Written answers

Friday, 22 April 2022

  • Department for Transport

    • Cycling: Infrastructure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will include impact on motorcyclists as an additional factor in the Cycling Level of Service Tool audit as set out in his Department's paper...

    • Bus Service Operators Grant

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the review of the Bus Service Operators’ Grant will be completed.

      Driving Licences: Digital Technology

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the digitisation of the process for applying for driving licences through the DVLA.

      Driving Licences: Applications

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that the DVLA (a) clears the backlog of driving licence applications and (b) expedites the time taken for applicants...

      Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the performance of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

      Airports: Security

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that sufficient resources are in place to enable the processing of references and security checks for...

      Ferries: Irish Sea

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that all those involved in the operation of commercial ferries crossing the Irish Sea have the neccesary qualifications.

      Travel Restrictions: France

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the French Government on the removal of travel restrictions for those wishing to visit France this summer.

      Railways: Tickets

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the application process for train passes is accessible to people who do not have access to the internet.

      Railways: Wolverhampton South West

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress the Government has made in improving the connectivity of the Wolverhampton South West constituency to the rest of the rail network.

      Public Transport: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to promote the return of public transport following the covid-19 outbreak.

      Motor Vehicles: Safety

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals for improved driver vehicle safety standards...

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    • Fertilisers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to safeguard the operation of the (a) Billingham and (b) Ince fertiliser plants.

    • Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to review the efficacy of sections (a) 193 (b) 193A and (c) 194 of the Trade Union and Labour...

      Summertime

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of calls to maintain British Summer Time...

      Trade Unions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to reform section 188 of the Trade Union Act 2016 to allow punitive damage for breach of...

      Re-employment: Codes of Practice

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Written Statement of 29 March 2022, HCWS735 on Business Update, what period of consultation he...

      P&O Ferries: Redundancy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 30 March 2022 to Question 147058 P&O Ferries: Redundancy, whether he has contacted the...

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Obesity

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the rate of adult obesity has declined in England since 2012.

    • Coronavirus: Screening

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the funding required for NHS England to continue free regular...

      Coronavirus: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to roll out a covid-19 booster injection for elderly and clinically extremely vulnerable people.

      Obesity: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the rate of childhood obesity in England has declined since 2012.

      Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 29 March 2022 to Question 146545, on Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, whether each claimant will be given the...

      Coronavirus: Screening

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of rapid covid-19 lateral flow dispatched by NHS England in (a) July 2021, (b) August...

      Chemicals: Regulation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to revoke EU Commission Regulation 2017/542 of 22 March 2017, amending Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, named as Annex...

      Food: Salt

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to monitor the private sector's progress towards the 2024 salt reduction targets.

      Immunosuppression: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking the ensure that people with immune deficiency are able to equitably and safely participate in society...

      Coronavirus: Screening

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the context of rising numbers of covid-19 infections in the UK, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on the...

      Health Services: Home Visits

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued on the criteria used to determine whether a person is deemed to be housebound and eligible for...

      Radiotherapy: Medical Treatments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to help increase access to radiotherapy treatments in the 10-year cancer plan; and if he will meet with...

      Diabetes: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people under the age of 18 were diagnosed with diabetes in each of the last five years.

  • Department for Education

    • Department for Education: Travel

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking in respect of each public body for which he is responsible to encourage (a) active travel by staff, (b) the use of public...

    • Office for Students: Political Impartiality

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the appointment of Rachel Houchen as a non-executive director of the Office for Students (OfS), if will make an assessment of the...

      Scholarships

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when applications to the National Scholarship Scheme to open.

      Department for Education: Telephones

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department has spent on phone bills each of the last 5 years.

      Office for Students: Directors

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Office for Students on setting the salary of non-executive directors.

      Students: Loans

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the impact of the rise in inflation on the purchasing power of the average size maintenance loan.

      Universities: Freedom of Expression

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with how many Vice Chancellors he had had discussions on the matter of freedom of speech as of February 2020.

      Students: Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to use the provisions in the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 to reveal the beneficial owners of...

      Higher Education: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the membership of the higher education financial sustainability group is.

      Universities: Remote Education

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with how many Vice Chancellors he had had discussions on the provision of online teaching as of February 2020.

      Department for Education: Cybersecurity

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the comments made by the Director of GCHQ on 31 March 2022 on the standard of the UK's cybersecurity, whether he has made a recent...

      Department for Education: Parking

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many car parking spaces have been made available to staff (a) free of charge and (b) at a charge at each of the office premises operated by (a)...

