Written answers

Monday, 7 February 2022

  • Department for Transport

    • Public Transport

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 3.2.3 of the Levelling Up White Paper on ensuring local public transport connectivity across the country is brought...

    • Railways: York

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the cancellation of HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail on the delivery of the Government's Levelling Up...

      Public Transport: Disability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support disabled passengers on public transport.

      Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many electric car charging points (a) are in operation and (b) will be in operation by the 1 January 2025.

      Motorways: Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when (a) the locations of additional Emergency Refuge Areas (ERAs) to be installed on All Lane Running Smart Motorways within the second Road...

      Highway Code: Publicity

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on advertising the recent changes to the Highway Code as of 1 February 2022.

      Driving Licences: Medical Examinations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2021 to Question 87701, what steps he is taking to improve Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency processing times...

      Felixstowe Port: Storage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2022 to Question 113799, what percentage of the storage capacity at the port of Felixstowe is currently in use.

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    • Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much the Exchequer has paid to lenders as a result of defaults in the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan...

    • Carbon Emissions: York

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the average rate of carbon emissions in York (a) in total and (b) per capita in the...

      Housing: Carbon Emissions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department will take to ensure that a transition to net zero remains affordable for people on lower incomes.

      Biofuels: Sustainable Development

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Climate Change Committee’s recommendation...

      Drax Power Stations: Timber

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish the names of the forests from which Drax sources its wood pellets.

      Carbon Capture and Storage

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the (a) amount of CO2 that needs to be captured by Bioenergy with carbon capture and...

      Drax Power Station

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his estimate is for the carbon payback time for the Drax power station in North Yorkshire.

      Postal Services: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether officials in his Department have had discussions with representatives of Royal Mail on delays in postal...

      Beer: Measurement

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the potential effect on GDP of enabling a Crown Stamp symbol to appear on pint...

      Bounce Back Loan Scheme: Fraud

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the oral contribution of the Paymaster General of 1 February 2022, Official Report, column 160, that...

      Parental Leave and Parental Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2021 to Question 146798 on Paternity Leave and the Answer of 21 May 2021 to...

      Yoga: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance he has provided to local authorities on the granting of covid-19-related financial support to yoga studios.

      Parental Leave and Parental Pay: Baby Care Units

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to provide parents of babies receiving neonatal care with additional paid parental leave from April 2023.

      Cancer and Dementia: Research

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his Department's financial investment in (a) cancer research and (b) dementia research has been per year since 2015.

  • Attorney General

    • National Scrutiny Panel on Disability Hate Crime

      To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2022 to Question 110472 on National Scrutiny Panel on Disability Hate Crime, if she will respond to the the request to publish...

    • Attorney General: Disability

      To ask the Attorney General, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy, published July 2021, what recent steps her Department has taken on (a) encouraging and supporting...

      Attorney General: Correspondence

      To ask the Attorney General, what the average response time was for her Department to respond to an enquiry from an MP once an enquiry had been received by the MP (a) hotline and (b) account...

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Biochemistry: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many NHS clinical biochemists could be paid for using the funding from the covid surge deal, announced...

    • Nurses: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many NHS nurses could be paid for using the funding from the covid surge deal, announced on 10 January...

      Doctors: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many NHS doctors could be paid for using the funding from the covid surge deal, announced on 10...

      Health Services: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many people on NHS hospital treatment waiting lists could have their NHS hospital treatment paid for...

      Breast Cancer: Surgery

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of women who are at a high or very high risk of breast cancer and who are waiting for...

      General Practitioners: Registration

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on NHS patients being asked to deregister from GP practices as a result of being considered to be out-of-area.

      Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to answer Question 102568, tabled by the hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury on 12 January 2021.

      Hospitals: Sutton

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress he has made on the proposed Sutton hospital and its timetable for development; and if he will make a statement.

      Dentistry: Yorkshire and Humberside

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps to enable Integrated Care Systems to commission dental training places; and whether he has made an (a)...

      Abortion: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the temporary at-home abortion policy will end with the expiration of Coronavirus Act 2020 in March 2022.

      Coronavirus: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is he taking to help ensure that there are no delays in the delivery of the covid-19 school vaccination programme.

