Afzal Khan MP: written questions 2025
253 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Energy Company Obligation: North WestDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 101027More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of ending the Energy Company Obligation scheme on employment in the North West.
Answer: ECO4 has played a part in delivering clean heat technologies; however, issues identified by the NAO and PAC support a shift to a more direct, publicly-funded approach focused on technologies that cut bills and accelerate the transition to clean heat such ...
Answered 9 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordFirewood: Air PollutionDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 101008More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2025 to question 98902 on the Environmental Improvement Plan, whether her Department plans to publish a formal consultation on domestic combustion
Answer: As outlined in the EIP, we will consult on further measures to reduce emissions from domestic burning.
Answered 6 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordPublic Footpaths: PenninesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 16 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100416More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what consideration she has given to designating the Trans Pennine Trail a National Trail.
Answer: The Government is committed to increasing access to nature and leaving a lasting benefit for future generations. Although we do not currently plan to designate the Trans Pennine Trail as a National Trail, we remain committed to improving safe and appropri...
Answered 23 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordSexual HarassmentHome OfficeTabled 11 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99249More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2025 to Question 47655 on Sexual Harassment, what progress she has made on implementation of the Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023.
Answer: Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a top priority for this Government and we have committed to an unprecedented ambition to halve VAWG within a decade.Public sexual harassment is a crime that often leaves victims, who are disproportionate...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordFirewood: Air PollutionDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98902More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Environmental Improvement Plan, when her Department plans to publish the consultation on measures that cut emissions from domestic wood combustion.
Answer: The Government is currently developing proposals for measures to tackle emissions from Domestic Combustion.
Answered 16 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordSmoke Control AreasDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98901More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of consulting on reforms to Smoke Control Areas.
Answer: We continuously review the evidence around emissions and the most effective way to tackle smoke controlled areas.
Answered 16 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordRespiratory Diseases: ResearchDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98898More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to help ensure that respiratory research challenges funded by National Institute for Health and Care Research will help tackle respiratory disease in adults.
Answer: The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In the last five financial years it has invested £152 million directly into research funding on respiratory health condition...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordHealth Services: HomelessnessDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98457More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle health inequalities experienced by people affected by homelessness.
Answer: The Government is committed to building a fairer Britain by tackling the structural inequalities that contribute to poor health, particularly for disadvantaged groups, including those experiencing homelessness. We are working with integrated care systems,...
Answered 5 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordUnemployment: Young PeopleDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 906762More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support young people into employment, education or training.
Answer: The government is investing £820m to help young people earn or learn through the Youth Guarantee. This includes a Jobs Guarantee where eligible 18–21-year-olds, who have been on Universal Credit and looking for work for 18 months, will be guaranteed six-m...
Answered 8 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPalestine: Foreign RelationsForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 2 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 96212More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to review UK National Archive material relating to Britain’s administration of the Mandate in Palestine between 1917 and 1948.
Answer: Available materials from the era in question can be accessed by any member of the public who wishes to do so via the National Archives.
Answered 8 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordDisadvantaged: EqualityWomen and EqualitiesTabled 1 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 95872More
Question: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she plans to enact the socioeconomic measures in the Equality Act 2010.
Answer: The Government will set out its timeline for commencement of the socio-economic duty in due course. We are currently drafting statutory guidance that will clarify how the duty can be applied effectively. As part of this process, public bodies will have th...
Answered 9 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordHeart Diseases: WomenDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 27 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 95164More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve public confidence in performing CPR on women experiencing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Answer: NHS England runs training sessions on first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and the use of defibrillators both in the community and in schools, under the Restart a Heart programme. This training should help to increase confidence in performing C...
Answered 11 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordHeart Diseases: WomenDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 27 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 95163More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the lack of female-form CPR mannequins on survival rates for women experiencing out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Answer: The Government is continuing to take action to increase cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) awareness and training, including NHS England leading sessions on first aid, CPR, and the use of defibrillators both in the community and in schools, under the Res...
Answered 11 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordFreeportsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 26 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 95003More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what mechanisms are in place to ensure effective public and local authority oversight of freeports and their ongoing development.
