Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to conduct regular financial audits of GP practices that are part of national chains on an (a) national and (b) local individual surgery basis.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is not the responsibility of the Department or NHS England to undertake financial audits of general practices (GPs). GPs are private businesses that are commissioned by integrated care boards to provide general medical services via a National Health Service contract. Practices have a range of auditing requirements, including disclosure of earnings, and maintaining an audit and system management function on their computer system, allowing NHS England to carry out audit functions relating to the maintenance of patient records.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the closure of small abattoirs on food (a) safety and (b) security.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ensuring the safety of food that enters the supply chain is of vital importance to the Government. Likewise, the Government considers food security a matter of national security and is committed to maintaining a resilient and diverse food supply chain.
The contribution smaller abattoirs make to the UK food supply chain for meat products in England, is approximately 7% of overall production and 0.3% of throughput. While we have seen the closure of several smaller abattoirs in recent years, this has not impacted national food security or food supply. The national abattoir network remains resilient, continuing to deliver high-quality and safe meat products.
Nonetheless, we recognise that small abattoirs play an important role in supporting regional food systems, providing routes to market for local producers, particularly those rearing native and rare breeds and sustaining diversity in the meat processing sector.
While the Government does not intervene in individual business decisions, it is committed to working with the smaller abattoir sector to help, where possible, mitigate pressures that these abattoirs face.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to her oral answer in response to the question from the hon. Member for Lichfield of 16 July 2025, Official Report, Column 282, over what period that £445 million covers; and what the allocated spending is in each financial year.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
Following the Spending Review, the UK Government is investing at least £445m into Welsh rail infrastructure upgrades, with the vast majority of this funding to be spent within the Spending Review period.
This investment will mean new stations and more and faster trains on the key lines across North and South Wales. The UK Government is working in collaboration with the Welsh Government, Network Rail and Transport for Wales, through the Wales Rail Board.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing long term funding through (a) grants and (b) discounts to small abattoirs.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recognises the vital role smaller abattoirs play in supporting local livestock producers and maintaining a resilient and competitive food supply chain.
We continue to work to simplify and rationalise our grant funding from 2026 onwards following the Spending Review and ensuing business planning to ensure our grants are targeted towards those who need them most and where they can deliver the most benefit for food security and nature. Any future opportunities will be announced in due course.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is conducting an evaluation of the support to abattoirs provided via the current discount scheme which is in its tenth financial year of operation. The FSA Board reviewed progress at its public meeting on 18 June, informed by a paper prepared in the light of stakeholder engagement and economic analysis. The Board noted the importance of the discount to the viability of small abattoirs and how these businesses can support the interests of consumers, businesses and the wider rural economy. The FSA will continue engagement with stakeholders and assess the impact of any proposals for change arising from the evaluation. The paper and a video of the Board meeting can be viewed at:
https://www.food.gov.uk/board-papers/fsa-board-meeting-june-2025-agenda-and-papers
https://www.food.gov.uk/about-us/fsa-board-meetings#video-of-the-most-recent-fsa-board-meetings
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help expand the network of small abattoirs in (a) the South East and (b) England.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
England benefits from an established and resilient meat processing sector which continues to deliver high-quality products, supporting food supply and food security. The Government has full confidence this will continue.
While the Government does not intervene in individual business decisions, it is dedicated to working collaboratively with the sector to help, where possible, alleviate pressures faced by small abattoirs. Defra remains committed to supporting initiatives that enhance accessibility to slaughter facilities in the South East and more widely across England.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps has he taken to reduce regulations on (a) small-scale abattoirs and (b) other rural food producers in Sussex.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is working closely with industry stakeholders and the Food Standards Agency to maintain high standards of public and animal health while identifying opportunities to ease regulatory and administrative burdens on small-scale abattoirs and rural food producers, including those in Sussex.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support small abattoirs.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recognises the vital role smaller abattoirs play in supporting local livestock producers and maintaining a resilient and competitive food supply chain.
Defra works closely with industry stakeholders including through the Small Abattoirs Working Group and the Small Abattoirs Task and Finish Group. These groups bring together government and industry representatives on a regular basis and provide a forum for identifying the challenges and opportunities that the sector faces, and for collaborating on practical solutions to support the long-term sustainability of small and medium sized abattoirs.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent fraud by nationwide GP chains.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government takes fraud against the National Health Service extremely seriously and we will use every available tool to bring fraudsters to account. A comprehensive three-year Counter Fraud Strategy is in place and a Fraud Risk Assessment has been undertaken for contracted services within general practice, to identify fraud risks so that preventative action can be taken. The NHS Counter Fraud Authority is also in place as a dedicated special health authority tasked with leading the fight against fraud, bribery, and corruption in the NHS in England. Where allegations of fraud are received, they will be thoroughly investigated, and appropriate action will be taken.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to her oral answer in response to the question from the hon. Member for Lichfield of 16 July 2025, Official Report, Column 282, what the evidential basis is for her statement on historic underfunding.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
I regret that the Hon. Member seems to refuse to accept or acknowledge the historic underfunding. When I gave evidence to the Welsh Affairs Committee in January, there was widespread agreement that this was the case and many others have expressed similar sentiments.
The low levels of enhancement spending we have seen in recent years makes it more difficult to realise the modal shift needed to sustain a continuous enhancements pipeline. Denying that there has been underfunding is not the way address the problem. This government prefers to tackle the issue head on, starting with at least £445m of spending, front-loaded to support delivery of Wales' priorities for rail infrastructure during this next Spending Review period.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has issued guidance on the maximum distance that a patient should travel to see their registered GP.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As part of the arrangements for the provision of primary medical services, general practices (GPs) are required to agree an area within which they will accept patients onto their list. This ensures there is a sufficient distribution of GPs for all patients in England and provides for an area in which practices feel they are able to provide home visits, should they be needed.
Changes to the GP Contract arrangements in 2014/15 brought in a measure allowing GPs to register patients from outside their catchment areas without a duty to provide home visits for such patients.
If the practice feels it is not clinically appropriate or practical for the patient to be registered so far away from home, it can still refuse registration, but should explain the reason for doing so.