Helen Maguire MP: written questions 2025
802 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Gaza: AgricultureForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84011More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential of agricultural land in Gaza to grow adequate quantities of food to support the population.
Answer: The UK is deeply concerned by the collapse of Gaza's agricultural sector and the impact the destruction has had on food security. Recent assessments by the UN indicate that 86 per cent of cropland in Northern Gaza has been damaged. In response, we have sc...
Answered 3 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordGaza: AgricultureForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84010More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support her Department is providing to help decontaminate agricultural land in Gaza.
Answer: The UK is deeply concerned by the collapse of Gaza's agricultural sector and the impact the destruction has had on food security. Recent assessments by the UN indicate that 86 per cent of cropland in Northern Gaza has been damaged. In response, we have sc...
Answered 3 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordGaza: Humanitarian AidForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84009More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent information her Department holds on the restrictions on (a) medicines and (b) medical equipment put in place by Israel at entry points into Gaza.
Answer: Humanitarian partners continue to report delays, restrictions, and denials of critical medical supplies getting into Gaza. On 18 October, the Foreign Secretary raised this directly with Foreign Minister Sa'ar and pressed for the reopening of the Rafah cro...
Answered 29 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordArmed Forces: Dental ServicesMinistry of DefenceTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84008More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel were categorised as NATO dental fitness Category (a) 2, (b) 3 and (c) 4 on the basis that they needed dental care or treatment in order to be fully deployable in each of the last 1
Answer: The following table provides the numbers of UK Armed Forces personnel categorised as NATO Category 2, 3 and 4, as at 1 April each year from 1 April 2015 to April 2025: NATO Category234201510,0968,01528,76720169,8936,94822,47820179,4966,08119,435201810,409...
Answered 29 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordArmed Forces: TrainingMinistry of DefenceTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84007More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to reduce holdover wait times for trainees.
Answer: Holdover wait times for trainees vary across the single Services and it is not a universal picture; however multiple steps are being taken to reduce wait times across all three Services. Force growth and training have been prioritised, with training pipel...
Answered 29 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordArmed Forces CovenantMinistry of DefenceTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84006More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to help increase awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty amongst service personnel.
Answer: Defence has made a concerted effort and is absolutely committed to raising awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant Legal Duty through our election manifesto commitment to fully extend the duty into law. This includes the creation of a Duty toolkit which ex...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordMeans-tested Benefits: VeteransDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84005More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether veterans have their military compensation disregarded when means testing income for benefits.
Answer: The honourable member has previously raised this broad issue and I refer her to the answer given on 8 July 63814
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordArmed Forces CovenantMinistry of DefenceTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84004More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Armed Forces Covenant Duty to include all (a) (i) UK and (ii) devolved government Departments and (b) policy areas.
Answer: The Government’s election manifesto committed to placing the Armed Forces Covenant fully into law. During Armed Forces week in June, the Prime Minister announced that Service personnel, Veterans, their families and the bereaved are to have their unique ci...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordEU Countries: Military AlliancesMinistry of DefenceTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84003More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made with his EU counterparts on further military cooperation between the UK and Common Security and Defence Policy exercises.
Answer: The Security and Defence Partnership agreed with the European Union on 19 May 2025 is an example of this Government delivering on our manifesto commitments to strengthen European security, support growth and reinforce NATO. We will continue to prioritise ...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordGeneral PractitionersDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84002More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of people who were seen by a GP in (a) September and (b) October 2025.
Answer: NHS England collects and publishes statistics on the total number of general practice (GP) appointments delivered each month. This data is published one month in arrears in order to allow for sufficient time for all appointment records to be collated, val...
Answered 12 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordRespiratory Diseases: DiagnosisDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84001More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) increase capacity and (b) reduce inequalities in accessing respiratory diagnoses.
Answer: The Government is committed to increasing the capacity of respiratory services and is improving access to these services through new community diagnostic centres (CDCs).All standard and large CDCs are required to offer diagnostic respiratory tests such as...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordGeneral PractitionersDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 84000More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that people can see a GP within (a) seven days and (b) within 24 hours if it is urgent.
Answer: We are committed to ensuring that patients can access digital consultations within 24 hours, recognising the significance of timely care for all.Under the current GP Contract, practices are required to ensure that anyone needing an appointment at a genera...
