Barry Gardiner MP: written questions
150 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Commonhold and Leasehold: ConstructionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 23 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 25970More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has set a target for the proportion of new homes to be built by 2030 that will be (a) leasehold and (b) commonhold.
Answer: The government is committed to reinvigorating commonhold and making it the default tenure.Our forthcoming White Paper on reforms to commonhold will outline proposed reforms to the model and our plans to introduce a comprehensive new legal framework.The go...
Answered 30 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordCommonhold and LeaseholdMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 23 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 25969More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of converting all existing residential leasehold tenure to commonhold on economic growth.
Answer: The government is committed to reinvigorating commonhold and making it the default tenure.Our forthcoming White Paper on reforms to commonhold will outline proposed reforms to the model and our plans to introduce a comprehensive new legal framework.The go...
Answered 30 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordDarwin PlusDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23708More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the future of the Darwin Plus programme.
Answer: In November 2024, Minister Doughty and Minister McCarthy met with the elected leaders and representatives of the Overseas Territories at the UK Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council. The UK Government confirmed that it would continue to work in p...
Answered 22 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordBiodiversity: British Overseas TerritoriesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23707More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage of his Department's total biodiversity budget was spent on supporting biodiversity in the UK Overseas Territories in 2024-05.
Answer: UK Government biodiversity spend is across multiple organisations and this funding contributes to other objectives, such as water quality, net zero and food security. As such it is not possible to provide an exact figure of total domestic expenditure on b...
Answered 17 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordBiodiversity: British Overseas TerritoriesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23706More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of total percentage of the biodiversity for which the UK has global responsibility is located in the UK's Overseas Territories.
Answer: The Joint Nature Conservation Committee, as the Government’s statutory nature advisor, does not have, nor is it aware of, an estimate of the total percentage of the biodiversity for which the UK has global responsibility and is located in the UK Overseas ...
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordDarwin PlusDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23705More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what was the total funding allocated to projects by Darwin Plus in each financial year since 2019-20.
Answer: Total funding allocated to Darwin Plus projects in each financial year since 2019-20 is provided in the table below. YearTotal funding taken up by Darwin Plus projects 2019-2020£3.81m2020-2021£4.55m2021-2022£6.65m2022-2023£8.50m2023-2024£10.12m2024-2025£8...
Answered 21 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordMarine Protected Areas: FisheriesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23251More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the paper entitled Marine Protected Areas network report (2019 to 2024), published on 18 December 2024, what steps he plans to take to protect designated features wit
Answer: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are already protected from the point of designation by the planning and marine licensing regimes that cover activities such as dredging for aggregates and construction of offshore wind farms. Fishing activity falls outside th...
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordSeas and Oceans: ConferencesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23250More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he will attend the UN Oceans Conference in June 2025.
Answer: The third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3), co-hosted by France and Costa Rica in June, will be at a critical time for the ocean and a stocktake of progress towards UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water. The UK is supportive of an action-orienta...
Answered 16 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordFishing CatchesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23249More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 January 2025 to Question 17503 on Fishing Catches, what (a) criteria and (b) thresholds were applied in deciding which instances of non-compliance with the
Answer: This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only. In deciding how to manage instances of non-compliance, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) follows the principles of inform, educate, enforce in accordance wit...
Answered 17 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordBiodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction AgreementForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 9 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 22880More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2024 to Question 19633 on the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement, what recent assessment he has made of the extent to w
Answer: The Government is completely committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement,...
Answered 17 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordBiodiversity: International CooperationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20560More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his priorities are for the 68th Global Environment Facility Council Meeting in relation to target (a) 5 and (b) 18 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Answer: The 68th Global Environment Facility Council meeting will discuss a programme of work to fund projects that will deliver environmental benefits, including contributing to achieving the targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework. The UK’s priorities will...
Answered 6 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordMarine Protected Areas: FisheriesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20559More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2024 to Question 17500 on Marine Protected Areas: Fisheries, for what reason he was not able to provide a timescale.
Answer: The Department has not yet been able to provide a timescale for these measures due to the need to follow due process and consider how we can best meet the Government’s priorities. The Government recognises the need for action to protect and restore our ma...
Answered 6 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordFisheries: MonitoringDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20558More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2024 to Question 17501 on Fisheries: Monitoring, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making it a mandatory requirement for ve
Answer: Defra have already assessed which fisheries should have mandatory Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) and published the results in 2023. The assessment concluded that over 24 metre pelagic trawlers in English waters should be a priority. Implementation beg...
