Andrew Snowden MP: written questions 2025
1670 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Defibrillators: VATDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 27 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 85384More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to remove VAT on defibrillators.
Answer: Tax policy is a matter for HM Treasury. The Government provides VAT reliefs to aid the purchase of automated external defibrillators through VAT refunds on purchases made by local authorities, including parish councils, and VAT reliefs for purchases made ...
Answered 19 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordBrain Cancer: Medical TreatmentsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 24 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 85025More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients in England are receiving treatment with the Optune Tumour Treating Fields device; and at which NHS Trusts such treatment is available.
Answer: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) considered the use of tumour treating fields (TTF) in its guideline on brain tumours, reference code NG99, published in 2018 and recommended that the treatment should not be offered by the Natio...
Answered 6 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordBrain Cancer: Medical TreatmentsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 24 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 85024More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to request that NICE begin an appraisal of the Optune Tumour Treating Fields device for the treatment of glioblastoma.
Answer: The Department has no plans to request that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) appraise tumour treating fields (TTF), or to intervene in NICE’s established guidance prioritisation process.NICE considered the use of TTF in its gui...
Answered 6 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordWater: StandardsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84771More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many instances of water quality breaches have been reported by water suppliers in Lancashire in the last 12 months.
Answer: The Drinking Water Inspectorate does not compile water quality breach data by county. The figures provided relate to United Utilities' operations across its entire supply area, which serves Lancashire and the wider Northwest region. In the 12-month period...
Answered 3 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordFree School Meals: FyldeDepartment for EducationTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84769More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the proportion of pupils in Fylde constituency who are eligible for free school meals but do not take them.
Answer: The department publishes data on free school meals (FSM) in our annual ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteri...
Answered 12 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordFree School Meals: LancashireDepartment for EducationTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84768More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in Lancashire were eligible for free school meals in each of the last five years.
Answer: The department publishes data on free school meals (FSM) in our annual ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteri...
Answered 12 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordFree School Meals: EligibilityDepartment for EducationTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84767More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the income thresholds for eligibility for free school meals.
Answer: This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty, that is why the department is introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals. This ensures that all children from households in receipt of Uni...
Answered 11 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordCompanies: RegistrationHome OfficeTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84766More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that reports of fraudulent company registrations made to Action Fraud are treated as criminal matters.
Answer: The Government is working with City of London Police to replace Action Fraud with a new and improved national police reporting service for fraud and cyber crime. The new service (called Report Fraud) is nearing completion with full transition expected in ...
Answered 31 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordCompanies: FraudDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84765More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to prevent the fraudulent registration of companies using private residential addresses through Companies House.
Answer: The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 strengthened Companies House’s powers to query or reject inaccurate or suspicious addresses, enabling the Registrar to act swiftly and decisively against misuse of residential addresses.Many fraudulen...
Answered 29 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordVideo Games: GamblingDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84764More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the risk of skin gambling on young people.
Answer: Unlicensed skins gambling websites operate illegally outside of the video game ecosystem. Earlier this year, we commissioned independent research to better understand skins gambling and its impact on children and young people. The resulting rapid evidence...
Answered 29 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordCulture: Urban AreasDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84762More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which towns will be eligible to bid for the UK Town of Culture; and what criteria will be used to define what a town is for the purposes of the competition.
Answer: The new UK Town of Culture competition aims to boost civic pride in our towns through recognising their cultural contributions to public life and actively supporting their continued development. Regarding eligibility criteria, we will advise small and med...
Answered 31 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordKnow Your Neighbourhood FundDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84761More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what criteria her Department used to select the delivery areas for the Know Your Neighbourhood Fund; and how often the list of delivery areas is reviewed.
Answer: The Know Your Neighbourhood (KYN) Fund was launched in January 2023 as an up to £30 million package of funding designed to widen participation in volunteering and tackle loneliness in 27 disadvantaged areas across England. In April 2025, the KYN Fund was ...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordFraud: Criminal InvestigationHome OfficeTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84760More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with police forces on the adequacy of their capacity to investigate complex fraud cases.
