Written answers

Tuesday, 4 August 2026

  • Department for Transport

    • Network Rail: Nature Conservation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which protected species most frequently require surveys, licences and mitigation before Network Rail can undertake maintenance and enhancement works.

    • Rolling Stock

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many passenger services were cancelled due to rolling stock failure by each train operating company in each month since July 2024.

      Railway Stations: Biometrics

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, at which railway stations live facial recognition technology has been deployed in each of the last five years; on what dates it was deployed at each...

      Railway Stations: Crime

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many knife-enabled crimes were recorded by the British Transport Police as having occurred at railway stations in each of the last 30 years.

      Trains: Crimes of Violence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many knife-enabled crimes were recorded by the British Transport Police as having occurred on board trains in each of the last 30 years.

      Network Rail: Nature Conservation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what protected species licensing requirements Network Rail is required to comply with when undertaking (a) maintenance and (b) enhancement projects on...

      Aviation: Biofuels

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that foreign commercial interests do not act to disadvantage domestic producers in the implementation of the...

      Rolling Stock

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on how many passenger services operated by each train operating company were affected by defective passenger...

      Aviation: Biofuels

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance has her Department provided to the sector on using banking and borrowing flexibilities under the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate to...

      Rolling Stock

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which train operating company had the highest proportion of passenger services that were (a) cancelled because of rolling stock failures and (b)...

      Railway Stations: British Transport Police

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the resources of British Transport Police to maintain a permanent policing presence at major rail...

      Aviation: Biofuels

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate has been made of the level of buy-out under the sustainable aviation fuel Mandate that would prompt a review of the trajectory of the...

      Great Western Railway: Mobile Phones

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of mobile signal coverage on GWR trains.

      Large Goods Vehicles: Parking

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the National Highways agency on improving lorry parking facilities in the Midlands.

      Railways: Fares

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2026 to Question 12840 on Railways: Fares, which departmental directorate or arm's-length body was responsible for...

      Network Rail: Biodiversity

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers of 6 July 2026 to Questions 14929 and 15007 on Network Rail: Biodiversity, whether her Department has made any assessment of...

      Aviation: Biofuels

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which representatives of the outbound travel and package holiday sector were consulted during the development of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate...

      Railways: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2026 to Question 14930 on Railways: Standards, whether her Department maintains a record of the operational systems...

      South Eastern Main Line: Mobile Broadband

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2026 to Question 15380 on South Eastern Main Line: Mobile Broadband, what the names and locations are of the (a) 57...

      West Coast Main Line: Rolling Stock

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times faults have occurred on Evero trains operating on the West Coast Main line since their introduction.

      Heathrow Airport: Infrastructure

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent infrastructure issues at Heathrow Airport on regulatory arrangements for future airport...

      Railways: Fares

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much her Department and its arm's-length bodies have spent on (a) advertising, (b) public relations, (c) advertising on their announcement...

      Rolling Stock

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average daily percentage of rolling stock available for passenger service was for each train operating company in each month since June 2024.

      Aviation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2026 to Question 12032, excluding flights relating to national security or those provided via the Integrated Security...

      Department for Transport: Carbon Emissions

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2026 to Question 15465 on Department for Transport: Carbon Emissions, when the Greening Government Commitments...

      Railways: Animals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many train delays have there been each year since 2020 caused by trains hitting animals on the track.

      Rolling Stock

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what factors are preventing the acceptance and entry into passenger service of the Class 810 fleet.

      Aviation: Noise

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people in Harrow constituency who will be exposed to aircraft noise above 43dB LAeq in the next...

      Railways: Compensation

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of eligible rail journeys currently result in passengers receiving automatic compensation for delays; and what steps she is taking to...

      Heathrow Airport: Construction

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the need for workers from other countries to deliver a third runway at Heathrow airport.

      Railways: Fires

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the obligations of landowners near railway tracks to maintain land to avoid the risk of fire...

      Freight: English Channel

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the EU Entry/Exit System on freight movements through the Short Straits.

      Railways: Catering

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will consider introducing a requirement for a minimum provision of food supplies for rail companies to provide passengers affected by delays...

      Immigration Controls: EU Countries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the European Commission on the operational impact of the EU Entry/Exit System on UK travellers.

      Immigration Controls: EU Countries

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of consumer protections available to passengers whose journeys are disrupted by failures of the EU...

      Rescue Services: Ceredigion Preseli

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's revised volunteer model for Coastguard Rescue Officers on...

      HM Coastguard: Voluntary Work

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, in the context of the (a) Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s decision to cease paying volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers for their time and (b)...

      London North Eastern Railway: WiFi

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2026 to Question 5917 on London North Eastern Railway: WiFi, whether she has made an assessment of the potential...

      HM Coastguard: Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether surveys or questionnaires have been issued to Coastguard Rescue Officers in relation to changes to remuneration.

      Railways: CCTV

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2026 to Question 16176 on Railways: CCTV, whether the funding allocated to the rail CCTV connectivity project...

      Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Pay

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason the Maritime and Coastguard Agency changed the operating model of the Coastguard Rescue Service to an unpaid model rather making...

