Gareth Thomas MP: written questions 2025
108 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Credit: Community DevelopmentTreasuryTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86597More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods, if she will review the availability of affordable credit in mission critical neighbourhoods.
Answer: The Government recognises that credit, when provided responsibly, can be crucial for people facing unexpected expenses or managing their cash flow. The UK has a diverse landscape for credit provision to individuals, comprising traditional banks, challenge...
Answered 5 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordCommunity DevelopmentMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86596More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish a list of mission critical neighbourhoods as defined by the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods.
Answer: We welcomed the May report from the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods entitled ‘Anatomy of Mission Critical Neighbourhoods’ and have noted the findings of the entrenched challenges these areas face, specifically in relation to economic inactivity, ...
Answered 5 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordSmall Businesses: FinanceTreasuryTabled 30 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 86595More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take legislative steps to reform the Bank Referral Scheme to ensure that SMEs are referred to the (a) most appropriate and (b) best value funding option.
Answer: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 28 October to PQ 84135.
Answered 4 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordBounce Back Loan Scheme: Hospitality IndustryDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 28 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 85694More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) pubs and (b) other hospitality businesses extending their Bounce Back Loans for (i) an additional five years beyond the current maximum limits
Answer: Pay As You Grow (PAYG) was introduced to give businesses that borrowed under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) greater flexibility, including extended repayment terms and short-term interest only payments. The Department’s multi-year published evaluation...
Answered 3 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordCredit UnionsTreasuryTabled 24 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84903More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 82944 on Credit Unions, if she will publish the responses to the call for evidence.
Answer: The government is committed to exploring legislative reform to the credit union common bond to ensure it remains fit for purpose. Responses to the call for evidence are currently being considered, and the government will provide an update on this work in ...
Answered 30 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordBanks and Community Development Finance InstitutionsTreasuryTabled 24 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84902More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 82947 on Banks and Community Development Finance Institutions, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the reasons for whi
Answer: As outlined in my previous response, the Government recognises the vital role Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) play in providing affordable credit to underserved consumers and businesses. However I cannot comment on how individual banks ...
Answered 30 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordSmall Businesses: FinanceTreasuryTabled 22 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84135More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if her Department will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that SMEs are referred to the (a) most appropriate and (b) best value funding option under the Bank Referral Scheme.
Answer: The Bank Referral Scheme is a legislative initiative that requires major lenders (designated banks) to refer SME customers that they reject for finance, with the SME’s permission, to designated finance platforms that can connect the SME with alternative f...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordMotor Vehicles: Excise DutiesDepartment for TransportTabled 22 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84134More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to review the process for disabled customers to claim reduced rates of vehicle tax.
Answer: Customers who receive the enhanced rate mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and whose vehicles are already licensed in the disabled taxation class can renew their vehicle excise duty (VED) exemption online.Those customers who rec...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordCancer: DiagnosisDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83723More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people referred to the London North West University Hospital were (a) diagnosed with cancer and (b) had cancer ruled out within (i) 28 days and (ii) 62 days in each quarter since the start
Answer: NHS England publishes data for the three cancer waiting time standards monthly, and this data can be broken down to a provider level, with further information available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/can...
Answered 27 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordCancer: DiagnosisDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83722More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in (a) Harrow, (b) Barnet, (c) Brent, (d) England and (e) London were diagnosed with (i) Stage One, (ii) Stage 2, (iii) Stage 3 and (iv) Stage 4 cancer in (A) 2022-23, (B) 2023-24 a
Answer: The National Disease Registration Service is the cancer registry for England, and is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrsData can be broken down by stage as well as by geographical location. However, data is not available by local a...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordLondon North West University Healthcare NHS Trust: Accident and Emergency DepartmentsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83721More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients were seen within (a) one, (b) two and (c) four hours at accident and emergency in the London North West University Hospital in each quarter since 2022-23.
Answer: The data is not available in the format requested. NHS England does not publish data on patients seen within one or two hours. The only data available is for patients seen within four hours.The information requested for London North West University Hospit...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordPolice: Harrow WestHome OfficeTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83720More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to help increase the number of police officers in the Harrow West constituency since the end of June 2024.
Answer: The Government has launched the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. This will ensure that every community in England and Wales will have named and contactable officers dealing with local issues, and that neighbourhood teams spend the majority of their time ...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordCommunity Development Finance InstitutionsTreasuryTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83719More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to require (a) banks and (b) other major financial services providers to invest in community development finance institutions.
Answer: The Government recognises the vital role Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) play in providing affordable credit to underserved consumers and businesses. To support this, in November 2024, the British Business Bank launched the Community EN...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordNepal and Pakistan: Development AidForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 20 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83233More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding she plans to provide to support development efforts in (a) Pakistan and (b) Nepal in the (i) 2025-2026 and (ii) 2026-2026 financial years.
