Esther McVey MP: written questions
4 Jul 2024–3 Jul 2025
How these years work
Our reporting years run from 4 July to 3 July, starting with the 2024 general election. They are not official parliamentary sessions. Office costs keep IPSA’s April–March financial years. Records may cover only part of a year; a missing record does not mean no work was done.
Read what this MP said, asked and contributed in Parliament.
182 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Family ProceedingsMinistry of JusticeTabled 27 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34249More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of (a) how often family court proceedings are delayed on the day of the hearing and (b) the reason for those delays.
Answer: His Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service does not currently hold this data but a pilot of digital reforms in the family court is due to be rolled out later this year for private law proceedings and data on delays to court hearings will then be availab...
Answered 7 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordHospitals: Waiting ListsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 24 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32996More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Prime Minister's Office press release entitled Over two million extra NHS appointments delivered early as trusts handed £40 million to go further and faster, published on 16 F
Answer: Information related to the baseline and methodology for the additional appointments delivered is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/recovery-of-elective_activity-mi/
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCoronavirus: VaccinationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 12 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 31019More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2025 to Question 23741 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, if he will publish (a) the questions posed to Pfizer/BioNTech and (b) the answers received that do not relat
Answer: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) does not intend to publish these questions, or any subsequent responses received from the manufacturers. It is routine practice for regulatory authorities to ask developers of new medicines an...
Answered 28 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordHigh Speed 2 Line: TattonDepartment for TransportTabled 31 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 27848More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many residential properties have been purchased in preparation for HS2 Phase 2b; and what proportion of these have been vacant for longer than six months in Tatton Constituency.
Answer: 720 residential properties in total have been acquired on the former HS2 Phase 2b route. Of these, 59 are in the Tatton constituency, of which 19 have been vacant for more than six months.
Answered 10 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordCoronavirus: VaccinationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 20 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24840More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2025 to Question 23741 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, for what reason the MHRA has temporarily withdrawn the collection of minutes from the Commission on Human Me
Answer: To ensure the accuracy of redactions within the minutes in question the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has temporarily withdrawn the meeting minutes of the Vaccine Benefit Risk Expert Working Group to ensure accurate and transp...
Answered 3 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal GovernmentMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 20 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24839More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department provides guidance to chief executives of local authorities on attending meetings with Rt hon. and hon. Members.
Answer: The department does not issue such guidance. Councils are independent, democratic bodies accountable to the communities they serve.
Answered 28 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordCoronavirus: VaccinationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23741More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2025 to Question 22602 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, for what reason the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency does not intend to publish this info
Answer: It is routine practice for regulatory authorities to ask developers of new medicines and vaccines technical questions based on their data submissions. These technical questions can cover a range of issues, including commercially confidential issues such a...
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordPlanning: Nature ConservationMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23740More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure biodiversity net gain is not used to override protections afforded to Local Wildlife Sites and other designated nature sites.
Answer: Development is restricted on sites which are designated for environmental or amenity value, and the National Planning Policy Framework requires local plans to identify, map and safeguard components of local wildlife-rich habitats and wider ecological netw...
Answered 22 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordPlanning: Nature ConservationMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23739More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of planning protections afforded to Local Wildlife Sites in the in the update to the National Planning Policy Framework.
Answer: The powers secured through the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 would allow Strategic Environmental Assessment and Environmental Impact Assessment to be replaced with a new framework of Environmental Outcomes Reports.The government is committed to s...
Answered 22 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordCoronavirus: VaccinationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 8 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 22602More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 3.6 of the minutes of the Covid-19 Vaccine Benefit Risk Expert Working Group held on 18 November 2020, if he will publish (a) the 36 questions posed by the Medicines and
Answer: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency does not intend to publish these questions, or any subsequent responses received from the manufacturers.
Answered 13 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordCarbon EmissionsDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 17 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20608More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the transition to net zero on energy security.
Answer: Switching to homegrown clean energy, including renewables and other clean technologies, offers security that fossil fuels simply cannot provide. The Government recognises the challenges in moving away from fossil fuels but the only way to ensure energy se...
Answered 24 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordCarbon EmissionsDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 17 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20607More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential risks that the transition to net zero poses to (a) households and (b) businesses.
Answer: The transition to net zero will be an incredible opportunity for jobs and growth all across the country. As the OBR has noted in its July 2021 Fiscal Risks Report, “the costs of failing to get climate change under control would be much larger than those o...
Answered 27 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordHospitals: DischargesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20606More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average wait time is for hospital patients to be provided with medications at discharge.
