Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to increase (a) the number of technical excellence colleges and (b) AI skills training to support the (i) advanced manufacturing and (ii) clean energy sectors in South Northamptonshire constituency, in the context of the skill commitments set out in the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, published on 23 June 2025.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Our Industrial Strategy puts skills at the heart of economic growth. This means ensuring training opportunities match growth areas like artificial intelligence (AI).
We are introducing Technical Excellence Colleges (TECs) to specialise in training skilled workforces for priority sectors, starting with Construction TECs. The number and design of TECs will reflect sectors’ needs, and further information will be published in due course. The government will introduce short courses in England, funded through the Growth and Skills Levy, in areas such as digital, AI and engineering.
The Technology Adoption Review (June 2025) considered barriers to adoption of transformative technologies across the Industrial Strategy’s priority sectors. The AI Opportunities Action Plan (January 2025) considered barriers for AI take-up across the economy aligned with the Industrial Strategy. The government will take forward all 50 recommendations, including recommendations on AI Skills and Talent.
The Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan (June 2025) set out government’s approach to supporting AI, including via one-stop-shops to offer expert advice for businesses around technology adoption.
The Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan (June 2025) establishes actions the government is taking to integrate AI into clean energy sectors, including accepting the findings of the Technology Adoption Review.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment Department has made of the cost to the public purse of the requirement that (a) all and (b) terminally ill patients should renew their Medical Exemption Certificates every five years.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has made no assessment of the cost to the public purse of the requirement for patients to renew their medical exemption certificate every five years.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
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 adequacy of data protection laws in ensuring that legitimate complaints processes are dealt with effectively by health bodies.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The handling of patient complaints in the National Health Service is governed by the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009. These regulations set out in law the minimum standards NHS organisations must adhere to in respect of their complaint handling arrangements.
There are strong protections in law to ensure that health and care information is used in a safe, secure, and legal way, and these must be observed in any complaints process. These include: the UK General Data Protection Regulation; the Data Protection Act 2018, which establishes a legal framework for processing personal information and keeping it secure, and for only using it for the purposes for which it was collected; the Human Rights Act 1998, which requires public bodies to respect the private life of an individual, including protecting any information held about them; and the common law duty of confidentiality.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to include information on aplastic anaemia on the NHS website; and what criteria is used to determine which rare diseases are featured.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Working under the UK Rare Diseases Framework, the Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as aplastic anaemia.
There are over 7,000 rare diseases, often needing highly specialised input, and so the National Health Service website is not always the most appropriate platform to disseminate such information. At this stage there are no plans to add aplastic anaemia to the website.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the NHS England Genomics Education Programme in improving healthcare professional awareness and understanding of (a) aplastic anaemia and (b) other rare diseases.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Working under the UK Rare Diseases Framework, the Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as aplastic anaemia.
NHS England’s flagship GeNotes resource, developed by NHS England's Genomics Education Programme, is aimed at healthcare professionals in order to continue their growth, and has more than 500 resources featured across nine specialties. Aplastic anaemia is not currently included in GeNotes. The Genomics Education Programme is also developing a range of training and educational resources on rare diseases, to include rare diseases in United Kingdom health professional education and training frameworks. Work continues to expand the programme’s coverage.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
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 (a) adequacy and (b) accessibility of transport services for (i) older and (ii) disabled patients attending NHS hospital appointments in rural areas.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the Plan for Change, we will ensure that 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. The Government is clear that reforming elective care must be done equitably and inclusively for all adults, children, and young people.
We know there is also geographical variation in waiting times. It is important that patients, including older and disabled patients, do not miss or cancel hospital appointments due to a lack of affordable and/or accessible transport options in their area.
This is why the Elective Reform Plan, published January 2025, committed to reviewing existing national health inequalities improvement initiatives to develop them and increase their uptake. Specifically, the plan committed to reviewing local patient transport services and improving the signposting to and the accessibility of them for patients, to make it easier for vulnerable groups to travel to and access appointments.
This includes improving the accessibility, awareness, and efficiency of The Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme, with a focus on reducing health inequalities and improving the patient experience.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
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 ensure that patients do not (a) miss and (b) cancel hospital appointments due to a lack of (i) affordable and (ii) accessible transport options.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the Plan for Change, we will ensure that 92% of patients return to waiting no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029, a standard which has not been met consistently since September 2015. The Government is clear that reforming elective care must be done equitably and inclusively for all adults, children, and young people.
We know there is also geographical variation in waiting times. It is important that patients, including older and disabled patients, do not miss or cancel hospital appointments due to a lack of affordable and/or accessible transport options in their area.
This is why the Elective Reform Plan, published January 2025, committed to reviewing existing national health inequalities improvement initiatives to develop them and increase their uptake. Specifically, the plan committed to reviewing local patient transport services and improving the signposting to and the accessibility of them for patients, to make it easier for vulnerable groups to travel to and access appointments.
This includes improving the accessibility, awareness, and efficiency of The Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme, with a focus on reducing health inequalities and improving the patient experience.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 56077 on Farmer: Mental Health, what findings have been identified through the Farmer Opinion Tracker on mental health challenges; and how these findings are informing agricultural policy development.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We listen to what farmers are telling us, reporting in our statistical series the strength of sentiment through both numbers and from the open response questions. Findings, alongside our engagement with farmers at shows and events and with representative bodies, including farming welfare charities, all contribute to a better understanding of the issues farmers are facing and how the delivery of schemes and other interventions can impact not just on businesses but also on farmers’ own personal resilience and mental health.
In the Farmer Opinion Tracker, we hear views from farmers across a range of issues relating to farming and we recognise that confidence remains low. Findings can be found on GOV.YK by searching ‘Farming Opinion Tracker’.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to support (a) South Northamptonshire and (b) other local authorities to improve grid connections for clean energy projects under the Connections Accelerator Service.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Clean energy projects in South Northamptonshire and other local authorities will benefit from ongoing reforms to the grid connection process which will release up to 500GW of capacity from the queue, enabling accelerated connections for schemes that are ready to progress and aligned with our strategic needs, as set out in the Clean Power Action Plan.
As set out in the Industrial Strategy, the Connections Accelerator Service will support demand projects to connect to the grid, including prioritising those that create high-quality jobs and bring the greatest economic value.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 2025 June to Question 57929 on Armed Force: Recruitment, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the accelerated recruitment process maintains rigorous standards in (a) training and (b) suitability assessments.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The current Government inherited a crisis in recruitment and retention from the last administration. We have made a series of announcements to improve Armed Forces recruitment and retention.
We are committed to maintaining the high standards of recruitment needed to build and maintain battle winning Armed Forces while still accelerating the recruitment process. The Services are improving training to recruitment personnel to maintain rigorous standards and ensure recruits become operationally effective quickly. Additionally, they are improving the digital exchange of medical information with civilian GPs. While specific numerical targets and timelines have not yet been formally published, we have initiated a series of reforms aimed at addressing challenges in these areas.
In addition, from 2027 the new Armed Forces Recruiting Service will provide a streamlined, single-entry point for prospective recruits, with the aim of recruiting from the broadest spectrum of society to attract the best talent into the Armed Forces. It will replace individual Service schemes and will modernise and improve how people join the Armed Forces. It will be a key enabler in building the future force, ensuring that the British Armed Forces remain equipped with skilled, motivated, and capable personnel ready to meet evolving global challenges.