Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy that all major trauma hospitals to have access to 24-hour helipad facilities.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Air ambulances form a vital part of the emergency response to patients in critical need. The Department of Health and Social Care continues to work closely with NHS England and the Department for Transport to ensure that there is appropriate helipad accessibility available for air ambulances across the country. However, there are no plans to make it national policy that all major trauma hospitals have access to 24-hour helipad facilities.
The Department of Health and Social Care is working with the Ministry of Housing, Community and Local Government to support and promote the interests of the health and care system throughout the planning process, including improving the participation of all relevant health stakeholders in the creation of local plans to ensure that necessary service provision is maintained.
Information on the proportion of major trauma hospitals that operate 24-hour hospital helipads in England is not held centrally.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how and what proportion of major trauma hospitals operate 24-hour hospital helipads in England.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Air ambulances form a vital part of the emergency response to patients in critical need. The Department of Health and Social Care continues to work closely with NHS England and the Department for Transport to ensure that there is appropriate helipad accessibility available for air ambulances across the country. However, there are no plans to make it national policy that all major trauma hospitals have access to 24-hour helipad facilities.
The Department of Health and Social Care is working with the Ministry of Housing, Community and Local Government to support and promote the interests of the health and care system throughout the planning process, including improving the participation of all relevant health stakeholders in the creation of local plans to ensure that necessary service provision is maintained.
Information on the proportion of major trauma hospitals that operate 24-hour hospital helipads in England is not held centrally.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support her Department provides to local authorities to maintain bus routes with low commercial viability.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to delivering better buses throughout the country and wants to see an end to the decline in bus services we have seen in recent years. The Government introduced the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill on 17 December as part of its ambitious plan for bus reform. The Bill will put passenger needs, reliable services and local accountability at the heart of the industry by putting the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England.
We know these plans need to be backed with funding and we have confirmed funding of £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country of which the Tees Valley Combined Authority was allocated £7.2 million. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services can be used in whichever way they wish to deliver better services for passengers. This could include subsidising services which are not commercially viable.
The Government reaffirmed its commitment to investing in bus services long-term in this Spending Review. On 11 June, the Government confirmed additional £900m resource funding per year from 26/27 to maintain and improve bus services. Local transport authorities will find out their individual allocations from this funding in due course.
In addition, the Government continues to make available around £244 million each year (in 2025-26, rising to £249 million in 2026-27) to fund the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) and BSOG Plus. The BSOG is paid to operators of eligible commercial bus services and community transport organisations to help keep fares down and run services that might otherwise be unsustainable. BSOG Plus was introduced in July 2023 to provide further support in maintaining services to eligible commercial operators.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending (a) free and (b) discounted bus travel to people under the age of 22; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that young people in rural areas are not excluded from (i) education, (ii) employment and (c) family and community life due to the (A) rising cost of bus fares and (B) reduction of local services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government knows how important affordable and reliable bus services are in enabling people to get to education, work and access vital services.
On 1 January, we introduced a £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London to help passengers continue to access cheaper bus services and better opportunities. At the Spending Review we announced the cap would be extended until March 2027.
The majority of bus services operate on a commercial basis by private operators, and any decisions regarding the level at which fares are set outside the scope of the £3 bus fare cap are commercial decisions for operators. Bus operators can choose to offer discounted fares for young people, and in the year ending March 2025, youth discounts were offered by at least one commercial bus operator in 73 out of 85 local authority areas in England outside London.
The government introduced the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill on 17 December as part of our ambitious plan for bus reform. The Bill will put passenger needs, reliable services and local accountability at the heart of the industry by putting the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England, including in rural areas. The Bill includes a measure on socially necessary services so that local authorities and bus operators have to have regard for alternatives to changing or cancelling services.
In addition, we have confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country, of which West Sussex Council was allocated £9.6 million. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent, protect crucial bus routes and introducing new fares initiatives, including for young people, to reduce the cost of bus travel further.
The government reaffirmed its commitment to investing in bus services long-term in this Spending Review. On 11 June, the government confirmed additional funding per year from 2026/27 to maintain and improve bus services, including extending the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to reduce levels of (a) poverty and (b) economic inequality in the North West; and what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of regional disparities in (i) income and (ii) living standards.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government has set out a Plan for Change that includes raising living standards in every part of the United Kingdom. To deliver this, we have taken action to support households facing the greatest hardships by increasing the National Living Wage by 6.7%, introducing a Fair Repayment Rate to cap deductions from Universal Credit, uplifting the Universal Credit standard allowance to 5% above CPI by 2029-30, and expanding the Warm Homes Discount to every billpayer on means-tested benefits. Furthermore, at the Spending Review we expanded Free School Meals to lift 100,000 children out of poverty, funded the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation, provided £1bn a year (including Barnett impact) for a new Crisis and Resilience Fund, and extended the £3 Bus Fare Cap in England. This is in addition to investing in 350 deprived communities across the UK, to fund interventions including regeneration, community cohesion and improving the public realm.
