Charlie Dewhirst MP: written questions 2026
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Written questions
Ofwat: EqualityDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15570More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 22 June 2026 to Question 9341 on Ofwat: Equality, for what reason Ofwat was not requested to report EDI spending details prior to that reporting period.
Answer: Defra and its arm’s-length bodies did not begin reporting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) expenditure until 2025/26, after internal processes for collecting and reporting this information had been established. As a result, Defra did not ask Ofwat ...
Answered 14 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordWater Companies: RegulationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15569More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to page 17 of the Water White Paper of January 2026, whether the integrated water regulator will have the same budget as the Environment Agency, Natural England, Ofwat a
Answer: We are considering the detail of the funding arrangements that will be needed. In doing so, we will ensure that the new regulator will have the funds to deliver its responsibilities in full, balancing the interests of customers, investors and the environm...
Answered 8 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordWater: MetersDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15568More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether householders not on social tariffs can require that the smart element of their smart water meter is deinstalled if they decline to participate in a (a) progressive water meteri
Answer: Currently, individual water companies decide the best way to manage water demand issues, including their approach to metering. However, to inform their decisions, Defra issues guiding principles that set out our priorities, including our expectations on w...
Answered 8 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: MarketingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15567More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on branded goods and merchandise since 24 April 2025; on what items; and at what cost.
Answer: The information could only be provided by incurring disproportionate costs.
Answered 14 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Energy Security and Net Zero: MarketingDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 2 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15566More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much his Department has spent on branded goods and merchandise since 24 April 2025; on what items; and at what cost.
Answer: The information can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Answered 10 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordArtificial Intelligence: InvestmentDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 2 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15565More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of energy regulation policies on the decision of OpenAI to terminate the Stargate UK investment programme.
Answer: The UK continues to be an attractive destination for AI investment as reflected in OpenAI’s ongoing and expanding presence here through its recent announcement for a large permanent office in London, doubling the current OpenAI headcount here. The UK Gove...
Answered 15 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Energy Security and Net Zero: Government Communication ServiceDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 2 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15564More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many headcount staff in his Department are (a) members of the Government Communication Network and (b) embedded communicators but not members of the Government Communication Network.
Answer: All embedded communicators are members of the Government Communication Service.
Answered 10 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment of Health and Social Care: Annual ReportsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 2 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15563More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 20 May 2026 to Question 1816 on Government Departments: Bureaucracy, how his Department has changed how it produces its Annual Report.
Answer: The Department has not changed how it produces its own annual report and accounts. The consultation referred to in the answer of 20 May 2026 was the Department’s annual consultation on the draft Group Accounting Manual. This manual provides technical guid...
Answered 8 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordBaroness Casey of BlackstockDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 2 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15562More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish Baroness Casey's status as a Direct Ministerial Appointment, including her remuneration, on the Direct Ministerial Appointments portal on gov.uk.
Answer: We do not intend to update Baroness Casey's status and her remuneration on the GOV.UK website portal.Baroness Casey’s appointment and the Terms of Reference were published in line with the guidance in force at the time. There is no requirement in the upda...
Answered 8 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment of Health and Social Care and NHS: FlagsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 2 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15561More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) his Department and (b) NHS England has provided guidance to (i) its arms length bodies or (ii) NHS Hospitals on spending public funds on flying flags associated with identity politics.
Answer: The Department follows general Government guidance on flying flags, which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flying-flags-a-plain-english-guide/flying-flags-a-plain-english-guide Neither the Department nor NHS E...
Answered 13 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordBaroness Casey of BlackstockDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 2 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15560More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will place in the Library a copy of Baroness Casey of Blackstock’s declaration of political activity.
Answer: Under the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies, no declaration of political activity is required for Direct Ministerial Appointments.
Answered 8 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment of Health and Social Care: RedundancyDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 2 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15559More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the answer of 10 April 2026, to Question 122499, on DHSC: Redundancy, whether the (a) 198 and (b) 98 departures are (i) above, (ii) below or (iii) in line with exit targets to del
Answer: The Department has not set targets for the number of staff that leave the Department and NHS England through voluntary redundancy and voluntary exit schemes. The 198 departures in November and December 2025 and the 98 employees who had left or were confir...
Answered 14 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment of Health and Social Care: MarketingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15247More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2026, to Question 4161, on Government departments: marketing, how much has been spend on branded goods and merchandise by his Department since the Government Chief
Answer: The Department’s Communications Directorate has not approved or incurred any expenditure on branded goods and merchandise since April 2025. We have implemented this policy across the wider Department, but do not collate this data centrally.
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment of Health and Social Care: SecondmentDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15245More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list the names of the organisations that have (a) had departmental Civil Servants seconded to them since July 2024, and (b) seconded organisational staff to the department.
