Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many newly qualified nurses have been recruited to each NHS Trust in the last four years; and how many have been recruited from overseas.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold information on the number of newly qualified nurses recruited by each National Health Service trust, and where they were trained.

The table attached shows the number of joiners to the nursing and health visitors staff group at a band five level, by NHS trust, for each of the past four financial years. It is not possible to accurately identify a member of staff who is newly qualified, but in the attached table we have given the number of staff joining the NHS in band five roles, which is the pay grade at which nurses begin their employment, although this will include some nurses who have left NHS employment for a period of time and returned into band five roles, including those returning from unpaid career breaks. The Electronic Staff Record System, the Human Resources system for the NHS from which this information is drawn, also includes the self-declared nationality of staff, and whilst this may not equate to where they were trained, it allows new joiners to be split by United Kingdom and non-UK nationalities.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding her Department plans to provide for (a) tennis and (b) padel facilities during the Spending Review period.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the nation following the Spending Review.

We will now work closely with sporting bodies - including the Lawn Tennis Association - and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England provides long term investment to the LTA, which receives up to £10.2 million for 5 years from 2022 to invest in tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of existing flood-related resources for fire and rescue services; and whether she plans to increase guaranteed resources.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this government. Fire and Rescue Authorities already have duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to prepare for emergencies, including major flooding. However, we recognise the interest in creating a statutory duty for flood rescue and officials are working with DEFRA, as lead government department for flooding, to consider the wider implications of this.

MHCLG supports Fire and Rescue Authorities in responding to flood incidents by providing national resilience High Volume Pump (HVP) capabilities. These are available to be used by Fire & Rescue Services across the country during major flood incidents. Additionally, DEFRA hold the Flood Rescue National Asset Register, a list of teams or assets that voluntarily join the register and maintain availability for national deployment in England.

The 2025/26 Local Government Finance Settlement set out funding allocations for all local authorities, including Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs). Standalone FRAs will see an increase in core spending power of up to £69.1m in 2025/26.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to make flood rescue a statutory duty of the fire and rescue service.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Protecting communities from flooding is a key priority for this government. Fire and Rescue Authorities already have duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to prepare for emergencies, including major flooding. However, we recognise the interest in creating a statutory duty for flood rescue and officials are working with DEFRA, as lead government department for flooding, to consider the wider implications of this.

MHCLG supports Fire and Rescue Authorities in responding to flood incidents by providing national resilience High Volume Pump (HVP) capabilities. These are available to be used by Fire & Rescue Services across the country during major flood incidents. Additionally, DEFRA hold the Flood Rescue National Asset Register, a list of teams or assets that voluntarily join the register and maintain availability for national deployment in England.

The 2025/26 Local Government Finance Settlement set out funding allocations for all local authorities, including Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs). Standalone FRAs will see an increase in core spending power of up to £69.1m in 2025/26.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the amount of water lost due to leaking toilets in the UK; and if he will take steps to help reduce this.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Waterwise, the lead environmental non-governmental organisation for water efficiency, estimates to 8% of toilets are leaking around 400 litres a day each.

The Government is committed to reducing leakage by 50% by 2050 as part of our legally binding target to reduce water use per person by 20% by 2038. This includes taking steps to reduce water wastage from toilets. Our recent update to our government response on a Call for Evidence on leaking toilets, conducted in 2022 outlined we are reviewing initial discussions with stakeholders as part of a ‘leaky loos taskforce’ to understand the steps needed to reduce toilet leakage.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment has he made of the reasons for the exemption of the Advanced Research and Invention Agency from the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

ARIA is a small body with limited administrative capacity to handle Freedom of Information Act requests. It is important that ARIA is focused on funding long-term transformational research for the benefit of the UK.

ARIA is, however, dedicated to transparency. ARIA has other statutory commitments to transparency, including requirements for it to submit an annual report and a statement of accounts, which are laid before Parliament and audited by the National Audit Office or a commercial auditor. In addition to this, ARIA regularly publishes transparency information on its website, including on its financial transactions, contracts and funding recipients.

Found: SW1A 2HP OFFICIAL OFFICIAL OFFICIAL www.gov.uk Toby Perkins

Found: Current membership Mr Toby Perkins (Labour; Chesterfield) (Chair) Olivia Blake (Labour; Sheffield Hallam

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair); Olivia Blake; Julia Buckley; Ellie Chowns

Found: Chair Toby Perkins, to my right, you are also very welcome.

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair); Olivia Blake; Julia Buckley; Ellie Chowns

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair); Olivia Blake; Julia Buckley; Ellie Chowns

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair); Olivia Blake; Ellie Chowns; Barry Gardiner

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair); Olivia Blake; Ellie Chowns; Barry Gardiner