Alex Easton MP: written questions 2025
103 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Chronic Illnesses: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55924More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the 10 Year Health Plan will benefit people with (a) arthritis and (b) other long-term conditions.
Answer: The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver the three big shifts our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving arthritis c...
Answered 5 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordArthritis: ExerciseDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55923More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help support people living with arthritis to stay physically active.
Answer: Guidance published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on the diagnosis and management of osteoarthritis recommends therapeutic exercise for all people with osteoarthritis that is tailored to their needs and that is part of a wider st...
Answered 5 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordArthritis: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55922More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help improve care for people living with arthritis.
Answer: Services for those with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, including arthritis, are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). The Department expects MSK services to be fully incorporated into integrated care system planning and decision-making...
Answered 5 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordArthritis: Medical TreatmentsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55921More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce waiting times for treatment for people with arthritis.
Answer: Services for those with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, including arthritis, are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). The Department expects MSK services to be fully incorporated into integrated care system planning and decision-making...
Answered 5 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordIncome Tax: PensionersTreasuryTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55849More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of raising the income tax threshold to £20,000 for pensioners.
Answer: The Government is committed to making sure older people can live with the dignity and respect they deserve in retirement. The State Pension is the foundation of the support available to them. Over the course of this Parliament, the yearly amount of the fu...
Answered 9 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordUK Relations with EUTreasuryTabled 20 May 2025AnsweredUIN 53759More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of the outcome of the UK-EU Summit on 19 May 2025.
Answer: We estimate that the Emission Trading System and food and agriculture elements of the agreement alone will boost the economy by nearly £9 billion by 2040.Implementation costs will be confirmed in due course when we have negotiated the details of these arr...
Answered 27 May 2025
Original Parliament recordBusiness: Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 19 May 2025AnsweredUIN 53379More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK-EU reset deal on businesses in Northern Ireland.
Answer: The Government's new strategic partnership with the EU will deliver greater prosperity and security for Northern Ireland and the UK as a whole. In particular, the new SPS Agreement with the EU will facilitate the smooth flow of agrifood and plants from Gr...
Answered 22 May 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Rented Housing: Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 14 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52495More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has had discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on increasing the rate of construction of social housing.
Answer: Construction of Social Housing is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and the Department of Communities. The UK Government has provided the Executive with a record £18.2bn for 2025-26. This includes an additional £1.5bn for 2025/2...
Answered 22 May 2025
Original Parliament recordUK Internal Trade: Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 14 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52494More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the (a) Northern Ireland Protocol and (b) Windsor Framework on the number of businesses based in Great Britain that have ceased
Answer: The Government is committed to the Windsor Framework and to protecting the UK internal market. The Framework guarantees unfettered access for Northern Ireland’s businesses to the UK market and also supports traders to do business. Many are taking advantag...
Answered 22 May 2025
Original Parliament recordBusiness: Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52128More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with relevant stakeholders on reports of businesses in Northern Ireland processing card transactions in euros, in the context of currency conversion charges for customers.
Answer: The decision on which currencies to accept for payment, including whether to process card transactions in euros or any other international currency, is a matter for individual businesses across the UK, including in Northern Ireland. Businesses are respons...
Answered 21 May 2025
Original Parliament recordGaza: Humanitarian SituationForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 12 May 2025AnsweredUIN 51688More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policies of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, in
Answer: The UK strongly opposes the expansion of Israel's operations in Gaza. We consider that any attempt to annex land would be unacceptable. As I said to the house on 14 May, we are calling on the Government of Israel to lift its block on aid immediately, and ...
Answered 2 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordUK Internal Trade: Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 8 May 2025AnsweredUIN 51066More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussion he has had with Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland on the potential impact of regulatory divergence between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom on the oversi
Answer: I speak regularly on a wide range of matters to Northern Ireland Executive Ministers and the Northern Ireland political parties. This includes discussion of the Government's commitment to safeguarding the UK internal market, handling divergence and encour...
Answered 16 May 2025
Original Parliament recordHorses: DartmoorDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50749More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to support the growth of the Dartmoor pony population.
Answer: To help enable growth, Defra supports the conservation of livestock and equines, including the Dartmoor Pony, by monitoring populations of native breeds, with data published in the annual UK National Breed inventory. Defra also protects eligible native br...
Answered 21 May 2025
Original Parliament recordArmy: RecruitmentMinistry of DefenceTabled 2 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50001More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to increase the number of serving personnel in the British Army.
