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 assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of replacing the role of local authorities with committees in planning decision on local representation in those decisions.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill includes a regulation-making power to issue statutory guidance on a national scheme of delegation.
On 28 May 2025, my Department published a technical consultation on proposals for reform of planning committees. It can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2025 to Question 63482 on Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations and with reference to her letter of 26 June 2025 on the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, whether the announced exemption from reassessment for existing Personal Independence Payment claimants will also apply to the All Review claimants whose award is subject to a scheduled review or reassessment process at the time the exemption comes into force.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to providing security and dignity for those who will never be able to work, and removing unnecessary stress, anxiety and uncertainty from the Social Security System. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill legislates to formally protect those with the most severe, lifelong health conditions, who meet the Severe Conditions Criteria, from being called for reassessments for their Universal Credit Health Element award. The Severe Conditions Criteria applies to customers in receipt of Universal Credit rather than those in receipt of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
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 his Department is taking to meet the World Health Organisation’s vaccination target for the human papillomavirus vaccine.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In March 2025, NHS England published the Cervical cancer elimination plan by 2040 –for England, which outlines how the National Health Service will improve uptake and coverage across human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and cervical screening. This is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/cervical-cancer-elimination-by-2040-plan-for-england/
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) monitors uptake of HPV vaccination nationally, regionally and by local authority and publishes annual reports at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake#hpv-vaccine-uptake
While HPV vaccination uptake rates in England have been very high, vaccine coverage by cohort has been steadily declining since the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2023 to 2024 academic year, this decline appeared to be stabilising.
NHS-commissioned School Aged Immunisation Service providers have robust catch-up plans in place for the adolescent HPV vaccination programme based on population need, to offer vaccination to those young people who may have missed out at the point of initial offer.
UKHSA works closely with charities and academics to develop resources that can be used to raise awareness of HPV and the importance of vaccination including for boys. NHS England has improved digital communications on vaccinations, including expanding the NHS app, and has improved access to the HPV vaccine outside of schools through community clinics at convenient times and locations.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support Surrey County Council to improve support for children who go missing or are at risk of exploitation.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Following support from the department and others, Surrey County Council's children's services were judged by Ofsted to be ‘Good’ in March 2025.
Statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ (2023), is clear that children at risk of or experiencing harm from outside their home should receive a multi-agency safeguarding response, recognising threats may arise from school, peer groups, online or the wider community.
In 2023, we published a set of multi-agency practice principles to guide local areas in their response to keeping children and young people safe from child exploitation and extra-familial harm. The principles bring together the best available evidence in this area and have been developed through extensive consultation with professionals, children, young people, parents and carers. These principles are available here: https://tce.researchinpractice.org.uk/.
Our Families First Partnership Programme, backed by over £500 million investment per year over the next three years, is rolling out reforms to family help and multi-agency child protection, including where harm is outside the home.
We expect safeguarding partners to work together to reduce the chances of children going missing, to respond effectively when they do and understand why.
We have provided clear guidance about responsibilities for all children who go missing.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support Surrey County Council improve collaborative safety planning.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Following support from the department and others, Surrey County Council's children's services were judged by Ofsted to be ‘Good’ in March 2025.
Statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ (2023), is clear that children at risk of or experiencing harm from outside their home should receive a multi-agency safeguarding response, recognising threats may arise from school, peer groups, online or the wider community.
In 2023, we published a set of multi-agency practice principles to guide local areas in their response to keeping children and young people safe from child exploitation and extra-familial harm. The principles bring together the best available evidence in this area and have been developed through extensive consultation with professionals, children, young people, parents and carers. These principles are available here: https://tce.researchinpractice.org.uk/.
Our Families First Partnership Programme, backed by over £500 million investment per year over the next three years, is rolling out reforms to family help and multi-agency child protection, including where harm is outside the home.
We expect safeguarding partners to work together to reduce the chances of children going missing, to respond effectively when they do and understand why.
We have provided clear guidance about responsibilities for all children who go missing.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that asylum interviews are conducted (a) in full and (b) without unnecessary delay.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
Asylum interviews are conducted in line with the published guidance available here: Conducting asylum interviews: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK.
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, how many and what proportion of new homes are (a) under construction and (b) have been completed since 4 July 2025.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The 4 July 2025 is tomorrow.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of PIP claims were under review as of 27 June 2025.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Please find the information requested in Table 1 below. We provide figures for 30th April 2025 in line with latest official published statistics Personal Independence Payment statistics to April 2025.
Table 1. Volume of cases and proportion of April 2025 caseload under review on 30th April 2025.
Type of review | Volume of cases under review on 30th April 2025 | Proportion of April 2025 caseload |
Award Review | 380,000 | 10% |
Change of Circumstances | 40,000 | 1% |
All Reviews | 420,000 | 11% |
Notes:
Whilst the regular review cycle of PIP claims means there will always be a substantial amount in progress at any given time, work is under way to reduce the level of work outstanding within the system. Operational capacity is managed to ensure an appropriate balance between the processing of New Claims to PIP, planned Award Reviews, and Unplanned (Change of Circumstance) Reviews.
Where this approach leads to delays in processing Planned Award Reviews, claims are extended where necessary to prevent expiry. Should customers circumstances change whilst awaiting a Planned Review, a Change of Circumstances Review can be requested and will be processed without delay.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her letter on the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, dated 26 June 2025, whether the exemption from reassessment for existing Personal Independence Payment claimants will apply to people whose claim is under review.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As I set out in the House of Commons on 1 July 2025, this Government has listened to the concerns raised by Members from across the House regarding the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
Clause 5 of the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill would have amended the legal framework underpinning PIP assessments, specifically by changing the eligibility criteria through adjustments to the activities and descriptors used to determine entitlement.
In light of the concerns raised, I confirmed during the debate that we are going to remove clause 5 from the Bill in Committee.
(Hansard, 1 July, col 219)
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions her Department has had with Surrey County Council on the findings of its 2024 Parents’ Voices Matter survey that 20% of children with special educational needs do not receive (a) an Education, Health and Care Plan and (b) any form of SEN support.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
In September 2023, Ofsted and Care Quality Commission undertook a local area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspection in Surrey under the new SEND inspection framework. The report, published on 24 November, found inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
The report identified four areas for improvement relating to: the strategic evaluation of interventions; communication with parents and carers; the timeliness and quality of health assessments, needs assessments, education, health and care (EHC) plans and annual reviews; and reviewing the breadth and offer of alternative provision.
To assist the local area in making improvements to its SEND services, including in relation to children accessing appropriate EHC plan and special educational needs support, the department has deployed a SEND advisor to offer advice and challenge. The advisor’s work has included supporting the local authority to review their EHC plan statutory progress and to discuss their action plan for making improvements, analysing EHC plan data and trends, facilitating best practice exchange with other local areas, and providing advice and guidance to enhance the quality of EHC plans.
The department continues to monitor Surrey County Council’s SEND services in line with the department’s improvement and intervention approach, and officials will continue to ensure that the voices and experiences of parents are reflected in discussions with the local area and in the support and guidance we provide.