Blake Stephenson MP: written questions
1633 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Housing: Construction and SalesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64574More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the amount of capital funding that public sector bodies will spend on (a) building and (b) purchasing houses between July 2024 and July 2029.
Answer: Local authority capital expenditure and financing estimates for the current financial year can be found on gov.uk here.At the Spending Review, we announced £39 billion for a successor to the Affordable Homes Programme over 10 years from 2026-27 to 2035-36...
Answered 10 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordRoads: Repairs and MaintenanceDepartment for TransportTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64573More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the document entitled Economic appraisal for investing in local highways maintenance, published on 26 September 2024, what progress her Department has made on publishing its response to the re
Answer: The report entitled Economic appraisal for investing in local highways maintenance referenced was commissioned by the Department for Transport and was published on Gov.uk in November 2024. Alongside other research and evidence, it has informed policy deve...
Answered 10 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordRoads: Repairs and MaintenanceDepartment for TransportTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64572More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey Report 2025, published on 18 March 2025.
Answer: The Government is determined to help local authorities fix our local road network and has drawn on a range of evidence to develop policy and determine funding for local highway maintenance, including the ALARM survey that is commissioned annually by the A...
Answered 10 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordTrain Operating Companies: StandardsDepartment for TransportTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64468More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled New dawn for rail as South Western services return to public hands, published on 25 May 2025, what her plans are for operators who fail to meet the stan
Answer: Great British Railways will set a clear quality standard for our railways, so a world class public service can be rebuilt. Ministers intend to recover performance to acceptable levels at all operators, ensuring their leadership has a relentless focus on p...
Answered 10 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordChiltern Railways: East West Rail LineDepartment for TransportTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64467More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what process her Department took to appoint Chiltern Railways as the operator of East-West Rail from Oxford-Milton Keynes.
Answer: The Department conducted a review to assess train operating companies’ level of capability and the degree of integration with the first stage of East–West Rail. Chiltern Railways was assessed as providing the best fit and following a negotiation of commer...
Answered 10 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordA421: FloodsDepartment for TransportTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64466More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish any assessment that National Highways have made of the flooding of the A421 at Marston Moreteyne in September 2024.
Answer: As the Lead Local Flood Authority, Central Bedfordshire Council are producing a Section 19 report to review the flooding that occurred on the A421 in accordance with the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.With publication of the report expected in autumn...
Answered 9 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordThameslink Line: StandardsDepartment for TransportTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64465More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding her Department has allocated to reducing the number of rail replacement services required on Thameslink services in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answer: The Department requires its train operators to use reasonable endeavours to provide alternative means of transport where they cannot provide their planned train service. Rail replacement bus services are typically provided when parts of the railway are cl...
Answered 10 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordBus Services: East of EnglandDepartment for TransportTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64464More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the press release entitled Government pledges greater growth for the coach sector ahead of National Coach Week, published on 6 May 2025, whether she plans to take steps to support the coach se
Answer: The Department recognises the important role the coach sector plays in connecting people and supporting economic growth. The UK coach sector was deregulated by the Transport Act 1980 and as such, services are operated on a commercial basis without receivi...
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordRailways: AccessDepartment for TransportTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64463More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's guidance entitled Persons with Reduced Mobility National Technical Specification Notice, published in December 2017, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of Appendix
Answer: We recently published the Accessibility National Technical Specification Notice (NTSN), replacing the Persons with Reduced Mobility NTSN. The Accessibility NTSN preserves many specifications inherited from EU law while updating ones that did not have a cl...
Answered 10 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordMinisterial StatementsLeader of the HouseTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64462More
Question: To ask the Leader of the House, if she will make an estimate of the number of Government announcements which were made in the House of Commons prior to a Ministerial announcement in the media since July 2024.
Answer: The Ministerial Code is clear, when Parliament is in session the most important announcements of Government policy should be made in the first instance to Parliament. This is an important principle that the government stands by.As of 9th July 2025 there h...
Answered 9 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordEnergy Performance CertificatesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64461More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring landlords to update Efficiency Performance Certificates regularly.
Answer: The government is reforming Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) to ensure that people, including tenants, have access to even more reliable and accurate information about the properties they are renting. Having a regularly updated EPC provides tenants ...
Answered 14 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing: CostsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64460More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 56032 on Housing: Costs, what steps she plans to take to incentivise developers to build at a level that reduces house prices.
