Freddie van Mierlo MP: written questions 2025
395 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Large Goods Vehicles: ConcreteDepartment for TransportTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46544More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the impact of cutting weights of Volumetric Concrete Mixers on (a) lorry miles on concrete deliveries, (b) lorry journeys on concrete deliveries and (c) the tonnage of CO2 produc
Answer: My Department engaged with hon. Members and industry stakeholders through correspondence prior to the announcement. Additionally, industry and interested parties were given the opportunity to present views and evidence on this topic as part of the Call fo...
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPharmacyDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46543More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the report on economic review into community pharmacy.
Answer: NHS England commissioned Frontier Economics to undertake an independent economic analysis of National Health Service pharmacy funding in 2024. This work is now complete and was published on 28 March 2025 on Frontier Economics’ website.
Answered 8 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic FootpathsDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 3 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44078More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2025 to Question 40119 on Members: Correspondence, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of a reduction in access to UK’s National Trails o
Answer: DCMS has not specifically undertaken a formal assessment of the impact of any potential reduction in access to the UK’s National Trails on the work of VisitBritain or VisitEngland.However, we recognise that access to National Trails plays a role in suppor...
Answered 15 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordBakeriesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 3 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44075More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support British bakeries.
Answer: We intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties from 2026 - 27. Ahead of these changes being made, we have extended retail, hospitality, and leisure relief for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of ...
Answered 8 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordBread: RegulationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 3 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44074More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward regulations on the composition of bread marketed as sourdough.
Answer: The Government has no current plans to introduce regulations to specifically cover the composition of ‘sourdough bread’. The UK maintains high food standards including on requirements relating to food labelling and information. Existing legislation ensure...
Answered 8 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordEnergy SupplyDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 3 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44072More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure sufficient energy supply to meet demand in the next 10 years.
Answer: Great Britain is expected to have sufficient supplies of electricity and gas to meet consumers’ demands over the short and long-term (Statutory Security of Supply Report 2024). The government’s mission is to secure our energy supply with home-grown, clean...
Answered 8 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordHousehold Support FundDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 3 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44070More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the Household Support Fund after March 2026.
Answer: This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to drive up opportunity and drive down poverty across the UK. That is why we are providing £742 million in England to extend the Household Support Fund by a further year, from 1 April 2025 ...
Answered 8 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordDementia: Clinical TrialsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43301More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many phase (a) one, (b) two and (c) three dementia clinical trials there have been in the UK in each of the last ten years; and how many participants were recruited for each of those trials.
Answer: The Department delivers dementia research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The Department does not hold information centrally on clinical trials hosted in Wales and Scotland. The Department is therefore unable to provide how...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordDementia: ResearchDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43300More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding was allocated to dementia research by (a) the National Institute for Health and Care Research, (b) UK Research and Innovation and (c) other public bodies in each of the last five y
Answer: The Government’s responsibility for delivering dementia research is shared between the Department of Health and Social Care, with research delivered via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and the Department for Science, Innovation...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordMacquarie Bank: InfrastructureTreasuryTabled 31 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42950More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Macquarie Bank’s involvement in UK infrastructure development; and what steps she plans to take to ensure the stability and sustainability of essential service
Answer: The government is committed to delivering a cross-cutting 10 Year Strategy for the UK’s social, economic and housing infrastructure to support a flourishing modern economy, drive growth, deliver net zero and support improved public services. The governme...
Answered 3 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordNHS: DatabasesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 31 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42948More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will consider the final costs and benefits statement for programmes delivered under the National Programme of Technology, published on 6 June 2013, in his plans for (a) an NHS Federated Data
Answer: We are keen to draw on the lessons from the National Programme for IT in delivering the Federated Data Platform and the single patient record.NHS England publishes information each quarter on the benefits being realised by the Federated Data Platform, wit...
Answered 3 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordNHS EnglandDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 31 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42945More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of closing NHS England on the (a) timeline for the production of the NHS 10-year plan and (b) publication date of that plan.
Answer: We do not envisage that the changes set out by the Prime Minister on 13 March 2025 will affect the publication of the 10 Year Plan. We still intend to publish the plan later in the spring.The changes will set the National Health Service up to deliver on t...
