Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the abolition of NHS England on pension schemes for NHS England workers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The abolition of NHS England is not expected to have a significant impact on the overall financing of the NHS Pension Scheme for England and Wales. The NHS Pension scheme is one the largest pension schemes in the United Kingdom, with approximately 1.8 million active members. An actuarial valuation is conducted every four years to ensure the level of contributions made by members and employers meet the full cost of their pension rights as they accrue them. Those accrued pension rights are underwritten by the Exchequer and will be paid in full when a member retires.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department hols on the longest time that someone has had to wait to obtain a wheelchair or walker on the NHS.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not held centrally. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, based on the needs of their local population.
NHS England supports ICBs to reduce variation in the quality and provision of National Health Service wheelchairs, and to reduce delays in people receiving timely intervention and wheelchair equipment. Since July 2015, NHS England has collected quarterly data from clinical commissioning groups, now ICBs, on wheelchair provision, including waiting times, to enable targeted action if improvement is required. The latest figures from Quarter 2 2025/26 National Wheelchair Data Collection showed that 84% of adults and 78% of children received their equipment within 18 weeks. Further information is avaiable at the following link:
The Community Health Services Situation Report, which will be used to monitor ICB performance against waiting time targets in 2026/27, currently monitors waiting times for both children and young people, and adults through the Wheelchair, Orthotics, Prosthetics and Equipment line, with further information avaiable at the following link:
The NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework, published October 2025, requires that, from 2026/27, all ICBs and community health services must actively manage and reduce the proportion of waits across all community health services over 18 weeks and develop a plan to eliminate all 52-week waits.
These targets will guide systems to reduce longest waits. Improvement initiatives to meet these targets may affect waits that are over 18-weeks and 52-weeks.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time is for someone to obtain a wheelchair or walker on the NHS.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not held centrally. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the provision and commissioning of local wheelchair services, based on the needs of their local population.
NHS England supports ICBs to reduce variation in the quality and provision of National Health Service wheelchairs, and to reduce delays in people receiving timely intervention and wheelchair equipment. Since July 2015, NHS England has collected quarterly data from clinical commissioning groups, now ICBs, on wheelchair provision, including waiting times, to enable targeted action if improvement is required. The latest figures from Quarter 2 2025/26 National Wheelchair Data Collection showed that 84% of adults and 78% of children received their equipment within 18 weeks. Further information is avaiable at the following link:
The Community Health Services Situation Report, which will be used to monitor ICB performance against waiting time targets in 2026/27, currently monitors waiting times for both children and young people, and adults through the Wheelchair, Orthotics, Prosthetics and Equipment line, with further information avaiable at the following link:
The NHS Medium-Term Planning Framework, published October 2025, requires that, from 2026/27, all ICBs and community health services must actively manage and reduce the proportion of waits across all community health services over 18 weeks and develop a plan to eliminate all 52-week waits.
These targets will guide systems to reduce longest waits. Improvement initiatives to meet these targets may affect waits that are over 18-weeks and 52-weeks.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will consider the potential merits of a dedicated Cadet Forces Day within Armed Forces Week to recognise the cadet force and to provide a national focal point to celebrate achievements and promote volunteering.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The contribution the Cadet Forces make to our communities is significant and being a cadet provides immense value to young people through the numerous benefits that the ‘cadet experience’ offers.
The Government is committed to expanding the Cadet Forces and we are very pleased that the Strategic Defence Review recommended a growth in cadet numbers by 30% by 2030. This exciting initiative is backed with an initial investment of £70 million and work is currently underway to establish how and where the 30% increase will be realised.
Although the Ministry of Defence Cadet Forces are not technically part of the Armed Forces, they are a part of the wider ‘Defence Family’. Cadets and adult volunteers form a key link with wider society and recognising the Cadet Forces is, therefore, an appealing idea.
