Bradley Thomas MP: written questions 2025
205 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Pupils: Mobile PhonesDepartment for EducationTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35919More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2025 to Question 29183 on Smartphones, what research she refers to.
Answer: Mobile phone and smartphone development and social media use has increased (Ofcom, 2024) alongside increasing mental health problems in children and young people (NHS England, 2023), which has raised concerns amongst academics that the two are linked. The...
Answered 17 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordOverseas Trade: ChinaDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35918More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the Government considers increased trade with China to be an inherent risk to national security.
Answer: China is the world’s second largest economy and predicted to be the largest driver of global growth from 2021 to 2035. Identifying opportunities to build secure and resilient growth through a mature, stable, and balanced relationship with China is in our ...
Answered 12 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordMuseums and Galleries: Government AssistanceTreasuryTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35917More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February of Question 29769 on Museums, what the cost of the VAT Refund Scheme was in 2024; and whether she plans to change the funding for the VAT Refund Scheme.
Answer: Under section 33A of the VAT Act 1994, certain museums and galleries are eligible to reclaim VAT incurred on the non-business costs associated with providing free admission to the public. Further information about the scheme and its eligibility conditions...
Answered 12 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordListed Places of Worship Grant Scheme: CathedralsDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35916More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February to Question 29771 on Churches, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to the Listed Places of Worship scheme on Cathedrals.
Answer: Based on the Department’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications between 2022-2024 have been under £25,000, and most of these claims were for under £5,000. We believe that the modifications were necessary and adequate given the tight fiscal challe...
Answered 13 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordElectricity InterconnectorsDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35915More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February to Question 29155 on Energy Resilience, when the robust plans to mitigate the impacts of a gas or electricity disruption were last updated.
Answer: The National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity sets out the arrangements for the safe and effective management of downstream gas or electricity disruption. The National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity was last updated in ...
Answered 13 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordBritish Indian Ocean Territory: SovereigntyForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35914More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason his Department resumed negotiations with Mauritius on the future sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.
Answer: Negotiations were started by the previous Conservative Government. This Government inherited a situation where the effective operation of the military base remained under threat and that is why negotiations resumed. The deal is rooted in a rational and ha...
Answered 26 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordBritish Indian Ocean Territory: SovereigntyForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35913More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2025 to Question 29154 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, whether any conditions will be placed on how the package of financ
Answer: Once an agreement is signed further details of the Treaty will be put before both Houses for scrutiny and treaty ratification in the usual way.
Answered 18 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordChagos Islands: SovereigntyForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35912More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February to Question 29154 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, what index the annual payments will be linked to.
Answer: Once an agreement is signed further details of the Treaty will be put before both Houses for scrutiny and treaty ratification in the usual way. This will include costs.
Answered 1 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordTrade Agreements: USADepartment for Business and TradeTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35911More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many officials are working on the negotiations of a trade deal with the United States.
Answer: DBT’s Trade Policy, Implementation and Negotiations (TPIN) Group operates a flexible resourcing model to maximise efficiency across priorities. In January 2025, DBT had 675 staff working in TPIN. The US is the UK’s largest single country trading partner, ...
Answered 12 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordEnergy: InfrastructureDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35910More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February to Question 29770 on Chinese manufacturing, whether major energy infrastructure including wind turbines are categorised as critical national infrastructur
Answer: The designation of sites, systems and assets that make up the UK energy sector as Critical National Infrastructure is based on the extent that the loss, damage or disruption of that infrastructure has a major detrimental impact on the availability, integr...
Answered 13 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCrimeHome OfficeTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35909More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle crime that occurs on the border of multiple police forces.
Answer: The Government is committed to ensuring that law enforcement has the resources it needs to tackle crime effectively, including when crimes occur on the border of multiple police forces.When it does, the National Crime Agency (NCA), which leads the UK's fi...
Answered 13 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: WorcestershireMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35908More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29763 on Discussions with Members from Worcestershire on local government reform, what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) senior
Answer: Neither ministers nor senior officials have had discussions with hon members from Worcestershire on local government reform. The Minister wrote to Worcestershire council leaders on 5th February 2025 to formally invite proposals for local government reorga...
