Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many UK households have experienced power cuts in the last five years due to insufficient renewable energy supply.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No UK households have experienced power cuts in the last five years due to insufficient renewable electricity generation. Great Britain has a highly resilient electricity system with diverse supplies, and the system operator has the tools required to balance supply and demand across a wide range of scenarios.
Where power cuts have occurred, these have resulted from factors such as severe weather or local network faults, rather than generation adequacy.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Care during the Adjournment debate on 20 March 2025, Official Report, column 610, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that all patients are offered face-to-face appointments when one is requested (a) in Boston and Skegness constituency and (b) England; how many face-to-face GP appointments have there been in each of the last 12 months; and how these figures compare with pre-COVID-19 levels.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise the significant value of face-to-face appointments. That is why the Government has guaranteed a face-to-face appointment for all those who want one, both nationally and in Boston and Skegness. We have invested an extra £1.1 billion into primary care, recruited an extra 2,500 general practitioners (GPs), resulting in 6.5 million more GP appointments delivered to patients, than in the previous year. Our continued investment is designed to enhance access to all GP appointments, irrespective of their mode, enabling patients to choose either face-to-face or remote consultations in line with their preferences and clinical needs.
The National Health Service is clear that GPs must provide face-to-face appointments, alongside remote consultations, and patients’ input into consultation type should be sought and their preferences for face-to-face care respected unless there are good clinical reasons to the contrary.
Face-to-face GP appointments in Boston and Skegness are up 7.5% since before COVID-19, rising from 569,000 in 2019 to 612,000 in 2025. Nationally, face-to-face GP appointments dropped by 1.3%, from 241 million in 2019 to 238.6 million in 2025.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average wait time is for an NHS ambulance response to a Category 1 emergency in (a) Boston and Skegness constituency and (b) the UK.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Boston and Skegness constituency is served by the East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EMAS). The latest National Health Service figures show that in December 2025, the average Category 1 response time in EMAS was nine minutes 12 seconds. This compares to the national average of seven minutes 59 seconds.
Through our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26, we are taking action to improve ambulance response times across England, including in Lincolnshire. The plan commits to reducing average response times for Category 2 incidents to 30 minutes this year. Supported by almost £450 million of capital investment, we are expanding same-day and urgent care capacity, delivering 500 new ambulances, and enhancing the speed and quality of care for the most seriously ill and injured patients. We are also tackling unacceptable ambulance handover delays by introducing a maximum 45-minute standard, supporting ambulances to be released more quickly and get back on the road to treat patients.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the annual cost to the NHS is of providing healthcare to illegal migrants.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England do not hold the information requested. The overall management of asylum seekers is a matter for the Home Office.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what financial liabilities relating to Lindsey Oil Refinery decommissioning fall to the taxpayer, as opposed to the buyer of the site.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The insolvency process at Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery is led by the court-appointed Official Receiver, who must act in accordance with his statutory duties and independently of government. The government will continue to support and fund the Official Receiver until a sale has been completed.
After a thorough process to identify a buyer for the site, the Official Receiver determined Phillips 66 is the most credible bidder which can provide a viable future for this site. The sale is expected to complete in the first half of 2026.
As I set out in DESNZ Orals on 6 January 2025, the government is not responsible for the decommissioning liabilities, these will be for Phillips 66 as part of the sale.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government has considered proposals to require all new cars to be fitted with clearly visible window‑breaking tools and seatbelt cutters above each window, and whether it plans to make such safety equipment a mandatory requirement for vehicle manufacturers.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department for Transport has commissioned research to look into whether an emergency exit tool could be added to the list of recommended emergency equipment that is contained in Rule 97 of the Highway Code.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many onshore wind turbines have been constructed in the UK in each of the last five years; and how much funding his Department has provided for onshore wind.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This information is available via the Renewable Energy Planning Database.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the projected cost is of achieving net zero by 2050, including costs to government, business and households.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Net zero is the economic and industrial opportunity of the 21st century. Since July 2024, over £60bn of private investment has been announced in our clean energy industries.
The independent CCC estimates net costs of the transition to be on average the equivalent of 0.2% of UK GDP per year, and this doesn't account for the wider growth benefits. The OBR's ‘Fiscal risks and sustainability report’ (2025) makes clear, meeting climate targets will cost less than failing to deal with climate change. Only by investing in the transition now can we reduce costs in future.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the estimated total cost to households is of replacing gas boilers with heat pumps.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The cost to a household of replacing a gas boiler with a heat pump will depend on take-up of the available Government support, the size of the heat pump unit required and any ancillary works such as replacing radiators.
Data on voucher redemptions under the BUS is available at: BUS monthly scheme update | Ofgem
Other support schemes are available for low-income households and social housing, and for eligible homes a heat pump installation may be supported at no cost to the household.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many immigration cases have been delayed due to legal challenges under the Human Rights Act in the past five years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.