Written answers

Friday, 8 December 2023

  • Cabinet Office

    • Cabinet Office: Photography

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on photography at Ministerial (a) events, (b) visits, and (c) meetings in each month since October 2022.

    • Cision: Contracts

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the contract agreed by his Department with Cision Group Ltd on 13 October 2023, procurement reference CCZZ23A23, if he will publish...

      House of Lords Reform Act 2014

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to amend the House of Lords Reform Act 1999 to restore the position of hereditary peers.

      Office for Veterans' Affairs

      To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the long term priorities for the Office for Veterans' Affairs are.

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Fisheries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support fishing communities.

    • Sustainable Farming Incentive: Mid Bedfordshire

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for the sustainable farming initiative have been started but not completed by farms in Mid...

      White Fish: Conservation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of an (a) partial and (b) full exemption for (i) charter boats and (ii)...

      Dangerous Dogs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which professions have legal authority to (a) assess and (b) identify dogs suspected of being an American Bully XL.

  • Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

    • Argentina: Diplomatic Relations

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of extracting (a) oil and (b) gas from around the Falkland...

    • Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2023 to Question 2123 on Gaza: Humanitarian Aid, what assessment he has made of...

      Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Security

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many security passes for his Department have been reported as (a) missing and (b) stolen in the last 12 months.

      Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on increasing the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

      Gaza: Fuels

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on increasing fuel supplies entering Gaza.

      Gaza: Humanitarian Pauses

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps he is taking to secure an extension to the humanitarian pause in Gaza.

      Ghana: LGBT+ People

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his Ghanaian counterpart on proposed legislation to criminalise LGBT (a)...

      Ghana: LGBT+ People

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with the Government of Ghana on its proposed legislation to criminalise LGBT+...

      India: Human Rights and Religious Freedom

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in Manipur, India on (a) human rights and (b) the right to freedom...

      Bahrain: Press Freedom

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2023 to Question 317 on Bahrain: Human Rights, what reports his Department has...

      Bahrain: Gulf Strategy Fund

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2023 to Question 317 on Bahrain: Human Rights, what data his Department holds on...

      Israel: Palestinians

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of Save the Children's (a) report entitled...

      Iran: Arms Trade

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that money repaid to Iran for the non-delivery of military hardware was...

      International Criminal Court: Finance

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department plans to provide additional funding to the International Criminal Court to help ensure that it...

      South Sudan: Violence

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of recent violence in Leer, South Sudan.

      Afghanistan: Refugees

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has made representations to the Government of Pakistan on the safety of Afghan refugees in that...

      Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether the Government has sought legal advice on its responsibilities under the Convention on the Prevention and...

      Timor-Leste: British Nationals Abroad

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many British nationals requested consular assistance in East Timor in each of the last five years.

      China: Indo-pacific Region

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help tackle Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific.

      Sierra Leone: Violence

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help de-escalate violence in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

      Hamas: Hostage Taking

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his Israeli counterpart on CCTV footage of hostages held by Hamas in Shifa...

      Israel: Palestinians

      To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with the Palestinian authorities on negotiations for an end to the crisis.

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Woodhill Prison: Complaints

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of adjudications at HMP Woodhill have been outstanding in the each of the last 12 months.

    • Constitutional Reform Act 2005

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will (a) repeal the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and (b) re-establish the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords.

      Prison Officers: Labour Turnover

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase retention levels of experienced prison officers.

      Domestic Abuse: Homicide

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of creating a specific offence of manslaughter caused by coercive and controlling...

      Probation Service: Sick Leave

      To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many stress-related sick day absences were recorded for probation staff in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.

  • Department for Education

    • Students: Loans

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of the number of students receiving a minimum loan whose parents are (a) unwilling or (b) unable to provide...

    • Childcare: Wellingborough

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the average cost to parents of childcare for a (a) two and (b) three or four year old child for 25 hours per week in...

      Department for Education: Advertising

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on advertising campaigns to (a) recruit new teachers and (b) bring retired and former teachers back to teaching in each...

      Special Educational Needs: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has plans to introduce mandatory training on (a) learning disabilities and (b) autism for secondary school teachers.

      Education: Monitoring

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department allocates (a) personnel and (b) financial resources to monitoring the political views of educationalists.