Cadets already contribute to Armed Forces Week, typically through locally organised activities, and this is something we continue to encourage. Given the aim of significantly increasing the number of cadets and adult volunteers we also see clear merit in raising awareness of the Cadet Forces at a national level and, like my predecessor, I am also supportive of your proposal.
We are actively considering how the concept of a Cadet Forces Day can be developed, although I do not have any specific updates to share with you at this time.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to review sanctions on Russian assets: and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of amending Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation licensing rules to require owners to maintain sanctioned properties.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We keep our sanctions powers, regimes, designations and measures under review to respond to new developments and changing circumstances.
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) may issue general or specific licences on behalf of His Majesty's Treasury to allow activities otherwise prohibited by an asset freeze, such as payments for existing obligations or property maintenance. However, a licence only permits these actions - it does not require the designated person to carry them out. Maintenance or repairs will occur only if they choose to do so.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to review the maintenance of sanctioned assets where deterioration may affect (a) public and (b) heritage value.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Where a designated person (DP) owns or controls economic resources, such as property, those resources are subject to an asset freeze. Where appropriate, OFSI may issue either a general or specific licence on behalf of HM Treasury to permit activity that would otherwise be prohibited by an asset freeze. This includes to enable payments for the routine holding and maintenance of properties owned by designated persons in order to prevent their deterioration.
However, while a licence permits such payments, it does not compel the designated person to undertake the work. Therefore, even if OFSI issues a licence, maintenance or repairs will only take place if the designated person is willing to carry them out.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to promote active and healthy lifestyles among pensioners, including through access to affordable physical activity and active travel.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that reducing physical inactivity and promoting active, healthy lifestyles in people of all ages, including among pensioners, is important in helping people live longer, healthier lives, and is a key part of the Department’s shift from treatment to prevention.
The NHS Better Health Campaign promotes ways for people of all ages to move more, and signposts to digital support like the NHS Active 10 walking and NHS Couch to 5k app.
The Department supports the National Health Service, together with local authorities, to provide a range of community and social prescribing approaches to support older people, such as walking groups and aquatic/swimming classes.
The Government is promoting active and healthy lifestyles among pensioners through investment in walking and cycling infrastructure and community-based programmes that make active travel safer and more accessible for older adults, and has recently closed its consultation on the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, due to be published next year.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease; and what support the NHS provides to people with Motor Neurone Disease in southern England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England does not commission services from the Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease (MND). Funding for the centre is provided by the Leeds Hospital charity service. Therefore, neither NHS England, nor the Department, have made an assessment of the effectiveness of the centre.
NHS England commissions specialised services for neurology, which includes MND. There are 27 specialised neurology centres in England, eight of which are in London, three of which are in the south-east, and two of which are in the south-west.
In August 2025, NHS England published a revised service specification for specialised adult neurology services. It outlines a number of minimum service requirements for key specialties, including neuromuscular disorders like MND, and is avaiable at the following link:
There are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with MND, including the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology and the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit. NHS England has also established a Neurology Transformation Programme, a multi-year, clinically led programme, which has developed a new model of integrated care to support integrated care boards to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including those with MND.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC plans to review the national standard mileage rate for business travel, and the basis on which that national standard is set.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government keeps the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) and self-employed simplified mileage rates under review and HMRC use a variety of information in estimating typical motoring costs per business mile. This includes information from the AA, the National Travel Survey, the Association of British Insurers, and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
As with all taxes and rates, the Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at Budget in the context of public finances.
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 following the publication of BDO’s audit report of Woking Borough Council’s accounts from 2019/20 to 2022/23, published on 8 December 2025.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Commissioners were appointed to Woking Borough Council in 2023 following historic commercial mismanagement and major governance failures. While Woking continues to undergo an extensive change programme to support the improvement of its financial position, Commissioners have reported significant improvements in the Council’s approach to financial management since 2023. As Commissioners set out in their Fifth Report, they continue to engage with Woking’s external auditors to rectify the Council’s historic issues with audit timeliness and support the rebuilding of assurance.