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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the CMA's decision to allow some water companies to increase bills above the rate set by OFWAT on consumers.

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

Redetermination is an independent process, and the decision remains subject to consultation. The CMA will publish their final decision in March 2026.

We expect all water companies to put appropriate support in place for customers struggling to pay their bills and to proactively engage with their customers to ensure they know what support schemes are available and how to use them.

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 (a) the optimum number of pharmacies and (b) areas where there is an oversupply of pharmacies.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Community pharmacies are private businesses that provide National Health Service funded services.

There were 10,402 community pharmacies on 30 September 2025. In general, despite a reduction in the number of pharmacies in recent years, patient access to pharmacies remains good, and continues to be better in the most deprived areas when compared with the least deprived.

The vast majority of pharmacies are not directly commissioned or contracted by the NHS, instead contractors apply to gain entry to the NHS pharmaceutical list and if an application is approved, a pharmacy can start providing NHS services.

The assessments of the adequacy of provision, the location, and the number of pharmacies required in a certain area are the statutory responsibility of local authorities health and wellbeing boards. Local authorities are required to publish a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA) every three years. Integrated care boards (ICBs) give regard to the PNAs when reviewing applications from potential contractors.

Contractors can apply to open a new pharmacy to meet any current or future need identified in the PNA, but also to offer benefits to patients that were not foreseen by the PNA. If there is a need for a new local pharmacy to open and no contractors apply to open a pharmacy and fill the gap, ICBs can directly commission a new pharmacy to open outside of the market entry processes and can fund the contract from the ICB’s budgets.

Contractors can already seek an ICB’s permission to either consolidate different premises onto one site or to relocate their pharmacy premises to a different address. The approval of such requests depends on the impact it is likely to cause for patients and commissioners.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to adapt pharmacy contracts so that pharmacies can be re-located to areas of high need.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Community pharmacies are private businesses that provide National Health Service funded services.

There were 10,402 community pharmacies on 30 September 2025. In general, despite a reduction in the number of pharmacies in recent years, patient access to pharmacies remains good, and continues to be better in the most deprived areas when compared with the least deprived.

The vast majority of pharmacies are not directly commissioned or contracted by the NHS, instead contractors apply to gain entry to the NHS pharmaceutical list and if an application is approved, a pharmacy can start providing NHS services.

The assessments of the adequacy of provision, the location, and the number of pharmacies required in a certain area are the statutory responsibility of local authorities health and wellbeing boards. Local authorities are required to publish a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA) every three years. Integrated care boards (ICBs) give regard to the PNAs when reviewing applications from potential contractors.

Contractors can apply to open a new pharmacy to meet any current or future need identified in the PNA, but also to offer benefits to patients that were not foreseen by the PNA. If there is a need for a new local pharmacy to open and no contractors apply to open a pharmacy and fill the gap, ICBs can directly commission a new pharmacy to open outside of the market entry processes and can fund the contract from the ICB’s budgets.

Contractors can already seek an ICB’s permission to either consolidate different premises onto one site or to relocate their pharmacy premises to a different address. The approval of such requests depends on the impact it is likely to cause for patients and commissioners.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether Ofwat records non-operational land assets held by water companies.

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

Information on water companies non-operational land assets is held by water companies themselves.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of moving asylum seekers housed in hotels into disused military bases.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

As part of our commitment to close all asylum hotels, we are looking at a range of more appropriate sites including disused accommodation, industrial and ex-military sites so we can reduce the impact on communities. Alternative accommodation sites will be considered on a site-by-site basis, we will continue to work closely with key stakeholders and in compliance with published policy.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent appointments to the Food Strategy Advisory Board on (a) animal welfare, (b) farming practices and (c) farmers in Dorset.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given to the hon. Member for Newton Abbott, Martin Wrigley on 30 October 2025 PQ UIN 82470.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment with the Home Secretary of the potential merits of funding a wider rollout of long-acting Injectable Buprenorphine as a treatment option for people using opioids in Dorset.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department supports the provision of long-acting injectable buprenorphine as an option for those undergoing Opioid Substitution Treatment. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol treatment services according to local need, and this includes the provision of long-acting injectable buprenorphine.

In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26 the Department is providing Dorset Council with £1,469,140 to improve drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services. The Department encourages local authorities to prioritise resourcing long-acting injectable buprenorphine prescribing from this additional funding if current provision is not adequate.

The Department is currently doing more analysis to understand cost-effectiveness and develop clinical guidance, and to scope out how best to expand access to long-acting injectable buprenorphine further.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department holds data on families with home-educated children who are unable to (a) secure a place in a GCSE examination centre and (b) afford exam entry fees.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department does not hold data on families with home educated children who are unable to secure a place in a GCSE examination centre or afford exam entry fees.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will introduce the first ever duty on local authorities to provide support for home educating families in their areas who are registered with them and who request support. This support could include advice and information on how to access examinations.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of requiring water companies to demonstrate efficient land asset management before price increases are approved on customers.

