Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding has been allocated for the improvement and expansion of the primary care estate in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no separate assessment of general practice (GP) premises as part of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) assessments of practices. The CQC’s Premises Regulations, primarily Regulation 15, mandate that care locations must be clean, suitable, secure, and properly maintained, ensuring safety for users. As of 15 January 2026, in England there are 5,520 GP surgeries rated as Good, 256 rated as Requires Improvement, and 20 rated as Inadequate. five locations have yet to be rated.
The Government recognises the importance of strategic, value for money investments in capital projects, such as new facilities, significant upgrades, or other targeted capital investments.
In May, we announced schemes which will benefit from the £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund to deliver upgrades to more than a thousand GP surgeries across England this financial year. These schemes will create additional clinical space within existing building footprints to enable practices to see more patients, boost productivity, and improve patient care.
NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to integrated care boards (ICBs). This process is independent of the Government, and NHS England takes advice on the underlying formula from the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA). The most recent allocations take into account an ACRA-recommended change specifically focused on rurality.
ICBs are responsible for commissioning, which includes planning, securing, and monitoring, GP services within their health systems through delegated responsibility from NHS England. The NHS has a statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient medical services, including general practices, in each local area. It should take account of population growth and demographic changes.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to improve workplace (a) catering and (b) rest facilities for healthcare workers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Good physical working environments are important for staff wellbeing and retention. Staff need to be given the time and space to rest and recover from their work, particularly when working on-call or overnight. This is recognised as a priority in the NHS People Promise which sets out the importance of employers prioritising spaces for staff to rest and recuperate, and ensuring access to hot food and drinks.
In May 2024, NHS England and NHS Charities Together launched a £10 million Workforce Wellbeing Programme to support National Health Service staff in England. It will provide tailored health and wellbeing support to NHS staff, including grants to improve facilities. A three-year programme of work named Great Food, Good Health, led by NHS England, aims to improve the experience and quality of nutritious food that patients, staff, and visitors receive in hospital. As part of this, the NHS made clear that NHS organisations must be able to demonstrate they have suitable 24/7 food service provision.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of schools in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency that will require capital adjustments to deliver expanded breakfast provision under the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department has so far successfully delivered 5 million meals through 750 early adopter free breakfast clubs and schools have told us about the many benefits these clubs provide including improved attendance, behaviour and attainment.
We have seen our early adopters successfully manage space constrains and we continue to encourage local authorities, responsible bodies, academy trusts, schools and providers to work together to solve problems collaboratively, ensuring the needs of parents and children are met.
Schools have flexibility to decide where to deliver their provision, in accordance with the minimum expectations. They are expected to consider all space available onsite, including classrooms. Alternatively, they can opt to offer the provision offsite at a nearby venue. Schools will receive a £1000 start-up grant to spend on any equipment, materials, training and infrastructure and systems needed to deliver.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of her Department’s guidance on following distances.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Rule 126 of The Highway Code includes guidance on stopping distances and states that drivers and riders ‘should leave enough space between you and the vehicle in front so that you can pull up safely if it suddenly slows down or stops’ and ‘…never to get closer than the overall stopping distances’ set out on pages 52 and 53 of the code. Tailgating can be considered careless driving, which is a fixed penalty offence.
All road users are required to comply with road traffic law. If road users do not adopt a responsible attitude or if their use of the highway creates an unsafe environment, or causes nuisance, they may be committing a number of offences that can make them liable for prosecution.
Enforcement of the law is a matter for the police who will decide on the evidence of each individual case, whether an offence has been committed and the appropriate action to take.
In addition to the Highway Code, National Highways uses Variable Message Signs on motorways to encourage appropriate lane discipline. The Government’s THINK! road safety campaign also provides information to road users to encourage safer behaviour. Enforcement of road traffic law is a matter for the police.
In June 2025, National Highways ran a communications campaign on this issue, using media, digital and social media. The aim was to align the uncomfortable feeling of being followed too closely in everyday life with the similar feelings this evokes when being tailgated on a high-speed road, namely discomfort and anxiety.
Following the success of that campaign, and the genuine media interest in this topic, National Highways is planning a new communications campaign to launch next month. This low / no cost campaign moment will educate drivers on the dangers of tailgating and aim to change behaviour by looking at driving etiquette and evoking England’s love for manners and respect.
