Written answers

Friday, 25 June 2021

  • Department for Transport

    • Transport: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve cross-UK transport links.

    • Roads: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the condition of England’s roads.

      Transport: Planning

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to work with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to identify opportunities for combined transport...

      Walking: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Written Statement of 25 March 2021, HCWS891 on Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy 2 (CWIS2) and the target on walking...

      Railways: Season Tickets

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made in introducing flexible rail season tickets.

      Railways: Speed Limits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has plans to increase running capacity on train lines in the South East to above 100mph.

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    • Ofgem

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the forthcoming Strategy and Policy Statement for Ofgem is planned to ensure that regulator supports the...

    • Biofuels

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 28 April 2021 to Question 184534 on Biofuels and Carbon Capture and Storage, how many...

      Drax Power

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 28 April 2021 to Question 184534 on Biofuels and Carbon Capture and Storage, on how...

      Energy: Disability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that people with (a) physical and (b) learning disabilities are aware of...

      Energy: Meters

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has met representatives of energy providers to discuss the steps they are taking to ensure that reasonable...

      Energy: Disability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has met representatives of energy providers to discuss the steps they are taking to guarantee the equitable...

      Construction: Materials

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the extent of the shortage of supply of cement and building materials for the...

      Ofgem

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many organisations have made representations to him in the last six months on reforming Ofgem’s remit to...

      Electricity Generation: Fees and Charges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of Ofgem’s proposals to reform network charging on the...

      Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to set legally binding targets to 2030 to align with the timeframe for...

      Fuel Poverty: Ilford South

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how the funding that replaces the Green Homes Grant allocation for local authorities will tackle fuel poverty in Ilford...

      Drax Power

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 28 April 2021 to Question 184534 on Biofuels and Carbon Capture and Storage, whether...

      Drax Power

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 28 April 2021 to Question 184534 on Biofuels and Carbon Capture and Storage, on how...

      Glass: Manufacturing Industries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to increase recruitment in the glass manufacturing industry in South Yorkshire.

      Manufacturing Industries: Glass

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what financial support he is making available to the glass manufacturing industry during the covid-19 outbreak.

      Dental Services: Non-surgical Cosmetic Procedures

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that teeth whitening products that could have the potential to contain harmful...

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • NHS Trusts: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason Trusts that do not reach nationally set activity level thresholds are not able to access the Elective Recovery Fund.

    • NHS Trusts: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the continuity of covid-19 public health restrictions, if will he make an adjustment to the activity level thresholds...

      Department of Health and Social Care: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Written Statement of 15 December 2020, HCWS652, on Unconscious bias training, what steps he has taken to phase out...

      Coronavirus: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will commission research to establish whether covid-19 vaccinations work effectively for people who have received kidney transplants.

      Coronavirus: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to allow patients to choose which type of the covid-19 vaccination they receive.

      Medical Records: Data Protection

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of of adapting the NHS opt-out system to allow patients to consent to data...

      Edgware Community Hospital: Mental Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of the services provided to young people using mental health services at the Beacon Centre...

      Mental Health Services: Young People

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of funding a network of early support hubs for young people to access mental health...

  • Department for Education

    • Turing Scheme: Applications

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people have applied for the Turing Scheme for (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23.

    • Physical Education and Sports: Mental Health

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the role that physical education and school sport can play in promoting mental wellbeing among children and young people.

      Physical Education: Disability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that children with disabilities can participate in physical activity at school.

      Schools: Sports

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help support local school sport organisers with (a) training, (b) quality assurance and (c) local coordination.

      Schools: Physical Education and Sports

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to maintain funding for physical education and sport in schools at the current level for the 2021-22 academic year.

      Assessments: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with exam boards on the appropriate level of rebate which schools and colleges should receive in light of changes to...

      Schools: Gender and Political Impartiality

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the of the compatibility of recent advice issued to schools by a campaigning organisation not to refer to children as...

      Schools: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with Public Health England on determining the appropriate size of a bubble in schools during the covid-19 outbreak; and if...

      Mathematics: Higher Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department is providing to universities on promoting and protecting the (a) teaching and (b) research of pure mathematics.

      Higher Education: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the (a) financial and (b) academic effect on Higher Education students of the covid-19 outbreak in the 2020-21 academic...

      Erasmus+ Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students took part in the Erasmus Scheme in each of the last 10 years.

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Prisoners' Release: Females

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of appointing designated prison officers to act as brokers for housing in women’s prisons.

    • Prisoners' Release: Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support will be provided for vulnerable women housed as part of his Department’s new temporary accommodation service for prison leavers.

      Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the announcement, Lord chancellor takes immediate action to move children from Rainsbrook published on 16 June 2021, what assessment...

      Prisoners: Females

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what is the length of the (a) median and (b) mean prison stay in days for inmates at each women’s prison in the last three years.

      Prison and Probation Service: Digital Technology

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service Digital, Data and Technology Strategy, published on 15 June 2021, what estimate he...

      Abortion: Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made by the Midlands Coroner investigating the case of abortion pills being used at home at 28 weeks gestation in May 2020.

      Civil Proceedings

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend English common and tort law to ensure that the ex turpi causa non oritur actio doctrine is...

      Ministry of Justice: Tribunals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what is the average time taken between a claimant (a) submitting a tribunal case to appeal a decision made by his Department, (b) having a hearing and...

  • Department for International Trade

    • Import Controls: China

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister of 16 June 2021, Official Report, what progress her Department has made on...

    • Department for International Trade: China

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many of her Department's staff are based in the UK’s consulates and embassy in China.

      Trade Agreements: Australia

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps her Department has taken to remove investor-state dispute settlement from the UK-Australia Free Trade Deal.

  • Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

    • Coronavirus: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether it is the Government's policy that the supply of free covid-19 vaccines to qualifying countries will be...

    • Civilians: Protection

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which Minister in his Department is responsible for the implementation of the UK Government’s Protection of...

      Israel: Foreign Relations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to meet with the Prime Minister of Israel; and if he will make a statement.

      South Asia: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the covid-19 vaccine roll-out in (a) India, (b) Sri Lanka and (c)...

      South Asia: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the progress made on the covid-19 vaccine roll-out in (a) India, (b) Sri Lanka and...

      Tigray: Armed Conflict

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the relevance of (a) the Responsibility to Protect doctrine and (b) the UK...

      Democratic Republic of Congo: Aid Workers and Diplomatic Service

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to to ensure the safety of aid workers and diplomats in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

      India: Religious Freedom

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Indian counterpart on protecting the religious freedoms and freedom...

      LGBT People: Discrimination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to governments across the world, including Commonwealth nations, that are...

      Democratic Republic of Congo: Nutrition

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect child nutrition services in the immediate and long-term in the...

      Democratic Republic of Congo: Security

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure long-term stability and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

      Nepal: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support in terms of (a) vaccinations and (b) general medical assistance the Government has provided to Nepal...

      Sub-Saharan Africa: Overseas Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the allocation of UK aid to sub-Saharan Southern Africa.

      Democratic Republic of Congo: Overseas Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed reduction in Official Development Assistance on ongoing...

      Africa: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support his Department is providing to governments in Africa to ensure they have access to an adequate supply...

      Cameroon: Politics and Government

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the situation in Cameroon; and whether he has had discussions with his UN...

      Education: Females

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference Government's commitment to education at the G7 in June 2021, what steps the Government is taking to...

      Russia and Ukraine: Diplomatic Relations and Security

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the diplomatic and security situation of (a) Ukraine and (b) Russia;...

      Rainforests: Conservation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his (a) Brazilian and (b) UN counterparts on UK Government support for the...

      Cyprus: Politics and Government

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to leaders of both communities in Cyprus to help ensure a sustainable, bi-zonal...

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Department for Work and Pensions: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement of 15 December 2020, HCWS652, on Unconscious bias training, what steps she has taken to phase out...

    • National Insurance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to reduce the time between a British passport holder (a) applying for and (b) receiving a National Insurance number.

      Social Security Benefits: British Nationals Abroad

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps her Department has taken to support UK citizens overseas through the welfare system.

      Access to Work Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average timeframe is for Access to Work applications to (a) be allocated an advisor, (b) have evidence gathered and (c) reach a...

      Social Security Benefits: Appeals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the average time taken between people (a) submitting a mandatory reconsideration and (b) receiving an outcome in (i) York and (ii)...

      Pension Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to increase the uptake of pension credit.

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Animal Experiments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether the Government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare will reduce the number of...

    • School Milk: EU Grants and Loans

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has plans to publish a domestic replacement for the EU School Milk Scheme for the academic year 2021-22.

      Plastics: Packaging

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2021 to Question 7904 on Plastics: Supermarkets, what steps he is taking to incentivise...

      Incinerators: Edmonton

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of expanding the capacity of the Edmonton EcoPark waste...

      Game: Animal Welfare

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ban cages for breeding (a) partridges, (b) pheasants and (c) other game birds.

