Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department made of the potential impact of unlimited online consultations, introduced in the new GP contract, on the ability of GPs to meet patient demand.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In February 2025 the GPCE agreed to make it a contractual obligation for all GP practices to offer access to online services throughout core hours (8:00am - 18:30pm), bringing online access in line with walk-in and phone access. To support practices in preparing for this transition and to ensure they had sufficient time to make the necessary adjustments, the start date was deferred to 1 October 2025.
This change aims to improve patient access, reduce long phone queues, and help general practitioners manage demand more effectively. Experience suggests that extending online access offers significant benefits to both patients and practices. With more patients using online options, phone lines will be less busy and will open up availability for those who need additional help or more urgent care.
We understand that practices require additional resource to deliver services to their patients. That is why we have invested £1.1 billion into general practice: £160 million of this to expand the GP workforce (adding 2,000 more GPs since October 2024), and £102 million to create more clinical space which will enable the delivery of 8.3 million extra appointments.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many National Fraud Intelligence Bureau 1D dating scam offences were recorded in the (a) 2024-25, (b) 2023-24. (c) 2019-20 and (d) 2014-15 financial year.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Home Office does not collect information on romance fraud. The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), which sits within City of London Police, collects data on Dating Scam Fraud. This is collected from the reports made to Action Fraud that amounted to a crime under the Home Office crime recording rules.
The table below summarises the number of dating scams recorded by NFIB on 1D dating fraud offences.
| 2014/15 | 2019/20 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
Dating scam (NFIB1D) | 2,735 | 5,541 | 8,388 | 9,296 |
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department collects on romance fraud.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Home Office does not collect information on romance fraud. The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), which sits within City of London Police, collects data on Dating Scam Fraud. This is collected from the reports made to Action Fraud that amounted to a crime under the Home Office crime recording rules.
The table below summarises the number of dating scams recorded by NFIB on 1D dating fraud offences.
| 2014/15 | 2019/20 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
Dating scam (NFIB1D) | 2,735 | 5,541 | 8,388 | 9,296 |
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution by the Minister for Security during the Urgent Question on 20 October 2025, Official Report, column 630, whether he has held such discussions with the hon. Member for (a) Rutland and Stamford and (b) Tonbridge on the use of back channels.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Upholding national security and keeping the public safe is the first duty of Government.
This Government has been clear that we are extremely disappointed in the decision by the CPS not to proceed with prosecution of Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry. Given the concerns raised by Honourable Members about the safety and security of the House, we have sought to be as transparent as possible by publishing the witness statements relating to the case.
The references to ‘backchannel’ discussions that are alleged to have taken place occurred under the previous Government.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 23(b) of Witness Statement 1 by the Deputy National Security Adviser of 22 December 2023, what those back channels were.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Upholding national security and keeping the public safe is the first duty of Government.
This Government has been clear that we are extremely disappointed in the decision by the CPS not to proceed with prosecution of Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry. Given the concerns raised by Honourable Members about the safety and security of the House, we have sought to be as transparent as possible by publishing the witness statements relating to the case.
The references to ‘backchannel’ discussions that are alleged to have taken place occurred under the previous Government.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many different transactions or processes between members of the public and DVLA can only be completed if payment is made by a member of the public by (a) cash, (b) cheque and (c) postal order.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) offers nearly 50 main customer facing services and the vast majority of these are available online with a range of payment options. Only seven applications currently require payment by cash, cheque or postal order and these are listed below. These services require a manual payment as the applications must currently be submitted in paper form because (for example) original documentation may need to be submitted or these transactions cannot yet be carried out online.
1 | Application to exchange a non-GB driving licence for a GB one. |
2 | Application for a driving licence following a disqualification. |
3 | Requests for vehicle information from individuals (companies and other organisations can use the automated online service). |
4 | Application for a vehicle registration certificate where the original is not available. |
5 | Application for the reduced rate of vehicle excise duty when the recipient receives the standard rate of Personal Independence Payment. |
6 | Application to amend vehicle excise duty details - for example up or down plating of a heavy goods vehicle |
7 | Trade licence applications, including first licences, renewal or replacement. |
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
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 potential impact of unlimited online consultations on the ability of GPs to meet patient demand.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
From 1 October, we extended access to general practice (GP) online services throughout core hours, which are from 8:00am to 18:30pm. According to the Office for National Statistics, for the first time ever, more patients are contacting their GP online rather than by phone, at 42.3% and 41.3% respectively. For GPs already offer online services, we are asking them to extend this service throughout core hours to bring online access in line with walk-in and phone access. GPs already using online systems have seen big improvements. One London GP surgery reduced waits from 14 days to just three, with 95% of patients seen within a week. The National Health Service continues to support those practices needing assistance with implementing these changes.
We understand that practices require additional resource to deliver services to their patients. That’s why we have invested £1.1 billion into GPs, with £160 million of this to expand the GP workforce, which has added 2,000 more GPs since October 2024, and £102 million to create more clinical space which will enable the delivery of 8.3 million extra appointments.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department made of the potential impact of a legal duty to implement public enquiry recommendations on public trust in government.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Public inquiries are independent of Government and can make recommendations of their choosing. Government takes the recommendations of inquiries very seriously, and determines which recommendations it accepts. To ensure clarity and transparency of progress on the recommendations that Government has accepted, we have established a record on GOV.UK of inquiry recommendations, starting with the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and Infected Blood Inquiry. This will be periodically updated and expanded to capture future inquiry recommendations. This will be an enduring mechanism for monitoring and tracking government implementation of inquiry recommendations. It will allow the public to track the progress of implementation enhancing public trust in Government.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take legislative steps to require public sector organisations to publish reports on (a) internal culture, (b) risk management and (c) the implementation of inquiry recommendations.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Public Office (Accountability) Bill is currently progressing through parliament. The legislation will include a requirement that all public bodies establish a professional duty of candour for staff set out within a wider code of ethics. This obligation will require public bodies to promote the ethical conduct of their employees. The Government will drive forward implementation with determination and hold public sector organisations accountable. Public Sector leaders will join ministers on a dedicated new implementation board to monitor progress.
Public inquiries are independent of Government and can make recommendations of their choosing. Government takes the recommendations of inquiries very seriously, and determines which recommendations it accepts. To ensure clarity and transparency of progress on the recommendations that Government has accepted, we have established a record on GOV.UK of inquiry recommendations, starting with the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and Infected Blood Inquiry. This will be periodically updated and expanded to capture future inquiry recommendations. This will be an enduring mechanism for monitoring and tracking government implementation of inquiry recommendations. It will allow the public to track the progress of implementation enhancing public trust in Government.