Ellie Chowns MP: written questions 2025
289 published records · newest first.
Written questions
River Wye: PollutionDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 24 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 85020More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to publish the River Wye Diffuse Water Pollution Plan.
Answer: Diffuse Water Pollution Plans are not published by Defra. The River Wye Diffuse Water Pollution Plan is being prepared by the Environment Agency (EA). The EA will be sharing it with the partners and stakeholders who are working together to achieve improve...
Answered 3 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing: ConstructionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84892More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he plans to implement the Future Homes Standard.
Answer: The Government understands the urgency of introducing new energy efficiency standards so as many homes as possible are highly efficient and use low-carbon heating.We are committed to implementing the Future Homes Standard in the coming months, and are tak...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordSecurity Guards: Licensing and TrainingHome OfficeTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84890More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Security Industry Authority’s (SIA) (a) licensing and (b) training requirements in ensuring that private security staff are appropriately (i) q
Answer: The private security industry plays a crucial role in keeping the public safe and it is critical that there is a high standard of regulatory oversight of the industry. The Security Industry Authority (SIA) provides such oversight by operating the regulato...
Answered 29 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordRoyal Mail: StandardsDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 23 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84882More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Ofcom’s financial penalties in improving Royal Mail’s ability to meet its performance targets; and if he will take steps to ensure that future fines
Answer: Ofcom’s financial penalties are regulatory decisions in which the government does not have a role. The government expects Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to ensure the provision of a financially sustainable and efficient universal ...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordIsrael: PalestineForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 22 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84516More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 80475 on Israel: Palestine, what response she has received from the Israeli Government in relation to her calls to allow
Answer: Ministers and officials continue to raise this as a priority with our Israeli counterparts, and we will keep the House updated on the progress of these efforts.
Answered 12 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordEnergy Performance Certificates: Rented HousingDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 22 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84407More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to take steps to help protect tenants from (a) eviction and (b) rent increases following government-funded low-carbon improvement works carried out by landlords.
Answer: This government is committed to protecting and improving the rights of tenants through improving the quality of their homes, resulting in reduced energy costs. We have engaged and consulted with landlord and tenant representative groups in developing poli...
Answered 31 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordInsulation: HousingDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 22 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84406More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether consumers will be exempt from paying for remediation costs to fix faulty insulation installations under the (a) ECO4 and (b) GBIS schemes if the costs exceed £20,000.
Answer: The remediation costs sit with the original installer. We expect remediation for solid wall insulation installed under ECO4 or GBIS to cost between £250 and £6,000 for IWI and £5,000 and £18,000 for EWI. This should be covered by the guarantee should the ...
Answered 31 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordFishing Vessels: SafetyDepartment for TransportTabled 22 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84392More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she plans to ratify the International Maritime Organisation 2012 Cape Town Agreement on the safety of fishing vessels.
Answer: We have been working to ensure that the UK is in a position to accede to the Cape Town Agreement and I can confirm that, subject to Parliamentary Scrutiny, we will instruct the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to conclude accession by Spring 2...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordUN Convention on the Rights of the Child: EducationForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 22 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84390More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason the UK opposed advancing discussions on a new optional protocol on free education at the Intergovernmental Working Group on Free Education in September 2025;
Answer: The UK is committed to investing in children and promoting equal access to education. The UK already provides free primary and secondary education and has been supporting partners globally to deliver education for all. We challenged the need for a new opt...
Answered 3 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordElectric Vehicles: National GridDepartment for TransportTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84071More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help support the (a) development and (b) adoption of vehicle to grid technology.
Answer: The Government is committed to supporting the rapid development and adoption of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology as it has the potential to reduce the cost of electric vehicle (EV) ownership while supporting the decarbonisation of our energy system. Whils...
Answered 27 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordElectronic Government: Proof of IdentityDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 20 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83709More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the number of people who have been unable to verify their identity using the Gov.uk One Login service due to mismatches with third-party data; and what s
Answer: GOV.UK One Login applies high standards for identity verification to prevent fraud and ensure the security of users and government services. GOV.UK One Login must ensure users meet these high standards before accessing a government service to fulfil its r...
Answered 29 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordWater: Environment ProtectionDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83186More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to reform processes for the (a) monitoring and (b) management of (i) ponds, (ii) headwater streams and (iii) other small waters.
Answer: The Environment Agency (EA) has in recent years expanded monitoring of headwater streams through its new Small Streams Network, and an increased number of smaller lakes with the Lake Surveillance Network, part of the Natural Capital Ecosystem Assessment P...
