Blake Stephenson MP: written questions 2026
336 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Hospitals: CambridgeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23484More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will support plans to build a new Children’s Hospital in Cambridge.
Answer: The Department remains committed to working with the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on this topic, as funding of approximately £100 million has been made available centrally via the Hospital Upgrades Programme with the Department for ...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordNeighbourhood Health Centres: Mid BedfordshireDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23483More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will direct the Central East to locate a new Neighbourhood Health Centre in Mid Bedfordshire.
Answer: The Department has engaged with all integrated care boards (ICB), including the Central East ICB, as part of the process for developing the future pipeline of neighbourhood health centres.Proposals are currently being assessed against published criteria, ...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordSupported HousingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23482More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government regarding the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill and changes to support the housing-wi
Answer: I refer the Hon. Members to the answer provided on 8 June in response to Question 4726 on the Government’s work in relation to the draft bill.On the wider issues raised, the Prime Minister has set out his objectives to reform the social care system, and b...
Answered 7 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordChilterns: FinanceDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23481More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will make funding available to expand the Chilterns National Landscape.
Answer: Natural England (NE) has the statutory responsibility for identifying areas for new or extended National Landscape designations, and has no plans to expand the Chilterns National Landscape. Given the pressures on public finances, Defra has had to make dif...
Answered 4 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordDroughts: FarmersDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23480More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support her Department is providing to farmers, in the context of ongoing drought conditions.
Answer: As announced in August 2026, the Government is supporting farmers through a range of measures. These include temporary Environmental Land Management flexibilities and up to £15 million in funding million for on-farm reservoirs. Defra has announced an extr...
Answered 4 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordFood: PricesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23479More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of drought on food price inflation.
Answer: Annual food and non-alcoholic beverages price inflation was 1.3% in July 2026, according to the latest Office for National Statistics figures, suggesting drought impacts have not yet fully materialised in food prices. Defra anticipates that continued drou...
Answered 4 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordDroughts: Food SupplyDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23478More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of drought on food security.
Answer: It is too early to assess the full impact of drought on food production. While some sectors are experiencing impacts both in the UK and abroad, there is currently no indication that UK food security is at risk.Our diverse and resilient food system, suppor...
Answered 4 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordData Centres: WaterDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23477More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of data centres on water supplies in the East of England.
Answer: The data centre sector is expected to grow in the coming year, and Defra is working across Government to determine how to increase water efficiency and reduce data centre water demand, considering the available and emerging evidence on water use in data c...
Answered 4 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordLandfill: Renewable EnergyDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23476More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the risk that delays to landfill gas transitional support leading to increased waste crime, site abandonment or breaches of environmental permit conditi
Answer: Defra is working closely with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) to bring forward potential proposals to support the transition of the landfill gas to energy generation sector, after support ends for the Renewable Obligations scheme. ...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational Needs: StaffDepartment for EducationTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23475More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will set out the steps the Government are taking to invest in the specialist SEND workforce, including QTVIs and habilitation specialists.
Answer: The government is investing around £1.8 billion over three years to develop Experts at Hand, giving mainstream education settings access to specialist support from professionals including speech and language therapists (SaLTs), occupational therapists, ed...
Answered 7 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordMulti-academy TrustsDepartment for EducationTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23474More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason her Department encourages schools to join Multi-Academy Trusts.
Answer: We are at the early stages of the development for the new technical education pathways and will encourage schools to consider joining high-quality Multi-Academy Trusts, because collaboration between schools is an important means of improving standards and...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational Needs: Primary EducationDepartment for EducationTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23473More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press release entitled 'Thousands of children with SEND to benefit from assistive tech', published 27 June 2025, if she will confirm the change in EHCPs for children under the age of 8 in
Answer: The June 2025 press release announced the department’s investment of over £1.6 million in an assistive technology lending library pilot through the ‘SEND and alternative provision change programme’. The press release referenced that the number of children...
Answered 15 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Visitor Economy Partnerships: BedfordshireDepartment for Digital, Culture, Media and SportTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23472More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will provide an update on the progress in delivering a new LVEP in Bedfordshire.
Answer: LVEPs are place-led and can bring a range of benefits to both businesses and visitors. Both DCMS and VisitEngland would welcome an application to form an LVEP from those places yet to form one, including Bedfordshire.The decision to submit an application ...