Answer: The organisations that have had departmental civil servants seconded to them since July 2024 are:Association of British Health Ind;Greater London Authority;National Wealth Fund;NHS England;Royal Borough of Windsor;Royal London Hospital;Wellcome Trust; and...
Answered 8 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment of Health and Social Care: RegulationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15244More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Regulatory Policy Committee document, Post-implementation reviews outstanding across government 2015 to 2026, updated 12 May 2026, what steps are the (a) department and (b) Fo
Answer: The Department is fully committed to undertaking its obligations to review regulations after implementation. The Department has taken steps to progress post-implementation reviews identified by the Regulatory Policy Committee as outstanding and will conti...
Answered 7 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment of Health and Social Care: Government Communication ServiceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15243More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the answer of 5 June 2026, to Question 3763o n Government Communications Service: Staff, and of 19 January 2026 to Question 104195 on Government Communication Service: Staff, how
Answer: In June 2026, the Department had 79 staff working in the Communications Directorate, all of whom are members of the Government Communication Service. the Department’s Communications Directorate covers a broad range of roles including media relations, mark...
Answered 7 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordUniversities: AdmissionsDepartment for EducationTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15242More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether there is any guidance from (a) her Department and (b) the Office for Students on the use of POLAR3 and POLAR4 for university admissions by higher education providers.
Answer: The department does not issue guidance to higher education (HE) providers on the use of Participation of Local Areas (POLAR)3 or POLAR4 in admissions decisions. Universities are autonomous institutions and are responsible for their own admissions policies...
Answered 10 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordGreat British Energy: Public AppointmentsDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15241More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the direct ministerial appointments gov.uk portal entry of 20 April, Interim Non-Executive Director Great British Energy and Great British Energy Start-Up Chair, for what re
Answer: The start-up Chair and five Non-Executive Directors of Great British Energy (GBE) were appointed through direct ministerial appointment to provide the expertise and experience needed for the rapid establishment of the company during its set-up phase. Cons...
Answered 6 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Energy Security and Net Zero: SecondmentDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15240More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2026, to Question 3350, on Public Appointments, whether the Expert Adviser was seconded when she was previously an adviser in the department on Clean Power 2
Answer: The Expert Adviser was appointed to DESNZ as a secondee when working on Clean Power 2030.
Answered 6 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordWind PowerDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15239More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what number and proportion of wind farms are owned or managed by organisations which are ultimately owned by Chinese companies.
Answer: The vast majority of UK wind farms have no direct ownership from China. We work very closely with industry and across government to maintain a detailed picture of foreign involvement in energy infrastructure. We continue to take a consistent, long-term an...
Answered 10 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordOfwat: EqualityDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15238More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 22 June 2026, to Question 9341, on Ofwat: Equality, if she will provide a breakdown of the £4,200 expenditure of external EDI expenditure in 2025-26, includin
Answer: Below is the information sent to the Cabinet Office on EDI expenditure for 2025/26. This was sent to the Cabinet Office on 9 April. Notification of External EDI ExpenditureDepartmentOfwatDepartmental Business UnitOfwatAmount of expenditure£4,200Date expe...
Answered 9 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordFood: LabellingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15237More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the answer of 21 April 2026, to Question 125703, on Food: Labelling, whether the SPS agreement will lead to foods other than fruit jams, jellies & marmalades being re
Answer: The Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement is still being negotiated and the final list of legislation in scope remains subject to negotiations. This Government has begun publishing sector specific information to help businesses get ready. As set out ...
Answered 9 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordFood: InsectsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15236More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the "Thematic report on emerging food innovations in the UK", published by the Food Standards Agency on 13 March 2026, whether it is the policy of HM Government to pr
Answer: The Government currently has no plans to promote eating insects. The ‘Thematic report on emerging food innovations in the UK’ is one of the resources published by the FSA and FSS on the Innovative Food Guidance Hub. The report provides a forward look of e...
Answered 6 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Culture, Media and Sport: Written QuestionsDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15235More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to facilitate the answering of written Parliamentary Questions by Hon Members about operational matters of Arts Council of England, by copying or depositing the rep
Answer: As noted in the Cabinet Office Guide to Parliamentary Work, there is no provision for arm’s length bodies such as Arts Council England (ACE) to provide a reply directly to Written Parliamentary Questions (WPQs). DCMS strives to provide full responses to a...
Answered 13 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordEU Files ForumDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15234More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Answer of 13 March 2026 to Question 117997 on EU Files Forum, if he will list the organisations that attended each of those meetings.
Answer: We would not release names of participants without their agreement.
Answered 10 Jul 2026
Original Parliament record
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