Blake Stephenson MP: written questions
865 published records · newest first.
Written questions
General Practitioners: BedfordshireDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 11 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30738More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer to Written Question 26150 on General Practitioners: Bedfordshire, what assessment he has made of the impact of rurality on on a GPs workload.
Answer: We acknowledge the urgent challenge of ensuring rural areas, including Bedfordshire, have the resources to continue serving their patients. We are committed to training thousands more GPs across the country, including in rural areas. We have also committe...
Answered 18 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordAstraZeneca: MerseysideDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 11 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30737More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has conducted a lessons learned review over negotiations with AstraZeneca on proposed investment in Merseyside.
Answer: AstraZeneca’s decision not to invest in Speke is deeply disappointing. The Government regularly reviews it’s grant process and routinely seeks applicant feedback. The Government also continues to engage positively with AstraZeneca, including on the new In...
Answered 19 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: Employers' ContributionsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 11 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30736More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25793 on Local Government: Employers' Contribution, what methodology her Department used to determine that £515 million of a
Answer: Additional funding for employer NICs has been determined based on a national assessment of the costs for directly employed staff. The grant distribution methodology has been published in an explanatory note on the government website: https://www.gov.uk/go...
Answered 19 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: ReorganisationMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 11 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30735More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she expects her reforms to local government to abolish the office of the elected Mayor of Bedford.
Answer: On the 5 February I invited unitary proposals from all two-tier councils and neighbouring unitaries and while Bedford Borough Council have not received this invitation, the White Paper is clear that Government will also facilitate reorganisation for those...
Answered 19 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal PlansMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 11 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30734More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her proposed changes to the NPPF on (a) Bedford Borough and (b) other councils that have a Local Plan at examination.
Answer: Transitional arrangements for implementing policies in the revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December are set out in Annex 1 of it.
Answered 24 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordFarmers: IncomeDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30413More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of median income for farmers in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answer: Data for the 2024/25 financial year is not yet available.
Answered 17 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordSick Leave: ProductivityDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30412More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of levels of workplace sickness on productivity.
Answer: The Department has not assessed the potential impact of levels of workplace sickness on productivity. The Department published an estimate of the overall cost to the economy due to sickness absence in 2016 Work, Health and Disability Green Paper. The anal...
Answered 18 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordRoads: Repairs and MaintenanceDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30411More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 64 of the document entitled GM 701 Asset delivery asset maintenance, published by Standards for Highways in March 2020, if her Department will make an assessment of the effectiveness of H
Answer: Under its Licence, National Highways must comply with its legal duties and other obligations to ensure the maintenance, resilience, renewal and development of the strategic road network (SRN), and must have due regard to any guidance, standards or specifi...
Answered 14 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordGovia Thameslink Railway and London Northwestern Railway: NationalisationDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30410More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her planned timetable is for nationalising (a) London Northwestern Railway and (b) Thameslink.
Answer: The Department announced in December that South Western Railway’s services will be the first to transfer into public ownership in May 2025, followed by c2c’s services in July 2025 and Greater Anglia’s in the autumn. The Department will issue an expiry not...
Answered 18 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordEducation: Central BedfordshireDepartment for EducationTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30409More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional funding to Central Bedfordshire Council to help support the transition from a three to a two-tier education system.
Answer: Every year, the department uses the schools national funding formula (NFF) to distribute core funding for 5 to 16 year-old pupils, from reception to year 11, in mainstream state-funded schools in England.In the current NFF, the vast majority of funding is...
Answered 18 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordWarm Homes PlanDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30408More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25799 on Property: Bedfordshire, what his Department's timetable is for confirming the allocations of funding to local authorities.
Answer: The Government expects to write shortly, to all local authorities that submitted an Expression of Interest to receive Warm Homes: Local Grant funding to confirm their specific funding allocations.
Answered 18 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordProject Gigabit: BedfordshireDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30407More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an estimate of the potential impact of rolling out Project Gigabit in Bedfordshire on local economic growth.
Answer: CityFibre is delivering a Project Gigabit contract in Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes, targeted at bringing fast, reliable broadband to premises in hard-to-reach areas that are unlikely to be otherwise reached by suppliers’ commercial rol...
Answered 18 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordDefence: ExpenditureMinistry of DefenceTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30406More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of reaching his Department's target to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence in (a) 2030 and (b) 2032 on the effectiveness of the UK's defence capabilities.