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordSchoolsDepartment for EducationTabled 5 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35907More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2025 to Question 29762 on Cross sector partnerships, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of cooperation between state and private schools on state school
Answer: Around 70% of private schools affiliated with the Independent Schools Council hold charitable status. As charities, they are required to demonstrate public benefit and one way in which they do that is through partnerships with state schools. This activity...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordEnergy: PricesDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 25 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33710More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of redistributing green levies and surcharges to help increase energy affordability.
Answer: The Government is committed to ensuring a fair and affordable transition to Net Zero while considering the impact of policy costs on all energy consumers. Consumer energy bills are a vital tool to leverage private sector investment to support our critical...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordState Retirement PensionsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 24 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33257More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of eligible pensioners will be entitled to the new state pension; and what proportion of eligible pensioners will get the basic state pension (a) nationally and (b) in Bromsgrove constit
Answer: There are two contributory State Pension systems currently operating which depend on when the individual reaches their State Pension age. The pre-April 2016 system comprised: a basic State Pension and an additional earnings-related State Pension. The new ...
Answered 27 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordRevenue and Customs: Telephone ServicesTreasuryTabled 24 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33256More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average wait time is for calls to be answered by HMRC; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce this.
Answer: HMRC telephony performance data, including the average speed of answering a customer’s call, is published on a monthly basis and can be accessed at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-monthly-performance-reports#reporting-year-2024-to-2025 HMRC...
Answered 4 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordFares: Non-paymentDepartment for TransportTabled 13 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 31542More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to prevent fare evasion on the cross-city line between North Worcestershire and Birmingham.
Answer: The Department supports DfT contracted train operators to reduce both fare evasion and fraud, but fare evasion is an operational matter and the responsibility of passenger train operators. West Midlands Trains (WMT), which operates the cross-city line, l...
Answered 26 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordInternet and Telecommunications: Freedom of ExpressionDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 13 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 31537More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to protect freedom of speech in (a) online and (b) electronic communications.
Answer: DSIT is implementing the Online Safety Act to protect children and adults online. The Act’s duties apply to services that allow users to post content online or to interact with each other. Protections for freedom of expression are built in throughout the ...
Answered 28 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordEmpty Property: BromsgroveAttorney GeneralTabled 11 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30882More
Question: To ask the Solicitor General, how many unclaimed estates are in Bromsgrove constituency.
Answer: The Bona Vacantia Division (“the Division”) of the Government Legal Department acts on behalf of the Treasury Solicitor (the Crown’s Nominee) to administer bona vacantia estates.The Division currently has two unclaimed bona vacantia estates in the Bromsgr...
Answered 19 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordCabinetCabinet OfficeTabled 11 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30881More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Prime Minister will make an assessment of the potential merits of inviting the Minister for Housing and Planning to Cabinet.
Answer: The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has responsibility for housing and planning policy in Cabinet.
Answered 18 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordHealth Services: AsylumDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 11 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30880More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many asylum seekers have received medical treatment in Bromsgrove constituency in the last two years.
Answer: Due to the way in which the data is held, across multiple agencies, it is not possible to provide a total number of people seeking asylum who have received medical treatment by constituency during the last two years.
Answered 18 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordCash Dispensing: BromsgroveTreasuryTabled 11 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30879More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to increase the availability of (a) cash and (b) ATMs in Bromsgrove constituency.
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) introdu...
Answered 19 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordMigrant Workers: VisasHome OfficeTabled 11 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30878More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people with a high potential individual visa lived in Bromsgrove constituency on (a) 5 July 2024 and (b) 10 February 2025.
Answer: The information requested is not centrally held and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.The Home Office publishes statistics relating to the applications and outcomes of High Potential I...
Answered 19 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordVeterans: BromsgroveMinistry of DefenceTabled 11 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30877More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the number of former armed forces personnel residing in Bromsgrove constituency.
Answer: The House of Commons library has an online data dashboard for constituencies which includes data on veterans taken from the most recent censuses in Great Britain. This is available here:https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/constituency-data-uk-armed-force...
Answered 18 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Justice: BromsgroveMinistry of JusticeTabled 11 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30876More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions (a) she, (b) Ministers and (c) officials in her Department have had on the sale of her Department's property at Tardebigge.
Answer: The Ministry of Justice is in discussions with a potential purchaser for the former HMP Hewell Grange.We are unable to comment further on these discussions at this time due to commercial confidentiality.
Answered 17 Feb 2025
Original Parliament record
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