Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what support is being provided to local authorities to retrofit existing housing stock to improve climate resilience, in the context of the Climate Change Committee’s Well Adapted UK report.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
For low income and social households, the Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund provides funding to support the installation of technologies including heat pumps alongside solar PV, batteries and insulation. From 2027/2028 we plan to integrate these schemes into a single low-income scheme.
Over the course of this Parliament, we also intend to introduce the most appropriate and cost-effective passive cooling measures within our capital funded schemes focused on improving the homes of fuel poor consumers and social housing. We will prioritise higher impact, lower cost and lower regret measures to ensure best value for money.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 improve the resilience of the NHS to (a) heatwaves, (b) flooding and (c) other climate-related risks.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Climate change poses a growing risk to population health and to the National Health Service’s ability to deliver services, including through heatwaves, flooding, and other adverse weather events. Following the publication of the 2025 Health and Climate Adaptation Report, NHS England has published the NHS Climate Change Risk Assessment Tool and the Climate Adaptation Framework to support trusts in minimising climate-related risks to patients, staff, and services. The 2025 Health and Climate Adaptation Report, the NHS Climate Change Risk Assessment Tool, and the Climate Adaptation Framework are all available, respectively, at the following three links:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/health-and-climate-adaptation-reports/
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/climate-adaptation-resources/
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/climate-adaptation-resources/
In addition, all NHS trusts have Green Plans, with adaptation planning strengthened in the 2025 Green Plan Guidance, and NHS organisations are required to have effective arrangements in place for adverse weather as part of the NHS Core Standards for Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response. The 2025 Green Plan Guidance and the NHS Core Standards for Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response are available at the following two links:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/green-plan-guidance/
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if providers do not wish to engage with Palantir's FDP, what steps is he taking to ensure that they can procure alternative services.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) safely connects information across the National Health Service from different systems, into a single secure environment. This integration improves care coordination, expands treatment options, and leads to enhanced clinical outcomes. The capabilities it provides to local organisations will help deliver the National Health Service of the future as part of the Government's 10-Year Health Plan for England.
To date, 24 integrated care board clusters and 168 NHS trusts have signed up to the NHS FDP, including York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. NHS England publishes quarterly information on the benefits realised from the NHS FDP at the following link:
The NHS FDP is delivering for the NHS, helping people get the care they need quicker and more efficiently. Since March 2024, more than a 100,000 additional patients have been supported to undergo procedures in theatres partly by increasing theatre utilisation, nearly 94,000 people have been supported on their cancer journey, with 7% seeing a reduction in the time it took to diagnose their cancer, and there has been a 14% decrease in delays discharging patients staying in hospital for more than seven days, freeing up beds for those who need them.
However, where NHS organisations would like to use alternative solutions, they retain the ability to procure locally, provided solutions meet applicable standards and support the delivery of national priorities. NHS England continues to support providers in ensuring that their digital estate aligns with national standards and delivers value for money for taxpayers.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are required under the Palantir Federated Data Platform contract to end the contract.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) safely connects information from different systems across the National Health Service into a single, secure environment. This allows staff to co-ordinate care to improve outcomes for patients.
To date, 24 integrated care board clusters and 168 NHS trusts have signed up to the NHS FDP, including York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. NHS England publishes quarterly information on the benefits realised from the NHS FDP at the following link:
The NHS FDP has allowed trusts to make better use of their operating theatres, reduce waiting times for diagnoses, including for cancer, and supported trusts to discharge people more quickly from hospital.
The NHS FDP and Associated Services contract contains clear terms and processes associated with Exit Management, as set out in Schedule 8.5 of the contract. The technical process relating to contract term and extension is set out in the published version of the contract which is available at the following link:
https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/0f8a65b5-23a2-4294-abb1-a7fd8efb3ad0
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 support (a) wetland restoration, (b) tree planting and (c) other nature-based solutions to mitigate (i) flood and (ii) heat risks.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Nature-based solutions offer sustainable approaches to environmental challenges, delivering benefits for nature, communities, water security, water quality, and flood resilience, including measures such as tree planting and wetland restoration. The Environment Agency’s (EA) position statement (published in July 2025) reinforces the Government’s commitment to working with natural processes alongside traditional infrastructure. The EA is funding 35 projects to test Natural Flood Management (NFM) approaches, now being mainstreamed through flood funding reform, with a commitment to invest 3% of the programme in NFM, rising to 4%.
The Government has set a legal target to restore or create over 500,000 hectares of a range of wildlife-rich habitat outside protected sites by 2042 in England. As of March 2026, since 30 January 2023, action to create or restore approximately 8,300 hectares of wetland habitat has been reported to be underway in England.
We are investing £1 billion in tree planting and support to the forestry sector over this parliament including our England Woodland Creation Offer which provides financial support for tree planting, and investing £300m in standalone NFM schemes by 2036.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 ensure that (a) water supply systems and (b) other critical infrastructure are resilient to projected climate impacts.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In the Water White Paper, the Government set out our commitment to developing statutory resilience standards, which will be brought forward through the Clean Water Bill announced in the King’s Speech.
These standards will require companies to undertake long-term assessments of their water supply and sewerage assets and systems. Alongside a reformed approach to setting funding and incentives for asset maintenance, these standards will safeguard customer services in the context of a changing climate as well as population growth and other pressures.
Furthermore, a programme of £8 billion has been secured through to 2030 to invest in infrastructure and actions to improve water supply resilience. Major supply infrastructure planned before 2050 includes 10 new reservoirs, 9 water transfer schemes and 2 desalination schemes.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will confirm whether the expediting of Visas and support for exiting Gaza for Chevening and full scholarship offer holders for Gazan students will be extended to the next academic year.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government is continuing to keep this policy, and its impacts, under review.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of elective surgery undertaken in the independent sector; and how this compares in numerical terms and as a percentage with each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows information relating to elective episodes with procedures, which includes elective surgery alongside other procedures which may be performed elsewhere:
Operational Year | Episodes with a procedure in independent sector providers | Episodes with a procedure in NHS providers | Independent sector provider episodes with a procedure as percentage of total episodes with a procedure |
2021/22 | 609,200 | 6,850,963 | 8.2% |
2022/23 | 793,137 | 7,235,749 | 9.9% |
2023/24 | 847,417 | 7,731,835 | 9.9% |
2024/25 | 924,939 | 8,407,808 | 9.9% |
2025/26* | 834,803* | 8,251,733* | 9.2%* |
Source: NHS England
Note: Data for 2025/26 is currently provisional and may be subject to change.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to measure the productivity of integrated care boards.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Information on the approach taken to the assessment of integrated care boards is available at the following links:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/nhs-oversight-framework/annual-assessment-of-integrated-care-boards-icbs/
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what criteria will be used to allocate future Pride in Place grants; and if he will use the lower tier indices of deprivation to provide support to communities.
Answered by Nesil Caliskan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Our £5.8 billion Pride in Place programme is supporting 284 communities across the UK with up to £20 million in funding to address the local issues that matter most to them. The neighbourhoods have been selected using a robust methodology which identified those affected by a combination of material deprivation and low social capital. We will keep our methodologies under review for any future funding schemes.