Answered 9 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordTourismDepartment for Digital, Culture, Media and SportTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23471More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she intends to publish the National Visitor Economy Strategy.
Answer: The Government is working with industry on a Visitor Economy Growth Strategy which will set out an long-term, place-based plan to increase visitor flows across the UK, boost value, and deliver sustainable growth across regional visitor economies - driving...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordElectronic Travel Authorisations: Fees and ChargesHome OfficeTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23470More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the impact of increasing the price of Electronic Travel Authorisations in 2025 on the UK economy.
Answer: Where changes to fee legislation are made, Impact Assessments are produced which identify potential impacts resulting from the changes to those fees.The latest assessment, published alongside changes which came into effect in April 2026 and which included...
Answered 9 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordPublic Bodies: ReviewsCabinet OfficeTabled 28 Aug 2026Awaiting answerUIN 23469More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer to written question 55254, if he will publish the outcome of the review.
Answer: No published answer in this record yet.
Original Parliament recordForeign Investment in UKCabinet OfficeTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23468More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will make an assessment of the level of investment generated by the GREAT Campaign in 2025/26.
Answer: Evaluation results for the GREAT Britain & Northern Ireland Campaign have not yet been finalised for financial year 2025/26. We expect initial economic returns generated by the campaign in 2025/26 to have been assessed and validated before the end of ...
Answered 9 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordTakeoversDepartment for Business, Innovation, Science and TradeTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23467More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether the Government is taking steps to protect retail shareholders in circumstances where a majority shareholder uses its blocking stake to prevent minority shareholders from ac
Answer: There are protections in Part 30 of the Companies Act 2006 that allow a shareholder to apply to the court for a remedy if the company’s action (or inaction) is unfairly prejudicial to the interests of that member, or a larger set of shareholders that incl...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordInfant FoodsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23466More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled Government brings in measures to help tackle child poverty, published 3 December 2025, whether she has made an assessment of the impact of the Governmen
Answer: The Government has not made a specific assessment of the impact of these measures on research and investment in the infant formula sector.
Answered 9 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordAttorney General's Office: MaladministrationAttorney General's OfficeTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 23465More
Question: To ask the Attorney General, how many clerical errors his department have recorded since 4 July 2024.
Answer: The Attorney General’s Office does not keep a record of clerical errors. If and when any errors are identified, they are corrected as appropriate on an individual basis.
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology: Written QuestionsDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 8 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17110More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, for what reason Written Parliamentary Question 15089 on Project Gigabit: Mid Bedfordshire was not answered by close of business on 7 July 2026.
Answer: The Department apologies for the delay in responding to the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 9 July 2026 to Question UIN 15089.My noble friend Baroness Lloyd of Effra would be happy to meet to discuss this ...
Answered 15 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordElections: Local GovernmentMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 16692More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of the forthcoming Clacton by-election.
Answer: The estimated cost of the Clacton by-election is set out in The Parliamentary Elections (Returning Officers’ Charges) Order 2024. The average (mean) cost of a UK parliamentary by-election between 2021 and 2025 was approximately £343,768, including candida...
Answered 14 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordImmigrationHome OfficeTabled 7 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 16691More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to adopt Recommendation 30 of the report Backdoors to Britain, published by the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire on 4 March 2026.
Answer: The Home Office routinely publishes extensive data on the immigration system through the quarterly Immigration System Statistics and the Monthly entry clearance visa applications statistical publications. These are Official Statistics produced by governme...
Answered 14 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordImmigrationHome OfficeTabled 7 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 16690More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to adopt Recommendation 29 of the report Backdoors to Britain, published by the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire on 4 March 2026.
Answer: The Home Office routinely publishes extensive data on the immigration system through the quarterly Immigration System Statistics and the Monthly entry clearance visa applications statistical publications. These are Official Statistics produced by governme...
Answered 14 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordImmigrationHome OfficeTabled 7 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 16689More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to adopt Recommendation 28 of the report Backdoors to Britain, published by the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire on 4 March 2026.
Answer: The Home Office keeps the immigration rules under review.
Answered 14 Jul 2026
Original Parliament record
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