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

Water bills are set by Ofwat who consider all aspects of company business planning through their price review process. The Government is preparing to respond to the recommendations of the Independent Water Commission, including on asset management. Reforms outlined in the government's forthcoming white paper will form the basis of a new water reform bill to be introduced early in this Parliament.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Ofsted inspections are carried out in accordance with standardised procedures across childcare settings.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

From 10 November 2025, Ofsted report cards will be introduced across all education remits Ofsted inspects, including early years. We need all inspections to be high-quality, consistent and conducted with the highest levels of professionalism. That is what Ofsted is determined to achieve.

Ofsted will receive additional funding from the department as part of the Best Start in Life strategy to enhance the quality and consistency of early years inspections. We will also fund Ofsted to move to inspecting all providers at least once every four years, as opposed to the current six-year window, to achieve parity with schools. This investment will support the government’s ambition to deliver the best start in life for every child.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment with Secretary of State for Education of the potential impact of amending Schedule 17, Part 1, Paragraph 12(b) of The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to enable schools to obtain new adrenaline nasal sprays for the treatment of allergic reactions on children with allergies .

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Officials at the Department are in the early stages of considering if potential amendments to Schedule 17 of the Human Medicines Regulations (HMRs) 2012 are required.

Should amendments to the HMRs be required, the Government will conduct a public consultation to ensure that the views of stakeholders are carefully considered, prior to any changes being made.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to amend the (a) Building Safety Act 2022 and (b) Building Regulations to ensure (i) building owners and (ii) nominated building design professionals can access Building Control records when required.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Provisions already exist within section 53 of the Building Act 1984 (as amended by the Building Safety Act 2022) to ensure relevant building control information is made available to both local authorities and those carrying out building work when changing building control body.

When a building control body can no longer provider services, they are required to provide the local authority any information it would have obtained had it been performing building control functions itself, and any additional information reasonably required to enable it to do so within 21 days. The building control body must also provide the person carrying out the work, typically the building owner or their nominated building design professional, any such information and other records necessary to allow another building control body to perform those functions.

The Department is considering how best to invest in building control digitalisation to improve the openness, accessibility, interoperability and reusability of building control data and deliver better outcomes for regulators, developers, built environment professionals and members of the public.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of HMRC's Child Benefit verification checks on the timelines of Self Assessment tax repayments.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Child Benefit is a non-means tested benefit payable to families as a contribution towards the cost of raising children. It is claimed through the Child Benefit service, which is separate to Self Assessment, so for the majority of families Child Benefit checks should have no impact on the timelines of Self Assessment tax repayments.

There are no further impacts anticipated.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) delays in HMRC Self Assessment tax repayments and (b) the non-fulfilment of published complaint response timeframes on taxpayers awaiting refunds.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC recognise that repayments are important for customers. They prioritise them to ensure they are processed as quickly and securely as possible.

HMRC balance the provision of prompt payments to eligible customers with effective revenue protection from fraudsters.

For Self Assessment repayments, once the repayment is created it goes through automated fraud and compliance checks. In 2024-25, after these checks, 93.1% of the repayments were paid automatically within a few days.

HMRC continues to invest in automation and to review their internal processes to ensure repayments are issued as quickly as possible.

HMRC recognise too the importance of keeping the customer, and where appropriate the customer’s representative, informed of progress, and are exploring ways of doing that more effectively.

In the meantime, HMRC’s online ‘Where’s My Reply’ tool can help customers understand when they can expect to receive a response.

HMRC aim to respond to complaints within six weeks.

In 2024-25, HMRC responded to 73% of new complaints within this timeframe. HMRC are committed to prioritising customer experience and are reviewing their complaints processes. The Adjudicator’s Annual Report was published on 20 October 2025 and HMRC are using the insight in the report to make further improvements.

Tobias Gutteridge

Matters for the Chancellor of the Exchequer to consider prior to the Autumn Budget 2025 (No. 3)

UK access to the EU SAFE defence fund

Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day on 20 November 2025

UK Youth Parliament 2025

Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week 2025

UK–EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement

Safeguarding pubs, brewers and one million jobs

Phenylketonuria awareness and access to treatment

Gambling executives' profits

Phenylketonuria awareness and access to treatment (No. 2)

Fly-tipping and illegal waste dumping by criminal gangs

Cumulative disruption proposals and the right to protest

President Trump’s 20-point peace plan

Local Housing Allowance

Conduct of Sir Robbie Gibb and the independence of the BBC Board

Family Business Week 2025

Support for the UK-Ukraine Trauma and Recovery Collaborative

Jordan Codices

RAF Photographic Reconnaissance Units

Cancer waiting times

Release of Alaa Abd El-Fattah and the plight of British nationals arbitrarily detained abroad

Improving equestrian road safety awareness

Conduct of Samir Zitouni and Stephen Crean on the 18.25 Doncaster to Kings Cross train on 1 November 2025

Protections for animals and people

Second homes in the Lake District

Buying community energy locally

Transparency and accountability in social media account closures

Government proposals for mandatory digital ID

Fossil fuel company profits

Local government and social care

Ukrainian Permission Extension Scheme