Gareth Thomas MP: written questions 2026
121 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Health and Care Professions Council: StandardsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 25 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 123578More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Health and Care Professions Council meets the Professional Standards Authority Standard 15 on the time taken to conclude cases.
Answer: The Government takes the performance of the health and care professional regulators, including the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), very seriously. On 27 June 2025, the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) published...
Answered 13 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordNHS: ComplaintsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 25 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 123577More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of information to (a) patients and (b) family members of deceased patients about making a formal complaint in the event of (i) injury
Answer: There are a wide range of sources of information for patients and family members about making a complaint about any aspect of National Health Service care, treatment, or services.Under the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Compla...
Answered 16 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordHealth Professions: RegulationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 24 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 123119More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing the recommendation for the creation of a single assurance body proposed by the Professional Standards Authority in its report R
Answer: The Government has no plans to implement the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care’s proposal to create a single assurance body for all healthcare professionals, as set out in its 2016 Regulation Rethought report.The Government is co...
Answered 13 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordHealth Professions: RegulationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 24 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 123118More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the provision for i) patients ii) family members of deceased patients to contribute to Fitness to Practice proceedings overseen by i) General Medical Council ii) Heal
Answer: The regulators of registered healthcare professionals, including the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), are independent of the Government, as they are directly accountable to Parliament and responsible for op...
Answered 13 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordHealth Professions: RegulationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 24 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 123117More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Professional Standards Authority regarding the extent to which Duty of Candour principles are embedded in the conduct of i) General Medical Council ii) H
Answer: The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) oversees the 10 statutory bodies that regulate healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom and social workers in England. This includes the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Heal...
Answered 13 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordHealth Professions: RegulationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 24 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 123116More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Professional Standards Authority regarding the effectiveness of the i) General Medical Council ii) Health and Care Professions Council to protect patient
Answer: The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) oversees the 10 statutory bodies that regulate healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom and social workers in England. This includes the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Heal...
Answered 13 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordHealth Professions: RegulationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 24 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 123115More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will consider standardising the disciplinary sanctions available to healthcare regulators at the closure of cases.
Answer: The Government is committed to modernising the regulation of all healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom. As a first step, on 24 March 2026, we published our Reforming the General Medical Council legislative framework consultation, which sets out p...
Answered 13 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordVisas: WomenHome OfficeTabled 18 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 121699More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the visa brake on nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan on women at risk of gender-based and sexual violence.
Answer: Equality Impact Assessments have been completed in line with the Equality Act 2010 for the visa brakes on Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan.The UK takes its humanitarian, development, and conflict prevention work seriously and remains committed to ...
Answered 24 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordRefugees: FamiliesHome OfficeTabled 18 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 121691More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the suspension of refugee family reunion and the introduction of income-threshold requirements for family reunification on women and children.
Answer: The decision on whether to publish equality impact assessments, considered through the development of the announced asylum reforms, will be taken by Ministers once the policy development stage has concluded.The Government recognises the importance of fami...
Answered 24 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylum: ReformHome OfficeTabled 18 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 121690More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to publish equality impact assessments for new asylum reforms.
Answer: The decision on whether to publish equality impact assessments, considered through the development of the announced asylum reforms, will be taken by Ministers once the policy development stage has concluded.The Government recognises the importance of fami...
Answered 24 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylum: Human TraffickingHome OfficeTabled 18 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 121689More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of compliance with legal requirements in proposed asylum reforms on victims of trafficking.
Answer: The decision on whether to publish equality impact assessments, considered through the development of the announced asylum reforms, will be taken by Ministers once the policy development stage has concluded.The Government recognises the importance of fami...
Answered 24 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordCats: Animal WelfareDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119201More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that cats are appropriately considered within the Government’s animal welfare agenda.
Answer: The Animal Welfare Strategy was published on 22 December 2025 and sets out our priorities for animal welfare for England. It is a comprehensive set of reforms which will improve the lives of millions of animals.In the Strategy the Government has committed...
Answered 16 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPets: FireworksDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119200More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason does the Animal Welfare Strategy for England not include measures to reduce the impact of fireworks on pets.
