Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many hours the British Army spent on Collective Training for each of the following years (a) 2023; (b) 2024; (c) 2025; and (d) 2026 to date.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Information on collective training hours is not held centrally. Consequently, establishing the number of hours undertaken by individuals would incur disproportionate cost to the Ministry of Defence.
Defence keeps training requirements under review to ensure the highest priorities are pursued and Ministry of Defence funding is focused on activity that delivers the greatest operational effect.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when the Government plans to publish its response to the consultation on reviewing the broadband Universal Service Obligation, which closed on 27 November 2023.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Due to the change in government in 2024, we do not expect to publish a government response to the 2023 public consultation on reviewing the Broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO).
However, the information gathered through the consultation has been used to inform ongoing policy development and we are working closely with Ofcom to commence a review of the Broadband USO shortly.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of changing the name of the Chancery Division to the Business & Property Division.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Business and Property Division was launched on 1 October 2026, bringing together the current Business and Property Courts into a single division, replacing the Chancery Division.
The Government was pleased to support this judiciary-led initiative to modernise the structure of the High Court. This historic modernisation will help ensure the UK remains attractive as a global hub for corporate litigation.
The officials of the Ministry of Justice (including legal advisers), Judicial Office and HM Courts and Tribunals Service undertook this work as part of their normal duties in creating the Business and Property Division.
The Ministry of Justice paid £518 excluding VAT for the publication of the Order in Council titled “Senior Courts Order 2026”.
HMCTS incurred additional costs of approximately £98,000. This comprised approximately £97,000 for IT and reporting changes delivered through Thomson Reuters and approximately £1,000 in staff overtime costs (28 hours) required to support implementation activity.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of eligible individuals who have undertaken an NHS Health Check in (a) 2024, (b) 2025 and (c) 2026 to date.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Available data on the uptake of the NHS Health Check programme is published routinely and is available at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/nhs-health-check-detailed
On the wider performance of the programme, I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 1 October in response to Question HL3638.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions her department has had on building (a) surgical and (b) medical readiness within the NHS as part of plans for improving national resilience, including mass casualty response.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England play an active and ongoing role in all contingency planning, coordinated by the Cabinet Office, to prepare for major crises and emergencies, and to feed into the UK Government Resilience Action Plan, available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-government-resilience-action-plan
Further information on NHS England’s Emergency Preparedness response function is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/eprr/
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with the Senior President of the Tribunals on the potential merits of introducing a pre-action protocol for matters arising before the Employment Tribunals (England and Wales).
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice regularly engages with the judiciary on a wide range of issues in relation to the Employment Tribunal. The Ministry of Justice and the Department of Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST) have set up the Dispute Resolution System Taskforce to support the Government in considering options to reform the employment dispute system, so it works better for both workers and businesses. This Taskforce consists of unions, businesses, legal representatives and third sector organisations. DBIST and my Department are currently considering the introduction of a range of measures to encourage early dispute resolution to alleviate pressures on the employment tribunal.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of re-introducing issue fees in the Employment Tribunals (England and Wales).
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No fees are payable to bring a claim to the Employment Tribunal (ET).
The previous Deputy Prime Minister on 8 October 2025 stated that it will remain free to bring a case to the ET so that everyone, regardless of their means, can stand up for their rights at work.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 15 September 2026 to question 28953, what assessment he has made of the need for primary legislation in the medium and long-term.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Primary legislation is not required to enforce the offence exclusions, which have been implemented using secondary legislation.
A full list of exclusions can be found here: Sentencing Act 2026 offence exclusions - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when her Department intends to publish the outcome of the Reforming the General Medical Council legislative framework consultation.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is currently analysing the responses to the consultation.
The Government intends to undertake a further, targeted consultation in the autumn on certain aspects of the draft General Medical Council Order. This will include proposals relating to Lord Mann’s review of antisemitism and other forms of racism in the National Health Service and healthcare regulatory system.
A Government response covering both consultations will be published in due course.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of years spent with and without disability at age 65 for (a) men and (b) women by local authority area in England.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The requested data is not centrally held by the Department.