Answered 3 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic Footpaths: River ThamesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 27 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42186More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to mark the 30th anniversary of the Thames Path National Trail; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the closure of the trail at Marsh Loc
Answer: There will be a programme of events in the summer of 2026 celebrating the history and importance of the Thames Path National Trail. The Environment Agency recognises the importance of Marsh Horse Bridge to the community within the Henley & Thame const...
Answered 3 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPharmacy: FinanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 27 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42185More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the length of funding periods of pharmacies.
Answer: We have now concluded the consultation on funding for 2024/25 and 2025/26, and have agreed with Community Pharmacy England to increase the community pharmacy contractual framework to £3.073 billion. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of an...
Answered 2 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordEmployers' Contributions: ExemptionsTreasuryTabled 27 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42184More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting (a) GP surgeries, (b) social care providers, (c) hospices, (d) NHS dentists, (e) charitable providers, and (f) pharmacies from the incre
Answer: The Government has taken a number of difficult but necessary decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to fix the public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability after the situation we inherited from the previous administration. The Go...
Answered 1 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPharmacy: FinanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 27 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42183More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to link pharmacy funding to inflation and National Living Wage increases.
Answer: We have taken the necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, and this enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.T...
Answered 2 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordInnovative Medicines FundDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 41685More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the ringfenced £340 million budget for the Innovative Medicines Fund has been spent in each year since its launch in June 2022.
Answer: The Innovative Medicines Fund (IMF) was established to provide a funding mechanism for promising non-cancer medicines recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for a period of managed access to address uncertainties in th...
Answered 9 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordInnovative Medicines FundDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 41684More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the (a) adequacy of the entry criteria for the Innovative Medicines Fund and (b) whether these present barriers to patients accessing medicines in areas
Answer: The Innovative Medicines Fund (IMF) was launched in June 2022, building on the successful Cancer Drugs Fund and supporting patient access to the most promising new medicines while further evidence is collected on their use to address clinical uncertainty....
Answered 31 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordHealth: QuestionnairesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 41683More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on the suitability of the EQ-5D questionnaire as tool for measuring caregiver quality of life improvements.
Answer: I regularly meet with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to discuss a range of issues. The NICE is responsible for the methods and processes that it uses in its health technology evaluations. The NICE’s health technology evaluati...
Answered 31 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordTax Evasion: BusinessesTreasuryTabled 26 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 41682More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to (a) reduce the levels of tax evasion by of cash-only high street businesses and (b) support small businesses to adopt card payment systems.
Answer: HMRC is committed to ensuring the tax system operates fairly and efficiently, creating a level playing field for compliant businesses. Most businesses pay what they owe, but a minority fail to register or only declare a portion of their earnings for tax. ...
Answered 31 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordRiver Thames: Bridges and Public FootpathsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 24 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 40938More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2025 to Question 37093 on Environment Agency: Finance, if he will take steps to fast track the flood and coastal erosion risk management grant-in-aid
Answer: The Government’s Spending Review process will consider all of the investment requests relating to the non-tidal Thames navigation assets. The Environment Agency (EA) will then develop its medium-term capital delivery programme based on the benefits, oppor...
Answered 2 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordNHS: ICTDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 24 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 40937More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the NHS National Program for IT.
Answer: The final cost and benefits statement for the programmes delivered under the National Programme for Information Technology was published on 6 June 2013, and can be found online on the GOV.UK website.
Answered 27 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordMedical Records: DatabasesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 24 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 40936More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of trends in the level of NHS trusts having electronic records.
Answer: No assessment of these trends has been made. Currently, we have achieved a 91% rollout of Electronic Patient Records (EPR), with work underway to provide tailored support to the remaining 19 trusts that do not yet have an EPR.The programme is forecasting ...
Answered 27 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCharities: Employers' ContributionsDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 24 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 40728More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contribution on (a) local animal shelters, (b) other small charities and (c) the whole charitable
Answer: DCMS Ministers have met with representatives from the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector to discuss this issue and are aware of their concerns about the impacts of the increase to employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs). The govern...
Answered 31 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing: DisabilityMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 20 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 40122More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take through the National Planning Policy Framework to ensure the adequate provision of M4(2) and M4(3) compliant housing in Henley and Thame constituency
Answer: The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 requires local planning authorities to assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those of older and disabled people, and...
Answered 26 Mar 2025
Original Parliament record
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