      Coronavirus: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the uptake of covid-19 booster vaccination walk-in appointments.

      England Infected Blood Support Scheme: Hepatitis

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what happens to an England Infected Blood Support Scheme application for a (a) hepatis C stage 1, (b) hepatitis C stage 2 or (c) special...

      Dental Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data he reviews to understand the challenges and solutions required to improve access to NHS dental care in areas where access to...

      Dental Services: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the funding announced on the NHS England website on 25 January 2022 for securing additional dental appointments for...

      Tobacco

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish (a) the new Tobacco Control Plan and (b) the updated Tobacco and Related Products Regulations.

  • Wales Office

    • UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Wales

      To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that Wales receives an equitable share of funding allocated through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund...

    • Wales Office: Disability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy, published July 2021, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) encourage and...

  • Department for Education

    • Free School Meals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will enable children on free school meals to roll over unspent monies on their prepaid cards in the context of the introduction of prepaid cards...

    • Social Workers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of social workers (a) nationally and (b) in York.

      Adoption Support Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending access to the Adoption Support Fund to allow foster children who have experienced...

      Social Workers: Registration

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to encourage temporarily registered social workers to become fully registered.

      Social Workers: Labour Turnover

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) retention rate of social workers and (b) reasons for social workers leaving the profession.

      Social Workers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent comparative assessment he has made of the number of (a) social workers who have left the profession, (b) newly employed social workers and...

      Social Services: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on children’s social services of long-term use of agency staff.

      Education: Hearing Impairment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to (a) develop early-intervention strategies to ensure that deaf children do not fall behind in education and (b)...

      Pupils: Absenteeism

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an online portal to allow headteachers to alert (a) his Department, (b) the...

      Higher Education: Students

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference the letter of 23 January 2022 from the Minister of State for Higher and Further Education to hon. Members, if he will list the 25...

      Languages: Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the uptake of foreign languages in schools.

      Teachers: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what conditions need to be met before further rounds of accreditation for providers of teacher training are opened.

      Teachers: Recruitment and Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which subjects have (a) met their teacher recruitment targets and (b) received funding for initial teacher training bursaries in each of last five years.

      Schools: Absenteeism

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions officials in his Department have had with representatives of Ofsted on the viability of inspections during a period of acute staff...

      Higher Education: Parents

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Government's criteria for parents in full time higher education to access childcare grants is the same as...

      BTEC Qualifications: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure adequate long-term funding for BTEC courses.

      Education: ICT

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many 4G wireless routers his Department has purchased for educational settings that have not been distributed.

      Higher Education: Parents

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that parents in higher education are eligible for childcare grants through Student Finance England.

      Schools: Absenteeism

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of absences of (a) staff and (b) pupils in English schools in (i) October 2021, (ii) November...

      Turing Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason Capita have been appointed to deliver the remainder of the Turing Scheme programme for the academic year 2021-22 starting in April...

      Pupils: Isle of Wight

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the average spend per pupil in schools on the Isle of Wight; how that average spending compares to the...

      Schools: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that schools remain open during the ongoing high level of covid-19 infection rates.

      Schools: Absenteeism

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of days missed of school by (a) students and (b) teachers in the first term of the 2021-22...

      St Helens Council: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Government's Levelling Up White Paper, if he will publish details of the additional funding that St Helens Metropolitan Borough...

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Prison Officers: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2022 to Question 112569 on Prison Officers: Training, if he will publish the review conducted by an external...

    • Legal Aid Scheme: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2022 to Question 113255 on Legal Aid Scheme, what training and/or guidance is provided by the Director of Legal Aid...

      Judges: Retirement

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 20 Jan 2022 to Question 105554, what estimate he has made of the ages of judges who have left office before retirement age in...

      Ministry of Justice: Location

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the potential savings to the public purse his Department's national programme of moving staff out of central London to...

      Reoffenders: Terrorism

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of offenders who have served custodial sentences and who have subsequently committed offences under the...

      Offenders: Terrorism

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders convicted of offences under the Terrorism Act or related offences are being monitored by the Probation Service.

