Ben Maguire MP: written questions
588 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Countryside Stewardship SchemeDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 117185More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how her Department is supporting farmers who cannot afford the costs of feasibility studies (e.g. PA2 for a feasibility study) which prevents them from accessing the Countryside Stewar
Answer: Payment for completion of feasibility studies can be claimed as soon as the work has been completed. The PA2 grant funds 100% of the costs of completing the study and so farmers and land managers will receive payments back for all costs incurred.
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordCountryside Stewardship SchemeDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 117184More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to confirm the date from which farmers currently in legacy Higher Level Stewardship agreements will be able to exit those agreements and enter Countryside Ste
Answer: Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) customers can submit a request to end their existing agreement at any time during the calendar year, but they may need to repay any money received. Defra will work with customers whose HLS agreements will expire over the nex...
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordCountryside Stewardship SchemeDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 117183More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether underspend in the current financial year’s Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier budget will be (a) protected, and (b) carried forward into next year’s allocation.
Answer: Defra expects to increase both the numbers of farmers and land managers coming into the scheme and related spend on the Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier scheme over the course of the coming year. The scale of ambition for the number of agreements in th...
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Public ConsultationMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 113227More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the (a) accessibility and (b)) ease of access of online consultations held by his Department.
Answer: Consultations at MHCLG are published on GOV.UK using the ‘consultations’ content type. This page type has been designed by Government Digital Service (GDS) to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 standards. Teams are supported to follow GD...
Answered 26 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordTrade Agreements: Dispute ResolutionDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112052More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to assess the compatibility of existing bilateral investment treaties containing Investor-State Dispute Settlement provisions with the UK’s (a) net zero commitments and (b)
Answer: The UK draws on the full range of investment commitments and international best practice in our international investment agreements to promote growth, deliver our clean energy goals, and continue to uphold the UK’s right to regulate.Investor-State Dispute...
Answered 12 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordTrade Agreements: Dispute ResolutionDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112051More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Investor-State Dispute Settlement claims arising from climate-related planning and regulatory decisions on public finances.
Answer: Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provides an independent means for investors to resolve disputes with states where they believe they have experienced arbitrary, discriminatory, or unfair treatment or expropriation without compensation.An independe...
Answered 17 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCommunity Amateur Sports Clubs SchemeTreasuryTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112050More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions her Department has had with (a) national sporting bodies and (b) cricket governing bodies on changes to Corporation Tax Return filing arrangements for Community Amateur Sports Clubs.
Answer: I have assumed this is a reference to the closure of the joint-filing web-based service offered by HMRC and Companies House, which Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) can use to file Company Tax Returns should they need to. HMRC announced the closure o...
Answered 17 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCommunity Amateur Sports Clubs SchemeTreasuryTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112049More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential financial impact of requiring the use of commercial software to submit Corporation Tax Returns on Community Amateur Sports Clubs.
Answer: I recognise some Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) have raised concerns about the requirement to use commercial software to submit Company Tax Returns. HMRC does not expect these requirements to impose significant ongoing costs. CASCs are not require...
Answered 17 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCleaning ServicesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 4 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111053More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to undertake an assessment of the potential economic impacts on (i) Cornwall, and (ii) the wider UK economy, arising from capacity constraints in the commercial laundry sec
Answer: The Government recognises that commercial laundries provide an essential service that supports the daily operations of the UK’s hospitality and tourism industries.The Department for Business and Trade has not made a formal assessment, nor does it have any...
Answered 12 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCleaning Services: Hospitality IndustryDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 4 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111052More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the role of commercial laundries in the resilience of the hospitality supply chain, including the extent to which hotels and the wider hospitality secto
Answer: DCMS recognises that commercial laundries provide an essential service that supports the daily operations of the UK’s hospitality and tourism industries.DCMS has not made a formal assessment of the role of commercial laundries in the resilience of the hos...
Answered 10 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCleaning Services: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 4 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111051More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the resilience of NHS services to disruptions within the commercial laundry sector.
Answer: The NHS England estates, commercial, and emergency preparedness, resilience, and response teams are undertaking an assessment of the provision of laundry services, in-house and out-sourced, in the National Health Service. This includes the NHS requirement...
Answered 20 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCleaning Services: Economic SituationDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 4 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111050More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential contribution of the commercial laundry industry to the economy.
Answer: The Government recognises that commercial laundries provide an essential service that supports the daily operations of the UK’s hospitality and tourism industries.The Department for Business and Trade has not made a formal assessment, nor does it have any...
Answered 12 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordChildren and Young Persons Act 1933Department for EducationTabled 3 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 110666More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.
