Blake Stephenson MP: written questions
865 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Govia Thameslink Railway: FaresDepartment for TransportTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52050More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2025 to Question 44055 on Govia Thameslink Railway: Fares, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the annual increases in fares on service experience for pass
Answer: As much as we appreciate the impact of fares increases on passengers, we need to balance affordability for both passengers and taxpayers as we reform fares and deliver Great British Railways, ensuring everyone gets a fair deal. Delivering better quality s...
Answered 20 May 2025
Original Parliament recordScience and Technology: InvestmentDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52049More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help encourage investment into science and technology companies that are based outside of (a) Oxford, (b) Cambridge and (c) London.
Answer: Increasing investment into science and technology firms across the UK will be critical to delivering growth.In 2023-24, UKRI invested £4,614 million outside the Greater Southeast; over half its total investment. Specific programme supporting regional inno...
Answered 21 May 2025
Original Parliament recordHashem AbediMinistry of JusticeTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52048More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she plans to take to help prevent Hashem Abedi from endangering other people in prison.
Answer: HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) has a variety of methods to keep those who live and work in our prisons safe.We are reviewing how the attack happened, and the guidance shows we have suspended use of kitchens in separation centres and close super...
Answered 21 May 2025
Original Parliament recordHealth Services: Waiting ListsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52047More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled Crack teams get patients off waiting lists at twice the speed, published on 16 March 2025, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of send
Answer: No assessment is currently planned regarding the potential impact of sending doctors into areas with the highest economic inactivity on waiting lists in the areas from which the doctors were seconded.As set out in the Elective Reform Plan, we continue to ...
Answered 20 May 2025
Original Parliament recordBeesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52046More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of beekeeping practices on global food security.
Answer: Beekeepers are encouraged to adopt good beekeeping practices and there are also worldwide policies on controlling pests and diseases in honeybees. These actions will help to ensure healthy sustainable populations of honeybees which will support food produ...
Answered 21 May 2025
Original Parliament recordMotor Vehicles: Carbon EmissionsDepartment for TransportTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52045More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Zero Emissions Vehicle mandate on automotive manufacturing.
Answer: The Government recognises the importance of reviewing the impacts of this significant legislation. The Government has committed to publish reviews in 2027 and 2029 to assess the overall impact of the ZEV Mandate. The Government will continue to work with ...
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordElectric Vehicles: ImportsDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52044More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the potential impact of (a) manufacturing vehicles in and (b) importing vehicles from China on global carbon emissions.
Answer: The UK follows the agreed international approach for estimating and reporting greenhouse gas emissions, under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, which is for countries to report emissions produced within their territori...
Answered 21 May 2025
Original Parliament recordChallenger Tanks: ProcurementMinistry of DefenceTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52043More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of not replacing Challenger 2 tanks.
Answer: The Challenger 3 Main Battle Tank (MBT) upgrade has been developed to deliver multiple improvements to the existing Challenger 2 platform. Challenger 3 MBT will upgrade and replace 148 Challenger 2 platforms from 2027.
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordElectric Vehicles: ImportsDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52042More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the target to reach net zero on the number of imports of electric vehicles from China in each of the next ten years.
Answer: The Secretary of State and I regularly meet stakeholders from the Auto sector to discuss net zero related issues, including imports of electric vehicles from China. China has rapidly become a major automotive manufacturer and brings competitive challenges...
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordMotor Vehicles: SalesDepartment for TransportTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52041More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to defer the ban on the sale of new (a) petrol and (b) diesel vehicles; and whether she will make an assessment of the potential impact of deferring the ban on the sale of new (a)
Answer: On 7 April the Government confirmed that we are committed to phasing out the sale of new cars that rely solely on a petrol or diesel engine by 2030 and phasing out all new non-zero emission cars and vans by 2035. We are providing industry with the clear d...
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPrivate Education: VATDepartment for EducationTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52040More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason the change in the VAT status of private school fees was introduced during the school year.
Answer: Tax policy is a matter for HM Treasury.As set out in the government response to the technical note on applying VAT to private school fees, the government believes it was right to introduce these changes as soon as possible in order to raise the funding ne...
Answered 21 May 2025
Original Parliament recordCancer: ResearchDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 8 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50991More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department plans to provide for cancer research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research in (a) 2025, (b) 2026 and (c) 2027.
Answer: Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), with cancer as one of the largest areas of spend,...