      Equality Act 2010

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many fines have been issued under s.165 of the Equality Act 2010 in each year since its introduction.

      Restorative Justice

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward a new Restorative Justice Action Plan, to replace the previous Plan that expired in 2018.

  • Treasury

    • Taxpayer Protection Taskforce

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what date the Taxpayer Protection Taskforce became operational.

    • Hospitality Industry: VAT

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the VAT rate of 12.5 per cent for the hospitality industry until the end of 2022.

      Financial Services: Environment Protection

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Greening Finance Roadmap, published in October 2021, what assessment he has made of the case for implementing the Sustainability...

      Cost of Living: British National (Overseas)

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to review worldwide subsistence rates set by HMRC used by British overseas workers to cover living costs in line with local inflation rates.

      Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the proposed alcohol duty system announced in the Budget on 2 November 2021 on the trend...

      Taxpayer Protection Taskforce

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times he has met with officials from the Taxpayer Protection Taskforce; and on what dates those meetings have taken place.

      Regional Planning and Development

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the Levelling Up White Paper will help determine priorities for the next Comprehensive Spending Review.

      Customs: UK Trade with EU

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of additional (a) customs charges and (b) other charges on people sending and receiving packages from the EU as a...

      Private Rented Housing: Taxation

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the number of properties evading tax liabilities by not registering as private rented accommodation.

      Working Tax Credit: Overpayments

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to support people who are having difficulty in paying back overpayments of working tax credits in the context of rising...

      Regional Planning and Development

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department has made in levelling up all regions of the UK.

      Pay

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to increase wages and support the lowest-income households.

      Employment: Young People

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department has made on supporting young people into high-skilled jobs.

      Regional Planning and Development

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to encourage regional growth across the UK.

      Financial Services: Competition

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to support the financial services sector’s competitiveness.

      Government: Research

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the status is of the Government Social Research Publication Protocol entitled Publishing research and analysis in government; and what the...

  • Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

    • Russia: Ukraine

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her Brazilian counterpart on the situation between Ukraine and Russia,...

    • Pakistan: Women's Rights

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to her Pakistani counterpart on ensuring the protection of the rights and...

      British Council: Data Protection

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with the British Council regarding the recent data breach which has reportedly...

      Pakistan: Females

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recommendations in the report by the APPG...

      Coronavirus: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to close the global covid-19 vaccine gap; and what steps she is taking to help...

      Ecuador: Floods

      To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help the Ecuadorian Government following the flooding in Quito.

  • Ministry of Defence

    • Ukraine: Antitank Missiles

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the risk that the Ukraine defence forces might use UK-supplied anti-tank weapons against civilian targets in the Donbas...

    • Nuclear Power: Safety Measures

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government has a policy on distributing stable iodine tablets to members of the public living near UK military and civil nuclear facilities;...

      Cameroon: Military Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the documents publish on 26 January 2022 by Declassified UK, what steps her Department takes to monitor the potential diversion of...

      Cameroon: Military Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how long the UK has been training Cameroon's Bataillon d'Intervention Rapide forces; and how much the training, capacity building and the building of...

      Cameroon: Military Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if she will carry out an assessment of the effectiveness of training given to the Cameroon Bataillon d'Intervention Rapide by the UK.

      Dstl: Newcastle upon Tyne

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 175 of the Levelling Up White Paper, how much funding the new expanded Defence Science and Technology Laboratory will receive per...

      Cameroon: Military Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the training and facilities provided by the Government to Cameroon's Battalion d'Intervention Rapide unit are resourced from her Department's...

      Nato

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff in his Department work on engagement with NATO.

      NATO: Armed Forces

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK military personnel are deployed with NATO in each country where that organisation is deployed.

      NATO: Armed Forces and Overseas Workers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK staff or UK military personnel are working at NATO HQ and SHAPE HQ.

      Ministry of Defence: Disability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy, published July 2021, what recent steps his Department has taken to (a) encourage and...

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Personal Independence Payment: Mental Illness

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of personal independence payment applicants who are refused on initial assessment were applying on the grounds of primarily...

    • Centre for Social Justice

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will place a copy of the minutes of the meeting between the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work and The Centre for Social...