      Great British Railways

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Great British Railways brand supports a unified national rail network across Great Britain.

      Office of Rail and Road: Public Relations

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2026, to Question 3822, on Department for Transport: Public Relations, if she will name the public affairs firms or...

      Railways: Standards

      To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2026 to Question 12582 on Railways, how many recommendations from train operating companies to reduce services in...

  • Department for Education

    • Pupils: Absenteeism

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has produced a Data Protection Impact Assessment for the Children Not in School register provisions in the Children’s...

    • Department for Education: Social Media

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department consulted (a) SEND advocacy organisations and (b) education professionals prior to the launch of its recent campaign featuring...

      Pre-school Education: Sleep

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of enforcement of safer sleep standards across early years settings.

      Children in Care: Free School Meals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether children adopted from care, or previously looked-after children, will lose any existing free school meal entitlement from September 2026.

      Schools: Uniforms

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of school uniform requirements on pupil wellbeing during periods of extreme...

      Family Hubs

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with metro mayors and combined authorities on developing place-based approaches to childcare and family support that...

      Nurseries: Career Development

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has considered the potential merits of introducing a career development strategy for nursery staff, including a requirement for...

      Schools: Temperature

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support families in caring for their children in the event of early school closures due to heatwaves.

      Private Education: China

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the Minister of State for Security on independent primary and secondary schools owned by Chinese (a) businesses...

      Department for Education: Secondment

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2026, to Question 4241, on Department for Education: Secondment, what information her Department holds on the reason...

      Department for Education: Artificial Intelligence

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what artificial intelligence services and tools are used by her Department; and whether her Department has a contract with providers for those services.

      Childcare: Fees and Charges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of parents or carers who are entitled to government funded childcare hours purchase additional hours on top.

      Free School Meals

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate they have made of the number of children eligible for free school meals who are not registered to receive them.

      Nurseries: Fees and Charges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the yearly cost of supplementary top ups, on top of existing nursery fees.

      Department for Education: Staff

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has appointed anyone from outside the civil service other than special advisers since July 2024.

      Pupils: Absenteeism

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of persistent absence in schools in South Gloucestershire and Bath and North East Somerset.

      Childcare: Fees and Charges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the financial impact on working families of the requirement that eligibility for funded childcare for children aged...

      Childcare: Fees and Charges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her speech to Ruskin College on 8 July 2026, what estimate her Department has made of the annual cost to the public purse of...

      Childcare: Fees and Charges

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that children from families not eligible for 30 hours of Government-funded childcare per week are not...

      Department for Education: Marketing

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer of 4 June 2026, to Question 4161, on Government departments: marketing, how much has been spent on branded goods and...

      Department for Education: Government Communication Service

      To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the answer of 5 June 2026, to Question 3763, on Government Communications Service: Staff, and of 19 January 2026, to Question...

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Peatlands: Controlled Burning

      To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the answer of 31 October 2025 to Question 84211 on Peatlands: Controlled Burning, (a) what advice the...

  • Department for Education

    • Special Educational Needs: Dyslexia

      To ask His Majesty's Government how the proposals in the SEND reform: putting children and young people first consultation will ensure that dyslexic children can achieve and thrive in...

    • Holiday Activities and Food Programme

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential merits of expanding the automatic eligibility criteria for the Holiday Activities and Food programme to include all...

      Education: Local Government

      To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had regarding the devolution of education and skills powers to mayoral combined authorities.

      Private Education: Finance

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial sustainability of the private school sector.

      Special Educational Needs

      To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 14 July (HL1473), what mechanisms are in place to ensure that (1) the expert panel is publicly...

      Special Educational Needs: Finance

      To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reform funding for special educational needs and disabilities provision in mainstream and specialist schools.

      Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund

      To ask His Majesty's Government what was the (1) average amount requested by applicants, and (2) average amount awarded to applicants through the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund in...

      Special Educational Needs: Cerebral Palsy

      To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 14 July (HL1474), how they plan to ensure that necessary healthcare provision in education...

  • Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

    • Chagos Islands: Sovereignty

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial and strategic implications of transferring sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

    • Mauritius: Foreign Relations

      To ask His Majesty's Government whether there has been Ministerial level contact between the UK Government and the Mauritian Government since 20 January; and if so, which Ministers and which...

  • Home Office

    • Domestic Abuse Protection Orders

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the funding and resources required to provide access to positive requirements as part of the implementation of the Domestic Abuse...

    • Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the progress of the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs.

      Visas: Overseas Students

      To ask His Majesty's Government how many student visa applications were (1) accepted, and (2) rejected, in each year since 2023–24.

      Immigration Controls: EU Countries

      To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards agreeing the UK–EU Youth Experience Scheme.

  • Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

    • Energy: Housing

      To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are planning to introduce a free basic energy allowance for all households.

    • EU Emissions Trading Scheme

      To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to seek a formal link between the UK and EU emissions trading schemes to exempt British manufacturers from the upcoming EU Carbon Border...

      Fossil Fuels

      To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are considering introducing quotas for the use of fossil fuel energy.

