Cat Smith MP: written questions
93 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Licensing Laws: ReformDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 28 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 85808More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to consider feedback provided during the public call for evidence on Reforming the licensing system, published on 7 October 2025; and what assessment he has made of
Answer: The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system. A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms ...
Answered 5 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordLicensing LawsDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 28 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 85807More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether members of the Licensing Taskforce were given (a) advanced sight of and (b) input into the wording of the licensing call for evidence questions.
Answer: The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system. A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms ...
Answered 5 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordLicensing Laws: ReformDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 28 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 85806More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential challenges of launching the current licensing call for evidence with a rapid 4-week window for responses.
Answer: The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system. A four week Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals fo...
Answered 5 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordPlastics: TreatiesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83853More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of plastics industry lobbyists on the UK Government’s position at at the United Nations plastics treaty negotiations (INC-5.2
Answer: The UK has been a strong advocate for an ambitious and effective global plastics treaty and is a founder member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution. During the resumed 5th session of the negotiations (INC5.2), we continued to work clos...
Answered 27 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordGlobal Solidarity Levies Task ForceTreasuryTabled 20 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83295More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has considered joining the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force.
Answer: The Government is committed to helping deliver global climate finance, including the New Collective Quantified Goal agreed at COP29 of at least $300bn per year to developing countries by 2035, and responding to the wider call on all actors to increase cli...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordDevelopment Aid: WaterForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 78266More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department spent on bilateral water, sanitation and hygiene projects in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answer: UK bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) for water supply and sanitation, which includes hygiene, is released annually in the UK Government Publication Statistics for International Development. The latest report, published in September 2025, sho...
Answered 20 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordElectoral CommissionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 16 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77557More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing the Government's Strategy and Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission.
Answer: The existing Strategy and Policy Statement for the Electoral Commission does not reflect this Government’s priorities and will not remain in place. On 17 July, we published our strategy for modern and secure elections which included proposals to give sign...
Answered 13 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordElectoral RegisterMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 16 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77556More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections, published on 17 July 2025, what progress
Answer: The government is actively exploring a range of approaches to improve electoral registration, including making it easier for people to register to vote. User research is undertaken throughout the policy and digital service development process.
Answered 13 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Workers: VisasHome OfficeTabled 16 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77555More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of linking salary requirements to NHS pay scales on overseas social workers with skilled worker visas employed by local authorities.
Answer: We use Office for National Statistics (ONS) data to set salary requirements for occupations, except where a national pay scale exists. In the case of social workers, the NHS Agenda for Change is the only available national scale, as Local Authority rates ...
Answered 17 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Workers: VisasHome OfficeTabled 16 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77554More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason she decided to use NHS pay bands instead of local authority pay bands when determining income requirements for overseas social workers applying for a skilled workers visa.
Answer: We use Office for National Statistics (ONS) data to set salary requirements for occupations, except where a national pay scale exists. In the case of social workers, the NHS Agenda for Change is the only available national scale, as Local Authority rates ...
Answered 17 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Workers: VisasHome OfficeTabled 16 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77553More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many social workers are working in the UK on a (a) skilled workers visa and (b) health and care visa.
Answer: The Home Office publishes data on sponsored work visas by occupation in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release. Data on grants of visas are published in table ‘Occ_D02’ of the ‘sponsored work visas by occupation and industry dataset. Informa...
Answered 17 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordHospices: ChildrenDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 15 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77085More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much ringfenced funding will be provided to children’s hospices in each year from 2026-7 to 2029-30.
Answer: We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.We are also providing £26 million of revenue funding to support...
Answered 13 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordPoultry: Animal WelfareDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 76274More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects the research her Department has commissioned into tackling gaps in the scientific evidence on the potential impact of various catching methods for farmed poultry to co
Answer: Research into assessing the impact of poultry catching and handling methods on animal welfare and catching durations in Great Britain is expected to be completed in 2028, after which the Government will consider its findings.
Answered 23 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDevelopment Aid: WaterForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 9 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 76007More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much her Department spent on bilateral water, sanitation and hygiene projects in each year between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Answer: UK bilateral Official, Development Assistance (ODA) expenditure on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is published annually in the Statistics on International Development. The latest report shows UK bilateral ODA for WASH totalled £37 million in 2023, £...
Answered 17 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordIsraeli SettlementsForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 70532More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help prevent the Israeli Government’s E1 settlement plan going ahead.
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the joint statement issued by the UK and 26 international partners on 21 August condemning the E1 settlement development, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/occupied-palestinian-territories-joint-statemen...
Answered 17 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordPrivate Education: InspectionsDepartment for EducationTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69273More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department subsidises inspections of independent schools undertaken by Ofsted.
Answer: Ofsted inspects around 50% of the 2,496 (July 2025) registered private schools in England. There is disparity between the fees charged for inspections and full cost recovery. Private school inspections carried out by Ofsted cost around £6.5 million per an...
Answered 3 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordSodium Valproate and Surgical Mesh Implants: CompensationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 66540More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention of 27 March 2025 in the debate on Hughes Report: First Anniversary, Official R
Answer: Following the debate on Hughes Report: First Anniversary, I met and put on record my discussion with the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women's Health and Mental Health (Baroness Merron), who confirmed that the Government is ca...
Answered 21 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordIndependent Schools Inspectorate: ExpenditureDepartment for EducationTabled 9 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 66186More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has provided for the (a) running of the Independent Schools Inspectorate and (b) cost of inspections undertaken by that inspectorate in each financial year since March 2015.
Answer: The department does not provide funding to the Independent Schools Inspectorate, and does not cover the cost of inspections undertaken by the inspectorate.
Answered 17 Jul 2025
Original Parliament record
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