Answer: The Home Office is leading cross-system efforts to tackle complex fraud, and improving law enforcement capability is a key part of this work.Having now completed recruitment of the new National Fraud Squad, we continue to work closely with key partners to...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordPrivate ProsecutionsMinistry of JusticeTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84759More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he is taking steps to ensure that private prosecutions do not contribute to existing court backlogs.
Answer: Private prosecutions are brought before the same courts in England and Wales as prosecutions commenced by criminal justice agencies. The prioritisation of cases in the criminal court caseload is a matter for the independent judiciary. The Ministry of Just...
Answered 31 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordPrivate ProsecutionsMinistry of JusticeTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84757More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many private prosecutions were brought before magistrates’ courts and Crown Courts in each of the past ten years.
Answer: Private prosecutions are brought before the same courts in England and Wales as prosecutions commenced by criminal justice agencies. The prioritisation of cases in the criminal court caseload is a matter for the independent judiciary. The Ministry of Just...
Answered 31 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordArtificial Intelligence: InnovationDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84755More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the AI Growth Lab promotes (a) responsible and (b) ethical AI innovation.
Answer: The AI Growth Lab is designed to enable closely-supervised testing of innovative AI technologies in real-world settings, so that safe, beneficial AI can reach the market faster.Robust safeguards would be in place, including clear “red lines” - regulations...
Answered 31 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordOpenAI: Data CentresDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84754More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether OpenAI’s UK data storage facilities will be subject to routine government security audits.
Answer: Data centres were designated as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) in September 2024. In recognition of this, the government is expected to introduce proportionate regulatory oversight of this sector. The expected vehicle is the Cyber Security and Res...
Answered 31 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordLaw Reporting: ProcurementMinistry of JusticeTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84753More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Justice Transcribe tool was developed (a) in-house or (b) in partnership with external technology providers.
Answer: Justice Transcribe is an AI-powered note-taking tool that records and transcribes conversations between probation officers and people on probation. It was developed in-house.
Answered 30 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordArtificial IntelligenceDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84751More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what criteria his Department is using to select locations for AI Growth Zones.
Answer: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 October 2025 to Question UIN 82268.
Answered 31 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordHM Courts and Tribunals Service: Data ProtectionMinistry of JusticeTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84747More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 September 2025 to Question 73115 on HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Data Protection, whether (a) financial penalties and (b) contract management actions were taken against any delive
Answer: We have no central record of any financial penalties against any supplier/delivery partner in relation to this issue.Contract management actions are undertaken as standard; HMCTS and the Ministry of Justice engage suppliers via frameworks managed by the C...
Answered 29 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordHM Courts and Tribunals Service: ICTMinistry of JusticeTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84745More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many whistleblowing reports relating to HM Courts & Tribunals Service's digital systems have been received in each of the past five years.
Answer: There have been two whistleblowing reports over the last five years (reported 2024-25) that relate to HM Courts & Tribunals Service’s digital systems.
Answered 31 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Security and Child Support Tribunal: ICTMinistry of JusticeTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84738More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 September 2025 to Question 73118 on Social Security and Child Support Tribunal: ICT, whether any (a) personal and (b) sensitive information was exposed.
Answer: No personal or sensitive information was exposed as a result of the IT system bug referenced.
Answered 29 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordStalking: ReviewsHome OfficeTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84706More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the independent review of stalking laws will engage with (a) survivors, (b) survivor organisations and (c) experts.
Answer: On Wednesday 22 October the Government announced that Richard Wright KC has been appointed to lead the independent Stalking Legislation Review.The review will consider whether the criminal law on stalking needs to change to ensure the police and wider cri...
Answered 29 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordMisophoniaDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 22 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84513More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of misophonia on the (a) social and (b) occupational outcomes of people diagnosed with that condition.
Answer: We have made no such assessment, although it is recognised that misophonia can adversely affect a person’s ability to achieve life goals, communicate effectively, and enjoy social situations, and that this can have an impact on individuals’ mental health....
Answered 19 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordReasonable AdjustmentsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 22 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84512More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department provides to (a) employers and (b) service providers on making reasonable adjustments for people with (i) misophonia and (ii) other sensory conditions.
Answer: All employers have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ in the workplace where a disabled employee, would otherwise be put at a substantial disadvantage compared with their colleagues. The Equality and Human Rights Commissio...
Answered 11 Nov 2025
Original Parliament record
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