Blake Stephenson MP: written questions
1633 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Integrated Care Boards: FinanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73482More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the amount of upfront funding allocated to ICBs in areas of expected high population growth.
Answer: NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to integrated care boards, to pay for the services they commission. This process is independent of the Government, and NHS England takes advice on the underlying formula from the independent Advisory Comm...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordResident Doctors: StrikesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73480More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of resident doctor strikes on NHS waiting lists.
Answer: Industrial action has a significant direct and indirect impact on elective performance and NHS waiting lists.Within the period of industrial action from December 2022 up to February 2024, 430,000 completed pathways (where a patient starts consultant-led t...
Answered 12 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordResident Doctors: StrikesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73479More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to prepare for resident doctor strikes since July 2024.
Answer: The National Health Service makes every effort through rigorous contingency planning to minimise disruption as a result of industrial action and its impact on patients and the public.Resident doctors in England went on strike for five days from Friday 25 ...
Answered 16 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordHospitals: BedfordshireDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73478More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled Patients and pupils to benefit from school and hospital repairs, published on 30 May 2025, whether any hospitals in Bedfordshire will be included.
Answer: The £750 million Estates Safety Fund announced in the press release entitled ‘Patients and pupils to benefit from school and hospital repairs’ is part of the overall 2025/26 capital allocation announced by the Chancellor at the Autumn Budget in 2024.Bedfo...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordIntegrated Care Boards: East of EnglandDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73477More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England consulted the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government before proposing to merge Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB with Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire and
Answer: The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, alongside NHS England, continue to work closely on any proposals to reorganise integrated care boards (ICBs). I and my hon. Friend, the Minister of Sta...
Answered 9 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordIntegrated Care Boards: ReorganisationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73476More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the proposed re-organisation of ICBs, in the context of English Devolution.
Answer: The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, alongside NHS England, continue to work closely on any proposals to reorganise integrated care boards (ICBs). I and my hon. Friend, the Minister of Sta...
Answered 9 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordIntegrated Care Boards: East of EnglandDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73475More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the proposed re-organisation of ICBs in the East of England.
Answer: The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, alongside NHS England, continue to work closely on any proposals to reorganise integrated care boards (ICBs). I and my hon. Friend, the Minister of Sta...
Answered 9 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordGeneral Practitioners: Rural AreasDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73474More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department has made an assessment on the potential impact of the planned re-organisation of the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB with Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire and Peterborou
Answer: As part of cluster preparation arrangements, every integrated care board (ICB) will complete an Equality Impact Assessment, which will consider the footprint population and the impact of the changes to ICB working arrangements.ICBs have a crucial role as ...
Answered 11 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordNHS: ApprenticesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73473More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of reducing funding for Level 7 Apprenticeships on the NHS and Social Care workforce plan.
Answer: While funding arrangements for Level 7 apprenticeships are changing, we recognise the important role apprenticeships play in the training and development of the NHS and social care workforce. This Government is committed to developing homegrown talent and...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordHealth Services: ApprenticesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73472More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of NHS employees employed on a Level 7 Apprenticeship in each of the last five years.
Answer: The Department does not hold the information requested.
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordNHS: Pay SettlementsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73471More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled NHS workers awarded real terms pay rises for second year in row, published on 22 May 2025, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse.
Answer: Last year’s pay awards for National Health Service staff were among the biggest across the public sector. This year, we have announced above inflation, fully funded pay increases across all staff groups for a second year in a row. These thoroughly deserve...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordVisas: Health ProfessionsHome OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73360More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visas have been issued where the NHS is the sponsoring employer since July 2024; and how many of those employees continue to work for the NHS.
Answer: The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.The Home Office publishes data on sponsored work ...
Answered 16 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMigrant Workers: VisasHome OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73359More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department requires sponsoring employers to notify them when an employee whose visa they are sponsoring leaves their employment.
Answer: Sponsors are required to report to the Home Office when they stop sponsoring a worker for any reason, including where the worker resigns, is dismissed or is made redundant.A sponsor’s reporting duties are set out in the Workers and Temporary Workers: guid...
Answered 16 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordGaza: Humanitarian SituationForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73358More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he will take to support the US Government in improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Answer: I refer my Hon Friend to the statement made to the House by the former Foreign Secretary on 1 September.
Answered 17 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordGaza: Humanitarian AidForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73357More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the provision of humanitarian aid to the Gaza strip.
Answer: I refer my Hon Friend to the statement made to the House by the former Foreign Secretary on 1 September.
Answered 17 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordBeer and Public Houses: Soft PowerForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73356More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the beer and pub sector on the UK’s soft power.
Answer: The UK has consistently ranked within the top three countries in indices that measure soft power. The UK pub and beer industry are key assets for the UK economy and society and contribute to our soft power. The pub is also a key tourism destination for ma...
Answered 10 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordSouth Atlantic Ocean: FisheriesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73355More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable U
Answer: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in conjunction with the Falkland Islands Government, continue to collaborate closely to assess the implications of the Agreement on fishing in the...
Answered 19 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordChiropracticDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73194More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of utilising chiropractors to reduce NHS waiting lists.
Answer: As set out in the Plan for Change, we have committed to return to the NHS constitutional standard that 92% of patients, including those waiting for musculoskeletal treatment, wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment by March 2029.The Electi...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordVisas: StudentsHome OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 72962More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of Student Visa holders who have overstayed their visa in each of the last five years.
Answer: The government has launched a direct messaging campaign to remind students their visas are expiring. The first-of-its-kind communication comes during the autumn period where asylum applications typically spike and is part of continued Home Office measures...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordVisas: Skilled WorkersHome OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 72961More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of how many and what proportion of people who entered the UK on a skilled worker visa in each of the past ten years continue to (a) live in the UK and (b) work in an occup
Answer: Obtaining the specific information requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple systems owned by multiple teams across the Home Office and, therefore, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.The Home Office publishes d...
Answered 17 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMigrant Workers: VisasHome OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 72960More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many inspections of Home Office approved visa-sponsoring employers have been made since July 2024.
Answer: The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Answered 16 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordVisasHome OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 72959More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of visa holders who have left the UK prior to the expiry of their visa in each of the last five years.
Answer: The government has launched a direct messaging campaign to remind students their visas are expiring. The first-of-its-kind communication comes during the autumn period where asylum applications typically spike and is part of continued Home Office measures...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMigrant Workers: VisasHome OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 72952More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will review the employment history of applicants for Indefinite Leave to Remain who have been in the UK on a (a) social care visa, (b) health visa and (c) other work-related visas to
Answer: The process for considering applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain applications from Skilled Worker visa holders is set out in caseworker guidance which is available on gov.uk: Skilled Worker visa: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK.
Answered 16 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordSyria: ViolenceForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 72430More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help (a) end the recent violence and (b) ensure the protection of minority groups in Syria.
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to my answer of 4 September to Question 69285.
Answered 17 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordGaza: Humanitarian AidForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 72429More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the safe provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Answer: The previous Foreign Secretary spoke to Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 23 August to discuss a number of issues including humanitarian aid. We continue to work with partners, including the United Nations and United States, to push for unrestricted humanitarian ...
Answered 17 Sept 2025
Original Parliament record
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