Andrew Snowden MP: written questions
377 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Open PrisonsMinistry of JusticeTabled 13 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 18214More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the risks associated with unofficial auditors accessing the open prison estate.
Answer: Any person who films, photographs, or transmits images from within a prison for reception outside the prison commits an offence under section 40D(1) of the Prisons Act 1952. A person convicted of an offence under section 40D(1) may, on conviction on indic...
Answered 20 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordRailways: CateringDepartment for TransportTabled 13 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 18213More
Question: 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 between stations.
Answer: The Government expects train operators to support passengers during disruption. Under the National Rail Conditions of Travel, operators must, where reasonably practicable, provide appropriate assistance, which may include refreshments.
Answered 4 Aug 2026
Original Parliament recordElectronic Cigarettes: PackagingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 13 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 18212More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of introducing standardised plain packaging for vaping products on rates of youth vaping.
Answer: Our advice is clear, while vaping is less harmful than smoking and can be an effective smoking quit aid for adult smokers, it is not risk free and children and non-smokers should never vape.Data from Action on Smoking and Health from 2026 shows that over ...
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence Payment Assessment ReviewDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17850More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to publish all the evidence submitted to the Timms Review, subject to data protection requirements.
Answer: The steering group published its interim report on 9 July, which sets out the Review’s approach to evidence gathering and engagement and what it has heard so far. The report was published together with a summary of the 38,000 Call for Evidence responses r...
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordLife Sciences: InvestmentDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17849More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's joint press release entitled UK life sciences attracts £3bn investment, creating jobs and faster patient treatments, published on 9 July 2026, what st
Answer: The recently published Life Sciences Jobs Plan (9 July 2026) sets out how government, industry, and partners across the UK will work together to give the sector the skilled domestic workforce it needs to fill an estimated 66,000 additional jobs in priorit...
Answered 15 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordApprentices: Life SciencesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17848More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government's joint press release entitled UK life sciences attracts £3bn investment, creating jobs and faster patient treatments, published on 9 July 2026, what estimate he has mad
Answer: The Life Sciences Sector Jobs Plan has been developed jointly with industry to address workforce shortages and their underlying causes, including skills gaps, retention, pay and job quality. The Government recognises the important role that apprenticeship...
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordLife Sciences: Small BusinessesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17847More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department's joint press release entitled UK life sciences attracts £3bn investment, creating jobs and faster patient treatments, published on 9 July 2026, what assessment he has
Answer: The Department has not done a specific assessment of investment secured from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Life Sciences Sector Plan does however support SMEs through a suite of targeted interventions. The Life Sciences Innovative Manufac...
Answered 20 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordLife Sciences: InvestmentDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17846More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's joint press release entitled UK life sciences attracts £3bn investment, creating jobs and faster patient treatments, published on 9 July 2026, what es
Answer: The Department does not hold estimates for the number of jobs impact for all of the investments that make up the £3bn investment figure. However, we have assessed jobs created by the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund. £87 million has been commit...
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordLife Sciences: InvestmentDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17845More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to her Department's joint press release entitled UK life sciences attracts £3bn investment, creating jobs and faster patient treatments, published on 9 July 2026, what pr
Answer: The £3bn investment figure consists exclusively of previously announced investments over the last year, from July 2025. Full details of the investments that make up that figure are included in the footnotes of the publication (Life Sciences Sector Plan: O...
Answered 15 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordVeterinary Services: LicensingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17844More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects the proposed licensing regime for veterinary practices to come into force.
Answer: Defra intends to bring forward primary legislation to reform the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, as soon as parliamentary time allows. The proposed licensing regime for veterinary practices would be subject to that legislation.
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordVeterinary Services: PrescriptionsDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17843More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate his Department has made of the average annual savings for pet owners arising from the proposed cap on written prescription charges.
Answer: The Department has not made a separate estimate of the average annual savings for pet owners arising from the cap on written prescription charges. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) introduced the cap as part of a wider package of remedies to imp...
Answered 15 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordComcast: ITVDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17842More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has held discussions with Comcast Corporation on the potential acquisition of ITV plc since 5 July 2024.
Answer: Under the Enterprise Act 2002, if a merger meets the necessary thresholds, the Secretary of State has a quasi-judicial role and can intervene on public interest grounds to refer the merger to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). It would not be ap...
Answered 15 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordPoverty: ChildrenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17841More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of implementing the Child Poverty Strategy over the next ten years.
Answer: The Child Poverty Strategy represents a long-term, cross-government approach to tackling the root causes of child poverty. The strategy’s successful implementation depends on co-ordinated action across a range of services. It sets out both the immediate a...
Answered 20 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordFree School MealsDepartment for EducationTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17840More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of additional children eligible for free school meals from September 2026.