Answer: The Animal Welfare Strategy sets out the UK Government’s priorities for England and is a comprehensive set of reforms which will improve the lives of millions of animals. The Government continues to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to...
Answered 16 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordBritish Business BankDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 10 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119199More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has considered allowing the British Business Bank to a) accept deposits and b) run a pilot scheme allowing it to lend directly to i) businesses and ii) community housing groups in areas wher
Answer: The British Business Bank has no plans to accept deposits and is not authorised to do so. This would require an application to the Prudential Regulation Authority, which regulates deposit-taking institutions.Community Development Finance Institutions (CDF...
Answered 16 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFurther Education: FinanceDepartment for EducationTabled 5 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118148More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what was the funding per student in English further education colleges in 2010, 2024 and 2025-26.
Answer: The table below uses the published 16 to 19 funding allocations to derive the average total programme funding per student in general further education (FE) colleges, for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years. The figures are not available for 2010 to 201...
Answered 2 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordTeachers: SecondmentDepartment for EducationTabled 5 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118147More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what programmes are available to encourage businesses to provide industrial secondments to university lecturers.
Answer: Economic growth is the central mission of this government and is vital to give the next generation the opportunities to thrive.The government encourages work experience through various initiatives spanning various departments. The Department for Business ...
Answered 31 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordStudents: Work ExperienceDepartment for EducationTabled 5 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118146More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assistance is being provided to businesses to help them offer work placements to undergraduates.
Answer: Economic growth is the central mission of this government and is vital to give the next generation the opportunities to thrive.The government encourages work experience through various initiatives spanning various departments. The Department for Business ...
Answered 31 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordImmigration: Hong KongHome OfficeTabled 5 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118145More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of applying the proposed immigration reforms to BNO visa holders who are already registered to vote on the electorate.
Answer: The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.We sought views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, which was open between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2...
Answered 11 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordBusiness: TrainingDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 4 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 117659More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what information his Department holds on the proportion of UK businesses with dedicated budgets for training.
Answer: The DBT Longitudinal Small Business Survey[1] reports that 45 percent of SME employers offer training to their employees. The Department does not hold specific information on dedicated budgets for training. [1] Small Business Survey 2024: businesses with ...
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordSmall Businesses: Skilled WorkersDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 4 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 117658More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what grant funding is available to help support the development of commercial and business skills in small and medium-sized enterprise.
Answer: The Department for Business and Trade does not provide centrally administered grant funding, specifically for the development of commercial and business skills for SMEs.Help to Grow: Management (HTG:M) is a UK-wide leadership and management programme for ...
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPrivate Rented Housing: OmbudsmanMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 2 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 116691More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what consideration he has given to giving the Private Rented Sector Ombudsman oversight of property management companies.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 85213 on 4 November 2025.
Answered 9 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordDevelopment AidForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 24 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 115333More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans she has for future independent oversight of UK Official Development Assistance spending.
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 4 February in response to Question 109820.
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordAttorney General's Office: StaffAttorney GeneralTabled 24 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 115332More
Question: To ask the Solicitor General, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2026 to Question 111611, how many employees are employed by her Department and its agencies.
Answer: Departments are required to publish quarterly, the latest of which was released on 16 December 2025. You are referred to Public sector employment - Office for National Statistics for the information you have requested which states that 11,720 people are e...
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Culture, Media and Sport: Credit UnionsDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 24 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 115331More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2026 to Question 111615, for what reason does her Department not have the facility to offer payroll deductions for employees who wish to join a credit union.
Answer: The DCMS employee benefits package is directly shaped by employee demand. At present, joining a credit union is not included in our provision as we haven’t seen a significant appetite or interest. There is no requirement for DCMS to provide a facility for...
Answered 5 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Work and Pensions: Credit UnionsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111636More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether they will require their department and agencies to offer payroll deductions to all employees to enable them to join a credit union.
Answer: DWP has existing arrangements with three of the UK’s leading credit unions: COMMSAVE, HEY (Hull and East Yorkshire) and VOYAGER.The payroll savings scheme with credit unions is part of DWP’s wider financial wellbeing toolkit, which is readily available to...
Answered 23 Feb 2026
Original Parliament record
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