Answer: The government is committed to public transparency, accountability, and oversight for all Industrial Strategy Zones (ISZs), the collective term for Freeports and Investment Zones. The ISZs Action Plan and the latest Freeports Programme Report, both publis...
Answered 4 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordFreeportsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 26 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 95002More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help improve public transparency and local awareness of the implications of freeports.
Answer: The government is committed to public transparency, accountability, and oversight for all Industrial Strategy Zones (ISZs), the collective term for Freeports and Investment Zones. The ISZs Action Plan and the latest Freeports Programme Report, both publis...
Answered 4 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordFireworks: NoiseDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 26 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 94993More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of unpredictable firework noise on people with autism, sensory processing conditions, and other neurodivergent conditions; and whether he has held
Answer: There has been no recent assessment or discussion with Cabinet colleagues on the impact of unpredictable firework noise on people with autism, sensory processing conditions, and other neurodivergent conditions. Building on the work of my predecessor, I wi...
Answered 5 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordFireworks: RegulationDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 26 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 94992More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the power, noise levels, and explosive force of consumer fireworks currently permitted for public sale compared with products available in previous decades.
Answer: The Government published The Firework Noise testing report on 2 February 2023. The project measured the noise levels of fireworks commonly sold for public use in the UK. There has been no recent assessment of the power and explosive force of consumer fire...
Answered 5 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordFireworks: RegulationDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 26 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 94991More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the capacity of police forces to enforce existing fireworks regulations; and what steps he is taking to improve enforcement where police resources are limited
Answer: There has been no recent assessment of the capacity of police forces to enforce existing fireworks regulations. The 2025-26 police funding settlement provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall ...
Answered 5 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordCost of LivingTreasuryTabled 26 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 94978More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is considering to address regional cost of living inequalities.
Answer: There is excellence right across the country and this government is backing it: lifting living standards and putting more money in people’s pockets. The recent Budget announced that the government is taking around £150 on average off household energy bill...
Answered 5 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordLiving Wage: North of EnglandDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 26 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 94977More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to introduce a North West Living Wage, similar to the London Living Wage premium.
Answer: This government is committed to building an economy that delivers for working people. It sets the statutory minimum National Living Wage (NLW) which applies to all employers. When recommending rates for the NLW, the Low Pay Commission considers a range of...
Answered 5 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordLiving Wage: North of EnglandDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 26 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 94976More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the need for a regional living wage reflecting higher cost of living pressures in major northern cities, including Manchester.
Answer: This government is committed to building an economy that delivers for working people. It sets the statutory minimum National Living Wage (NLW) which applies to all employers. When recommending rates for the NLW, the Low Pay Commission considers a range of...
Answered 5 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordChildren: DisabilityDepartment for EducationTabled 26 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 94917More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the recommendations set out in the Law Commission's review of disabled children’s social care law, published on 16 September 2025.
Answer: On 16 September 2025, the Law Commission published its final report following an extensive review of the legal framework governing social care for disabled children in England, commissioned by the department in April 2023. The report sets out 40 recommend...
Answered 5 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordVisas: Care Workers and Health ProfessionsHome OfficeTabled 25 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 94377More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the minimum salary floor as part of the Health and Care visa salary requirements on staff retention in the North West.
Answer: Higher pay encourages staff retention. Since the introduction of the Skilled Worker route, the salary requirements dictate that a migrant must be paid whatever is higher out of the general threshold for the route or the ‘going rate’ for that occupation, w...
Answered 1 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPrisons: LiteracyMinistry of JusticeTabled 25 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 94349More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made in producing Easy-Read versions of key prison documents, including a Prison Induction Handbook for prisoners with low literacy.
Answer: The Ministry of Justice remains committed to improving support for neurodivergent individuals in the criminal justice system. Neurodiversity Action PlanThe Cross-Government Neurodiversity Action Plan, along with subsequent progress updates published in Ja...
Answered 3 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPrisons: NeurodiversityMinistry of JusticeTabled 25 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 94348More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what percentage of prisons have introduced Neurodiversity Rep jobs.
Answer: The Ministry of Justice remains committed to improving support for neurodivergent individuals in the criminal justice system. Neurodiversity Action PlanThe Cross-Government Neurodiversity Action Plan, along with subsequent progress updates published in Ja...
Answered 3 Dec 2025
Original Parliament record
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