Answer: The current Government inherited a crisis in recruitment and retention from the last administration, and we are committed to addressing this through a range of targets, initiatives and measures. The British Army continues to implement Future Soldier, with...
Answered 13 May 2025
Original Parliament recordGeoengineering: ResearchDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 2 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50000More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure (a) oversight of and (b) international collaboration in research into solar radiation management technologies.
Answer: The Government is not in favour of using Solar Radiation Modification. Given the significant uncertainty around the possible risks and impacts of deployment on the climate and environment, the Government is not deploying SRM and has no plans to do so.The ...
Answered 13 May 2025
Original Parliament recordYoung Offenders: ReoffendersMinistry of JusticeTabled 1 May 2025AnsweredUIN 49866More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of tackling (a) trauma, (b) addiction and (c) mental health in reducing the rate of re-offending among young people; and whether she has had discussions with (i)
Answer: The Ministry of Justice recognises that addressing trauma, substance misuse and mental health challenges among young people is key to reducing re-offending rates – and that early intervention and prevention is an important part of this. In England and Wal...
Answered 9 May 2025
Original Parliament recordReoffendersMinistry of JusticeTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49643More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of implementing a new approach to help tackle hyper prolific offending through (a) the monitoring of offenders, (b) effective intervention programmes and (c) t
Answer: We take prolific offending seriously and recognise that prolific offenders commit a disproportionate number of offences. Between 2000 and 2021, for example, prolific offenders represented nearly 10% of offenders but accounted for just over 50% of convicti...
Answered 9 May 2025
Original Parliament recordUK Internal Trade: Northern IrelandDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47519More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many lorries transporting goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland have been turned away at points of entry in the last 12 months due to (a) incorrect or (b) incomplete paperwo
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given the hon. Member for North Down, Alex Easton, on 13 November, PQ UIN 12673.
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament recordUndocumented Migrants: Crimes of ViolenceHome OfficeTabled 22 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47069More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued on processing cases of irregular migrants who have been found to be involved in violent crime.
Answer: Any foreign national who is convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence is considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity. Under the UK Borders Act 2007, a deportation order must be made where a foreign national has been convicted of an offen...
Answered 30 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordSchools: Carbon EmissionsDepartment for EducationTabled 8 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 45341More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to decarbonise school buildings through (a) energy efficiency retrofitting and (b) renewable energy installations; and how these measures will help ensure that the Department
Answer: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The department is committed to supporting the UK net-zero carbon targets. Since 2021, our own building standards require that all new school buildings we deliver ar...
Answered 22 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordChagos Islands: SovereigntyForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 2 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43632More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on the Chagossian people of transferring sovereignty of the British Indi
Answer: We have worked hard to ensure this agreement reflects the importance of the islands to Chagossians. We will finance a new trust fund for Mauritius to use in support of the Chagossian community. We will also work with Mauritius to start a new programme of...
Answered 11 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordCoroners: ClonoeNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43299More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the findings of the Clonoe Inquest.
Answer: Following careful consideration, on 22 March 2025 the Ministry of Defence wrote to the Coroner to outline its intention to apply for a judicial review. In the Government’s view, the findings of the Coroner do not properly reflect the context of the incide...
Answered 8 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordUK Internal Trade: Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 31 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42938More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to improve Northern Ireland’s (a) constitutional and (b) economic links with the rest of the United Kingdom.
Answer: In line with the Good Friday Agreement and the principle of consent upon which it rests, Northern Ireland will remain a part of the United Kingdom for as long as a majority of its people wish for it to be. The Government is committed to continuing to take...
Answered 8 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordImport Controls: Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 31 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42935More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Government on the potential impact of border checks in the Irish Sea on the (a) availability and (b) shelf life of perishable goods in supermarkets i
Answer: The Windsor Framework protects the UK internal market by ensuring the smooth flow of trade across the whole of the UK. Certain checks are required on goods moving through the UK Internal Market System as part of a risk-based and intelligence-led approach ...
Answered 8 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Security Benefits: Northern IrelandDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 19 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39661More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the potential impact of her Department's welfare reforms on people in Northern Ireland.
Answer: The department works closely with all the Devolved Governments, including the Northern Ireland Executive, on a range of policy matters.Proposals for reform to the system of health and disability benefits were set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper pu...
Answered 28 Mar 2025
Original Parliament record
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