The Government is also investing in infrastructure in the North West to spur economic growth, boost wages and increase living standards, providing £4.1bn to the North West via the Transport for City Regions fund. It has recommitted to £160m of funding over 10 years for Investment Zones in Greater Manchester and Liverpool, and reconfirmed support for Liverpool City Region Freeport. Local partners expect Greater Manchester Investment Zone to deliver £1.1 bn in private sector investment and 32,000 jobs, and expect Liverpool City Region’s Investment Zone to generate £320m in private investment and 4,000 jobs.
The latest Office for National Statistics data shows that in 2022 Gross Disposable Household Income (GDHI) per head was £19,752 in the North West compared to £22,789 for the UK. The Plan for Change sets out that living standards at a regional level is measured by regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per head. The latest ONS data shows that GDP per head, in real terms (2022 prices), was £33,170 per head in the North West and £37,135 per head for the UK in 2023. GDP per head was £23,555 per head in the North West in 1998 compared to £28,570 for the UK.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to require public e-bike hire schemes to include third-party insurance for (a) injury to people and (b) damage to property as part of the hire fee; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of such a requirement on (i) public safety and (ii) liability for scheme users.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is empowering local leaders to licence shared cycle schemes through measures in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. These licences will contain some minimum standard conditions set by the Secretary of State to ensure a baseline of safety and operability across the country. This could include specific insurance requirements for operators. We will consult publicly on the nature of these conditions before licensing is implemented to ensure we get it right.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether strategic authorities will have responsibilities for social care provision.
Answered by Jim McMahon
Local Authorities will retain responsibility for social care provision. Strategic authorities will gain a new duty in relation to health improvement and inequalities through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, but this will not alter the duty for Local Authorities to deliver adult’s or children’s social care services.
Strategic Authorities have a key role to play in taking action, particularly on the social determinants of health, through the exercise of their functions in areas such as transport, housing, and planning. By working with other local leaders, they can move away from traditional forms of service delivery to a holistic approach organised around service users.
To support Strategic Authorities in being active leaders in this space and driving a “health in all policies” approach in line with our Mission government approach, the government is introducing a new bespoke duty in relation to health improvement and health inequalities. Additionally, the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill sets out a new standardised Devolution Framework, which positions Strategic Authorities as convenors on public service reform. They will work in partnership with Local Authorities to bring partners together to drive forward public service reform and prevention.
Our programme of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) will unitarise the remaining 21 two-tier areas; LGR will bring upper and lower tier councils together so all social care services are delivered in one place. On 25 July, the Department published clarifying information for areas developing Local Government Reorganisation proposals, including reference to social care: Local government reorganisation: Considerations for partnership working in social care for new unitary authorities. This reiterated the point that ‘new unitary councils will take over statutory responsibility for service delivery, including social care responsibilities which will continue to sit with the Director of Children’s Services (DCS) and Director of Adult Social Services (DASS).’
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the report entitled Annual Shared Micromobility Report 2024 published by CoMoUK.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are committed to growing shared micromobility in Great Britain. The Government continues to trial rental e-scooters so we can learn what works, and on 21 July I announced these trials will be extended to May 2028, and for the first time since the trials began, I am offering new towns and cities the opportunity to join.
Cycle sharing is already here and growing, as highlighted by this report. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill introduced on 10 July included a measure to regulate on-street micromobility services which will give our local leaders the powers to regulate shared micromobility so they can shape these schemes around their needs, connect people to public transport, and ensure they are used safely and responsibly.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to support regional economic growth across the UK.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Kick starting economic growth and ensuring that growth is felt in all regions of the UK is the number one mission of this Government. The government’s approach to regional growth will drive growth in city regions, towns and communities and make the most of the opportunities in each part of the country, to make everyone better off. There is excellence right across the country and this government is backing it: lifting living standards and putting more money in people’s pockets.
The recent Spending Review set out £15.6bn for some of our largest city-regions via the Transport for City Region settlements, with Tees Valley Combined Authority receiving £1bn funding improvements to Middlesbrough station and other local priorities. For places outside city-regions, the Local Transport Grant is receiving a fourfold increase in funding by 2029-30 compared to 2024-35. The new £410m Local Innovation Partnerships Fund will drive innovation excellence across the country, delivering R&D co-creation between local leaders and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Our new long-term local growth programmes which will invest in 350 deprived communities across the UK, funding interventions across community cohesion, regeneration and improving the public realm. We are also funding at least £725 billion of economic and social infrastructure across the country over the next decade, as set out in our new Infrastructure Strategy.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
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 (a) travel distances and (b) levels of public transport in (i) site planning and (ii) service design for neighbourhood health centres in rural areas; and what his timeline is for the rollout of those centres.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government aims to establish a Neighbourhood Health Centre in every community by 2035. Neighbourhood Health Centres will provide easier, more convenient access to a full range of healthcare services.
Nationwide coverage will take time, but we will start in the areas of greatest need where healthy life expectancy is lowest, including rural towns and communities with higher deprivation levels, using public capital to update and refurbish existing, under-used buildings.
We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. While the focus on personalised, coordinated care will be consistent, services will look different in rural communities, coastal towns, and deprived inner cities, to reflect local needs.
On 21 July 2025, I wrote to Members of Parliament highlighting that the Department and NHS England have written to integrated care boards and local authorities to invite applications to participate in the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme, to establish a Neighbourhood Health Centre delivery pipeline.