Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps NHS England will take to ensure Integrated Care Boards comply with Regulation 6(4) of the NHS (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013, particularly where chemist premises are removed following a consolidation application, but no Supplementary Statement is publicly published to confirm that the relevant Health and Wellbeing Board is satisfied that no gap in service provision was created.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
If two pharmacies are consolidated onto one site, the relevant Local Authority Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) must publish a supplementary statement to their Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment if, in their view, the consolidation has not created a gap in service provision. This requirement is set out in Regulation 6(4) of the NHS (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013. Whilst it is not the responsibility of NHS England to ensure HWBs comply with this requirement, integrated care boards (ICBs) must seek assurance that a closure of a pharmacy would not create a gap when considering consolidation applications. This includes seeking the view of the HWB. Any representations received from the HWB are considered when reviewing an application from a contractor to open a pharmacy in the area. NHS England oversees the performance of ICBs through the NHS Oversight Framework 2025/26 and the Strategic Commissioning Framework.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of co-designing adult social care to meet community needs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are responsible for commissioning social care. As part of this, local authorities should pursue the principle that market shaping and commissioning should be shared endeavours, with commissioners working alongside people with care and support needs, carers, family members, care providers, representatives of care workers, relevant voluntary, user and other support organisations, and the public to find shared and agreed solutions.
To support this aim, the Department funds Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) as part of its national improvement and support offer to the sector. Co-design of services is facilitated by local adoption of TLAP’s ‘Making it Real’ framework and principles, which ensure that people who draw on care and support are involved in shaping services. TLAP also helps with practical models of self-directed support and advice on the personalisation of services to areas that request it.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Major £5 billion technology investment accelerates UK defence innovation in a European first, published on 2 June 2025, as a monetary figure, how much of the £4 billion for autonomous systems will be spent in the next Parliament.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Uncrewed and Autonomous systems are integral to the modern way of warfighting, exemplified in the lessons gleaned from the war in Ukraine. The Ministry of Defence has spent over £450 million on Uncrewed Systems, including over £300 million on their research and development over the last year. The Strategic Defence Review announced an increase in autonomy investment of £2 billion in this Parliament, taking total Defence investment in autonomy to circa £4 billion. Work to deliver the Strategic Defence Review recommendations, including on autonomy and drones, will be prioritised appropriately against the threat as part of the future Integrated Force and set out in the Defence Investment Plan to be published this year.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many of the places intended to be filled by the Government's Golden Hello Scheme for NHS dentists have been, and what work the Government will be doing with local ICBs to ensure that they hit more of their targets.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are continuing to recruit dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. The scheme offers a £20,000 recruitment incentive payment to dentists to work in those areas that need them most. The scheme remains a national priority.
Golden Hello data will be published this year and will consist of data showing the regional distribution of the original allocation of posts and the number of posts recruited to at both a national and regional level.
Asked by: Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Government last refused permission for the US military to use its bases in the UK for operational purposes.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
For operational security reasons, we do not offer comment or information relating to foreign nations’ military operations. Permissions to utilise UK military bases are considered on a case-by-case basis and the decision to grant permission is dependent on the nature and purpose of their activity.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dentists are on the NHS register that specialise in treating children with special needs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Community dental services (CDS) are commissioned on a local basis by integrated care boards and provide care to adults and children who may have difficulty accessing high street dental services due to their social, medical, or dental needs. This may include children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
NHS England published findings from its December 2024 dental workforce data collection on 17 July 2025, including a community dental subset. Approximately 640 dentists working within CDS services in England submitted a return. However, not all CDS provision is covered by the General Dental Services contracts or Personal Dental Services agreements in scope of the data collection. Consequently, this does not constitute a full picture of staff providing CDS in the National Health Service in England.
Children and young people with SEND may not require care in CDS and some will instead be seen in high street dental practices.
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 assessment he has made of the potential impact of business rate increases on the community pharmacy network.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the Autumn Budget 2025, the Government took the hard choices to protect the National Health Service in England and continue to prioritise reducing waiting times. We have also stepped in to cap bills and help businesses, as part of a £4.3 billion support package.
This year, we have also increased funding to community pharmacies to almost £3.1 billion, the largest uplift in funding for any part of the NHS across 2024/25 and 2025/26.
The Department will consult Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27 shortly.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will extend Business Rates reimbursements to Community Pharmacies.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the 2025 Autumn Budget, the Government took the hard choices to protect the National Health Service in England and continue prioritising reducing waiting times. We have also stepped in to cap bills and help businesses, as part of a £4.3 billion support package.
This year, we have also increased funding to community pharmacies to almost £3.1 billion, the largest uplift in funding for any part of the NHS across 2024/25 and 2025/26.
The Department will consult Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27 shortly.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS dentists per capita are there in England; and how many there were in January 2021.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2024/25, there were 41.9 dentists per 100,000 people in England who performed some National Health Service work. This equates to 0.00042 dentists per person, or per capita. For January 2021, there were 42.1 dentists per 100,000 people who performed some NHS work, which also rounds to 0.00042 dentists per person, or per capita.
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, if he will (a) review and (b) reform the current community pharmacy contract.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the Autumn Budget 2025, the Government took the hard choices to protect the National Health Service in England and continue to prioritise reducing waiting times. We have also stepped in to cap bills and help businesses, as part of a £4.3 billion support package.
This year, we have also increased funding to community pharmacies to almost £3.1 billion, the largest uplift in funding for any part of the NHS across 2024/25 and 2025/26.
The Department will consult Community Pharmacy England on any proposed changes to reimbursement and remuneration of pharmacy contractors for 2026/27 shortly.