in Education, Employment or Training.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Building on the December Youth Guarantee and Growth and Skills Levy announcement, the Government has committed a further £1 billion investment in young people, taking total additional investment into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy to £2.5 billion over the next three years. This investment will support almost one million young people, and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn.

This includes the delivery of eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in England, the expansion of Youth Hubs to more than 360 areas across Great Britain, and the introduction of a new Youth Guarantee Gateway in Jobcentres, providing more intensive support to 16-24 year olds.

This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. It will also help unlock up to 200,000 more employment opportunities, through £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers who hire 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for over six months, a new £2,000 apprenticeship incentive for small and medium sized employers hiring 16–24-year-olds and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six month job.

Together these measures demonstrate the Government’s commitment to backing young people, supporting employers, and working with partners across Great Britain to create clear pathways into employment and education for young people.