Esther McVey MP: written questions
391 published records · newest first.
Written questions
State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals AbroadDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 116142More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are claiming a UK State Pension whilst living abroad by the country they are living in.
Answer: There were around 1.1 million recipients of the UK State Pension living overseas outside the United Kingdom as of the quarter ending August 2025. DWP Stat-Xplore. A full breakdown by country of residence is also available via Stat-Xplore. These figures re...
Answered 4 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordBrass Bands and Opera: ExpenditureDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 26 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 116141More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much the Arts Council has provided in grants for a) opera and b) brass bands in each of the last three years.
Answer: The tables in the attached PDF set out Arts Council England grants which support a) opera and b) brass bands for the years 2022/2023, 2023/2024, and 2024/2025. Please note that the distinction between Primary and Non-Primary Subclassifiers is important. I...
Answered 5 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordCare Trusts: Hospital BedsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 116140More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the bed capacity was in each NHS care trust in each of the last five years.
Answer: NHS England publishes data on general and acute bed occupancy and capacity. The data can be found at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/bed-availability-and-occupancy/
Answered 9 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordCare Trusts: FinanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 116139More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the annual budget for each individual NHS care trust was in each of the last five years.
Answer: The trust accounts consolidation data publications for National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts include total operating income and expenditure, and are available for the last five financial years. Data for 2024/25 is currently being finali...
Answered 9 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordCare Trusts and NHS Trusts: InquiriesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 116138More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average cost was of an inquiry into (a) NHS trust and (b) care trusts in the last 12 months.
Answer: There were three statutory and non-statutory inquiries into National Health Service trusts and care trusts commissioned by the Department in the 2025/26 financial year. The average cost per inquiry over this period is approximately £4.3 million.
Answered 4 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordMental Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 116137More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of mental health patients per caseworker across the country.
Answer: The information is not held in the format requested.
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordVAT: RepaymentsTreasuryTabled 12 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 113072More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2025 to Question 98773 on VAT: Repayments, how many of the (a) VAT repayment returns, (b) complaints received relating to VAT repayments and (c) complaints received directly rel
Answer: Between 1 June to 30 November 2025, HMRC processed around 600,000 VAT repayment returns that were under £1,000 in value. HMRC are unable to confirm how many of the 162 and 119 complaints referenced in PQ answer 98773 relate to VAT refunds which are under ...
Answered 26 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordLord MandelsonCabinet OfficeTabled 12 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 113071More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he expects to bring forward legislation to strip Lord Mandelson of his peerage.
Answer: The Government will provide further details about legislation to create a system to remove peerages from peers in due course.
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordLord DoyleCabinet OfficeTabled 12 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 113070More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will (a) make a statement and (b) bring forward legislation to strip Lord Doyle of his peerage.
Answer: An ongoing investigation is being carried out by the Labour Party.
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFolic AcidDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 12 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 113069More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to The Bread and Flour (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2024, what steps he has taken to avoid harm to people unable to take folic acid.
Answer: The Government laid legislation in England on 14 November 2024 to introduce the mandatory fortification of non-wholemeal wheat flour with folic acid. Similar legislation in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland has also been laid. The provisions will beco...
Answered 23 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCoronavirus: ResearchDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 5 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111118More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2026 to Question 109089 on Coronavirus: Research, when the UK Health Security Agency requested the report.
Answer: Routine audit outcomes by the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority are not generally published or otherwise required to be shared externally beyond the parties involved. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) requested this report from Moderna...
Answered 13 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational Needs: CostsDepartment for EducationTabled 3 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 110369More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether comparisons of the cost of maintained and independent special school placements take account of differences in (a) pupil needs, (b) placement complexity, and (c) length of placement.
Answer: Comparisons of the average cost of placements in different types of special school can be made at national level. The data collected on relevant local and central government expenditure is not differentiated on the basis of pupil needs, placement complexi...
Answered 4 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational Needs: CostsDepartment for EducationTabled 3 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 110368More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) methodology and (b) data the Department uses to (i) calculate and (ii) compare the average cost of maintained special school placements and independent school placements.
Answer: For maintained special schools and special academies, the department uses local authorities’ actual expenditure on high needs top-up funding, to which is added the £10,000 per place funding using pupil numbers from the January school census, divided by th...
Answered 4 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordCoronavirus: ResearchDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109089More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2026 to Question 106102 on Coronavirus: Research, for what reason they have yet to receive a copy of the audit; and how the scope of the recommendations can be
Answer: The UK Health Security Agency has requested this report and continues discussions with Moderna on their response to the audit’s recommendations. This is being considered and reviewed alongside the commercial management of the Moderna-United Kingdom Strate...
