Ben Maguire MP: written questions 2024
142 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Adult Education: CornwallDepartment for EducationTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18083More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support adult education in Cornwall.
Answer: The department is investing in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Skills Fund (ASF), which is worth £1.34 billion this academic year. The ASF fully or co-funds education and skills training for eligible adults aged 19 and above, fr...
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordFreehold: Property Management CompaniesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18082More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a system for dispute resolution available to freeholders paying estate management fees.
Answer: The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 includes measures that extend access to redress schemes to freehold estate homeowners. It does this by requiring estate management companies who manage communal areas to join a redress scheme.Bringing the provisi...
Answered 17 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordDevolution: CornwallMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 3 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17738More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of a devolution deal for Cornwall that does not involve any other regions or counties in the South West.
Answer: This Government strongly believes that the benefits of devolution are best achieved through the establishment of combined authorities or combined county authorities over sensible economic geographies and supported by a mayor. This follows our minded-to de...
Answered 11 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordDevolution: CornwallMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 3 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17737More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of a devolved Cornish assembly.
Answer: This Government was elected on a manifesto to widen and deepen devolution across the country. We believe that economic prosperity, productivity, and social cohesion are best achieved by devolving powers to local areas who best understand the needs of thei...
Answered 11 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordDogs: SmugglingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17736More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to help prevent international puppy smuggling.
Answer: As outlined in our manifesto, we are committed to ending puppy smuggling. The Government recently announced its support for the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by Dr Danny Chambers MP. The Bill wil...
Answered 11 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordSewage: CornwallDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17735More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many sewage discharges into (a) rivers and (b) seas have occurred so far this year in Cornwall.
Answer: The Environment Agency (EA) will publish 2024 Event Duration Monitoring data, showing how long and how often storm overflows have been used, in March 2025. The data for previous years is available online, here. From 1 January, companies will be required t...
Answered 11 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordLocal Government Finance: North CornwallMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17494More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether any parts of North Cornwall constituency will receive funding from the Recovery Grant announced by her Department on 28 November 2024; and what additional steps she is ta
Answer: The government published a policy statement on 28 November 2024 that confirmed that local government will receive an around 3.2% real-terms increase overall in Core Spending Power as part of the Local Government Finance Settlement 2025-26. Places with a s...
Answered 10 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordFarmers: Government AssistanceDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17493More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) extending the Future Farm Resilience Fund and (b) introducing any new schemes of monetary support for farms
Answer: The Farming Resilience Fund (FRF) was developed to help farmers through the early years of the Agricultural Transition, specifically to assist farm businesses to adapt to the initial reductions in the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) by providing specialist bus...
Answered 10 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordDental Services: North CornwallDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 2 Dec 2024WithdrawnUIN 17492More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dentists accept NHS patients in North Cornwall constituency; and pursuant to his Answer of 23 July 2024 to Question 244 on Dental Services: North Cornwall, what progress he has made on (a)
Answer: No published answer in this record yet.
Original Parliament recordHMP Dartmoor: Labour TurnoverMinistry of JusticeTabled 28 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16863More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what impact the reduction in operational capacity of HMP Dartmoor has had on the number of (a) staff redundancies, (b) staff retiring before state pension age and (c) contract length of contracted staff at the pr
Answer: The health and safety of prisoners and staff continues to be a top priority for His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service. Following the temporary closure of HMP Dartmoor in August, we have been working with specialist radon experts to investigate and ...
Answered 5 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordHMP DartmoorMinistry of JusticeTabled 28 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16862More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans her Department has for readmitting prisoners to HMP Dartmoor prison; what the estimated timescale for readmission is; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the capaci
Answer: The health and safety of prisoners and staff continues to be a top priority for His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service. Following the temporary closure of HMP Dartmoor in August, we have been working with specialist radon experts to investigate and ...
Answered 5 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordHMP Dartmoor: Radon GasMinistry of JusticeTabled 28 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16861More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what her Department's estimated timescale is for HMP Dartmoor returning to full operational capacity; and whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of radon levels on the health of (a)
Answer: The health and safety of prisoners and staff continues to be a top priority for His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service. Following the temporary closure of HMP Dartmoor in August, we have been working with specialist radon experts to investigate and ...
