Written answers

Tuesday, 7 April 2026

  • Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

    • Digital Service Providers: Infrastructure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of levels of competition in the UK cloud infrastructure market; and what implications...

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Children: Maintenance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average annual amount of child maintenance paid through the Child Maintenance Service was in the most recent year for which figures...

    • Jobcentres

      To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is planning to (a) open and (b) close any Jobcentres this year.

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust: Hospital Beds

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has held discussions with the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust on potential factors that contributed to bed occupancy...

    • Skin Diseases: Steroid Drugs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England has assessed the potential merits of a dedicated referral and support pathway for patients experiencing Topical...

      NHS England: Sick Leave

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many days were taken by NHS England staff as sick leave in total in each of the last ten years; and what the average number was.

      NHS England: Sick Leave

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many days were taken by NHS England staff as sick leave in total in each month since January 2024; and what the average number was.

      Health Mission Board

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2026 to Question 113596 on Mission Boards: Cabinet Committees, if he will publish the current terms...

      Health Services: Transgender People

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle discrimination against trans people in the healthcare system.

      Breast Cancer: Medical Treatments

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding he plans to provide for treatments for secondary breast cancer in each of the next three years.

      Long Covid: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the level of support needed for those suffering with Long Covid.

      Post-mortems: Children

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment has he made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the length of the waiting list for...

      Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to make compliance with the Model Emergency Department mandatory for NHS trusts.

      Gender Dysphoria: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to support people who have requested help and information on detransitioning.

      Doctors: Migrant Workers

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support is available to overseas-qualified doctors who have the right to work in the UK but do not currently meet the requirements...

      Neurological Diseases: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to develop a modern service framework for neurological conditions; and what steps he is taking to attract, train and...

      Hypoxic-ischaemic Encephalopathy

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his department has made of the potential merits of listing hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy as a condition on the NHS website.

      Maternity Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 3rd March 2026 to question 115687, if he will ask Baroness Amos to consider the potential merits of appointing...

      Bowel Cancer: Screening

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support NHS Somerset to increase participation in bowel cancer screening in Yeovil constituency.

      Breast Cancer: Screening

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether future breast screening service specifications will include details and standards outlining the on-site support, equipment, and...

      Food: Inspections

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how food safety inspections are enforced in small businesses.

      Shingles: Vaccination

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Department has assessed the potential impact on the NHS in winter 2026-27 of providing the shingles vaccination programme to...

      Sugar: Labelling

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will commission technical guidance for industry on consistent measurement of free sugars to ensure compliance and enforcement...

      Craniocervical Instability: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a clear NHS pathway for diagnosing and managing craniocervical instability; what...

      Meningitis: Universities

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will implement meningitis monitoring on university campuses.

      Tourette's Syndrome: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 06.01.2026 to question 103582 on Tourette’s Syndrome: Health Services, what steps he is taking to support...

      Smoking: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Lords Amendment 22 to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill permits an enforcement body to invest in smoking cessation services in...

      Breast Cancer: Screening

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when NHS England will be able to provide robust breast screening data on all protected characteristics.

      Heart Diseases: Tomography

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase access to computed tomography coronary angiogram machines, including to increase the...

      Fractures: Health Services

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the planned timeline is for publishing a national implementation plan for the rollout of Fracture Liaison Services; and what...

      Care Homes

      To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of future demand for care home beds over the next ten years.

  • Department for Education

    • Department for Education: Redundancy Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.

    • Childcare: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what capital funding is available to increase the number of childcare places in settings that are already at capacity, including those operating...

      Nurseries: Surveillance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of requiring nurseries to use monitoring or recording equipment, including cameras;...

      Schools: Processed Food

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she will introduce a maximum 5 per cent threshold for ultra-processed foods (Nova Group 4) in the updated School Food Standards, in line with...

      Breakfast Clubs: Processed Food

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what specific nutritional and processing specifications are included in contracts for the National Breakfast Club programme to help ensure that the...

      Schools: Processed Food

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a maximum five per cent threshold for ultra-processed foods (Nova Group 4) in...

      Students: Qualifications

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students starting an undergraduate degree course in 2025 at each Russell Group University had achieved a) 3 or more A Levels and b) a T Level...

      Nurseries: Labour Turnover

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support nurseries in recruiting and retaining sufficient numbers of qualified staff; and what assessment she...

      Nurseries: Vetting

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what safeguards are in place to ensure that nurseries undertake adequate pre-employment checks to prevent people with a history of abusive behaviour...

      Pre-school Education: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of early years funding rates in helping to ensure the financial sustainability of pre-school and nursery...

      Teachers: Training

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department has issued to further education providers on recognising participation in National Professional Qualification programmes...

      Truancy: Prosecutions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will commission an analysis of areas with the highest levels of prosecutions for truancy, to examine the contributing social, economic, and...

      Department for Education: Social Media

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has paid for followers on social media platforms it uses.

      Truancy: Prosecutions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her department has made of the potential impact on mothers who are prosecuted for their child’s truancy from school.

      Pre-school Education: Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many early years pre-school settings have closed in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the last 12 months; and what steps the...

      Nurseries: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how calculations of national funding rates by age group for nurseries are currently conducted.

