Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

New Housing: Access to Health Services

Monday 3 March 2025 · 5 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Chris Coghlan requested a meeting with the Housing Minister to discuss the long-awaited GP surgery for Westvale Park.
  • Ben Maguire raised concerns about insufficient GP capacity and promised but delayed new buildings in North Cornwall.
  • Mr Clive Betts inquired about arranging a meeting between the Housing Minister, council leader, and local MPs regarding green-belt sites and infrastructure concerns in Sheffield.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Chris Coghlan Lib Dem Dorking and Horley
NHS Housing
Context

Residents of Westvale Park, a new development of 1,500 homes in Chris Coghlan's constituency, have been waiting seven years for a GP surgery despite existing GPs being unable to expand their capacity. The community has been promised this service.

Question

I am concerned about the residents of Westvale Park, who have been waiting seven years for a GP surgery despite the existing GPs not being able to expand their capacity. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss how we can ensure that Westvale Park gets the GP surgery it has been promised and other necessary infrastructure?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Angela Rayner)

I sympathise with the hon. Gentleman; this Government have said that infrastructure must come as part of our 1.5 million homes commitment. The Housing Minister will be happy to meet him.

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Q2 Ben Maguire Lib Dem North Cornwall
NHS Housing
Context

In North Cornwall, where house prices exceed local wages and many houses are second homes, more than 3,000 homes will be built by 2030. The GP surgery in the area is currently running at 150% capacity despite a promise of a new building.

Question

In North Cornwall, house prices far exceed local wages and over 40% of houses are second homes. By 2030, more than 3,000 homes will be built in towns such as Bodmin, but the only GP surgery is running at 150% capacity despite a new building being promised for years. Will the Secretary of State ensure that national planning guidance mandates primary care and education infrastructure before developments start?

Answer from Angela Rayner

Again, I sympathise with the hon. Gentleman; our Government are absolutely committed to ensuring that we get that infrastructure through a plan-led system, which includes consulting on future policy changes this spring.

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Q3 Clive Betts Lab Sheffield South East
Housing Environment
Context

The Government produced new guidance about building on green-belt sites, including golden rules about sufficient health, education, and transport infrastructure. Sheffield now has to provide green-belt sites to meet housing targets.

Question

Sheffield is being requested by the Planning Inspectorate to provide green-belt sites for housing development despite concerns over insufficient infrastructure such as GP surgeries and schools. Will the Secretary of State arrange a meeting between the Housing Minister, the council leader, local MPs, and other Department colleagues to discuss resource availability?

Answer from Angela Rayner

I can do better than that: the Housing Minister is going on Thursday.

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Q4 Catherine Atkinson Lab Derby North
NHS
Context

Under the previous government, residents of Mickleover were promised a new GP surgery multiple times but it never materialized after new housing was built.

Question

In Mickleover, under the last Government, residents were repeatedly promised a new GP surgery when new homes were built but this promise was not fulfilled. What can the current Government do to ensure that residents have access to a GP?

Answer from Angela Rayner

I totally sympathise; our Government are committed through the revised national planning policy framework, ensuring that infrastructure including GP surgeries is available when new housing is built.

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Q5 David Simmonds Con Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner
NHS
Context

NHS Property Services has been less effective in delivering promised health facilities within the timeframes set by section 106 agreements.

Question

While section 106 agreements are good at securing funds for new NHS facilities, NHS Property Services has not always delivered these facilities on time. What assurance can the Secretary of State give that across Government there will be a focus on ensuring timely delivery?

Answer from Angela Rayner

We have set up a unit within my Department to hold developers accountable, working across Government to ensure that infrastructure is built. We will strengthen section 106 planning obligations.

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