Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Written Statement of 15 December 2025 on Investment in high needs place, HCWS1163, what meetings were held with the 18 local authorities that had successful bids for a (a) special and (b) AP free school ahead of the cancellation of those projects.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Meetings were held with a small number of local authorities with projects across the special and alternative provision free schools pipeline during the process of formulating policy. As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 15 December 2025 (HCWS1163), policy decisions have been taken to ensure that capital investment delivers specialist places more quickly and flexibly.
For 18 projects where a trust had not been appointed by July 2024 and so are furthest from opening, the department concluded that local authorities are best placed to create the required places sooner than would be possible through the free school route. Each affected authority will be given an alternative funding package, calculated on a per-place basis, enabling them to expand existing provision or adapt mainstream settings as part of their local special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) strategy and in line with SEND reform.
Authorities can submit representations if they disagree with the decision. The deadline for them to do so is 27 February 2026.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Written Statement of 15 December 2025 on Investment in high needs place, HCWS1163, which (a) Members of Parliament and (b) local authorities met departmental officials to discuss the status of one or more of the 28 mainstream free school projects ahead of their cancellation.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has engaged with trusts, local authorities and other stakeholders in relation to projects in scope of the mainstream review, including reviewing the evidence they have provided. This included all of the local authorities with a project in scope.
MPs with an interest in projects were invited to a ‘drop in’ session during the review and again following the announcement on 15 December 2025. Individual meetings with interested MPs have also taken place.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to merge the Groceries Code Adjudicator and the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator as part of her Department's Farm Profitability Review.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The department is committed to an evidence-based approach to regulating the supply chain and to ensuring that producers and businesses are treated fairly. The statutory review of the effectiveness of the Groceries Code Adjudicator by the Department for Business and Trade is currently under way, and any future decisions will be informed by its findings.
The Government is carefully considering all of the recommendations made in the independent Farming Profitability Review, including those relating to the roles and governance arrangements of the Groceries Code Adjudicator and the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator. A Government response to the review will be set out as part of the Farming Roadmap.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will extend grants for replacement boilers to cover park homes.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government delivers a number of digital services to support consumers with energy efficiency and clean heat, including 'Find Ways to Save Energy in your Home' (www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency), providing tailored recommendations for home improvements. A phoneline service is available on 0800 098 7950.
Residents living in park homes are eligible for support under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) until it closes in March 2026, and the Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG).
Energy cutting and bill saving measures available under the WH:LG include heat pumps and insulation. The WH:LG has been allocated £500 million to be delivered from 2025-2028 by participating local authorities.
Park homes may also be eligible for BUS funding providing all scheme eligibility criteria are met. Consumers can access further information, including eligibility criteria, at www.gov.uk/government/collections/find-energy-grants-for-you-home-help-to-heat.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Written Statement of 15 December 2025 on Investment in high needs place, HCWS1163, what meetings her Department held with the mainstream free school projects prior to their cancellation.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has engaged with trusts, local authorities and other stakeholders in relation to individual projects in scope of the review, including reviewing the evidence they have provided. As would be expected from a review of this scale, there have been a significant number of meetings
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to introduce protections for ancestry visa holders in the context of her proposed reforms to indefinite leave to remain.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The UK values its close cultural and historical ties with its fellow Commonwealth countries. This is reflected in our immigration system by the UK Ancestry visa, which allows Commonwealth citizens with a UK-born grandparent to live and work in the UK.
The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.
The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already here on a pathway to settlement, including UK Ancestry visa holders. At this stage, no transitional arrangements have been decided upon.
Details of the earned settlement model and any potential transitional arrangements for those already in the UK will be finalised following the consultation.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he will take steps to prevent organisations with which the Government has a policy of non-engagement from submitting written evidence to (a) ministers, (b) officials and (c) public consultations.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government does not and will not engage with organisations with whom they have a policy of non-engagement.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many local authority presumption free schools have been established since central applications were closed last year, broken down by (a), primary, (b) secondary, (c) post-16, and (d) special schools.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The number of free schools that have been opened through the free school presumption process since July 2024 is as follows:
Primary | 23 |
Secondary | 0 |
All-through | 1 |
Post-16 | 0 |
Special | 8 |
Alternative provision | 1 |
For comparison, the number of presumption free schools that were established in the previous academic year (2023/24) was:
Primary | 12 |
Secondary | 0 |
All-through | 1 |
Post-16 | 0 |
Special | 1 |
Alternative provision | 0 |
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he can provide a summary of patient satisfaction scores for GP surgeries in England for the latest year by (a) those surgeries which have fully implemented the digital front door and (b) those which have not.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics’ Health Insight Survey, of September 2025, show that patient satisfaction is on the rise for the first time in a decade. 73% found it easy to contact their general practice (GP), up from 60% last year
The latest GP Patient Survey data was published in July 2025, before the implementation of the contract changes to online access in October 2025. The Health Insight Survey, which also gathers information on patient satisfaction, does not report at the individual practice level. As a result, current patient satisfaction figures do not yet reflect the impact of increased online access.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued to GP surgeries implementing the digital front door to ensure non-digital access routes remain available to patients unable to use online services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In February 2025 the General Practitioners Committee England agreed to make it a contractual obligation for all general practices (GPs) to offer access to online services throughout core hours, from 8:00am to 18:30pm, bringing online access in line with walk-in and phone access. There is a broad support offer available from NHS England and integrated care boards where practices are struggling to meet this requirement.
The GP Contract requires that patients should always have the option of telephoning or visiting their practice in person, so those without digital access are not disadvantaged.
We are clear that online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing a GP.