      Disability: Public Consultation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she will be taking to ensure adequate consultation with disabled people and disabled peoples organisations on its National...

      Social Security: Wales

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when her Department most recently assessed the potential merits of extending to Wales the devolution of powers on social security afforded to...

      Energy: Prices

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support her Department is providing to social security claimants to help them manage increased utility costs.

      Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2022 to Question 103607 on Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations, whether she plans to compare...

      Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the most recent quarterly statistics on Personal Independence Payments, whether her Department records the number of days...

      Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the most recent quarterly statistics on Personal Independence Payments, what steps her Department has taken to ensure...

      Universal Credit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to section 1.5.4 of the Levelling Up the United Kingdom White Paper, what steps she is taking to ensure that workers living in...

      Access to Work Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to promote awareness of the Access To Work scheme to people eligible to apply.

      Statutory Sick Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has conducted a review of the adequacy of the rate of Statutory Sick Pay since the introduction of the Social Security...

      Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2022 to Question 103606, how many of the (a) 500 Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments and (b)...

      Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to commission an external evaluation of the Health Transformation Area programme.

      Jobcentres: Working Hours

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the costs and potential merits of opening jobcentres on Saturday since 2016; and if she will make a statement.

      Access to Work Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department spent on (a) assessments and (b) elements under the Access To Work scheme in each year since 2010-11 inclusive.

      Access to Work Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) small employers, (b) medium sized employers and (c) large employers were required to pay some of the costs of elements...

      Access to Work Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls the Access To Work helpline received in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

      Access to Work Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of Access To Work scheme funding were subject to the scheme’s overall cap in (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.

      Access to Work Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) applications and (b) successful applications were made to the Access To Work scheme in each year since 2010-11 inclusive.

      Access to Work Programme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) applications and (b) successful applications there were to the Access To Work Mental Health Support Service scheme in each year...

      Unemployment: Young People

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support young people who are out of work or unable to work with the increase in the cost of living.

      Energy: Prices

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of rising fuel costs on disabled people in receipt of benefits.

      Cost of Living

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of benefits for disabled people in the context of increases in the cost of living.

      Cost of Living: Pensioners

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to help support pensioners with increases in the cost of living.

      Merchant Shipping: Pensions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) retired and (b) active seafarers are members of the Merchant Navy Ratings Pension Fund (MNRPF); and what recent assessment she...

      Civil Servants: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what diversity training is carried out for civil servants in her Department.

      Workplace Pensions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in the last 12 months how many employers who have autoenrolment pension responsibilities have failed to enrol all eligible employees.

      Kickstart Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress she has made on the conversion of Kickstart jobs into full-time equivalent roles and apprenticeships.

  • Cop26

    • Climate Change: Developing Countries

      To ask the President of COP26, what steps he is taking during the UK's COP presidency to address the barriers posed by debt to climate-vulnerable countries’ ability to respond to the...

  • Home Office

    • Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2022 to Question 107455 on Undocumented Migrants: English Channel, what the maximum capacity is for...

    • Seasonal Workers: Pilot Schemes

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the letter dated 24 January 2022 from the Independent Anti Slavery Commissioner in response to the Government's evaluation...

      Passports: Photographs

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on passport photographs from people with white hair on a white background not being accepted; and if...

      British Nationality

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people who were issued a Tier 1 (Investor) visa between June 2008 and April 2015 have (a) applied for and...

      Immigration: EU Nationals

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the deadline for Surinder Singh applications to the EU Settlement Scheme...

      Immigration: EU Nationals

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for EU Settlement Scheme family permit are pending a decision.

      Refugees: Employment

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 January 2022 to Question 98278, on Refugees: Employment, how her Department makes an assessment of the...

      Passports: Costs

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department made of the cost of changing the UK passport colour from burgundy to blue.

      Police: Pensions

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to issue guidance to Chief Constables on police pensions following the High Court’s ruling in December 2021...

      Police Patrolling

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to increase the number of police foot patrols.

      Independent Office for Police Conduct

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the Independent Office for Police Conduct's independence from police forces to deliver...

      Gender Based Violence

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what changes the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy has achieved since it was published.

      Refugees: Afghanistan

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when details of the UNHCR referral route process for the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme will be published.