      Pupils: Breakfast Clubs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made a recent assessment of the impact of children (a) not eating breakfast and (b) having access to a school breakfast club on...

      Social Services: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the CMA's report entitled Children’s social care market study final report, published on 10 March 2022, whether the...

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Bipolar Disorder

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to prioritise bipolar disorder within the implementation of his Department's suicide prevention strategy; and if he...

    • Endometriosis

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the level of awareness of endometriosis among doctors.

      Endometriosis

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of mental health support for people with endometriosis.

      Dementia: Social Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help ensure the adult social care sector has sufficient (a) capacity and (b) skills to prepare for potential...

      Palliative Care

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to provide palliative care interventions that help ensure people die in a (a) comfortable and (b)...

      Palliative Care

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help ensure sufficient capacity within palliative care and end of life services in the context of an ageing...

      Hospices

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she (a) is taking and (b) plans to take steps to review the funding model for hospices for (i) children and young people and (ii)...

      Integrated Care Systems

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has had recent discussions with (a) NHS England and (b) Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board on...

      Dementia: Diagnosis

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help improve early diagnosis of dementia.

      Ambulance Services: Greater London

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many calls were responded to by mental health ambulances in London in each of the last 12 months for which data is available.

      Mental Health Services: Ambulance Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many mental health ambulances are in service in (a) London and (b) England.

      Dental Services: South West

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the accessibility of NHS dentistry for patients with disabilities in (a) Bournemouth East...

      Out of Area Treatment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 21 April 2023 to Question 180599 on Orthopaedics: Out of Area Treatment, what plans her Department has to...

      Endometriosis

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for (a) diagnosis of and (b) care for people with endometriosis.

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Personal Independence Payment: Telephone Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the impact of phone-based applications for Personal Independence Payment on people with energy-impaired illnesses.

    • Social Security Benefits: Poverty

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Autumn Statement 2023, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to Work Capability Assessments on...

  • Home Office

    • Migrant Workers: Visas

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when his Department last reviewed the effectiveness of the shortage occupation visa list in meeting the UK's skills needs.

    • Asylum: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has taken recent steps to provide financial support to asylum seekers housed in hotels for their voluntary return.

      Asylum: Hotels

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has published guidance on the treatment of women seeking asylum who are accommodated in hotels.

      Asylum: Hotels

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many women seeking asylum are accommodated in hotels as of 30 November 2023.

      Asylum: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seeker children have been (a) wrongly assessed to be above eighteen and (b) housed in accommodation with adults in each of...

      Asylum: Age Assurance and Proof of Identity

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of asylum seeker (a)age verification and (b) identity checks.

      Migrants: Childcare

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an estimate of the number of children in families with no recourse to public funds who are unable to access 30 hours of free...

      Asylum: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will take legislative steps to remove the power for his Department to accommodate children in the Illegal Migration Act 2023.

      Asylum: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Children’s Commissioner's report entitled Unaccompanied children in need of care published November 2023, for...

      Passports: Postal Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 15 September 2023 to Question 198404 on Passports: Postal Services and to the press release entitled Royal...

      Bedfordshire Police: Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average salary of a member of Bedfordshire police force was in each of the last three years.

  • Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

    • Energy: Billing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of differences in the time taken for (a) British Gas and (b)...

    • Electricity and Natural Gas: Consumption

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2023 to Question 3974 on Electricity and Natural Gas: Prices, whether the Typical Domestic...

      Electricity and Natural Gas: Consumption

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2023 to Question 3974 on Electricity and Natural Gas: Prices, if she will direct Ofgem to...

      Electricity and Natural Gas: Consumption

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2023 to Question 3974 on Electricity and Natural Gas: Prices, whether the Typical Domestic...

      Electricity and Natural Gas: Consumption

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2023 to Question 3974, whether Ofgem takes into account trends in the level of fuel poverty in...

      Electricity and Natural Gas: Consumption

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2023 to Question 3974 on Electricity and Natural Gas: Prices, what steps Ofgem took to ensure...

      Heating: Biofuels

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department is taking steps to encourage rural households to transition to the use of hydrotreated vegetable oil fuel...

      Climate Change

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made an estimate of the cost of climate change to the UK economy in 2050.

      Offshore Industry: Falkland Islands

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of extracting (a) oil and (b) gas from around the Falkland Islands on (i)...