The campaign will launch w/c 23rd February across owned and earned media channels. It will involve:
National Highways adheres to the Government Communication Service evaluation framework and will be measuring the success of this campaign wave through a series of measures, including social listening tools and Media Equivalent Value.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2025 to Question 88704 on UK Space Agency, whether he plans to reduce the total headcount as a result of the merger of the UK Space Agency into the department.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The merger of UKSA into DSIT will deliver efficiencies for how the combined directorate will deliver on government priorities. Designing a more efficient organisation will reduce running costs and remove duplication ensuring even more of the funding allocated to civil space can reach the sector while also protecting staff in both organisations where possible. There are currently no planned redundancies.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 32640 on Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Buildings, whether civil servants in 22 Whitehall are required to book a specific desk, or book an unspecified space on a particular floor.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Civil Servants in 22 Whitehall book an unspecified space on a specific floor.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department recognises problem debt as a public health issue; and what support the NHS and social care services provide to people with problem debt.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Research shows that there is a link between health and financial health with a large amount of people who experience mental health problems also struggling with their finances.
NHS Talking Therapies has recently collaborated with the Money and Pensions Service to promote the Money Guiders programme that helps equip mental health practitioners to have money conversations with their patients. In addition, each NHS Talking Therapies service has embedded employment advisors who provide a non-clinical support service to help patients using Talking Therapies to address work-related issues, offering practical support and solutions for any work barriers which can include unemployment and returning to work.
The Individual Placement and Support is a well‑evidenced, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence‑approved employment programme, funded by NHS England, that offers intensive, individually tailored support to get people into work, with ongoing support for the employer and employee to help ensure the person keeps their job.
Individuals may also be able to access the Breathing Space Scheme, which was set up to encourage more people in problem debt to access professional debt advice. A standard breathing space provides a 60-day period of protection by pausing creditor enforcement action and most interest, fees, and charges. Given the link between problem debt and mental health difficulties, the Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space was also established for individuals who are receiving mental health crisis treatment.
Where debt is the result of gambling addiction, individuals can access their local National Health Service gambling service via self- or professional referral.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations she has made to her Bangladeshi counterpart on reports of violence against Hindu communities and the safety of religious minorities.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns all religiously motivated violence in Bangladesh.
We have consistently raised the importance of protecting religious minorities with the Bangladeshi authorities, including during visits by the UK Human Rights Ambassador in February 2025, and Baroness Chapman in November. The British High Commission also meets with civil society groups and minority communities.
Bangladesh's Interim Government has publicly reaffirmed its commitment to protecting communities-Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and Muslim-including in a statement on 10 January. This statement set out steps being taken by the Home Ministry to respond rapidly to incidents, protect victims and witnesses, and ensure the law is applied fairly.
Our commitment to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is reflected through our engagement with civil society groups and minority communities as well as our £27 million Bangladesh Collaborative, Accountable and Peaceful Politics programme (2023-2028). The programme aims to protect civic space, foster inclusive dialogue, and address tensions that can lead to violence.
Asked by: Susan Murray (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what video footage and imagery is held by his Department from RAF reconnaissance flights over Gaza on 31 March 2024; and whether his Department has any plans to publish or otherwise release any such material to the public.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Since the terrorist attacks against Israel of 7 October 2023, the UK Government has been working with partners across the region to secure the release of hostages, including British nationals, who were kidnapped.
In support of these efforts the Ministry of Defence (MOD) conducted surveillance flights over the Eastern Mediterranean, including operating in air space over Israel and Gaza from December 2023. The surveillance aircraft were always unarmed, did not have a combat role, and were tasked solely to locate hostages.
The UK Government strictly controlled what information was passed on and only information relating to hostage rescue was passed to the relevant Israeli authorities.
Following the agreement of the Gaza peace plan between Israel and Hamas, and the release of remaining hostages, the MOD has ceased surveillance flights over Gaza. The last fight took place on 10 October 2025.
We will not comment further on detail relating to intelligence matters to protect operational security and preserve the MOD’s ability to respond to future hostage incidents around the world.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that funding allocations from the Community Ownership Fund have benefited communities in areas across all of Northern Ireland.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Community Ownership Fund was launched as a competitive fund under the previous government. On 23 December 2024 this government announced the largest ever allocation of funding through the programme. This funded regeneration and renovation of a range of cultural, sports and community space projects across Northern Ireland in constituencies of all the major parties.
The UK Government is investing £45.5 million each year of the SR period to provide targeted long term funding to support vital initiatives such as economic inactivity and local business support right across NI as part of the new Local Growth Fund.