Answered 5 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordDental Services: North CornwallDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 28 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16859More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2024 to Question 244 on Dental Services: North Cornwall, how many dentists accept NHS patients in North Cornwall constituency; and what progress he has made on (a)
Answer: As of 29 November 2024, there were 11 open dentistry practices in the North Cornwall constituency, none of which were showing as accepting new adult patients. This data is sourced from the Find a Dentist website, and is matched to constituencies based on ...
Answered 9 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordAir Ambulance Services: CornwallDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 28 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16853More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department provides financial support to Cornwall Air Ambulance; and if will he will take steps to mitigate the potential impact of proposed changes to employer National Insurance Contr
Answer: The Department and NHS England do not directly fund air ambulances, which are operated by independent charities.The Government has protected the smallest businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to employer National Insurance, by increasin...
Answered 9 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordFarmers: Advisory ServicesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 21 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15590More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Future Farm Resilience Fund beyond March 2025.
Answer: Defra will carefully consider the findings from the Farming Resilience Fund (FRF), alongside other advisory programs, to shape what any future support might look like. The FRF was developed to help farmers through the early years of the Agricultural Trans...
Answered 28 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordAgricultural Machinery and Livestock: TheftHome OfficeTabled 21 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15548More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals on penalties for theft of (a) livestock and (b) GPS farming equipment.
Answer: This Government is committed to reducing crime in rural areas, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing and stronger measures to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping.The government recognises the dist...
Answered 29 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordVisas: Digital TechnologyHome OfficeTabled 19 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15160More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the technical resilience of the e-visa system; whether she has made a recent assessment of the implications for her policies of the experience of (a) iden
Answer: eVisas have been tried and tested over several years, and millions of people in the UK already use them to prove their immigration status.We have designed our digital services to be highly resilient, with rigorous testing to build assurance, and deployed ...
Answered 27 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordCrime: Rural AreasHome OfficeTabled 19 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15159More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of police officers are dedicated to rural crime teams in each police force in (a) England and (b) Wales.
Answer: The Home Office does not hold data on police officers working in rural crime teams.The Home Office collects and publishes data biannually on the size and composition of the police workforce, in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulleti...
Answered 27 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordCrime: Rural AreasHome OfficeTabled 19 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15158More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) produce and (b) implement a strategy on tackling rural crime.
Answer: Rural crime can have devastating consequences for countryside communities. We are clear that when you report a crime, it should be properly investigated with victims having faith justice will be delivered, and criminals facing meaningful consequences – no...
Answered 27 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordNational Rural Crime NetworkHome OfficeTabled 19 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15157More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had representatives of the National Rural Crime Network.
Answer: Rural crime can have devastating consequences for countryside communities. We are clear that when you report a crime, it should be properly investigated with victims having faith justice will be delivered, and criminals facing meaningful consequences – no...
Answered 27 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordBus Services: CornwallDepartment for TransportTabled 19 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15156More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how the funds allocated to Cornwall through the Bus Service Improvement Plan will be accessed by the local authority.
Answer: The £10.5 million allocated to Cornwall Council in 25/26 to support and improve bus services will be paid directly to them by the Department for Transport.
Answered 27 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordTelecommunications: CornwallDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 15 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14567More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help improve the (a) reliability and (b) longevity of back-up Voice over Internet Protocol phone batteries for vulnerable people; how many (i) tel
Answer: On 18 November, the Department published guidance which defines the groups of vulnerable people to whom Communication Providers must provide extra support as they are migrated from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protoc...
Answered 25 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordA39: BypassesDepartment for TransportTabled 13 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14267More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her Department's planned timetable is for making a decision on the proposed A39 Camelford Bypass plans.
Answer: The Government’s Budget in October delivers increased investment in local transport, supporting everyday journeys and addressing poor connectivity within our towns and cities across the country. The Department’s Major Road Network/ Large Local Majors pro...
Answered 20 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordBudehaven Community School: Special Educational NeedsDepartment for EducationTabled 13 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14264More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to support Budehaven Community School's SEND unit.
Answer: This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.Support for Budehaven Community School is the ...
Answered 22 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordAfrica: DebtsForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 5 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12888More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support unsustainable debt burdens and service payments from countries in Africa.
Answer: Supporting developing countries to tackle unsustainable debt is a key development priority of this government. Where we are a creditor, we have fully engaged in debt restructuring negotiations. We welcome recent Common Framework debt agreements with Zambi...
Answered 15 Nov 2024
Original Parliament record
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