Written answers

Wednesday, 29 April 2020

  • Department for Transport

    • Package Holidays: Repayments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government plans to take to support consumers who are eligible for a refund under the The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements...

    • Bus Services: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what support is available for private coach companies during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.

      Railway Stations: Greater London

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which stations in London have been made accessible under the Access for All programme; and by which Network Rail Control Period they became accessible in.

      Pedicabs: Regulation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals on regulating rickshaws and pedicabs in (a) London and (b) the UK.

      Motorcycles: Driving Instruction

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to extend compulsory basic training certificates for motorcycle riders during the covid-19 outbreak.

      Railway Network

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what process the Government will use to decide which rail routes and stations closed after the Beeching report are re-opened; what the Government's...

      Railways: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on long term rail passenger demand of the covid-19 outbreak on (a) suburban (b) inter-city rail,...

      Package Holidays: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people who have booked holidays that have been cancelled as a result of the covid-19 outbreak will...

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    • Government Assistance: Fisheries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy how many fishing and aquaculture businesses have applied to the (a) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and...

    • Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme: Fisheries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy how many loans have been granted to fishing and aquaculture companies under the Government's Coronavirus Business...

      Construction: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason (a) version 2 of the Construction Leadership Council’s guidance stated that no construction work...

      Construction: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to enforce staggered start times for construction sites to enable social distancing for...

  • Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    • Australasia: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to repatriate UK citizens from (a) Australia and (b) New Zealand during the covid-19...

    • UK Relations with EU: Northern Ireland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reasons he refused a request from the EU to establish an office in Northern Ireland to facilitate the implementation...

      British Overseas Territories: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what criteria the Government uses to prioritise registrations for seats on return flights for British nationals stranded abroad...

      Saudi Arabia: Political Prisoners

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to the Saudi Arabian authorities on the release of (a) human rights campaigner Dr Abdullah...

      Hamed bin Haydara

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Yemen on expediting the release of Hamed bin Haydara from prison following...

      British Nationals Abroad: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that British nationals in foreign countries are tested for covid-19.

      British Nationals Abroad: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that repatriated British nationals are (a) tested for covid-19 and (b) subject to a...

      Hong Kong: Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of 19 February 2020 UN Special Procedures letter...

      Hong Kong: Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to develop a coordinated response to the two letters from six...

      Hong Kong: Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on support for an international, independent inquiry on the treatment of healthcare workers by the Hong Kong...

      Hong Kong: Human Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to impose Magnitsky-style sanctions on people directly or indirectly responsible for violations of human...

      British Council: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much emergency funding he plans to allocate to the British Council to enable that organisation to continue operating and...

      British Nationals Abroad: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the ticket cost of £581 per person for UK nationals returning from India was determined; and if he will make a statement.

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • NHS Trusts: Protective Clothing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which NHS trusts have received additional stocks of personal protective equipment for staff since 1 January 2020.

    • General Practitioners: Protective Clothing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of GP practices have received additional stocks of personal protective equipment for staff since...

      NHS Trusts: Protective Clothing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) in NHS Trusts in (a) London and (b)...

      General Practitioners: Hospitals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to redeploy GPs from closed surgeries to work in local hospitals.

      Coronavirus: Care Homes and Funerals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) care home staff and (b) funeral directors are able to access personal protective equipment to...

      Health Professions: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of psychological support and resources available to doctors and nurses in primary care.

      Health Professions: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to make available additional (a) funding and (b) resources to ensure that NHS (i) doctors and (ii) nurses are able...

      Hospitals: ICT

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with technology companies on the donation of (a) mobile phones and (b) tablets to hospitals to...

      Organs: Donors

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to delay the planned publication of the national guidelines on organ donation on 20th May until the covid-19 personal...

      Health professions: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether final year trainee (a) doctors and (b) nurses will be charged tuition fees while working for the NHS during the covid-19 outbreak.

      Hearing Aids: Staffordshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that North Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group is compliant with the revised NICE guidance on...

      Nurses: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take support student nurses that began their courses in 2017 and are therefore not eligible for the...

      NHS: Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support the psychological (a) welfare and (b) resilience of NHS staff during the covid-19 outbreak.

      NHS: Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of deploying psychological professionals to support the wellbeing of NHS staff...

