Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, given the forthcoming report of the Cranston Public Inquiry into the tragic loss of 27 lives in the English Channel in November 2021, has she undertaken a review of Channel operations, and the search and rescue capability UK Border Force provides to His Majesty's Coastguard.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
It would be wrong to pre-empt the findings and recommendations of a public inquiry, but it should be noted that considerable improvements had been made in how UK authorities detect and respond to these dangerous, illegal and unnecessary crossing attempts of the Channel, even before the Cranston Inquiry was announced.
The Home Office will study the findings and recommendations of the Inquiry when they are delivered.
Our thoughts remain with the loved ones of those many people who were lost in this appalling tragedy.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many migrants crossing the Channel in small boats present with either pre-existing medical conditions or injuries, or with injuries sustained from the crossing itself.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
These records are not held in a readily retrievable form, and it would only be possible to provide the information being sought at a disproportionate cost.
Migrants who have made dangerous, illegal, and unnecessary crossings of the Channel by small boat do sometimes present with injuries such as petrol burns, or dangerous medical conditions such as hypothermia. Our response to these crossings is reducing the risk to safety of life at sea, and the Home Office has a reception process which includes assessment of all arrivals by suitably qualified medical personnel.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking tackle developers who bank land instead of building homes, such as the 2,000 new homes with planning permission in Woking where construction has not started.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In May 2025, the government published a Planning Reform Working Paper: Speeding Up Build Out inviting views on further action the government should take to speed up homes being built. It can be found on gov.uk here.
On the same day, we launched a technical consultation on implementing measures to improve the transparency of build rates from new residential developments, which includes proposals to implement provisions in Section 113 of the LURA on the power to decline to determine applications. That consultation can be found on gov.uk here.
We are now analysing the responses to both consultations, and we will set out our next steps in due course.
The government is currently consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), including new policy designed to ensure major development proposals are capable of being implemented within a reasonable period – taking into account tenure mix, local market conditions and development history of the site.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much South Western Railway has spent on KPMG’s services to develop a business case for the infrastructure investment.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Expenditure on external consultants is a matter for train companies to manage. The Department has agreed challenging budget targets with every train operating company, including South Western Railway, and officials discuss spending against these budgets on a regular basis.
Expenditure on specific contracts cannot be shared as it is commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much South Western Railway has spent on external consultants since May 2025.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Expenditure on external consultants is a matter for train companies to manage. The Department has agreed challenging budget targets with every train operating company, including South Western Railway, and officials discuss spending against these budgets on a regular basis.
Expenditure on specific contracts cannot be shared as it is commercially sensitive.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential economic impact of improving transport connections from Woking.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Under public ownership, South Western Railway will be undertaking a complete redesign of their timetable which will include reviewing connections from Woking. In the assessment of options, wider economic impacts will be a consideration, alongside other factors such as reducing the net subsidy requirement of the railway, meeting passenger demand and improving operational performance.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the end of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on (a) Christ Church in Woking and (b) other community services run by Churches.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
The Church of England continues to await proposals from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport for the future of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme and has not seen the results of the Department’s recent evaluation. These proposals will have an important bearing on the repair work that can be undertaken and the Department is aware of our concerns in this respect. With the existing scheme scheduled to end in March 2026, assurance for the future is now urgent.
Were the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme to come to an end, it would mean that every project to repair a listed parish church or cathedral would need to find an additional 20% to cover the cost of VAT, requiring more charitable fundraising, donations, and grants to cover the additional costs needed.
In their ‘House for Good’ report the National Churches Trust (using Treasury Green Book calculations) estimated that £1 invested in a church generates £16 in value for the local community. The impact of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme is significant in enabling substantial community investment, especially in areas with lower economic activity.
In the Woking constituency Christ Church Woking and St Mary of Bethany are listed churches that require significant projects to repair and restore their buildings. Both churches offer support to their local community through addressing loneliness, improving mental health, and providing spaces for young people and intergenerational work. Without the finances to undertake the restoration of these two buildings, the community projects run by these two churches will be at risk, as will be the contribution they make to the local community.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if the Department has reviewed charges from energy suppliers on households wishing to have gas meters removed.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem recently launched a “Gas Disconnections Framework Review” — a “Request for Information” gathering stakeholder views and data on the wider disconnections process are how they are handled for domestic and small-business consumers. The conclusions of this exercise will be published in early 2026.
Energy suppliers can arrange to remove a gas meter and the gas distribution network operator can arrange for the gas pipe to the property to be safely disconnected from the mains supply.
Charges for these services can differ depending on the amount and complexity of work required, location, and other work that may be going on at the same time, such as fitting a heat pump.
We expect that where a consumer wishes to have their meter removed and supply capped, their supplier will do so promptly and at the lowest cost possible.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what recent discussions she has had with the Serious Fraud Office on the closure of Vashi jewellers.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
To assist with my oversight of the Serious Fraud Office, I hold regular superintendence meetings with the SFO’s executive team to keep me appraised of relevant SFO casework matters.
The SFO is a relatively small, highly specialised government department that is permitted by law to investigate only the most serious and complex cases of fraud and bribery affecting the UK.
Decisions on which cases to investigate are taken independently by the SFO, with the Director determining whether to authorise an investigation in accordance with the criteria set out in the Director’s Statement of Principle.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 July 2025 to Question 69040 on Park Homes: Sales, when he plans to seek further evidence from the sector on the rationale for the commission.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government recognise that there are longstanding concerns about the requirement to pay site owners a commission upon sale of a park home. The previous government published a report in June 2022 on the impact of a change in the maximum park home sale commission. It can be found on gov.uk here. We will set out plans in due course to seek further evidence from the sector on the rationale for the commission.