Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the expected overall value of additional payments to be made to GPs from seeking advice and guidance from hospital consultants for at least 25 per cent of certain referrals in each of the next three years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Neighbourhood Health Framework sets out an ambition to improve how patients are directed to the most appropriate care, including through better use of Advice and Guidance (A&G) between general practices (GPs) and specialist services. There is no target for A&G. The 25% diversion rate referenced in the Neighbourhood Health Framework is based on learning seen in areas where this model is already working well and demonstrates the potential benefit to other systems. The importance of clinical judgment remains unchanged, that if a patient needs a hospital referral, they will get one.
The 2026/27 GP Contract embeds the £82 million of funding from the previous A&G enhanced service into core practice funding. Embedding A&G in the core contract recognises it as routine clinical practice, removes annual signups, and provides more predictable funding while supporting consistent patient pathways.
No separate payments will be made to GPs for each A&G request. As such, the Department has not set an expected overall value of additional payments to be made to GPs seeking A&G from hospital consultants.
The GP Contract does not mandate the use of A&G in all circumstances. Instead, as per the Medium-Term Planning Framework published in October 2025, providers are expected to prioritise A&G prior to or in place of a planned care referral for at least ten specialties, selected locally for the greatest overall benefit and to shape delivery of elective pathways. This does not take away a GP’s right to refer, which remains a matter of clinical judgement. This reflects longstanding planned‑care referral practice and does not alter existing legal or professional accountability frameworks for GPs.
A&G is designed to support quicker, clearer clinical decision making, by enabling GPs and specialist to discuss and agree the most appropriate next steps for a patient. A&G avoids patients having to join lengthy hospital waiting lists and undertake unnecessary appointments where this is in the patient’s best interests and where care can be delivered closer to home. Direct advice from specialists supports joint working between primary and secondary care. Between April 2025 and November 2025, A&G has avoided 1.1 million patients being added to waiting lists, ensuring patients receive the care they need in primary and community settings where appropriate, instead of being added to the elective waiting list unnecessarily.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, further to the Government’s ten year plan ‘Fit for the Future’ in which he states the Government ‘s intention to move health services from hospitals to the community, if he will putlish a list of the current community patient services offered at the Doddington hospital site in Fenland, and for each service the NHS organisation which is responsible for the delivery of those services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The current community patient services offered at both the North Cambridgeshire site in Wisbech and the Doddington hospital site in Fenland, and the organisations delivering those services, are listed in the attached tables.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, further to the Government’s ten year plan ‘Fit for the Future’ in which he states the Government’s intention to move health services from hospitals to the community, if he will publish a list of the current community patient services offered at the North Cambridgeshire site in Wisbech, and for each service the NHS organisation which is responsible for the delivery of that service.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The current community patient services offered at both the North Cambridgeshire site in Wisbech and the Doddington hospital site in Fenland, and the organisations delivering those services, are listed in the attached tables.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his oral contribution in response to the Rt hon. Member for North East Cambridgeshire during the Oral Statement of 23 February 2026 on Labour Together and APCO Worldwide: Cabinet Office Review, Official Report, column 32, which Minister approved the temporary appointment to the role of Director General for Propriety and Ethics.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Interim arrangements do not usually require ministerial approval. A recruitment campaign will be launched in due course.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to his statement to the House on 23 February 2026 in Hansard volume 781, column 32, by what date do they expect to launch the external recruitment campaign for the role of Director General for Propriety and Ethics.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer to my answer to 110422, the recruitment campaign for the permanent role will be launched in due course.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Q134 of the oral evidence given by his Department's Permanent Secretary to the Defence Committee on 17 March 2026, HC 1779, if he will publish the metrics used for tracking the reduction in civil service workforce costs and the related data from July 2024 onwards.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence publishes metrics to report total Civil Service headcount, and changes over time biannually and are available on gov.uk. (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-biannual-civilian-personnel-report-october-2025)
The next edition has a provisional release date of 14 May 2026 and will present MOD Civil Service statistics as at 1 April 2026.
The Defence Reform and Efficiency plan, which will be published alongside the Defensive Investment Plan, will also set out the Department's plans in relation to workforce and wider efficiencies.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many one star military officers and above does he plan to have in place by the end of this Parliament.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Defence’s workforce structure is regularly reviewed and adjusted according to the threat and capability requirements. This includes the number of senior officers. The future workforce structure and associated workforce plans will be reviewed in conjunction with the Defence Investment Plan.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in each of the last three years for which figures are available, how many members of the UK’s Active Reserve forces were qualified and current as a Foxhound driver.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
For reasons of operational security, the Ministry of Defence does not disclose detailed information on internal force structures or strengths.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in each of the last three years for which figures are available, how many members of the UK’s Active Reserve forces were qualified and current as a Jackal driver.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
For reasons of operational security, the Ministry of Defence does not disclose detailed information on internal force structures or strengths.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in each of the last three years for which figures are available, how many members of the UK’s Active Reserve forces were qualified and current as a light gun operator.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
For reasons of operational security, the Ministry of Defence does not disclose detailed information on internal force structures or strengths.