      Energy Supply

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of global confidence in the UK energy market; and what steps, if any, they are taking to improve this.

      Climate Change: Loans

      To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their press release Cheaper travel for millions with a third off fares, published on 22 July, what assessment they have made of their ability to...

      Carbon Emissions

      To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are considering bringing forward their net zero target to 2035.

      Wind Power: North Sea

      To ask His Majesty's Government what process they intend to follow to resolve cross-border disputes arising from the Hamburg Declaration regarding supply chain protectionism and the financing of...

      Carbon Emissions

      To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are considering capping the amount of credit that can be used to support investment in carbon-intensive activities and setting quotas for the amount...

      Energy: UK Relations with EU

      To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to negotiate energy alignment with the EU while maintaining the UK’s autonomy to regulate state aid and set environmental targets.

      Climate Change: Loans

      To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the press release of 22 July, Cheaper travel for millions with a third off fares, what the terms will be of the loans the United Kingdom will give to...

      National Energy System Operator and Ofgem: Databases

      To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to consolidate transmission project data currently held separately by the National Energy System Operator and Ofgem.

      Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Public Expenditure

      To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their press release Cheaper travel for millions with a third off fares, published on 22 July, what is the itemised breakdown of the £454...

      Climate Change: Loans

      To ask His Majesty's Government further to their press release Cheaper travel for millions with a third off fares, published on 22 July, to which specific international climate finance...

      Electricity: UK Relations with EU

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits and costs to the UK of joining of the EU Internal Electricity Market.

      Power Failures

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likelihood of power blackouts over the next five years.

      Nuclear Power

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of restoring the 24 Gigawatts target for nuclear energy.

  • Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade

    • Iron and Steel: Northern Ireland

      To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Stockwood on 30 June (HL1217), what specific arrangements will be in place to facilitate the movement of...

    • Turkey: Trade Agreements

      To ask His Majesty's Government what is the timetable for the next round of negotiations on an enhanced free trade agreement with Türkiye.

      Turkey: Overseas Investment

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of Turkish investments in the UK and UK investments in Tϋkiye; and what support they provide to British...

      Business: Billing

      To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Leong on 21 July (HL Deb cols 1068-1070), what assessment they have made of whether late payments may be the fault of a third...

  • Department for Work and Pensions

    • Youth Guarantee

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of excluding zero-hours contracts from the Youth Guarantee on employment opportunities for young people who...

    • Temporary Employment: Young People

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of temporary work in helping young people who are not in education, employment or training to gain experience and enter...

  • The Senior Deputy Speaker

    • House of Lords: Law Reports

      To ask The Senior Deputy Speaker how many law report volumes of all types have been purchased since the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary vacated their offices on the Law Lords' corridor; what...

  • Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    • Furniture: Incinerators

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the environmental impact of requiring sofas and other furniture containing persistent organic pollutants to be incinerated at...

    • River Tyne: Pollution

      To ask His Majesty's Government what additional steps they plan to take following the spillage of an estimated 1 billion nurdles into the River Tyne on 19 July, in particular the steps they plan...

      Fire Resistant Materials: Costs

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Fidra's estimate that disposing of sofas containing chemical flame retardants costs local authorities £135 million per year.

      Health Hazards: Fire Resistant Materials

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the World Health Organisation’s designation of tris(chloropropyl) phosphate as a probable carcinogen; and what steps...

      Health Hazards: Fire Resistant Materials

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment has been made of the average number of kilograms of tris(chloropropyl) phosphate and melamine present in sitting rooms across the UK.

  • Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

    • Sleeping Rough: Greater Manchester

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of rough sleeping in Greater Manchester between 2017 and 2025.

    • Fire Resistant Materials: Air Pollution

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of off-gassing flame retardants to indoor air contamination, particularly in mechanically ventilated homes.

      Temporary Accommodation: Costs

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for any increase in the number of households living in temporary accommodation; and what estimate they have made of...

      Rents: Regulation

      To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Housing and planning on 20 October 2025 (HC78220), whether they remain opposed to rent controls.

      Council Housing: Construction

      To ask His Majesty's Government how much funding will be provided (1) from re-allocated or re-profiled budgets, and (2) as new additional funding, to deliver the new Prime Minister’s pledge...

      Rents: Regulation

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of introducing rent controls on (1) the functioning of the private rented sector, (2) the quality of rental...

      Housing: Air Conditioning

      To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 14 July (HL1444) what assessment they have made of the need, if any, to collect information about...

  • Ministry of Justice

    • Juries

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of changes to jury trials proposed in the Courts and Tribunals Bill on the Crown Court backlog.

  • Treasury

    • Bank Services: Defence

      To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in reforming environmental, social, and governance rules to ensure that they are not used by financial institutions to deny banking...

    • Darlington Economic Campus

      To ask His Majesty's Government what is the status of the new Treasury offices being built in Darlington; and whether Treasury officials planned to be based there will be relocated to Manchester.

      Artificial Intelligence: Financial Services

      To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of limited access to frontier artificial intelligence models for the competitiveness of the UK's financial...

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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