Answer: For Financial Year 25/26, UK Government development funding for Pakistan is £103 million, and for Nepal it is £47 million. We are currently in the process of allocating budgets for 2026 onwards. The Minister for Development will inform Parliament in the u...
Answered 27 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordUnited Nations: Peace Keeping OperationsForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 20 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83232More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding she plans to provide to support UN peacekeeping operations in (a) 2025-26 and (b) 2026-27.
Answer: For the 2025/26 peacekeeping fiscal year (July to June), the UK's mandatory contribution to the United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping Budget will be $245 million (4.7454 per cent) of a budget of $5.16 billion. Further funding will be required for the 2025/26 U...
Answered 23 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordInternational Assistance: HIV/AIDSForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 20 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83231More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of effectiveness of UK funding for (a) the United Nations Development Programme and (b) Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.
Answer: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) assesses the effectiveness, value for money, performance and relevance of UK funding to multilateral organisations including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Joint United Natio...
Answered 23 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordBusiness: LoansTreasuryTabled 20 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83222More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints (a) her Department, (b) the Financial Conduct Authority, (c) the Prudential Regulation Authority and (d) the Financial Ombudsman Scheme have received on high cost business lenders who have offere
Answer: The Treasury receives correspondence across a wide variety of subjects including financial services. While we are not able to measure the number of complaints the department receives in relation to high-cost credit for business loans with interest rates p...
Answered 23 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordCredit UnionsTreasuryTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 82944More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she plans to publish the responses to the call for evidence entitled Credit Union Common Bond Reform, published on 14 November 2024.
Answer: The government recognises the role that credit unions play in providing savings and affordable loans to their members, serving local communities throughout the country. This is why the government is taking steps to ensure credit unions are fully supported...
Answered 23 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordCredit Unions: MortgagesTreasuryTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 82943More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2025 to Question 81241 on Credit Unions: Mortgages, what information her Department holds on which credit unions offer mortgages in each (a) region and (b) UK nation.
Answer: There are six credit unions in the UK currently offering mortgages. Of these, two are headquartered in England, three in Scotland, and one in Northern Ireland. Of those headquartered in England, one is located in the North West and one is located in Londo...
Answered 23 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordBanks and Community Development Finance InstitutionsTreasuryTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 82947More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will encourage partnerships between (a) Barclays Bank, (b) Santander, (c) HSBC, (d) NatWest and (e) Lloyds Bank with community development finance institutions serving areas of highest deprivation.
Answer: The Government recognises the vital role Community Development Finance Institutions play in providing affordable credit to underserved consumers and businesses. To support this, in November 2024, the British Business Bank launched the Community ENABLE Fun...
Answered 23 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordBank Services: Small BusinessesTreasuryTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 82946More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will require banks to submit quarterly data on the number of small and medium sized business account (a) openings and (b) closures.
Answer: The Government recognises the vital role financial services play in supporting millions of businesses across the UK, and believes all customers should be treated fairly by banks and have access to the financial services they need. This is why the Governme...
Answered 23 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Rented Housing: Credit UnionsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 17 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 82945More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will require registered social landlords to promote credit union membership to their tenants.
Answer: There is currently no requirement for registered providers of social housing to promote credit union membership to their tenants, and we do not propose to introduce one. Registered providers are expected to deliver the outcomes of the Regulator of Social ...
Answered 23 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordLondon North West University Healthcare NHS Trust: Waiting ListsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 16 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 82639More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients were waiting for more than 18 weeks for treatment at the London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust at the end of (a) June 2004 and (b) June 2025.
Answer: Monthly referral to treatment waiting times data has been published by NHS England since March 2007. The requested data for June 2004 is therefore unavailable. As of the end of June 2025, there were 38,284 pathways over 18 weeks at London North West Unive...
Answered 22 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordGeneral Practitioners: Harrow WestDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 16 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 82638More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many extra GP appointments have been created in Harrow West since the end of June 2024; and at which GP surgery locations.
Answer: Harrow West sits within the NHS North West London Integrated Care Board (ICB). Across the ICB, there were 661,209 more appointments in the 14-months to August 2025 than the 14-months to August 2024 across 343 individual practices. There were 1,617 fewer a...
Answered 22 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordNeighbourhood Health Centres: HarrowDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 16 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 82640More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, where does he expect a neighbourhood health centre to be established in the London Borough of Harrow; and when this will be.
Answer: The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future, and we recognise that delivering high quality NHS healthcare requires the right infrastructure in the right places.That is why, over the course of our 10-Year ...
Answered 22 Oct 2025
Original Parliament record
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