Improving maternity safety and reducing inequalities across the country is a priority for the Government, including in Surrey Heartlands. The Maternal Care Bundle sets clear standards across services by bringing together best practice to help tackle the leading causes of maternal death and harm, improve consistency of care, and reduce inequalities. One of its five elements focuses specifically on obstetric haemorrhage, including postpartum haemorrhage, and sets out best practice to support its prevention, recognition, and management.

NHS England publishes annual trust-level data on reported postpartum haemorrhages involving blood loss of 1,500 millilitres or more, including data for trusts in Surrey Heartlands, through the Maternity and Neonatal Equalities Dashboard, with further information available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/dashboards/maternity-and-neonatal-equalities-dashboard

Monthly data from April 2019, together with information on data quality, is available in the Maternity Services Monthly Statistics, which are available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/maternity-services-monthly-statistics

The Commissioner-led Best Value interventions currently in place in Woking and Spelthorne will come to an end when those councils are abolished in April 2027. The current statutory intervention arrangements will not transfer automatically to the new authority.

Commissioners are working closely with Woking and Spelthorne councils and the shadow authority as Local Government Reorganisation continues to be implemented, helping to ensure that key financial, commercial and governance risks are understood and managed through the transition. We will continue to engage closely with West Surrey and consider what support may be appropriate following vesting day.

It is the responsibility of local authorities (LAs) to measure routes and determine whether a child lives beyond the statutory walking distance from their school. Our statutory guidance explains that, when making this assessment, LAs must measure the shortest route along which a child, accompanied as necessary, may walk in reasonable safety. This includes sections that use footpaths or bridleways, as well as sections that use roads. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel.

It is the responsibility of councils to manage their budgets, and it is standard for councils to borrow and to hold debt. Local authorities provide the Government with data on their borrowing, including source of borrowing. The data can be found at Live tables on local government finance - GOV.UK.

On 28 October 2025, we announced our unprecedented commitment to repay in-principle £500 million of Woking Borough Council’s debt in 2026-27, and we have now started this process. This commitment reflects that the council holds significant unsupported debt due to historic capital practices, and the value for money case for acting to protect taxpayers from the increasing cost of debt. This is a first tranche of debt repayment support, and we will continue to explore what further debt support is required at a later point. Any support must take account of value of money for local and national taxpayers.

We have committed to provide interim financial support to the new council until a final decision is made, and any support must take account of value for money. The Department continues to work closely with West Surrey shadow authority. On 15 July 2026, my predecessor Minister McGovern asked a new single Commissioner team across Woking and Spelthorne to work with the new councils to provide advice, challenge, and independent assurance and I encourage the shadow authority to work closely with the Commissioner team.

In the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, we have committed to expanding access to tailored interventions for domestic abuse and stalking perpetrators across England and Wales.

The Home Office has launched a £74.5 million competition for the Domestic Abuse and Stalking Perpetrator Intervention Fund which will provide funding over two and a half years (until 31 March 2029).

The competition is open to all Police and Crime Commissioners, and includes interventions tailored to different domestic abuse and stalking perpetrator cohorts and for the first time, ringfenced funding for interventions for children who use harm.

In the Cabinet Statement of 31 July, we set out our intention that mayors will keep a share of local income tax, replacing central government grants, beginning in 2028. For areas to benefit from this – including Surrey – they will need to be part of a Mayoral Strategic Authority.

The government is committed to working closely with councils to ensure the right support is available throughout local government reorganisation implementation to mitigate key risks and challenges. As part of this, we have established an Implementation Forum to provide assurance and support for Surrey. Its role is to identify and mitigate risks that could affect delivery, secure cross-government coordination, and identify any support required to enable successful implementation.

As such, the Surrey Implementation Forum will support the successful establishment of East Surrey Council and West Surrey Council by testing implementation plans and reviewing progress against a set of 22 delivery indicators. These indicators were described in the “Sector Support Note” that was shared with MPs on 16 July 2026 and published on gov.uk. They have been developed with local government colleagues and build on lessons learnt from previous reorganisations. The Forum will meet on a quarterly basis, bringing together representatives of Surrey’s Implementation Team with officials from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Department for Education, Department of Health and Social Care and other Government departments as required.

Equivalent arrangements are being put in place across all areas undergoing local government reorganisation.

The Department has not made a specific assessment. That is because the responsibility for delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for services rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioner working with NHS providers and other stakeholders. Commissioners are responsible for ensuring that NHS funding is used effectively to improve population health, reduce inequalities, and deliver high-quality, accessible care. All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients.