      Coronavirus: Press Conferences

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to provide simultaneous sign language interpretation at the Government's daily covid-19 briefing.

      Social Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer 3 February 2020 to Question 8468 on Social Services, whether he plans, in response to the covid-19 outbreak, to...

      Continuing Care: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of continuing healthcare funding appeals have been successful in each of the last three years.

      NHS: Compensation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to introduce compensation payments for the families of NHS staff that die as a result of covid-19 infection.

      Coronavirus: Medical Treatments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of using plasma therapy in the treatment of patients with covid-19.

      Coronavirus: Disease Control

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to decreasing emergency attendances since lockdown measures were introduced in response to the covid-10 outbreak, what...

      Coronavirus: Disadvantaged

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there are any (a) regional or (b) local differences in ability to receive urgent medical treatment during the covid-19 outbreak...

      NHS: Protective Clothing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the speed of NHS procurement of personal protective equipment; and if he will make a statement.

      Coronavirus: Disease Control

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2020 to Question 34315, how many close contacts of people infected with covid-19 have been identified...

      Coronavirus: Disease Control

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2020 to Question 34315, how many close contacts of people infected with covid-19 have been traced.

  • Department for International Development

    • Africa: Locusts

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps he is taking to support countries in Africa affected by swarms of desert locusts.

    • Coronavirus: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department is providing support to organisations or projects researching a covid-19 vaccine.

      British Overseas Territories: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support the Overseas Territories to deal with the covid-19 pandemic.

      Crimes of Violence: Females

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the accuracy of reports that the covid-19 pandemic is causing a rise in gender-based violence...

      Bangladesh: Migrant Camps

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to improve (a) sanitation, (b) ICU capacity and (c) emergency health care in refugee camps in...

      Bangladesh: Migrant Camps

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to take account of the views of affected (a) women and (b) elderly refugees in providing support...

      Palestinians: Textbooks

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with her international counterparts on reports of incitement to violence in the online version of the...

      Overseas Aid: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Official Development Assistance has been (a) committed and (b) distributed to tackle the covid-19 pandemic.

      Department for International Development: Written Questions

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when she plans to respond to Question 15079 asked by the hon Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston on 12 February 2020.

      Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when she or ministers in her Department last met Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund for HIV, TB and Malaria; and what...

      Conflict, Stability and Security Fund: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, what (a) changes to existing and (b) new programmes she has made or...

      Overseas Aid: Government Departments

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what Official Development Assistance qualifying spending over £1 million she has (a) authorised, (b) suspended and (c)...

      *No heading*

      What steps she is taking to cancel the debt of countries in the Global South affected by the covid-19 pandemic.

      *No heading*

      What steps she is taking to help ensure that UK trade agreements promote (a) fair trade and (b) the provision of affordable medicines.

      *No heading*

      What steps she is taking to ensure that universal healthcare is available as a right in countries that are in receipt of support through her Department's aid programmes.

      *No heading*

      What steps the Government is taking to ensure that the UK maintains its expenditure of 0.7 per cent of GDP on development aid during the covid-19 pandemic.

  • Department for Education

    • Apprentices: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to provide financial support for apprenticeships delivered by independent training providers following the...

    • Free School Meals: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the covid-19 outbreak, how many vouchers have been issued under the national voucher scheme to families whose children are eligible...

      Training: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to implement the Cabinet Office guidance entitled Procurement Policy Note 02/20: Supplier relief due to COVID-19...

      Free School Meals: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the processing times for supermarket vouchers as an alternative for pupils in receipt of free school meals via the...

      Students: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on ensuring that students tied into private rental agreements are supported during the...

      Children: Day Care

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to make additional funding available to cover childcare costs for key workers during the covid-19 outbreak who would...

      Universities: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on (a) the number of (i) international student numbers and (ii)...

      Education: Internet

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what contingency planning his Department has undertaken on supporting teachers and students to learn remotely.

      Schools: Assessments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to allow schools to challenge examination boards and Ofqual where student grades are adjusted on the basis of statistical modelling.

      Members: Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Minister for Universities plans to respond to the letter from the hon Member for Sheffield Central dated 27 March 2020 on support for students.

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Prison Accommodation: Wales

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many inmates are housed in double cells in (a) HMP Berwyn, (b) HMP Cardiff, (c) HMP Parc, (d) HMP Swansea and (e) HMP Usk/Prescoed as at April 2020.

