Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the Minister for Child Maintenance has declined requests to meet with STOPSuicides UK.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The minister regularly meets with key stakeholders and undertakes extensive engagement via correspondence with organisations who have an interest in the Child Maintenance Service, including with STOPSuicide UK and will continue to do so.
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, if he will undertake a review of eligibility criteria for non-emergency patient transport services; and if he will make it his policy to expand eligibility to include transport of patients receiving haemodialysis to dialysis or transplant assessment and follow-up appointments when those services are not commissioned locally.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Non-Emergency Patient Transport Schemes (NEPTS) often provide funded transport where a medical condition means that a patient would struggle to safely attend their treatment independently. NEPTS can be provided by ambulance trusts or other providers depending on local arrangements.
In May 2022, NHS England set out eligibility criteria, which includes disability criteria, available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/B1244-nepts-eligibility-criteria.pdf
NHS England has worked closely with a range of kidney patient groups, renal professionals, integrated care boards (ICBs), and other stakeholders to develop a dialysis transport support framework which has been made directly available to ICBs. The 2022 updates to the eligibility criteria included where patients are travelling to or returning from in-centre haemodialysis, in which case specialist transport, non-specialist transport, or upfront/reimbursement costs for private travel will be made available.
NEPTS in England is an operational matter for the National Health Service, and how the NEPTS guidance is implemented at a local level is determined by ICBs and their partners, including local ambulance trusts. There are no current plans to update the eligibility criteria further.
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 assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services eligibility criteria on access to transplant services for patients with chronic kidney disease required to travel outside local Integrated Care Board areas.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Non-Emergency Patient Transport Schemes (NEPTS) often provide funded transport where a medical condition means that a patient would struggle to safely attend their treatment independently. NEPTS can be provided by ambulance trusts or other providers depending on local arrangements.
In May 2022, NHS England set out eligibility criteria, which includes disability criteria, available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/B1244-nepts-eligibility-criteria.pdf
NHS England has worked closely with a range of kidney patient groups, renal professionals, integrated care boards (ICBs), and other stakeholders to develop a dialysis transport support framework which has been made directly available to ICBs. The 2022 updates to the eligibility criteria included where patients are travelling to or returning from in-centre haemodialysis, in which case specialist transport, non-specialist transport, or upfront/reimbursement costs for private travel will be made available.
NEPTS in England is an operational matter for the National Health Service, and how the NEPTS guidance is implemented at a local level is determined by ICBs and their partners, including local ambulance trusts. There are no current plans to update the eligibility criteria further.
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 steps his Department is taking to support households reliant on heating oil in rural areas; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to heating oil prices on households in Boston and Skegness constituency.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We understand that heating oil pricing is a significant issue for households. The Secretary of State and The Minister for Energy have been closely engaging with their counterparts across Government on heating oil prices, including with the Treasury and Devolved Governments. These discussions have been focussed on UK-wide prices of heating oil.
The Secretary of State has written to the industry reminding heating oil distributors of their commitments under the UKIFDA Code of Practice, including the need for fair, transparent and justifiable pricing. Ministers have also spoken with the Competition and Markets Authority, who announced on 11 March they are probing further on two main issues consumers have raised with them on heating oil prices following complaints they have received. They will not hesitate to take action where there is evidence of breaches of consumer protections.
We will keep reviewing whether any further support or action may be needed to protect consumers.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether, whether his Department considers the extent to which a bidder’s business is based in the United Kingdom, and the proportion of its workforce that is employed in the United Kingdom as factors in the evaluation and award process for public procurement contracts..
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Contracts awarded under the Procurement Act 2023 which are considered to be below threshold (where the total value of a contract for goods and services is less than £135,018 including VAT) can already be reserved to UK-based suppliers, or suppliers based in specific regions.
The Government is determined to ensure the £400 billion of public money spent on public procurement annually delivers economic growth and supports British businesses. Last year we consulted on a range of procurement reforms and will publish our response imminently.
When considering whether to reserve contracts to UK-based suppliers the Cabinet Office will take into account the current market for the goods/services being bought, and undertake supplier due diligence.
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
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.