Harriet Cross MP: written questions 2026
62 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Rescue Services: FinanceDepartment for TransportTabled 1 Sept 2026AnsweredUIN 26391More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of providing Mountain Rescue with a similar level of support to HM Coastguard; and if she will consider providing financial support to mountain re
Answer: The Department for Transport have made no assessment of the potential merits of providing Mountain Rescue with a similar level of support to HM Coastguard. Respective Police Services are responsible for the tasking and coordination of mountain rescue whic...
Answered 7 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordSmall Businesses: TaxationTreasuryTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 24944More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to make an assessment of the potential cumulative impact of combined impact overheads such as current or future levels of tax, energy bill, and labour costs on the financial viability of
Answer: The Government recognises that the cumulative burden of taxation, business rates, regulation and reporting requirements impose costs on businesses, recognising that smaller firms can experience these burdens more acutely.The Government assesses the effect...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordOffshore Industry: North SeaDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 24943More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what her policy is on the future licensing of new oil and gas fields in the North Sea.
Answer: The North Sea remains a vital national asset, supporting jobs, growth and the UK's energy security. We have always been clear that oil and gas will continue to play an important role in our energy system for decades to come, alongside renewables, nuclear ...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordOffshore IndustryDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 24942More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she met with representatives of the UK oil and gas sector during the summer recess.
Answer: Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly on GOV.UK.
Answered 7 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordOffshore Industry: AberdeenDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 24941More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she plans to visit Aberdeen to meet representatives of the oil and gas sector.
Answer: Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. The Secretary of State visited Aberdeen on the 23rd of July as one of her first engagements. Aberdeen remai...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordCrisis and Resilience FundDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 24940More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications his department received for its Crisis and Resilience Fund to assist with heating oil costs since its launch on 1 April 2026, broken down by local authority area, and how many (a)
Answer: Support for households affected by rising heating oil prices is administered by local authorities through the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF). Local authorities are responsible for determining eligibility, processing applications and holding data relatin...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordFuel Oil: PricesTreasuryTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 24939More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his department undertook constituency-level modelling to estimate trends in the level of support for constituencies from the £53 million emergency support package to help with rising heating oil costs.
Answer: The Government acted quickly to provide £53m in timely, targeted support to low-income households struggling with the rising price of heating oil and at risk of losing access to heating and hot water.Funding in England was allocated in a way that accounts...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordPension FundsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 24938More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance has his Department issued to pensions schemes on contacting members whose pre-retirement fund suffered crystallised losses following the use of leveraged Liability–Driven investment strate
Answer: Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes provide a predetermined level of pension and/or other benefits. Employers are responsible for funding the pensions and other benefits promised by their DB schemes and, although contributions are paid into the scheme an...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordRescue ServicesCabinet OfficeTabled 15 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 19261More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will specify which Minister in each government department holds responsibility for oversight of the operations of Mountain Rescue services; and if the Government will consider designating a single ministe
Answer: Mountain Rescue covers a broad range of capabilities provided by civilian, military, and voluntary responders. As such, a number of Ministers and departments are responsible for determining policy relevant to their areas of expertise and sponsoring these ...
Answered 3 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordBank ServicesTreasuryTabled 14 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 18917More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government would consider establishing a minimum standard for access to in-person banking services, following the Access to Banking Services Review; and what role the Post Office network could play in me
Answer: The Government is committed to ensuring that people who need in-person banking can continue to access essential services.That is why the Government commissioned an independent Review into Access to Banking Services, to assess whether changes to access to ...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordBank Services: Post OfficesTreasuryTabled 14 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 18916More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government's Access to Banking Services Review is making of the role that the Post Office's network of branches could play in providing access to in-person banking services for people who are dig
Answer: The Government is committed to ensuring that people who need in-person banking can continue to access essential services.That is why the Government commissioned an independent Review into Access to Banking Services, to assess whether changes to access to ...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordLivestock: Antibiotics and Disease ControlDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 18413More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the the potential benefits of introducing an initiative to provide livestock farmers with practical guidance on disease prevention and
Answer: Defra supports livestock farmers in England to improve disease prevention, biosecurity and the responsible use of antibiotics through existing initiatives, including the Animal Health and Welfare Review and the Poultry Biosecurity Review. The Department c...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordOffshore Industry: North SeaDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 13 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 18412More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the economic impact of changes in North Sea oil and gas activity on the north-east of Scotland.
