Ben Goldsborough MP: written questions 2025
151 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Meat: Origin MarkingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80332More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the sale of foreign meat labelled as being of British origin.
Answer: The fundamental principles of our food labelling rules are that information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable consumers to make informed decisions. Food from elsewhere in the world that is simply re-packaged in the UK, without any ...
Answered 20 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordMeat: SmugglingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80331More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle illegal meat imports through passenger routes.
Answer: Border Force is responsible for enforcing the Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011 in England in relation to animal products in any place, other than Border Control Posts, where goods are subject to customs supervision. Defra is consider...
Answered 20 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordMeat: SmugglingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80330More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to establish a taskforce for illegal imports of products of animal origin.
Answer: Defra is considering this recommendation in the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report on meat smuggling.
Answered 20 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordMeat: SmugglingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80329More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help increase rates of prosecution for smuggling meat into Great Britain.
Answer: Enforcement authorities are responsible for deciding whether to prosecute. Defra is considering the recommendations in the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report on meat smuggling.
Answered 20 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordMeat: SmugglingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80328More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to estimate the amount of illegal meat that enters Great Britain.
Answer: The Animal and Plant Health Agency has a project aiming to improve estimates of illegal meat imports. Defra is considering the recommendations in the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s report on meat smuggling.
Answered 20 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordBluetongue Disease: VaccinationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80327More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the cost of bluetongue vaccinations for farmers.
Answer: Vaccine pricing is a commercial decision, which is the responsibility of manufacturers, wholesalers and veterinarians. Defra has worked closely with manufacturers to ensure that safe and effective vaccine is available for use in the UK, and to overcome su...
Answered 20 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordBluetongue Disease: VaccinationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80326More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to increase the uptake of bluetongue vaccinations.
Answer: In response to emerging disease, Defra’s Secretary of State permitted the use of 3 bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) vaccines within the United Kingdom in September 2024, subject to licence. By working closely with manufacturers, Defra has ensured that safe a...
Answered 20 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordRoads: Rural AreasDepartment for TransportTabled 15 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77333More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking through the Road Safety Strategy to reduce fatalities on rural roads.
Answer: This Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The Road Safety Strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies which will have national reach. More d...
Answered 14 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordVisas: Skilled WorkersHome OfficeTabled 15 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77332More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to the Skilled Workers visa route on recruitment in (a) the biological sciences research sector, (b) universitie
Answer: On 12 May, we published our Immigration White Paper, outlining our future approach to legal migration routes. We have now made Immigration Rules changes to bring the first of these reforms into effect.It is our intention to publish an Impact Assessment (I...
Answered 17 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordLife Sciences: ResearchTreasuryTabled 15 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77331More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Treasury is taking to support the biological sciences research sector through the 10 Year UK Infrastructure strategy, published in June 2025.
Answer: The 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy is core to delivering the Government’s growth mission and supporting our priority growth sectors, including life sciences. The Strategy will fund at least £725 billion for infrastructure over the next decade and transfo...
Answered 17 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordAvian Influenza: Disease ControlDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 15 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77330More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the readiness of (a) her Department and (b) the Animal and Plant Health Agency for any potential increase in the number of Avian Influenza cases in the
Answer: APHA regularly monitors the prevalence and spread of avian influenza, supported by epidemiological modelling, during critical disease transmission periods. This information is used to help with scenario planning and the allocation of resource. APHA also k...
Answered 16 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordCultural Heritage: CrimeHome OfficeTabled 15 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77329More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the financial cost of heritage crime in each of the last 10 years.
Answer: This Government recognises the distress and disruption that heritage theft and vandalism can cause to local communities. We have supported the work of Historic England which leads on a number of initiatives to tackle heritage crime, particularly theft fro...
Answered 13 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordPolitical Parties: TaxationCabinet OfficeTabled 15 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77328More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether she has considered taking legislative steps to ensure that leaders of UK political parties publish their tax returns.
Answer: Under the MPs Code of Conduct, the Leaders of UK political parties who are MPs are required to declare any financial interest which might reasonably be thought to influence their actions, however there is no requirement in the parliamentary rules for Lead...