Answered 6 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordLeasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 10 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18875More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 21 November 2024 on Leasehold and Commonhold Reform, HCWS244, what discussions she has had with the Leader of the House on bringing for
Answer: As outlined in the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244), the Leasehold and Freehold Act contains a small number of specific but serious flaws which would prevent certain provisions from operating as intended. We intend to recti...
Answered 16 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordLeasehold: Ground RentMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 10 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18874More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she plans to publish the results of the consultation entitled Modern Leasehold: Restricting Ground Rent for Existing Leases, which closed on 17 January 2024.
Answer: As outlined in the Written Ministerial Statement made on 21 November 2024 (HCWS244), the government remains firmly committed to its manifesto commitment to tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, and we will deliver this in legislation. We will ...
Answered 17 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordNorthwick Park Hospital: Domestic VisitsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 5 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18101More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will visit the Griffin Institute at Northwick Park Hospital in Brent West constituency.
Answer: Ministers regularly consider visits across the country to see the impact of their policy areas. Any plans to visit specific locations will be notified to the relevant Members of Parliament in advance.
Answered 10 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordSurgery: TrainingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 5 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18100More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a national training centre for robotic surgery within the NHS to provide surgical training that is independent of the manufactu
Answer: The Department has no current plans to establish such a national training centre. The Department continues to work with the National Health Service and other partners to develop pathways for delivering innovative medical technology into the hands of front...
Answered 16 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordSurgery: TrainingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 5 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18099More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to use (a) robots and (b) AI to help support training on innovative surgical techniques.
Answer: The Department and NHS England support the development and use of innovative surgical approaches across the system, where clinically appropriate. Use of such innovative approaches can drive efficiency and improve patient outcomes, but should and will be d...
Answered 16 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordHigh Rise Flats: Brent WestMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 5 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18098More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on when the Building Safety Regulator plans to respond to the applications for (a) Gateway 2 and (b) Gateway 3 approval for the two high ris
Answer: The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is an independent regulator, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is not involved in operational decisions, does not hold information on ongoing cases with the BSR, and cannot comment on an indi...
Answered 16 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordBuilding Safety RegulatorMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 5 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18097More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to tackle delays in approvals for Gateway (a) 2 and (b) 3 submissions to the Building Safety Regulator.
Answer: The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) is an independent regulator, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is not involved in operational decisions, does not hold information on ongoing cases with the BSR, and cannot comment on an indi...
Answered 16 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordFisheries: QuotasDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17504More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make a an assessment of the effectiveness of the distribution of quota between (a) foreign and (b) domestic-owned trawlers under ten metres in the UK inshore fleet.
Answer: The Secretary of State determination of fishing opportunities for British fishing boats sets UK fishing quotas. This quota is only allocated to British-registered and licensed vessels. These vessels must comply with the economic link licence condition. Th...
Answered 10 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordFishing CatchesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17503More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will (a) take steps to review the operation of the landing obligation and (b) publish the number of enforcement actions taken against vessels that have failed to comply with the
Answer: This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only a) Defra has been reviewing the operation of the landing obligation as part of wider reforms to discards management in England. In 2025, these reforms will include tr...
Answered 3 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordTotal Allowable CatchesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17502More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish the opening positions for each Total Allowable Catch in the (a) EU/UK bilateral and (b) EU/UK/Norway trilateral negotiations.
Answer: Due to the nature of the negotiations, it is not appropriate to publicly disclose negotiating documents detailing the UK’s opening positions. Our bilateral negotiations with the EU and our trilateral negotiations with the EU and Norway have both concluded...
Answered 10 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordFisheries: MonitoringDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17501More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many vessels are taking part in the early adopter phase of the remote electronic monitoring rollout by having cameras installed; and what steps he is taking to increase the number
Answer: There is one early adopter vessel volunteering to take part in the first fishery, over-24 metre pelagic trawlers in all English waters. Further vessels will be recruited for implementation in other fisheries.
Answered 10 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordMarine Protected Areas: FisheriesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17500More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to publish measures for the remaining offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) under stage (a) 3 and (b) 4 of the Marine Management Organisation's offshore MPA process.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Rotherham, on 16 September 2024, PQ 4529: It is essential to manage bottom trawling in our Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) appropriately due to the significant damage it can have on protect...
Answered 10 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Published records only — not a full account of an MP’s work. How we work →