      Educational Institutions: Ukraine

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to ensure UK educational institutions avoid relationships with non-UK organisations that (a) hold or (b) host...

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential (a) merits of giving claimants the right to request an assessor with knowledge of their...

    • Housing: Accidents

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information (a) her Department and (b) the Health and Safety Executive hold on the number of fatal falls from residential buildings in...

      Work Capability Assessment: Appeals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the total number of work capability assessments overturned on appeal.

      Assistance Animals: Registration

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the introduction of a registration system for assistance dogs.

      Social Security Benefits: Disability

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase confidence in the disability benefits assessment process among claimants.

      Disability Living Allowance: Medical Examinations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of assessments for disability living allowance carried out in each of the last five years.

      Industrial Health and Safety: Coronavirus

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to encourage employers to undertake covid-19 health and safety risk assessments for severely immunocompromised...

      Severe Disability Premium: Homes for Ukraine Scheme

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a person will continue to be treated as living alone under the qualifying conditions for the severe disability premium in the event...

      Employment: Multiple Sclerosis

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of (a) the support available to help people with multiple sclerosis to succeed in the labour market and...

      Occupational Health

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Health is everyone's business consultation, whether the commitments made in that consultation will be fully funded; when...

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Countryside Stewardship Scheme: Expenditure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the total spend on Countryside Stewardship Schemes in the current financial year.

    • Air Pollution

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what action he is taking to reduce emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds from the food and beverage industry.

      Wood-burning Stoves

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2022 to Question 93692, on Wood-burning Stoves, what discussions he has had with...

      Air Pollution

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what sources of emissions other than domestic wood burning were included in his estimate of domestic consumption accounting...

      Air Pollution: Monitoring

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason data on particulate matter, PM2.5 and PM10, from the Automatic Urban and Rural Network was not available on...

      Air Pollution

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the proportion of total PM2.5 primary emissions from domestic combustion in the UK in 2020 that...

      Air Pollution

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to page 58 of his Clean Air Strategy 2019, what recent estimate he has made of the emissions in g/MWh of fine...

      Air Pollution

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Emissions of air pollutants in the UK - Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), what sources of emissions are...

      Plastic Bags: Taxation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much money was raised from the Plastic Bag Charge in the last calendar year; and how much of that amount was directed to...

      Sewage: Waste Disposal

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether UK law prohibits water companies from discharging untreated sewage into waterways and coastal regions outside...

      Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks: Reviews

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the total amount of resources needed to ensure effective delivery of the vision for protected...

      Food: Prices

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the likely percentage change in food prices over the next 12 months.

      Food Poverty

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to support people in food poverty (i) in Plymouth and (ii) across the country.

  • Home Office

    • Economic Crime

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the scale of illicit finance in the UK that may be linked to corruption and originates from African...

    • Cybersecurity: International Cooperation

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with international counterparts, such as her Danish counterpart, on cybersecurity.

      Terrorism: Yemen

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is reviewing the designation of the Houthi movement as a terrorist organisation; and what assessment she has made of...

  • Treasury

    • Business: Taxation

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his objective to make tax digital for income tax self assessment, what latest estimate he has made of the numbers of UK businesses and...

  • Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

    • Creative Wales: Unboxed

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish a break down of expenditure by Creative Wales on each commissioned event taking place in Wales including...

    • Channel Four Television

      To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her oral evidence to the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee of November 2021 that Channel 4 is in...

  • Department for Transport

    • Cycling and Walking: Finance

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the over £1 billion of Government funding for local authorities to support cycling and walking from 2017–22 has been spent; which local...

  • Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    • Housing: Insulation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to develop a long-term strategy for improving home insulation.

    • National Grid

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the time taken for energy projects to be connected to the electricity grid.

      Housing: Insulation

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what (1) grants, and (2) subsidies, they are planning to introduce, if any, to improve the insulation of homes.

      Waste Heat Recovery: Industry

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve the capture of waste heat from British industry to alleviate rising energy costs.

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Health and Social Services: Staff

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that more than a million health and care staff will be needed in order to recover from the effects of the COVID-19...

    • Prescription Drugs

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many drugs which have received regulatory approval since January 2019 are only available through the NHS and cannot be prescribed by private physicians.

  • Department for Education

    • Physical Education

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the quality of physical education at schools; and how they intend to improve the provision of teacher training courses for those...

    • Young People: Exercise

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are seeking to make provision for activities for young people to be engaged in physical activity during the 2022 summer holiday period; and if so,...

      Private Education: Sports

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to engage with independent schools to extend the use of their sport and recreation facilities with local communities to demonstrate that...