    • Fraud: Land

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many investors in land banking investment scams have been compensated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority as a result of a solicitor being...

      Parole: Video Conferencing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that parole board hearings can be heard by video link so that offenders in custody, of whom a probation recall report...

      Courts: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps are being taken to initiate virtual court hearings for serious criminal cases during the covid-19 outbreak.

      Reading Prison

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what due diligence process the Department followed to assess the preferred bidder for Reading Gaol; and whether Departmental staff or contactors...

      Reading Prison: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what impact assessment the Government has made of the covid-19 outbreak on the sale of Reading Gaol and the preferred bidder’s financial status.

      Reading Prison

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in what form payment for the Reading Gaol site will be made, and whether that payment will be phased or paid as a lump sum.

  • Department for International Trade

  • Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    • Local Government: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many local co-ordination centres have been established to mitigate disruption to logistics as a result of the...

    • Homelessness: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of resources available to local authorities who are housing...

      Housing: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support local authorities that are facing (a) delays in the fulfillment of...

      Housing: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to make changes to housing build out rates for local authorities as a result of the disruption to the...

      Local Government Finance: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the planned period of cover is for the funding allocated to local authorities for increased costs during the...

      Local Government Finance: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the financial effect on local authorities of responding to the covid-19 outbreak.

      High Rise Flats: Insulation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the non-ACM cladding remediation fund applies to (a) combustible cladding with a Euroclass rating of B as well...

      Housing Occupancy: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to help prevent people living in multi-generational households from being at...

      Housing Occupancy: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the living circumstances of people in multi-generational households will be taken into account by the...

      Local Government: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure local authorities have adequate personal protective equipment to respond effectively...

      Domestic Abuse: Hotels

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will introduce a coordination system, developed in conjunction with specialist Violence Against...

      Parish Councils: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to enable town and parish councils to recover lost income caused by the covid-19 crisis; and...

      Food Supply: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether people who are classified as extremely vulnerable are able to apply for priority access to supermarkets,...

  • Ministry of Defence

    • Perfluorooctanoic Acid: Military Bases

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) perfluorooctane sulfate and (b) perfluooctane acid firefighting foams there are on military bases in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

    • Global Positioning System: Military Bases

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure military access to GPS satellites resilient to jamming of signals for (a) communications, (b) direct energy weapons,...

      HMS Queen Elizabeth: Ventilators

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many ventilators that may be used to support people with covid-19 there are on board the HMS Queen Elizabeth.

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to (a) cancel or (b) suspend all pre-existing benefits sanctions during the covid-19 outbreak.

    • Occupational Health

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of whether an increase in the proportion of employees covered by group income protection insurance would...

      Statutory Sick Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the level of the rate of statutory sick pay; and what discussions she has held with the Chancellor of the...

      Statutory Sick Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to remove the (a) lower earnings limit and (b) 28-week cap for people claiming statutory sick pay.

      Universal Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people claimed universal credit in each week from 1 March 2020 in (a) York and (b) throughout the UK.

      Universal Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the length of the waiting time for universal credit; and what steps she is taking to increase the number...

      Universal Credit: Scotland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff are providing telephone support for people in Scotland trying to apply for universal credit; and what the average call waiting...

      Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to suspend all (a) telephone and (b) paper-based reviews of people in receipt of disability living allowance who...

      Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether people in receipt of disability living allowance who have received notification for reassessment for personal independence payments...

      Access to Work Programme: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether Access to Work claims can be processed electronically during the covid-19 outbreak.

      Children: Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many child maintenance arrangements have been (a) altered and (b) withdrawn by the Child Maintenance Service since 1 March 2020.

      Child Maintenance Service: Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff employed in the Child Maintenance Service have been redeployed to other duties in her Department since 1 March 2020.

      Carer's Allowance: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has plans to increase carer's allowance to reflect the (a) additional care that carers may be providing and (b) financial...

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Horticulture: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2020 to Question 33584 on Horticulture: Coronavirus, what steps her Department plans to...

    • Animal Welfare: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent an increase in the level of animal cruelty during the covid-19 outbreak.

      Animal Welfare: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that animal charities are able to continue working with animals during the covid-19 outbreak.