Answer: The provisions in the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 are kept under review and updated through primary legislation. We are currently seeking to make updates through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, including in part II of the act, which mak...
Answered 13 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordFire and Rescue Services: Workplace PensionsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109933More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he expects pension administrators to be given instructions to implement buy back for pre-2000 retained firefighter claimants.
Answer: The administration of the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme, including delivery of the pensions remedy for retained firefighters, is the responsibility of local fire and rescue authorities in their role as scheme managers.My department does not issue operation...
Answered 9 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordFire and Rescue Services: Workplace PensionsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109932More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Government Legal Department’s position statement, published on 8 July 2025, what assessment his Department has made of the steps required to implement pensi
Answer: The administration of the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme, including delivery of the pensions remedy for retained firefighters, is the responsibility of local fire and rescue authorities in their role as scheme managers.My department does not issue operation...
Answered 9 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordWind Power: Community DevelopmentDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 29 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109749More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the i) effectiveness and ii) adequacy of the consistency of voluntary community benefits guidance for onshore wind developments.
Answer: England and Scotland have established voluntary community benefits guidance for onshore wind, setting out best practice approaches with expectations that developers provide £5,000 per megawatt of capacity yearly over the project’s lifetime. The quality an...
Answered 6 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordWind Power: Community DevelopmentDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 29 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109748More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impacts of making community benefit payments for onshore wind developments in England a statutory requirement.
Answer: The ‘Community benefits and shared ownership for low carbon energy infrastructure: working paper’ (published in May 2025) sought views on the level of contributions, calculation methods and the scope of technologies to help assess these impacts to ensure ...
Answered 6 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordTransport: Rural AreasDepartment for TransportTabled 22 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107930More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Green Book cost benefit analysis accounts for (a) economic and (b) connectivity issues when assessing transport infrastructure proposals in rural areas lik
Answer: The Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG) provides methods and advice for assessing the impacts of schemes on economic activity and connectivity. This is mainly from direct benefits to travel users from reductions in travel time, and service impr...
Answered 3 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordTransport: Rural AreasTreasuryTabled 22 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107929More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to apply the findings of the 2025 Green Book Review to help ensure that transport schemes in rural areas like Cornwall receive adequate funding.
Answer: The government is changing the Green Book and how it is used to make sure that every region is given a fair hearing when it comes to investment. That is why a shorter, more streamlined version of the Green Book will be published soon.
Answered 30 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordTransport: Rural AreasDepartment for TransportTabled 22 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107928More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the Green Book appraisal framework for reflecting the value of transport infrastructure funding in rural areas like Cornwall.
Answer: The Department for Transport’s Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG) is a robust framework for assessing the cost and benefits of different transport schemes, across different parts of the UK. TAG builds on the foundations set by HM Treasury’s Green Book with...
Answered 3 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordUtilities: StormsDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 21 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107632More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many employees were deployed in utility sectors to respond to red warnings issued as a result of Storm Goretti.
Answer: The Electricity Network Operator, National Grid Electricity Distribution, deployed 900 engineers and field staff each day, from Friday 9th to Tuesday 13th January, when supplies were fully restored in the impacted regions. We are unable to confirm how man...
Answered 30 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordBellwin Scheme: Cornwall CouncilMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 21 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107631More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will conduct an impact assessment of the fiscal impacts of providing targeted Bellwin Scheme relief to Cornwall Council, in the context of the costs incurred by
Answer: I have great sympathy for all those affected by the impacts of Storm Goretti and I would like to thank Cornwall Council for the actions it took to protect its community. Cornwall Council has not formally registered for Bellwin assistance in respect of the...
Answered 30 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordHousing: Solar PowerMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 19 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106883More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of permitting low-impact rooftop solar installations in conservation areas on levels of energy costs for homeown
Answer: To facilitate the take up of renewable energy, nationally set permitted development rights enable the installation of solar equipment on or within the curtilage of buildings, including in conservation areas, without the need to submit a planning applicati...
Answered 27 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordHousing: Solar PowerMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 19 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106882More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding permitted development rights for rooftop solar installations in conservation areas.
Answer: To facilitate the take up of renewable energy, nationally set permitted development rights enable the installation of solar equipment on or within the curtilage of buildings, including in conservation areas, without the need to submit a planning applicati...
Answered 27 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordVisas: FamiliesHome OfficeTabled 19 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106881More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make an assessment of trends in the level of regional income disparities for people applying for UK family visas.
Answer: The MIR was raised in April 2024 from £18,600 to £29,000. This was the first time it had been increased since its introduction.To help ensure we reach the right balance and have a solid evidence base for any further change, the Migration Advisory Committe...
Answered 26 Jan 2026
Original Parliament record
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