Answer: The government’s Plan for Change includes a hugely ambitious milestone of building 1.5 million new homes in England in this Parliament. We have already taken decisive action to increase housing supply, including overhauling the planning system and kicksta...
Answered 10 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing: New TownsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64459More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department’s proposed New Towns will be able to demolish areas of existing housing.
Answer: The New Towns Taskforce will submit its final report this summer.
Answered 10 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordTourism: ScotlandScotland OfficeTabled 1 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 905062More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on trends in the level of tourism in Scotland.
Answer: As a former small business owner myself, I have first hand experience and determination for ensuring Scotland’s small businesses thrive. Tourism is crucial not only for the economy, but for supporting local communities and promoting Scotland’s unique cult...
Answered 9 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordNew Towns: FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 1 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64220More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether local authorities will be required to provide funding towards infrastructure for New Towns.
Answer: The government has tasked the New Towns Taskforce, an independent expert advisory panel chaired by Sir Michael Lyons, with developing recommendations to ministers on suitable locations for new towns, as well as how to fund and deliver them. The Taskforce ...
Answered 9 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordIntegrated Care Boards: RedundancyDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64219More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether ICBs will be expected to fund redundancy costs from re-organisation from their day-to-day budgets.
Answer: Following the Prime Minister’s announcement of the abolition of NHS England, we are clear on the need for a smaller centre, as well as reducing integrated care board running costs and National Health Service provider corporate costs, in order to reduce wa...
Answered 9 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordIntegrated Care Boards: East of EnglandDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64218More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ask NHS England to publish an analysis of the options they have considered for re-organisation of ICBs in the East of England.
Answer: The proposals for the clustering of integrated care boards (ICBs) across England were considered in view of the ambition set out in the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan and NHS England’s Model ICB Blueprint. Specifically, the Government’s aim to strengthe...
Answered 9 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordIntegrated Care Boards: ReorganisationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64217More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the expected population coverage of each ICB in England is following the proposed re-organisation.
Answer: In order to optimise the impact of strategic commissioning, and release resources to the frontline, we are working with integrated care boards to so that they cover populations of approximately two million people.
Answered 9 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordGeneral Practitioners: WixamsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64216More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the planned re-organisation of the BLMK ICB with (a) Hertfordshire and (b) Cambridgeshire & Peterborough on the provision of
Answer: The clustering of integrated care boards (ICBs) in Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes (BLMK), and Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is not expected to have a direct impact on primary care provision. ICBs will remain responsible for ensuri...
Answered 9 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordIntegrated Care Boards: Rural AreasDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64215More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that ICBs effectively represent small and rural communities, in the context of the re-organisation of ICBs.
Answer: NHS England has asked the integrated care boards (ICBs) to act primarily as strategic commissioners of health and care services and to reduce the duplication of responsibilities within the health and care structure. ICBs are responsible for commissioning ...
Answered 9 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordNHS: ApprenticesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64214More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS employees have a level 7 apprenticeship qualification.
Answer: The Department does not hold the information requested.
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordNHS: Equal PayDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64213More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled NHS leaders face both ‘carrot and stick’ in new performance drive, published on 15 May 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the
Answer: My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care accepted the headline pay recommendations for National Health Service staff from the independent pay review bodies, and staff will receive their backdated pay uplifts from August The Dep...
Answered 9 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Services: Migrant WorkersDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64212More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to publish a social care workforce strategy, in the context of the White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025.
Answer: There are currently no plans to publish a social care workforce strategy in response to the Immigration White Paper. However, we are actively supporting the workforce through a range of ongoing initiatives.It is the Government’s policy to reduce reliance ...
Answered 14 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordChagos Islands: SovereigntyForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 1 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64210More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the press release by the United Nations Human Rights Office entitled Agreement between Mauriti
Answer: The negotiations were between the UK and Mauritius with our priority being to secure the full operation of the base on Diego Garcia, and the deal has been welcomed by international organisations including the UN Secretary General, African Union and Common...
Answered 8 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordWestern Sahara: Human RightsForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 1 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 64209More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Moroccan counterpart on ensuring human rights for the Sahrawi people.
Answer: The UK remains committed to the promotion and protection of human rights globally, including in Morocco and Western Sahara. Officials, including up to Ambassador level regularly engage on these issues with the Moroccan Government and authorities according...
Answered 9 Jul 2025
Original Parliament record
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