      Electricity Generation: Costs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the evidential basis is for the (a) assumptions on renewables costs, (b) assumptions on capacity factors and (c) other...

      Tidal Power

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what her policy is on new tidal energy projects.

      Energy: Conservation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans her Department has to reduce domestic energy consumption by 15 per cent by 2030.

  • Ministry of Defence

    • Shipbuilding: Expenditure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost of his Department's spending on (a) shipbuilding and (b) ship repair was in the (i) 2020-21, (ii) 2021-22 and (iii) 2022-23 financial year.

    • National Shipbuilding Office: Civil Servants

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civil servants work in the National Shipbuilding Office.

      Shipbuilding: Departmental Coordination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the membership of the inter-ministerial group on shipbuilding.

      Ministry of Defence: Food

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department's spending on (a) food and (b) beverages was in the (i) 2019-20, (ii) 2020-21, (iii) 2021-22 and (iv) 2022-23 financial year.

      Ministry of Defence: Plants

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department's spending on plants was in the (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21, (c) 2021-22 and (d) 2022-23 financial year.

      Ministry of Defence: Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of staff directly employed by his Department in London are paid less than the London Living Wage.

      Israel: Military Aid

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has undertaken an Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessment for providing (a) assistance and (b) arms to Israel since 7...

      Portsmouth Dockyard: Flood Control

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to protect HMNB Portsmouth from flooding.

      Armed Forces Covenant

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to extend the duty of due regard under the Armed Forces Covenant to (a) UK Government and (b) devolved administrations...

      Ministry of Defence: Photography and Video Recordings

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) photographers; and (b) videographers have been employed by his Department since 2010.

      Defence Serious Crime Unit

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many investigations the Defence Serious Crime Unit has (a) launched and (b) completed in 2023.

      Armed Forces: Housing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many unoccupied service family accommodation properties there are in the defence estate.

      Kevin McCool

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether Major Kevin McCool was posted to (a) the High Commission in Nairobi or (b) a military base in Kenya.

  • Department for Transport

    • Oil: Pollution

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the (a) potential impact of uninsured tankers carrying Russian oil on the risk of oil spills and (b) adequacy of...

    • Driving

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2023 to Question 3454 on Driving, what steps his Department plans to take to implement the smoother journeys...

  • Women and Equalities

    • Conversion Therapy

      To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what her planned timetable is to publish the responses to her Department's consultation on banning conversion therapy.

    • Conversion Therapy

      To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with which stakeholders she has held discussions on a ban on conversion practices for LGBT people.

  • Department for Business and Trade

    • Financial Services: Switzerland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will take steps to negotiate closer cooperation with the Swiss financial services industry.

    • Trade Agreements: Switzerland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to ensure that a UK-Switzerland trade deal includes provisions for the (a) digital, (b) data and (c) investment sectors.

  • Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    • Television: Rural Areas

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the needs of rural communities in her Department’s review of the future of TV distribution; and...

    • Department for Culture, Media and Sport: ICT

      To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Central Digital & Data Office's guidance entitled, Guidance on the Legacy IT Risk Assessment Framework,...

  • Treasury

    • Cost of Living

      To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 4 July 2023 to Question 191405 on Pay, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies on...

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Animals: Northern Ireland

      To ask His Majesty's Government why it is not possible to ban the export of live animals from Northern Ireland.

    • Fisheries

      To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the UK is actively enforcing its fishing rights.

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Health Services

      To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to (1) ensure people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) have access to specialist ME/chronic fatigue syndrome services, and (2)...

  • Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

    • Nuclear Fuels

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether there is sufficient Western uranium conversion capacity and uranium enrichment capacity to replace that provided by...

    • Energy: Meters

      To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to mitigate financial burdens to households which arise from malfunctioning smart meters leading to an inaccurate energy bill.

  • Treasury

    • Economic Situation

      To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to sustain and increase economic confidence among consumers.

    • Lloyds Bank: Redundancy

      To ask His Majesty's Government, further to recent reports concerning job cuts at Lloyd's Bank, what steps they are taking to address challenges in the financial sector and mitigate the impact on...

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Prisoners: Reviews

      To ask His Majesty's Government what is the expected timetable for the report by the Chief Inspector of Probation on the independent thematic inspection on the proportionality of recall to prison...

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.

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