Answered 15 May 2025
Original Parliament recordDental ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 8 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50990More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of available dental appointments in (a) Mid Bedfordshire and (b) the UK.
Answer: The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild den...
Answered 20 May 2025
Original Parliament recordUrinary Tract Infections: Medical TreatmentsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 8 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50989More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to review the treatment guidelines for recurring UTIs.
Answer: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that develops authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on best practice. The NICE has published a guideline on antimicrobial prescribing for...
Answered 14 May 2025
Original Parliament recordUrinary Tract Infections: ScreeningDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 8 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50988More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve testing for chronic urinary tract infections.
Answer: Diagnostic tests for chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs), such as urinalysis and urine culture, are widely available across all pathology networks in England. Ensuring accurate diagnostic testing not only aids in the effective identification of infect...
Answered 14 May 2025
Original Parliament recordCheetahs: HuntingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 8 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50987More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to continue approving permits for British trophy hunters who shoot Cheetahs to bring the trophies back to the UK.
Answer: The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), an executive agency of Defra, is responsible for issuing import permits for hunting trophies. APHA will continue to issue import permits only when the strict criteria set out in the UK Wildlife Trade Regulations ...
Answered 15 May 2025
Original Parliament recordFloods: HousingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 8 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50986More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make a comparative assessment of the number of houses at risk of (a) surface water and (b) all other flooding in (i) the UK and (ii) the G7 in the last 10 years.
Answer: Flood risk management is a devolved matter. In England, the Environment Agency’s latest National Flood Risk Assessment published in 2024 estimates that around 6.3 million properties are in areas at risk of flooding from one or a combination of sources: ri...
Answered 21 May 2025
Original Parliament recordEnergy: PricesDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 8 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50985More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether it remains his policy to reduce energy bills by £300 a year.
Answer: The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently. It remains our ambition to cut energy bills by up to £300 by 2030. The creati...
Answered 16 May 2025
Original Parliament recordMotor Vehicles: Manufacturing IndustriesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 8 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50984More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the vehicle manufacturing industry.
Answer: On Monday 21 October, the Government published a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill. This package provides analysis of the potential sectoral impacts of the Bill.It shows the majority of employees will benefit fr...
Answered 16 May 2025
Original Parliament recordHoney: RegulationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50647More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the definition of honey included in the 2015 Honey England Regulations.
Answer: The Honey (England) Regulations 2015 lay down detailed specifications for honey in terms of its composition and quality criteria. One of the aims of these is to protect the use of the reserved description “honey” by setting a minimum expected compositiona...
Answered 21 May 2025
Original Parliament recordTrade Agreements: USADepartment for Business and TradeTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50646More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on negotiating a free trade agreement with that country.
Answer: We have concluded a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to get an agreement with President Trump.This deal protects jobs in the automotive, steel, aluminium, pharmaceutical and aerospace sectors – sectors that em...
Answered 14 May 2025
Original Parliament recordCancer: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50645More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish a national cancer plan.
Answer: The National Cancer Plan for England will be published in the second half of this year, following the publication of the 10-Year Health Plan.
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordBedford Hospital and Luton and Dunstable University Hospital: Repairs and MaintenanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50644More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much and what proportion of the capital funding allocated for hospital maintenance at the Autumn Budget 2024 has been allocated to (a) Bedford and (b) Luton and Dunstable Hospitals.
Answer: The Government is backing the National Health Service with over £4 billion in operational capital in 2025/26 to fund day-to-day operational investments, including hospital maintenance. The Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes Integrated Care System (ICS...
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordRoads: Judicial ReviewDepartment for TransportTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50643More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the average length of time that judicial reviews took to complete for road infrastructure projects between 2015 and 2025.
Answer: Between 2015 and 2025, 11 judicial reviews were submitted in relation to Development Consent Orders for road infrastructure projects. The Department successfully defended 9 of these, highlighting the fair, legally robust decisions the Department makes to ...
Answered 15 May 2025
Original Parliament recordRailways: TourismDepartment for TransportTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50642More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Leisure travel tops charts for reasons people choose rail, published on 9 April 2025, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential imp
Answer: The Department has not made an assessment of the potential implications for the tourism industry of the recent research findings. The research provides a snapshot of rail travel in England at the time of fieldwork, and the data will help inform DfT’s mode...
Answered 13 May 2025
Original Parliament record
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