Answered 13 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordMandatory Provident Fund: British National (Overseas)Foreign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 15 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77327More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the merits of holding an inquiry with HSBC and Standard Chartered on the withholding of the Mandatory Provident Fund from Hong Kong BNO
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 16 September to question 73901.
Answered 17 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordBritish National (Overseas): Mandatory Provident FundForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 15 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77326More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help secure the release of Mandatory Provident Fund saving being withheld from Hong Kong BNO visa holders.
Answer: We are aware that individuals who have chosen to take up the BN(O) route are having difficulties accessing their Mandatory Provident Fund from Hong Kong. Hong Kong's Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority has declared that they will not accept the BN...
Answered 14 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordHong Kong: ImmigrationForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 15 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77325More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the Hong Kong BNO immigration pathway on diplomatic relations with (a) China, (b) NATO allies and (c) Ukrai
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 22 September to Question 76322.
Answered 22 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic Libraries: Anti-social BehaviourDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 15 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77324More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle antisocial behaviour in libraries.
Answer: Tackling anti-social behaviour and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities, and other local agencie...
Answered 13 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordYoung People: UnemploymentDepartment for EducationTabled 15 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77323More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of young people classed as NEET in South Norfolk constituency.
Answer: Local authorities have statutory duties to support young people into education and training, including identifying and helping those who are currently not in education, employment or training (NEET).Under the September Guarantee, local authorities are req...
Answered 17 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordUK Border Force: StaffHome OfficeTabled 2 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74600More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Border Force staff have been allocated to fast parcels in each of the last 10 financial years.
Answer: As an intelligence-informed organisation, Border Force do not disclose specific details regarding the deployment of resources to individual border threats. This is to ensure the integrity of our operations, and avoid compromising the effectiveness of our ...
Answered 10 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: GrantsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74599More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has considered increasing funding for the Capital Grants scheme, in the context of levels of demand.
Answer: As of 1 August, strong demand for the Government’s £150 million Capital Grant offer means that all available funds for this round have now been allocated. We plan to make further improvements to the offer for future rounds. We expect to open a new round f...
Answered 11 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordReoffenders: NorfolkMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74598More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps her Department has taken to help reduce levels of reoffending in (a) South Norfolk constituency and (b) Norfolk.
Answer: All individuals are assessed for their risk of harm and factors that pertain to re-offending as part of recommending the appropriate sentence and interventions. These deliver a combination of individual supervision and group programmes to assist people on...
Answered 10 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordOffendersMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74597More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Criminals to face football, travel, club and pub bans, published on 23 August 2025, what impact her Department estimates these measures will have on (a) r
Answer: Through the Sentencing Bill we will introduce new powers available to the courts when imposing a community or suspended sentence. This will provide courts with greater flexibility than ever before to tailor punishments to offenders and ensure sentences se...
Answered 10 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordYoung Offender Institutions: Crimes of ViolenceMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74596More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many assaults on (a) children and (b) staff have occurred in Young Offenders Institutions in each of the last 10 years.
Answer: For the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2025, the requested information can be found in table 1.2.2 of Safety in the Children and Young People Secure Estate: Update to March 2025 - GOV.UK.As the counting rules for assaults in young offender institutions c...
Answered 10 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordYouth Custody: Sick LeaveMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74595More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much staff time, in hours, was lost to sick leave in (a) the open estate, (b) the secure estate and (c) Young Offenders Institutions in each of the last 10 years.
Answer: Sickness is measured across the Civil Service in working days lost rather than the number of hours lost.The number of working days lost to sickness is published in the HM Prison and Probation Service workforce quarterly publication which is available here...
Answered 10 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordYouth Custody: NeurodiversityMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74594More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many neurodiversity support staff have been employed on the open and secure estate in each of the last 10 calendar years.
Answer: The concept of dedicated neurodiversity support staff was introduced in 2021, with four in post. National rollout commenced during 2022 and was phased in over two years. In 2023, there were 51 staff in post. Implementation was completed in 2024, with 123 ...
Answered 10 Sept 2025
Original Parliament record
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