Answer: To ensure the UK is prepared to deal with the changing threat, our Budget increased defence spending by £2.9 billion for next year and we are committed to setting a path to 2.5% of GDP on defence in the spring. The Strategic Defence Review is wide-ranging...
Answered 19 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordDefence: ExpenditureMinistry of DefenceTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30405More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the proportion of GDP that will be spent on defence by 2030.
Answer: To ensure the UK is prepared to deal with the changing threat, our Budget increased defence spending by £2.9 billion for next year. The future spending envelope for Defence will be set out in the usual way.
Answered 19 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordDefence: ExpenditureMinistry of DefenceTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30404More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in the US on levels of defence spending by the UK.
Answer: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met with Secretary Hegseth on 12 February. He explained that the UK has consistently met the 2% of GDP NATO Defence spending target and that we are also advocating for other NATO Allies to meet and surpass the t...
Answered 18 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordBank ServicesTreasuryTabled 7 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 29957More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if her Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of rules on access to (a) cash and (b) banking services in new towns.
Answer: The Government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those in vulnerable groups, and is committed to protecting access to cash for individuals and businesses.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) assumed ...
Answered 17 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordFlood Control: BedfordshireDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 7 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 29956More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy the Environment Agency's guidance entitled New national flood and coastal erosion risk information, updated on 28 January 2025, in the con
Answer: The new National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA) data published on 28 January 2025 was accompanied by online guidance. The new NaFRA uses the best currently available data, both from EA local teams and Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) in Bedfordshire an...
Answered 14 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordFlood Control: PropertyDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 7 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 29955More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Environment Agency's guidance entitled New national flood and coastal erosion risk information, updated on 28 January 2025, whether he has made a comparative asse
Answer: The new National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA) data published on 28 January 2025 was accompanied by online guidance. The new NaFRA uses the best currently available data, both from EA local teams and Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) in Bedfordshire an...
Answered 14 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordFloods: InsuranceDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 7 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 29954More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Environment Agency's guidance entitled New national flood and coastal erosion risk information, updated on 28 January 2025, whether he has made a comparative asse
Answer: The new National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA) data published on 28 January 2025 was accompanied by online guidance. The new NaFRA uses the best currently available data, both from EA local teams and Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) in Bedfordshire an...
Answered 14 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordFlood ControlDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 7 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 29953More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he reviewed the NaFRA2 flood zone data on surface water flooding before it was published.
Answer: The new National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA) data published on 28 January 2025 was accompanied by online guidance. The new NaFRA uses the best currently available data, both from EA local teams and Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) in Bedfordshire an...
Answered 14 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordFlood ControlDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 7 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 29952More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Environment Agency on the NaFRA2 flood zone data.
Answer: The new National Flood Risk Assessment (NaFRA) data published on 28 January 2025 was accompanied by online guidance. The new NaFRA uses the best currently available data, both from EA local teams and Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) in Bedfordshire an...
Answered 14 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing: Flood ControlMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 29951More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an estimate of the number of houses in Local Plan sites highlighted in the NaFRA2 flood zone data as having a high (a) current and (b) future likeliho
Answer: The revised National Planning Policy Framework that was published on 12 December 2024 is clear that new housing, and most other forms of development, should not be permitted in functional flood plains.Estimates have not been made of the number of homes wh...
Answered 19 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordProperty Development: FloodsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 29950More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an estimate of the number of current planning permissions granted in areas highlighted in the NaFRA2 flood zone data as having a high (a) current and
Answer: The revised National Planning Policy Framework that was published on 12 December 2024 is clear that new housing, and most other forms of development, should not be permitted in functional flood plains.Estimates have not been made of the number of homes wh...
Answered 19 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing: Flood ControlMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 29949More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if her Department will make an estimate of the number of houses built in areas highlighted the NaFRA2 flood zone data as having a high (a) current and (b) future likelihood of su
Answer: The revised National Planning Policy Framework that was published on 12 December 2024 is clear that new housing, and most other forms of development, should not be permitted in functional flood plains.Estimates have not been made of the number of homes wh...
Answered 19 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordNew TownsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 29948More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when the New Towns Taskforce will publish a list of potential new towns.
Answer: As per its Terms of Reference which can be found on gov.uk here, the New Towns Taskforce will submit a final report in summer 2025.
Answered 19 Feb 2025
Original Parliament record
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