NHS England’s National Stroke Service Model and the National Service Model for an Integrated Community Stroke Service aim to reduce inequalities by standardising care, enhancing access to acute treatments, and providing comprehensive community rehabilitation.

The Government is committed to achieving a 25% reduction in premature mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke across England. To accelerate progress and tackle variation across the country, a new CVD Modern Service Framework will be published in 2026. This framework will support improvement, reduce inequalities, and foster innovation where it is needed most.

The Department has not made a specific assessment. That is because the responsibility for delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for services rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioner working with NHS providers and other stakeholders. Commissioners are responsible for ensuring that NHS funding is used effectively to improve population health, reduce inequalities, and deliver high-quality, accessible care. All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients.

NHS England’s National Stroke Service Model and the National Service Model for an Integrated Community Stroke Service aim to reduce inequalities by standardising care, enhancing access to acute treatments, and providing comprehensive community rehabilitation.

The Government is committed to achieving a 25% reduction in premature mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke across England. To accelerate progress and tackle variation across the country, a new CVD Modern Service Framework will be published in 2026. This framework will support improvement, reduce inequalities, and foster innovation where it is needed most.

The Department has not made a specific assessment. That is because the responsibility for delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for services rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioner working with NHS providers and other stakeholders. Commissioners are responsible for ensuring that NHS funding is used effectively to improve population health, reduce inequalities, and deliver high-quality, accessible care. All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients.

NHS England’s National Stroke Service Model and the National Service Model for an Integrated Community Stroke Service aim to reduce inequalities by standardising care, enhancing access to acute treatments, and providing comprehensive community rehabilitation.

The Government is committed to achieving a 25% reduction in premature mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke across England. To accelerate progress and tackle variation across the country, a new CVD Modern Service Framework will be published in 2026. This framework will support improvement, reduce inequalities, and foster innovation where it is needed most.

The Department has not made a specific assessment. That is because the responsibility for delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for services rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioner working with NHS providers and other stakeholders. Commissioners are responsible for ensuring that NHS funding is used effectively to improve population health, reduce inequalities, and deliver high-quality, accessible care. All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients.

NHS England’s National Stroke Service Model and the National Service Model for an Integrated Community Stroke Service aim to reduce inequalities by standardising care, enhancing access to acute treatments, and providing comprehensive community rehabilitation.

The Government is committed to achieving a 25% reduction in premature mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke across England. To accelerate progress and tackle variation across the country, a new CVD Modern Service Framework will be published in 2026. This framework will support improvement, reduce inequalities, and foster innovation where it is needed most.

The Department has not made a specific assessment. That is because the responsibility for delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for services rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioner working with NHS providers and other stakeholders. Commissioners are responsible for ensuring that NHS funding is used effectively to improve population health, reduce inequalities, and deliver high-quality, accessible care. All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients.

NHS England’s National Stroke Service Model and the National Service Model for an Integrated Community Stroke Service aim to reduce inequalities by standardising care, enhancing access to acute treatments, and providing comprehensive community rehabilitation.

The Government is committed to achieving a 25% reduction in premature mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke across England. To accelerate progress and tackle variation across the country, a new CVD Modern Service Framework will be published in 2026. This framework will support improvement, reduce inequalities, and foster innovation where it is needed most.

The Department has not made a specific assessment. That is because the responsibility for delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for services rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioner working with NHS providers and other stakeholders. Commissioners are responsible for ensuring that NHS funding is used effectively to improve population health, reduce inequalities, and deliver high-quality, accessible care. All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients.

NHS England’s National Stroke Service Model and the National Service Model for an Integrated Community Stroke Service aim to reduce inequalities by standardising care, enhancing access to acute treatments, and providing comprehensive community rehabilitation.

The Government is committed to achieving a 25% reduction in premature mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke across England. To accelerate progress and tackle variation across the country, a new CVD Modern Service Framework will be published in 2026. This framework will support improvement, reduce inequalities, and foster innovation where it is needed most.

The Department has not made a specific assessment. That is because the responsibility for delivery, implementation, and funding decisions for services rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioner working with NHS providers and other stakeholders. Commissioners are responsible for ensuring that NHS funding is used effectively to improve population health, reduce inequalities, and deliver high-quality, accessible care. All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients.

NHS England’s National Stroke Service Model and the National Service Model for an Integrated Community Stroke Service aim to reduce inequalities by standardising care, enhancing access to acute treatments, and providing comprehensive community rehabilitation.

The Government is committed to achieving a 25% reduction in premature mortality due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke across England. To accelerate progress and tackle variation across the country, a new CVD Modern Service Framework will be published in 2026. This framework will support improvement, reduce inequalities, and foster innovation where it is needed most.