  • Ministry of Defence

    • Defence: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has met with representatives from the defence industry on the potential impact of the time taken to publish the Defence Investment Plan on...

    • Military Aicraft: Helicopters

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Billion-pound helicopter deal secures 3,300 British jobs, boosts battlefield kit and unlocks...

      Defence: Finance

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to announce his plans to increase defence spending to 3% of GDP (a) before or (b) after the next NATO threat and capability review.

      Defence: Scotland

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with defence companies and advanced manufacturing clusters in Scotland on collaborating with Ukrainian partners on the...

      Middle East: Ballistic Missile Defence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of deploying additional missile defence systems to allies in the Gulf, such as the UAE and Bahrain.

  • Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    • Recording Studios: Finance

      To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered providing emergency funding to recording studios.

    • Pornography

      To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Levitt on 2 March (HL Dec col 1066), what milestones they have established for the joint departmental team tasked with...

  • Home Office

    • Police and Crime Commissioners: Wales

      To ask His Majesty's Government on what date the role of the police commissioners in Wales will cease; whether the responsibility of the work of those commissioners will be transferred...

    • Animal Experiments: Animal Welfare

      To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure full compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, in respect of the conditions in which living animals used...

  • The Senior Deputy Speaker

    • Times of Sittings: Costs

      To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker what has been the average cost to the House for sitting on a Friday in this session of Parliament.

  • Department for Business and Trade

    • Minerals: Innovation and Supply Chains

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of critical minerals in supporting innovation and supply chain resilience as part of net zero targets.

    • Minerals: Departmental Responsibilities

      To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to establish a minister for critical mineral security.

      Minerals

      To ask His Majesty's Government what mechanisms are in place to ensure alignment between the Department for Business and Trade and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on critical...

      Minerals: International Cooperation

      To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have had any discussions with the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Critical Minerals about international partnerships.

      Minerals: Departmental Responsibilities

      To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to the Critical Minerals Strategy, published on 22 November 2025, what assessment they have made of the potential merits of appointing a single minister...

      British Steel

      To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to protect British steel on the UK market from cheap imports from China, including changes to tariff-free quotas.

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Waste Management: Crime

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of (1) sentencing guidelines, and (2) penalties, for offences related to waste crime and illegal waste disposal.

    • Civil Proceedings: Third Party Financing

      To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to publish data on the total costs of third-party funded collective actions to the public sector.

  • Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

    • Palantir

      To ask His Majesty's Government which departments were involved in producing a briefing for (1) the planned visit to the Palantir showroom in Washington in February 2025, and (2) the meeting...

    • Prime Minister: Palantir

      To ask His Majesty's Government whether any concerns were raised before the proposed meeting between the Prime Minister and the head of Palantir on 27 February 2025.

      Iran: Broadcasting

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of threats made by the Iranian authorities to target locations and infrastructure linked to broadcasts to Iran, especially those of...

  • Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

    • Fossil Fuels: North Sea

      To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to reconsider the ban on new oil and gas production licences for the North Sea in the light of the conflict in Iran.

    • Ferries: Northern Ireland

      To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the additional cost to ferry travellers between Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a result of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions...

      Ferries: Northern Ireland

      To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to provide an exemption to passenger ferry operators between Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the provisions of the Greenhouse Gas...

  • Department for Education

    • Special Educational Needs: Finance

      To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 24 February (HL Deb col 565), whether the £4 billion increase over the spending review period...

    • Headteachers: Pay

      To ask His Majesty's Government what was the percentage median salary increase for secondary school deputy head teachers in England between 1996–97 and 2025–26 in (1) cash terms,...

  • Department of Health and Social Care

    • Dental Services: North of England

      To ask His Majesty's Government how many NHS dental contracts have been handed back to NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board since 2022; how many units of dental activity (UDAs)...

    • Dental Services: North of England

      To ask His Majesty's Government what steps have been taken by NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board to address shortages in access to NHS dentistry, and to increase the...

  • Cabinet Office

    • Proof of Identity: Digital Technology

      To ask His Majesty's Government what safeguards will be put in place to protect the right to refuse a digital ID.

    • Proof of Identity: Digital Technology

      To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to take steps to make the individuals who signed the House of Commons petition "Do not introduce Digital ID cards" aware of their ability to...

      Proof of Identity: Digital Technology

      To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that those who are regarded as digitally excluded are informed of the consultation on digital ID.

  • Treasury

    • Recording Studios: Business Rates

      To ask His Majesty's Government what data they hold on the number of commercial recording studios liable for non-domestic rates in each of the last ten years; and whether that data shows a rise...

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Waste Disposal: Liability

      To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will introduce stricter liability for waste duty of care on large waste producing business.

    • Waste: Crime

      To ask His Majesty's Government when they will implement plans for a waste crime levy.

      Biodiversity: Finance

      To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase funding for the Biodiversity Challenge Funds.

      Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund

      To ask His Majesty's Government when applications for funding from the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund will reopen.

      Fly-tipping: Ashford

      To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the illegal waste at Hoads Wood, what plans they have to (1) restore the site as a site of special scientific interest, (2) secure the area to prevent...

      Companies: Audit

      To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the incorporation of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures framework into UK corporate reporting and...

      Water Companies: Audit

      To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce a system to audit water companies in England and Wales.

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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