Answered 23 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordBusiness: RegulationDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83185More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the scope of his Department’s review of Responsible Business Conduct will include (a) environmental harms in UK company supply chains in their own right, (b) environmental and human rights harm
Answer: The responsible business conduct review is a neutral, objective appraisal of policy. It will consider the effectiveness of the UK’s current regime and alternative measures to support responsible business practices across UK and global supply chains, inclu...
Answered 23 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordBusiness: RegulationDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83184More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when his Department will publish the (a) terms of reference and (b) timeline of the review of responsible business conduct; and whether there will be a public consultation on the review.
Answer: In the Trade Strategy, the Government launched a review into the UK’s approach to responsible business conduct, focused on tackling human rights and labour abuses and environmental harms in global supply chains. The Government is progressing the review at...
Answered 23 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordClimate Change: National SecurityDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 15 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 82537More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason the publication of a joint intelligence committee report into the destabilising impact of the climate and nature crises on national security has been delayed.
Answer: Defra routinely conducts and updates assessments on a range of threats. HMG publishes assessments in the National Risk Register and Chronic Risks Analysis, including on biodiversity loss and its interactions with ecosystems, on GOV.UK
Answered 22 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordRailways: FaresDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80483More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a best price guarantee for rail passengers.
Answer: We are overhauling the complex fares and ticketing system to make it easier for passengers to trust that they are buying the right ticket and getting the best fare. We are already making positive changes, including through expanding ticketing innovations ...
Answered 20 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordRailways: FaresDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80482More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of capping long-distance rail fares.
Answer: Great British Railways (GBR) will be empowered to deliver industry-wide modernisation and reform of the complex and fragmented fares landscape inherited from privatisation. This will enable GBR to simplify the ticketing system and make it easy for passeng...
Answered 20 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordRailways: FaresDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80481More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of freezing rail fares.
Answer: As we reform fares and deliver Great British Railways, we must ensure passengers and taxpayers get a fair deal. Since the pandemic, the amount of taxpayer subsidy provided to the railway industry has increased from under a quarter in 2018/19 to almost hal...
Answered 20 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordRiver Wye: ResearchDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80480More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2025 to Question 33250, what progress her Department has made on joint cross-border research on the River Wye.
Answer: Cleaning up the River Wye remains a government priority.Officials in Defra and the Welsh Government continue to collaborate to roll out the £1 million cross-border River Wye research announced earlier this year. Local stakeholders including local farmers,...
Answered 16 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence Payment: AppealsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80479More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2025 2025 to Question 50550 on Personal Independence Payment: Appeals, what steps he is taking to reduce the median clearance time for mandatory reconsiderations.
Answer: We intend to reduce the median clearance time by increasing decision making resource for Mandatory Reconsiderations, including by recruiting new decision makers
Answered 22 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordGlobal Partnership for EducationForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80478More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to make a financial pledge to the Global Partnership for Education.
Answer: All financial allocations will be announced in the normal way in due course.
Answered 20 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordMarwan BarghoutiForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80477More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 18 November 2024 to Question HL2234 on Israel: Palestinians UIN, whether the International Committee of the Red Cross is given regular access
Answer: The UK continues to reiterate calls for Israel to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) unfettered and immediate access to detention facilities and continue to raise this with the Israeli government as a priority. The UK reaffirms our ...
Answered 21 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordMarwan BarghoutiForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80476More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of the former Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on 1 September 2025, Official Report, column 77,
Answer: The UK continues to reiterate calls for Israel to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) unfettered and immediate access to detention facilities and continue to raise this with the Israeli government as a priority. The UK reaffirms our ...
Answered 21 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordIsrael: PalestineForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80475More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to (a) hold discussions with her Israeli counterpart on and (b) take steps to help (i) support the release of Marwan Barghouti and (ii) end arbitrary detent
Answer: The UK continues to reiterate calls for Israel to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) unfettered and immediate access to detention facilities and continue to raise this with the Israeli government as a priority. The UK reaffirms our ...
Answered 21 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordMarwan BarghoutiForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80474More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report for the Inter-Parliamentary Union entitled PALESTINE: the trial of Mr. Marwan Barg
Answer: The UK continues to reiterate calls for Israel to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) unfettered and immediate access to detention facilities and continue to raise this with the Israeli government as a priority. The UK reaffirms our ...
Answered 21 Oct 2025
Original Parliament record
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