      Door supervisors and Security Guards: Key Workers

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of recognising security guards and door staff as key workers.

      Disability: Electronic Government

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy, published 28 July 2021, what progress her Department has made on improving...

      Disability: Departmental Coordination

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy, published 28 July 2021, what progress her Department has made on defining a...

      Disability: Career Development

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy, published 28 July 2021, what progress her Department has made on building a...

  • Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

    • UN Committee On the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, on what date the Government last submitted a report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

    • Listed Buildings: Double Glazing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of updating planning guidance on allowing windows of...

      Local Government: Northern Ireland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to designate his Department under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 with respect to its...

      UK Shared Prosperity Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans his Department has to (a) initiate a consultation on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and (b) publish a timetable...

      Land: Regeneration

      To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to enable communities to take control of underused or vacant spaces of community value as part of...

      Levelling Up Fund

      To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to publish (a) detailed guidance and (b) the application forms for the next round of levelling up funds.

      Poverty

      To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Government's Levelling Up White Paper, what assessment his Department has made of the need to tackle...

      Levelling Up Fund: Shropshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will place information in the Library relating to the Government's assessment of Shropshire Council's unsuccessful...

      Thames Freeport

      To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department made an assessment of the pension liabilities of DP World’s UK subsidiaries during the...

      Landlords: Registration

      To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish a timescale for the creation of (a) the national landlords register and (b) a comprehensive definition...

      Business: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the number of...

      Housing Revenue Accounts

      To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what data his Department holds on the level of the Housing Revenue Account Capital Finance Requirement as of 1 February 2022.

      Right to Buy Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his timetable is for evaluating new pilot areas for the Voluntary Right to Buy scheme.

      Buildings: Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether there is a mechanism for leaseholders to request a second opinion following a building safety assessment and...

      Buildings: Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the new proportionate approach that the Government plans to apply to building safety will result in fire and...

  • Scotland Office

    • Storms: Scotland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to the damage caused by Storm Malik and Corrie, what steps his Department has taken to help ensure that Scotland is better equipped for...

    • Scotland Office: Correspondence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what his Department's average response time was to an enquiry from a hon. Member to the MP (a) hotline and (b) account management team in (a) 2019, (b)...

  • Cabinet Office

    • 10 Downing Street: Refrigerators

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether public funds were used to purchase refrigerators for use on the Downing Street estate in the financial...

    • Cabinet Office: Veterans

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many veterans applied to his Department using the civil service great place to work scheme over the nine...

      House of Lords: Location

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress has been made on the assessment of the potential merits of moving the House of Lords to York.

      Government Departments: Conference Centres

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a national Government conference...

      Prime Minister: Correspondence

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average response time was for the Prime Minister's Office to respond to an enquiry from an MP once an...

      Civil Servants: Pensions

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to tackle the overpayment of pensions contributions by civil servants.

      Infected Blood Compensation Framework Study

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to publish the final report from Sir Robert Francis’s study on a compensation framework...

      Coronavirus: Disease Control

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the total cost to the public purse of the All In, All Together newspaper advertising campaign has been...

      Screening: Coronavirus

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the terms of the inquiry into the Government's handling of the covid-19 pandemic are; and whether that...

      Covid-19 Inquiry

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the covid-19 public inquiry will formally commence.

      Cabinet Office: Discrimination

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants in his Department submitted (a) complaints and (b) formal grievances on experiencing...

      Cabinet Office: Discrimination

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) complaints and (b) formal grievances made by staff in his Department as a result of (i) race,...

      Government: Communication

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy published 28 July 2021, whether his Department...

      Business: Regulation

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, if his Department will publish a breakdown of the projected £1 billion of red tape faced by businesses...

      Prime Minister: Disability

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy published July 2021, what recent steps No. 10...

      EU Law

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his planned timetable is for bringing forward legislative proposals with the aim of ensuring that it is...

      UK Relations with EU: AUKUS

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to The Benefits of Brexit: How the UK is taking advantage of leaving the EU published in...

      Candidates: Disability

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy published 28 July 2021, what steps his...

      Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much has been spent on projects via the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund for projects in (a)...