Answered 4 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCoronavirus: ResearchDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 15 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106102More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 59379 on Coronavirus: Research, and with reference to FOI 15/11/25/IR/575, when the UKHSA expects to receive the report from (a) Moderna and (b) P
Answer: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has yet to receive a copy of the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) audit report. However, as part of the United Kingdom’s Strategic Partnership with Moderna, the UKHSA is working to understand ...
Answered 26 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordVisual Snow Syndrome: Yellow Card SchemeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98774More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer 1 December 2025 to Question HL12274 on Visual Snow Syndrome: Yellow Card Scheme, if he will confirm whether official UK drug labels or patient information leaflets warn about
Answer: Visual snow syndrome (VSS) was officially recognized in 2025 with a unique code in the eleventh edition of the International Classification of Diseases by the World Health Organization. Very few cases of VSS have been reported with 22 individual drugs or ...
Answered 18 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordVAT: RepaymentsTreasuryTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98773More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints HMRC have received in the last 6 months about VAT refunds to businesses because the refund was a) not received and b) delayed.
Answer: Between 1 June to 30 November 2025, HMRC processed around 1.4 million VAT repayment returns, with around 93% paid promptly following initial risking.Based on the information held on HMRC’s complaints database, between 1 June to 30 November 2025, HMRC rece...
Answered 19 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordVAT: RepaymentsTreasuryTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98772More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many VAT refunds to businesses in the last six months a) have not been refunded and b) have been delayed.
Answer: Between 1 June to 30 November 2025, HMRC processed around 1.4 million VAT repayment returns, with around 93% paid promptly following initial risking.Based on the information held on HMRC’s complaints database, between 1 June to 30 November 2025, HMRC rece...
Answered 19 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordSelective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors: PackagingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98754More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 4 July 2025 to question 63299, when he plans to publish the report on packaging changes to Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, as discussed at the Commission on Human
Answer: The Commission on Human Medicines Antidepressant Risk Minimisation Expert Working Group met in May and July 2025 and their recommendations were subsequently considered by the Commission on Human Medicines in September 2025. A public assessment report summ...
Answered 18 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordFuels: Excise DutiesTreasuryTabled 24 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 93701More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of continued fuel duty freezes on (a0 supporting economic growth and (b) supply chain stability in the North West.
Answer: At Budget 2025, the Government announced continued support for people and businesses by extending the temporary 5p fuel duty cut until the end of August 2026. Rates will then gradually return to previous levels. The planned increase in line with inflation...
Answered 1 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPort of Liverpool: RoadsDepartment for TransportTabled 24 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 93700More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the condition and capacity of the road network linking the Port of Liverpool with the M57, M58 and M6 corridors; and whether additional funding is planned to support freig
Answer: National Highways has considered the current performance and potential future needs of the A5036, M57, M58 and M6 corridor as part of its South Pennines Route Strategy. This is the principal evidence-gathering mechanism for the organisation to inform inve...
Answered 2 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HotelsHome OfficeTabled 11 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 89415More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has issued guidance to police forces on the use of stop and search for weapons at hotels housing asylum seekers.
Answer: Code A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) governs the use of stop and search powers. Guidance on the use of stop and search is also issued to forces by the College of Policing in its Authorised Professional Practice.The Home Office has is...
Answered 19 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordPupils: Personal RecordsDepartment for EducationTabled 11 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 89414More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department made of the adequacy of the use of single unique identifiers for schools, in the context of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Answer: Provision in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to introduce a single unique identifier (SUI) for children is based on extensive user research, including engagement with schools and education settings. Our 2023 report, ‘Improving multi-agency infor...
Answered 19 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordChildren's Wellbeing and Schools BillDepartment for EducationTabled 5 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88243More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure provisions in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill maintain data protection requirements.
Answer: The department recognises its responsibility to ensure the highest standards of data privacy and transparency in respect of personal data, and we are ensuring that this is prioritised as the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill progresses.We are ensuring...
Answered 14 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordHome EducationDepartment for EducationTabled 5 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88242More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consultation her Department undertook with parents of home educated children on the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
Answer: The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill includes a proposal for compulsory Children Not in School registers and an accompanying duty on parents to give information for these registers. The department consulted on this proposal as part of its ‘Children N...
Answered 14 Nov 2025
Original Parliament record
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