      Animal Welfare: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government has issued sector specific guidance for the operation of animal rescue shelters and adoption services...

      Schools: Plastics

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that schools are reducing their use of single use plastic.

      Furs

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will make it is policy to ban all animal fur products.

      Fisheries: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many businesses have applied to the Coronavirus Fisheries Support Scheme.

      Fisheries: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many businesses have received a direct cash grant through the Coronavirus fisheries support scheme.

      Food Supply: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps are being taken by his Department to ensure food supply chains are safeguarded during the covid-19 outbreak.

      Agriculture: Seasonal Workers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure farmers have access to the seasonal workers required to harvest crops during...

      Care Homes: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to provide support to care homes that are facing difficulties accessing deliveries of fresh...

      Fisheries: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many projects to support fishermen in selling their catch to local communities have been funded by the Government's...

      Animal Welfare: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what financial support is available to animal sanctuaries and rescue centres during the covid-19 outbreak.

      Supermarkets: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how often updates to the list of people that are clinically extremely vulnerable to covid-19 are sent to supermarkets.

  • Home Office

    • Offences against Children: Social Media

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with technology companies on the steps they are taking to (a) identify and (b) tackle online child abuse during...

    • General Register Office: Marriage Certificates

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken is for the General Register Office to correct a marriage certificate that contains an error.

      Police: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to encourage recently retired police officers back to service to deal with additional pressures on the force during...

      Visas: Married People

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of suspending the minimum combined income requirements for spousal visas during the...

      Migrant Workers: Visas

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that people applying for visa renewals which require a minimum term of employment in the UK are not...

      Immigrants: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effects of the covid-19 outbreak on people with no recourse to public funds.

      Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to protect Border Force officials from contracting covid-19 when dealing with illegal migrants crossing...

      Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with representatives from (a) Kent County Council and (b) Kent Police on the potential merits of providing...

      Migrant Camps: France

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with her French counterpart on conditions in migrant camps in northern France.

      Visas: Skilled Workers

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of extending the length of Tier 2 visas for 18 months due to the covid-19...

      Second Homes: Rural Areas

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that city dwellers do not move to second homes in rural areas during the covid-19 outbreak.

      Police: Re-employment

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on relaxing tax and pensions rules which could deter (a) police officers nearing retirement from retiring and (b)...

      Immigration: EU Nationals

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many EU nationals have applied for (a) settled and (b) pre-settled status since that scheme became operational; and what recent estimate...

      Immigrants: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what financial support her Department is providing during the covid-19 outbreak to people that hold visas that restrict their access to...

      Internet: Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish her Department’s list of identified online harms and the groups at risk from each of them.

      Immigration: Married People

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on families of the Minimum Income Requirements for non-EEA spouses and partners in the...

      NHS: Migrant Workers

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to grant relevant NHS staff indefinite leave to remain until the end of the covid-19 pandemic.

      Detention Centres: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) prevent the transmission of covid-19 in immigration removal centres and (b) protect (i) staff and...

      Immigrants: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on migrants in the UK who have no recourse to public funds.

      Aviation: Foreign Nationals

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing foreign nationals' air access to the UK to help tackle the spread of covid-19.

      Domestic Abuse: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has spent on communications for the (a) #YouAreNotAlone and (b) Stay Home Save Lives campaigns to date; and what her...

      Immigrants: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of removing the Immigration Health Surcharge for NHS workers during the covid-19 outbreak.

      Cannabis: Imports

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the processing time of Letters of Declaration for the import of cannabis-based products for...

      Migrant Camps: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 30 March 2020 to Question HL2717 on Migrant Camps: Coronavirus and with reference to the Department for...

      Immigration: Married People

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that non-EEA (a) spouses and (b) partners of UK citizens residing in the UK applying (a) to extend their...

  • Scotland Office

    • Business: Scotland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with banks on helping Scottish businesses to respond to the covid-19 outbreak.

    • Business: Scotland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the differences between the financial support available for retail, hospitality and...

  • Cabinet Office

    • Coronavirus: Disease Control

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that Government strategies to ease social distancing measures take into account the living circumstances of...

    • Health Education: Coronavirus

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much was spent from the public purse on advertising aimed at warning the public of the dangers of covid-19 between 23 March 2020 and 23 April 2020...