      Ofsted: Staff

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Ofsted inspectors are (1) headteachers, (2) former headteachers, (3) senior leaders in schools, and (4) former senior leaders in schools; and what...

      Primary Education: Free School Meals

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have undertaken any (1) engagement, or (2) analysis, of the impact of a free school meals programme for all primary school pupils.

      Training: Young People

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people under 25 have completed Skills Boot Camps since they have been available; and, of those people, what percentage have gone on to get jobs.

      Schools: Air Pollution

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to make changes to (1) standards, or (2) guidance, for the (a) construction, and (b) specification, of new school buildings, in respect of...

      Schools: Carbon Dioxide

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their guidance to keep windows in classrooms open to improve ventilation, what assessment they have made of (1) the amount of extra carbon dioxide...

      Schools: Energy

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made, in kWh, of the total amount of higher energy consumption in schools as a result of their advice to keep windows in classrooms open as...

      Carers

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Kinship Out of the shadows: A vision for kinship care in England, published on 24 March; and what steps they...

      Schools: Air Pollution

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made on their trial in Bradford of air purification technology suitable for classroom contexts.

      Special Educational Needs: Supplementary Grants

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of special schools accessing the School Supplementary Grant.

  • Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

    • United Nations: Reform

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need for reform of the UN.

    • Ukraine: Armenia

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of Armenia in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

      Armenia: Azerbaijan

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the attempt to normalise relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia based on the five principles Azerbaijan recently offered to...

      Armenia: Azerbaijan

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions, if any, the Foreign Secretary has had with her Armenian counterpart concerning the release of data about Azerbaijanis who went missing during...

      Ukraine: Wheat

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the Ukrainian agricultural sector to export wheat.

      Afghanistan: Females

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure (1) girls' education in Afghanistan, and (2) the human rights of women in that country.

      North Korea: Human Rights

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the BBC report Beatings and Forced Abortions, Life in a North Korea Prison, published on 28 March, which outlined...

      North Korea: Human Rights

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to hold to account the 597 perpetrators of human rights violations that are identified in the report by Korea Future The North...

  • Ministry of Defence

    • Military Operations: Merchant Shipping

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Goldie on 5 April (HL7240), whether there are enough UK merchant sailors to man the merchant ships assessed...

    • Challenger Tanks: Engines

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in rationalising the variants of the CV12 power packs fitted to the various marks and variants of the Challenger 2 tank,...

      Challenger Tanks: Testing

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Challenger 3 tank has been trialled by (1) the Armoured Trials and Development Unit at Bovington, or (2) an equivalent establishment; and if so,...

      Challenger Tanks: Engines

      To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the power pack fitted to the new Challenger 3 is (1) a contemporary CV12 engine similar to a 5A, or (2) a CV12 with common rail fuel injection and new...

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Business: Sick Leave

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide support for businesses, in particular small businesses, to cope with (1) the rise in statutory sick pay, and (2) staff isolating...

    • Local Housing Allowance

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of renters unable to cover rents as a result of the freezing of the Local Housing Allowance rate.

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Agriculture: Land

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 6 April (HL7283), what plans they have, if any, to redress the strategic balance between food production,...

  • Home Office

    • Counter-terrorism

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many men (1) under the age of 18, and (2) aged 18 and above, referred to the Prevent programme held misogynistic beliefs, in each of the last five years.

    • Refugees: Afghanistan

      To ask Her Majesty's Government when Afghan refugees who have been placed in unsuitable accommodation in hotels will be rehoused and properly settled in the UK.

      Visas: Refugees

      To ask Her Majesty's Government why Ukrainian refugees are able to have their visa biometrics taken upon entry to the UK but Afghan refugees are not; and what steps they are taking to relax this...

      Crimes of Violence

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, how many cases were reported to the police in (1) England, and (2) Wales, involving assaults and sexual offences by (a) trans individuals, and (b) police...

      Police: Offenders

      To ask Her Majesty's Government how many police officers with criminal records for indictable offences are currently serving in each of the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales, and...

      Home Office: Remote Working

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 24 March (HL6900), how they are able to manage their functions without information on the...

  • Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

    • Renewable Energy: Planning Permission

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the amount of planning approval needed for renewable projects.

    • Islamophobia

      To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their appointment on 23 July 2019 of an independent expert to advise on a definition of Islamophobia, when they intend to appoint a second...

      Islamophobia

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made with reaching a definition of Islamophobia since their statement on 23 July 2019 that "there needs to be a formal definition of...

      Islamophobia

      To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in tackling Islamophobia.

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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