      Fraud

      To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much (a) has been lost from the public purse as a result of fraud, scams and economic crime and (b) has...

  • Department for International Trade

    • Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2022 to Question 100568 on Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, whether she expects to...

    • Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2022 to Question 100568 on Arms Trade: Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, what estimate she has...

      World Expo: Dubai

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January to Question 110332, to list the 20 UK travel and transport companies referenced as having taken part in...

      World Expo: Dubai

      To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2022 to Question 110333, what the total cost to her Department was of staffing the UK...

  • Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

    • Emergency Calls

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken to help ensure that in the event of power outages people will still be able to make...

    • Telephone Systems

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether it is her Department's policy to ensure that the proposed changes to the Public Switched Telephone Network in 2025 are...

      Telecommunications: Digital Technology

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the digital telephone system will replicate the ability of the analogue...

      Loneliness: Learning Disabilities

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her Department’s policy paper entitled Emerging Together: the Tackling Loneliness Network Action Plan,...

      Census

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that data from the 1921 census is accessible; and whether her Department...

      Emergency Services Network: Ceredigion

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether any of the planned Extended Area Services masts in Ceredigion will be made available for use by the Shared Rural Network.

      Broadband: South West

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help ensure that customers in (a) the South West and (b) North Devon constituency have access to...

      Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Disability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to Part One of the National Disability Strategy, published July 2021, what recent steps her Department has...

      Broadband

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Government's press release entitled Government unveils levelling up plan that will transform UK, whether...

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Marine Protected Areas

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to manage fishing in Marine Protected Areas around the coast of the UK; and what assessment he has...

    • Wildlife: Crime

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the recommendations of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report entitled Wildlife and Forest...

      Export Health Certificates

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Animal Health Certificates (a) have been issued in each of the last five years and (b) his Department has estimated...

      Export Health Certificates

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on discussions with the British Veterinary Association to address concerns on...

      Export Health Certificates

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Government has made in its discussions with the EU on changing the status of the UK to a Part 1 country so...

      Birds of Prey: Conservation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report entitled Wildlife and Forest Crime Analytic Toolkit...

      Birds: Conservation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendations of the United Nations Office on...

      UK Trade with EU: Food

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the complexity of documentation pertaining to exporting food with the European Union for...

      Food

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to increase the intake of fibre in people's diet.

  • Department for Transport

    • Cycling: Road Traffic Offences

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce legislation to make causing death by dangerous cycling a criminal offence.

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    • Housing: Heating

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the capacity of infrared heating to support their aim of decarbonising homes.

    • Companies House: Maladministration

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what checks were made by Companies House to establish the authenticity of a director or secretary of MI5ER SCR00GE SPYPRIEST THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE LTD who...

      Companies House: Maladministration

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what checks were made by Companies House to establish the authenticity of a director of Spypriest Limited who registered his name as "Lord Truman Michael...

      Land Registry: Databases

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 29 December 2020 (HL11381), when HM Land Registry will add Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) identifiers...

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Schools: Nutrition

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Kamall on 24 January (HL Deb, col 5) where he stated that they are "looking at how we change diets in schools and across the...

    • Coronavirus: Vaccination

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need for further COVID-19 boosters beyond the third vaccination; and what steps they plan to take as a result of this assessment.

  • Department for Education

    • Skilled Workers: Environment Protection

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Green Alliance Closing the UK's green skills gap, published on 11 January; and what plans they have to develop...

    • Physical Education and Sports

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report School Recovery Strategies: Year 1 findings, published on 11 January, when they plan to re-introduce sports and physical education at...

      Vocational Education

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase offerings of (1) vocational, and (2) technical, courses throughout the school system, to help better prepare students for the...

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Prisoners: Death

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals sentenced to Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) since 2005 died whilst (1) serving their sentence, or (2) whilst out on licence in the...

    • Solicitors: Assessments

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to close the attainment gap between white students and ethnic minority students who pass the Solicitors Qualifying Exam.

  • Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

    • Afghanistan: Humanitarian Situation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to convene a multi-nation conference to respond (1) practically, and (2) financially, to the humanitarian issue in Afghanistan.