  • Treasury

    • Economic Situation: Coronavirus

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that the economic response to the covid-19 outbreak aligns with the (a) delivery of UK carbon budgets (b) UK's commitment...

    • Gift Aid

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the value of gift aid from 25 per cent to 50 per cent that gift aid charities can claim...

      Self-employment Income Support Scheme

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of including the 2019-20 tax returns of self-employed graduates under the Self-employed Income...

      Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Carers

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether employers can furlough employees who are (a) shielding, (b) vulnerable, (c) pregnant and (d) unable to work as a result of caring responsibilities...

      Transport: Government Assistance

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support he is providing to small-to-medium transport companies that are substantially engaged in the importing and distribution of personal...

      Non-domestic Rates: Dental Services

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to extend business rates relief to dental surgeries.

      Health Services: Coronavirus

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he has taken to prevent medical businesses, such as dentists and ophthalmologists, from becoming insolvent as they are unable to access small...

      Self-employment Income Support Scheme

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will remove the requirement to make annual profits of less than £50,000 for the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme.

      Directors: Coronavirus

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will ensure that directors of businesses, who cannot be themselves be furloughed while administering the payments of their staff members on furlough,...

      Health Professions: Coronavirus

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support he plans to allocate to (a) optometrists, (b) physiotherapy, chiropractic and osteopathy clinics, (c) podiatrists and (d) other...

      Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether employees of umbrella companies can be furloughed beyond the dates of assignments with subcontractors.

      Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to provide financial assistance to employees who were working before 19 March 2020, but are exempt from the furlough scheme due to...

      Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Theatre

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to enable theatres to continue to claim employee wages through the Job Retention Scheme until they can fully re-open.

      Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Skilled Workers

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of changing the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme to help industries such as the steel industry that...

      Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Skilled Workers

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits to industries such as the steel industry which are experiencing shortages of skilled workers of...

      Multinational Companies: Disclosure of Information

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it remains his Department's policy to participate in the OECD joint publication of aggregate data from the country by country reporting of...

      Multinational Companies: Disclosure of Information

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the UK’s company level data from country by country reporting of multinational companies.

      Charities: Coronavirus

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he will take to encourage philanthropy and charitable giving to offset the effect of covid-19 on the charity sector.

      Economic Situation: Coronavirus

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the economic effect of the covid-19 outbreak on university towns and cities.

      Revenue and Customs: Staff

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made on (a) recruiting and (b) training additional HMRC customs agents.

  • Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

    • 5G

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of masts that will be required to roll out 5G throughout the UK.

    • Social Enterprises: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the covid-19 outbreak, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Government's...

      Charities and Voluntary Organisations: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he has taken to allocate additional funding to cover the overhead costs of charities and other not-for-profit...

      Local Broadcasting: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has plans to increase the funding allocated to the Community Radio Fund to cover emergency payments to...

      Local Broadcasting: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of the financial situation of community radio stations following the outbreak of covid-19.

      Arts: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what funding his Department has made available to (a) arts companies and (b) arts venues to ensure the sustainability of those...

      Local Broadcasting: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to support community radio stations through the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.

      Mobile Phones: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on network resilience.

  • Wales Office

    • Coronavirus: Wales

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to (1) review, and (2) lift, restrictions on the Welsh Government’s ability to borrow (a) during, and (b) after, the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Northern Ireland Office

    • Terrorism: Northern Ireland

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Ministerial Statement by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 18 March (HLWS163), what evidence of claims against veterans in Northern...

    • Terrorism: Northern Ireland

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Ministerial Statement by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 18 March (HLWS163), what discussions they had with political parties in (1)...

      Coronavirus: Northern Ireland

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of the Republic of Ireland about developing a co-ordinated all-island approach to the exit from the COVID-19...

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Carer's Allowance: Coronavirus

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the number of informal carers living in poverty, and (2) the adequacy of the Carer's Allowance.

  • Treasury

    • Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether employees who cannot practically work because they are shielding themselves in line with the current public health guidance, or because of childcare...

    • Employment: Coronavirus

      To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish data on the number of furloughed workers by (1) sector, and (2) size of enterprise. [T]

What is this?

The parliamentary question is a great way for MPs and Peers to discover information which the government may not wish to reveal. Ministers reply via written answers, a list of which gets published daily.

We let you vote on whether or not the answer given is adequate.

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