Answer: The North Sea basin is mature and in long-term decline, with oil and gas production falling by around 75% between 1999 and 2024. This has affected employment and investment in oil and gas, particularly in north-east Scotland. Britain is well-placed to mob...
Answered 21 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: Water SupplyDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 18411More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has undertaken an assessment of the resilience of agricultural water supplies during prolonged dry weather.
Answer: The Environment Agency (EA) and Defra are holding monthly National Drought Group meetings gathering intelligence from the agriculture sector on water resilience. Supplies in irrigation reservoirs have rapidly declined following a dry spring and many are n...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordCrime: Rural AreasDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 18410More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on the cost of rural crime to farming businesses.
Answer: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues. The Government is committed to tackling rural crime and safeguarding rural communities. That is why we have worked closely with the Home Office and the National P...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordFarmers: SurveysDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 13 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 18409More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department undertakes research or collects data on confidence among farmers and agricultural businesses.
Answer: Defra publishes various measures of farmer confidence, including a summary of free text comments by theme, collected via the Farmer Opinion Tracker. The latest results are published here and the next set of results will be available on the same page on 29...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordOffshore Industry: EmploymentDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 13 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 18408More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of government policy on employment in Scotland's offshore oil and gas sector since July 2024.
Answer: The North Sea is a mature basin, and production has been in natural decline for many years. Employment in oil and gas has therefore been declining over a prolonged period. Office for National Statistics data shows direct oil and gas employment fell by aro...
Answered 21 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordRescue ServicesCabinet OfficeTabled 8 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17202More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Minister has responsibility for supporting Mountain Rescue.
Answer: Mountain Rescue covers a broad range of capabilities provided by civilian, military, and voluntary responders. As such, individual departments sponsoring these various services are responsible for policy in those areas. These departments include Home Offi...
Answered 14 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Energy Security and Net Zero: FinanceDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15104More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, which of his Departmental projects will be (a) reduced and (b) ended due to departmental funding being reallocated to the defence budget; and how much they will be reduced by.
Answer: The savings are a small part of DESNZ’s overall budget, which saw a significant uplift at Spending Review. Our aim is for a large proportion of the savings to be found through efficiencies. We will set out more details in due course. The UK clean energy e...
Answered 6 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordA96: SafetyDepartment for TransportTabled 15 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 9945More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of road safety conditions on the A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness with regard to road lay out, traffic flows and vehicle types; and what steps she is taking
Answer: Road safety policy in Scotland is fully devolved, and responsibility for the operation, maintenance and safety of the A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness rests with the Scottish Government and its agency, Transport Scotland.
Answered 18 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordMeat Products: Origin MarkingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 8945More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to amend food labelling regulations so that the Union Jack and 'British' country-of-origin labels can only be applied to meat products f
Answer: The UK aims to maintain high standards on the information that is provided on food labels. All food sold on the UK market, including that which is imported, must comply with UK food labelling rules. The fundamental principle of our food labelling rules is...
Answered 19 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordPigs: Livestock IndustryDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 9 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 8356More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to mandate equitable, legally binding, cost-of-production contracts between major supermarkets, processors and independent pig farmers.
Answer: The ‘Fair Dealing Obligations (Pigs) Regulations’ aim to strengthen the pig sector by improving how contracts operate and giving farmers more control over how they sell their pigs. They introduce statutory requirements for written contracts between pig pr...
Answered 15 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordPigmeat: PricesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 9 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 8289More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to provide immediate financial assistance or supply chain interventions to support UK independent pig farmers following price changes.
Answer: The UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG), formed by Defra and the Devolved Governments, has routinely followed the changes in pigmeat prices, including their recent downturn after several years of strong prices. The Department does not consider...
Answered 16 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordPigmeat: SpainDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 9 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 8288More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential economic impact on British independent pig farmers of Spanish pork imports being diverted into the UK market following Spain’s
Answer: The Government routinely monitors imports of sensitive agricultural products for any unforeseen surges that could impact domestic industry. Imports from Spain currently account for 9.5% of UK pigmeat imports on a country-of-origin basis. The EU-UK Trade a...
Answered 15 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordWild Boar: African Swine FeverDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 9 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 8287More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the recent outbreak of African Swine Fever in wild boar in Spain, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Spanish pork imports from outside the restricted
Answer: Commercial imports of pork and pork products from Spain into Great Britain must be accompanied by health certification signed by an official veterinarian, attesting compliance with animal health requirements to mitigate the risk of spread of African swine...
Answered 15 Jun 2026
Original Parliament record
Published records only — not a full account of an MP’s work. How we work →