Answer: The Department and NHS England recognise the need for patients who are ready to go home to be discharged as quick as possible, both for their benefit and to improve the efficiency of hospitals. Information on the average wait time for hospital patients to...
Answered 20 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordHospitals: DischargesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20605More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to make the hospital discharge process more efficient.
Answer: The Government will improve hospital discharge processes, to tackle delayed discharges, and to make sure people do not spend longer than necessary in hospital, freeing up hospital beds.We will do so by developing local partnerships, working between the Na...
Answered 23 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordHospitals: DischargesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20604More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the efficiency of supplying medication at hospital discharge to ensure faster discharge.
Answer: The Department and NHS England recognise the need for patients who are ready to go home to be discharged as quick as possible, both for their benefit and to improve the efficiency of hospitals. Information on the average wait time for hospital patients to...
Answered 20 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordPrivate Education: VATTreasuryTabled 13 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20009More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the (a) effectiveness of the processes put in place by HMRC to register private schools for VAT and (b) adequacy of the time taken for those schools to receive a VAT number.
Answer: The government is committed to supporting private schools to ensure that the VAT registration process is as smooth as possible for them, and to ensuring they have the necessary support in order to be able to correctly charge VAT and remit it to HMRC. HMRC...
Answered 20 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordPrimodos: ResearchDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 12 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 19678More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2024 to Question 12696 on Primodos: Research, when the minutes and outcome of the November Commission on Human Medicines discussion will be published.
Answer: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), together with the wider Government, have committed to reviewing any new scientific evidence which comes to light.The new publication by Danielsson et al has been reviewed by the MHRA and advi...
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordPolice: Minimum WageHome OfficeTabled 12 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 19677More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost to the police service in (a) England and (b) Wales of the increase in minimum wage.
Answer: On 12 December, the PSC issued a circular stating that it has agreed to the deletion of the lowest pay point (£23,286) on the PSC Pay Spine with effect from 1 April 2025. This is to reflect that the increase in the National Living Wage, which will take ef...
Answered 27 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordPolice: Employers' ContributionsHome OfficeTabled 12 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 19676More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost to the police service in (a) England and (b) Wales of the increase in Employers' National Insurance Contributions.
Answer: On 12 December, the PSC issued a circular stating that it has agreed to the deletion of the lowest pay point (£23,286) on the PSC Pay Spine with effect from 1 April 2025. This is to reflect that the increase in the National Living Wage, which will take ef...
Answered 27 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordPrivate Education: VATTreasuryTabled 10 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18931More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of private schools have been provided with a VAT number.
Answer: HMRC publishes data on the VAT population by sector on an annual basis. The latest statistics can be found here: Value Added Tax (VAT) annual statistics - GOV.UK The point at which private schools need to register for VAT depends on their individual circu...
Answered 18 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordPrivate Education: VATTreasuryTabled 10 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18930More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of private schools have been provided with a VAT number.
Answer: HMRC publishes data on the VAT population by sector on an annual basis. The latest statistics can be found here: Value Added Tax (VAT) annual statistics - GOV.UK The point at which private schools need to register for VAT depends on their individual circu...
Answered 18 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordAmbulance Services: Emergency CallsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18537More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2024 to Question 13772 on Cardiovascular Diseases: Emergency Calls, if he will provide this data for the period between March 2015 and March 2021; and what ass
Answer: Information on ambulance service demand is published by NHS England, including, as of April 2018, the monthly total number of cardiac arrests responded to by ambulance services. The following table shows the total number of cardiac arrests each month from...
Answered 12 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordHospitals: VisitsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18536More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department issues to hospitals on visiting times for friends and family.
Answer: Contact with family and friends is fundamental to the health and wellbeing of residents in care homes and people in hospital. We have worked with NHS England and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to develop the policy options to strengthen the expectation...
Answered 13 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordSmall Modular Reactors: ProcurementDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17795More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, which companies have applied to operate a small modular reactor.
Answer: I understand the Right Honourable Member is asking about small modular reactor technology vendors down-selected to negotiate with Great British Nuclear as part of its ongoing competition. The vendors are: GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy International LLC; Holte...
Answered 12 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordSmall Modular ReactorsDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 29 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16931More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when recent estimate his Department has made of when small modular reactors will be operational.
Answer: The Government is committed to ensuring new nuclear power stations, such as Hinkley Point C, Sizewell C, and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), will play an important role in helping the UK achieve energy security and clean power while securing thousands of g...
Answered 9 Dec 2024
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4 Jul 2024–3 Jul 2025. One record per UIN and tabled date; the named department is not a measure of answer quality.
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