Answer: From the start of the 2026/27 academic year, all children in households receiving Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals (FSM). Over half a million additional children will receive a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day. Aroun...
Answered 3 Aug 2026
Original Parliament recordPoverty: ChildrenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17839More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what independent external evaluation arrangements have been established for the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answer: Details of the monitoring and evaluation arrangements for the Child Poverty Strategy are available in Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty: Monitoring and Evaluation - Baseline Report - GOV.UK. As set out in the Baseline Report, we are committ...
Answered 15 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordA400M Aircraft: Uncrewed SystemsMinistry of DefenceTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17838More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the date by which the capability to deploy uncrewed surface vessels from A400M aircraft will reach Initial Operating Capability.
Answer: The recent trial was successful demonstration of a novel deployment method for uncrewed surface vessels, demonstrating the potential for rapid deployment of autonomous maritime capabilities in contested or hard-to-access environments. Further information ...
Answered 20 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordA400M Aircraft: Uncrewed SystemsMinistry of DefenceTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17837More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the outcomes of the Royal Navy's recent trial involving the airdrop of an uncrewed surface vessel from an A400M aircraft.
Answer: The recent trial was successful demonstration of a novel deployment method for uncrewed surface vessels, demonstrating the potential for rapid deployment of autonomous maritime capabilities in contested or hard-to-access environments. Further information ...
Answered 20 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordTyphoon Aircraft: Global Combat Air ProgrammeMinistry of DefenceTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17836More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications of the Typhoon upgrade programme for the transition to the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP).
Answer: As well as ensuring Typhoon remains a credible and robust combat air capability over the coming decades able to operate alongside F35 and GCAP, the Typhoon upgrade programme set out in the Defence Investment Plan (including Long Term Evolution) helps gene...
Answered 20 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordTyphoon Aircraft: F-35 AircraftMinistry of DefenceTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17835More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how the upgraded Typhoon fleet will operate alongside the F-35 Lightning fleet; and what capabilities are expected to be delivered through integration with Collaborative Combat Aircraft.
Answer: The upgraded Typhoon fleet will operate alongside the F-35 Lightning as complementary elements of the UK’s combat air force. The Typhoon Long Term Evolution (LTE) programme ensures Typhoon Force remains operationally relevant into the 2040s and can contin...
Answered 20 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordTyphoon AircraftMinistry of DefenceTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17834More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs supported by the Typhoon upgrade programme in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) Scotland, (c) Lancashire and (d) the wider UK defence supply chain.
Answer: In January 2026 the department announced that it had committed over £650 million to upgrade the RAF’s Typhoon fighter jet fleet, securing over 1,500 jobs across the UK. This includes around 300 skilled roles in Edinburgh and secures 120 jobs in Lancashire...
Answered 20 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordTyphoon AircraftMinistry of DefenceTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17833More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether all RAF Tranche 2 and Tranche 3 Typhoon aircraft are expected to receive the full package of capability upgrades announced in the Defence Investment Plan.
Answer: Both Tranches of UK Typhoon are being upgraded, and there is no change to the previously stated intention. 40 Tranche 3 aircraft will receive the new radar, ECRS2, and the fleet of both Tranche 2 and 3 aircraft will receive the upgrades to communications ...
Answered 20 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordTyphoon Aircraft: RadarMinistry of DefenceTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17832More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many RAF Typhoon aircraft are planned to receive European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk2 radars under the Defence Investment Plan; and what the planned delivery timetable is for those radars.
Answer: 40 RAF Typhoon aircraft will receive the European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk2 upgrade. We expect the radar in service with the RAF before the end of the decade.
Answered 20 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordDefence: InvestmentMinistry of DefenceTabled 10 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17831More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the economic impact of the Defence Investment Plan by region.
Answer: The Defence Investment Plan sets out how the Government's increased investment in defence capability, infrastructure and innovation will strengthen national security while supporting economic growth across the UK. While the Defence Investment Plan was not...
Answered 20 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordArmed ForcesMinistry of DefenceTabled 9 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17489More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the capability gaps identified by the Chief of the Defence Staff regarding UK military readiness.
Answer: The Department continually assesses the readiness of the Armed Forces and the capabilities required to meet current and future threats. The Ministry of Defence employs a rigorous approach to identify and mitigate risks arising from gaps in defence capabil...
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordDefence: FinanceTreasuryTabled 9 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17488More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the implications for the UK's NATO commitments of current planned levels of defence expenditure.
Answer: The Defence Investment Plan is backed by nearly £300bn of investment of the next four years, meaning the UK will now spend 2.7% of GDP on core NATO defence spending by 2027-28. Funding and plans for increasing defence spending to 3% of GDP in the next Par...
Answered 17 Jul 2026
Original Parliament record
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