      Air Pollution

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to set legally binding interim targets for particulate matter 2.5 at the WHO...

      Incinerators: Edmonton

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish communications he has had with the North London Waste Authority on its plans to increase the capacity of...

      Water: Consumption

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his timetable is for publishing the results of his Department's consultation on measures to reduce personal water use...

      Air Pollution: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the effect of air pollution on...

      Air Pollution

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of public awareness of the sources of information on national and...

      Incinerators: Edmonton

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of a pause and review on the expansion of the Edmonton...

      Air Pollution: EU Countries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his European counterparts on tackling toxic air.

      Incinerators

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the use of incineration as a method of waste disposal.

      Air Pollution: Pollution Control

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Air Quality Grant scheme.

  • Home Office

    • Deportation: India

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has (a) had discussions with relevant stakeholders and (b) set a target for the number of Indian nationals to be deported in...

    • Visas: Innovation

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any further Endorsing Body Status applications will be granted by her Department while the review into the Innovator Route is being...

      Immigration: EU Nationals

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the statutory parenting duties and responsibilities the Government has in respect of looked after children and care...

      Asylum: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the consistency across the UK of the provision of emergency cash payments by accommodation providers to...

      Manual Workers: Vacancies

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that unskilled labour vacancies are being filled since the UK left the EU.

  • Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    • Levelling Up Fund: Scotland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much and what proportion of funding under the Levelling Up Fund his Department has allocated to Scotland.

    • UK Shared Prosperity Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the Government's policy is on ensuring that funding under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is comparable to the...

      Free Zones

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made in establishing freeports in England.

      Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the planned lifespan is of the Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission; and what its budget is per annum.

      UK Shared Prosperity Fund: North East

      To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to deploy UK Shared Prosperity Fund funding in the North East.

  • Treasury

    • Motor Vehicles: Taxation

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has plans to reconsider the taxation of historic cars so that the date the law is calculated from is the registration date on the V5...

    • Business: Infrastructure

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to incentivise businesses to invest in new equipment or infrastructure.

      Treasury: Correspondence

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how long on average his Department has taken to respond to letters from (a) Labour hon. Members and (b) hon. Members of other political parties in the most...

  • Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

    • Travel Agents: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions the Government plans to have with representatives of travel agencies on the steps that the Government plans...

    • Cultural Heritage: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the support provided to the culture and arts sector during the covid-19 outbreak.

      Children's Play: Facilities

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Government's announcement of 14 June 2021 not to move ahead with Step 4 of the Government's roadmap for...

      Voluntary Work

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment has he made of the effectiveness of local volunteer centres.

      Voluntary Work

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has of the comparative effectiveness of volunteering opportunities organised through (a) local and (b)...

      Broadband

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with local authorities to raise awareness of the benefits of gigabit broadband.

  • Cop26

    • Climate Change Convention

      To ask the President of COP26, if he will publish his plans and objectives for the British stewardship of the COP process after COP26 in Glasgow.

    • UN Climate Conference 2021: Disability

      To ask the President of COP26, what steps the Government is taking to ensure its COP26 presidency helps protect the rights of persons with disabilities.

  • Women and Equalities

    • Females: Equality

      To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to implement the recommendations for G7 GEAC in the UK, specifically with reference to...

  • Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

    • World Heritage Sites: Liverpool

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to UNESCO to ensure that Liverpool does not lose its UNESCO World Heritage status.

    • World Heritage Sites: Liverpool

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Liverpool’s UNESCO World Heritage status following the decision by the Secretary of State not to call in the planning...

  • Cabinet Office

    • UK Internal Trade: Northern Ireland

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reported statement by President Macron that Northern Ireland is not a full part of the United Kingdom.

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Hospitals: Waiting Lists

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote NHS England's and NHS Improvement's Good Communication with Patients Waiting for Care, published on 25 May, to local...

    • Health: Disadvantaged

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the value of making health creation a priority for a post-COVID-19 health and social care service.

      Health: Disadvantaged

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Health Creation Alliance Primary Care Networks and place-based working: addressing health inequalities in a...

      Health: Disadvantaged

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the summary by the Health Creation Alliance Building Back Together: 10 key messages, published on 13 April.

      In Vitro Fertilisation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government on what date they will publish the outcome of their consultation on gamete (egg, sperm) and embryo storage limits, which closed on 5 May 2020.

      Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

      To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish the statistics on the number of patients who have had to wait in excess of 12 hours for admission to the hospital from the time of their...

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.

June 2021
Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
282930