    • Development Aid: HIV Infection

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on HIV/AIDS Jeopardising Progress: Impact of the UK Government's aid cuts on...

      Islamic State: Criminal Investigation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the governments of (1) France, and (2) Sweden, about the new joint investigation team to assist in the prosecution of former...

      Genocide

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to (1) the remarks by the Minister for Asia on 20 January (HC Deb, col 563), and (2) the judgment of the International Court of Justice in Bosnia and...

      HIV Infection: International Cooperation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to accelerate progress to deliver on the UN 2021 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS.

      Israel: Sanctions

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to impose sanctions on Israel for continued breaches of international law.

      Israel: Palestinians

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to protect Palestinians in territories occupied by Israel from damage to olive groves and crops by Israeli settlers.

      Crimes against Humanity

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what team within the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is responsible for identifying early warning signs of atrocity crimes; and whether they will...

      Israel: Palestinians

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 1 April 2021 (HL14507), what plans they have to address recent reports concerning the...

      Israel: Palestinians

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to protect (1) Palestinians in territory occupied by Israel, and (2) human rights activists, from violent attacks by Israeli settlers.

      Ethiopia

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, with regard to the Joint Analysis of Conflict and Stability: Guidance Note, published in June 2017, when an assessment on Ethiopia was last...

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Pesticides: Bees

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the use of all pesticides in the UK is not detrimental to bees.

    • Food Supply

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the stability of the food supply chain; and what plans they have to ensure that (1) food, and (2) other perishable items, are not...

  • Home Office

    • Visas: Afghanistan

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are making special provision for visas to the UK for Afghan doctors and nurses who wish to be evacuated, to help address the NHS staffing gap in the UK.

    • Hate Crime

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the article by Dr Richard Norrie and Hardeep Singh 'Meet the SAGE of hate crime', published in The Critic on 13...

      Hong Kong: Immigration

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to amend paragraphs (1) HK 26.2, (2) HK 26.3, (3) HK 31.1, and (4) HK 31.2, of the Appendix to the Hong Kong British National (Overseas)...

      Slavery

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by the then Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on 12 January 2021 (HC Deb, col 160) that they will...

      Radicalism: Islam

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Barran on 18 January (HL5056 and HL5057), what steps they take to ensure that radical Islamism is not being...

  • Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

    • Levelling Up Fund

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the criteria for the administration of monies under the Levelling Up Funds.

    • Overseas Investment

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to make it a criminal offence for foreign governments to channel funds in excess of a limit of £5,000 into the (1) personal, or (2)...

      Levelling Up Fund

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money is earmarked for Levelling Up Funds for (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland.

  • Cabinet Office

    • 10 Downing Street

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 31 January (HL Deb col 685) regarding the Sue Gray report, what steps they have taken in response...

    • Property and Roads: Databases

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what metrics they are using to monitor and evaluate progress towards achieving their goal for the adoption of Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) identifiers,...

  • Treasury

    • Economic Situation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the strength of the UK economy.

    • Debts

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment the Financial Conduct Authority has made of the reasons for the high levels of personal debt in the UK; and what independent evidential basis...

      Cryptocurrencies

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made any recent assessment of the future of digital currencies; and whether they have any plans to trade digital currencies.

      Cryptocurrencies

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that Bitcoin accounts for 0.5 per cent global electricity production; and what plans they have to prohibit crypto...

      Red Diesel

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate of (1) the amount of red diesel used in the UK, and (2) the duty derived from red diesel.

      Foreign Companies: Money Laundering

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent estimate they have made of the number of foreign-owned companies that are involved in money laundering in the UK's financial services sector.

      Alcoholic Drinks: Excise Duties

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what impact the proposed alcohol duty system will have on the trend of increasing alcohol deaths; and whether their impact assessment has modelled the potential...

      Actuaries

      To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish their proposals to reform the regulation of the actuarial profession.

      Economic Situation: Scotland

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent steps they have taken to help support the Scottish economy.

      Remittances

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the amount of annual remittances sent abroad for the years (1) 2015, (2) 2020, and (3) 2021.

  • Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

    • Social Media: Safety

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce measures in the Online Safety Bill that grant Ofcom powers to scrutinise social media companies' algorithms.

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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