Answered 10 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordDentistry: RecruitmentDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83999More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to recruit dentists into the NHS.
Answer: We are determined to rebuild National Health Service dentistry, but it will take time and there are no quick fixes. Strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions.To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift...
Answered 6 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordPrimary Care: FinanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83998More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department plans to provide for primary care services in each of the next three years.
Answer: The Department’s settlement was announced at the 2025 Spending Review. The details of Spending Review budget allocations, inclusive of primary care services, within departments is still being determined for 2026/27 and we are working to provide the detail...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordGuided WeaponsMinistry of DefenceTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83974More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the defence capabilities of the Armed Forces in response to China's (a) Dongfeng-5C intercontinental ballistic missile and (b) second-strike capability.
Answer: The Ministry of Defence does not comment on specific capabilities, as doing so could provide an operational advantage to those who may seek to harm the UK. The UK has a suite of capabilities to tackle the missile threat which is advancing, proliferating a...
Answered 29 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordOil: RussiaTreasuryTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83973More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she will have discussions with her international allied counterparts to reduce the level of the Oil Price Cap applicable to Russian exports.
Answer: The UK works closely with G7 partners to increase economic pressure on Russia. On 18 July 2025, the UK lowered the Russian Oil Price Cap alongside the EU, with the aim to reduce Russian oil revenues. On the 15th October the UK also announced new sanctions...
Answered 29 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordReserve Forces: RecruitmentMinistry of DefenceTabled 21 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83972More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Strategic Defence Review 2025, if he will set out (a) a timeline and (b) interim milestones for increasing the number of active reserves by 20 per cent.
Answer: This Government is hugely grateful for the contribution made by our Reserve Forces, who provide the UK with the ability to meet the threats we face at home and overseas, in a cost-effective way. The Military Strategic Headquarters, in partnership with the...
Answered 29 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational NeedsDepartment for EducationTabled 20 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83652More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children of primary school age in September 2025 are waiting for an EHCP assessment.
Answer: The department does not hold information on the number of children waiting for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment.The department does collect and publish information from local authorities on the number of requests for an EHC needs asses...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational NeedsDepartment for EducationTabled 20 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83651More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average waiting time was to receive an EHCP assessment in (a) England and (b) Surrey during the latest 12 months for which data is available.
Answer: Information on the number and percentage of education, health and care (EHC) plans issued within the statutory 20 week deadline, with and without statutory exceptions to that deadline applying, is published as part of the statistical release, Education, H...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordSchools: DefibrillatorsDepartment for EducationTabled 20 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83650More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will introduce a national (a) training and (b) accreditation programme to allow the recognition of school staff with automated external defibrillator responsibilities as competent persons for equipment g
Answer: Defibrillators are designed so they can be used safely with no prior training. Users are prompted to follow step-by-step instructions on the device at the time of use. Suggesting only trained individuals can use defibrillators can unintentionally deter us...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordFuels: PricesDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 20 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83649More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Office for National Statistics' document entitled Economic activity and social change in the UK, real-time indicators: 2 October 2025, published on 2 October 2025, what
Answer: The government is implementing Fuel Finder, an open data scheme for road fuel prices, to help drive down pump prices by reigniting competition and empowering drivers to find the best deals for the cheapest fuel in their area. The Competition and Markets A...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordRivers: SewageDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 20 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83648More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to prevent illegal sewage dumping in chalk stream rivers.
Answer: Fixing the systemic issues in the water system is essential to addressing the multiple pressures facing chalk streams. Restoring these waterbodies to better ecological health is a core ambition of this Government’s overall programme of work to clean up ri...
Answered 27 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordFlood ControlDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 20 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83647More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the risks of flooding.
Answer: This Government is investing at least a record £10.5 billion until 2036 – the largest flood programme in history, which is projected to better protect nearly 900,000 properties. On 14 October, following consultation, the Government announced major changes...
Answered 27 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordPrescription DrugsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 20 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83646More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the taxpayer of raising NICE’s value for money threshold by 25 percent.
Answer: The pharmaceutical sector and the innovative medicines it produces are critical to our national interest, helping people access life changing treatments, reducing pressure on the health service over the longer-term, and ensuring we have a National Health ...
Answered 26 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordGeneral Practitioners: FinanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 20 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 83645More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of effectiveness of the Carr-Hill formula.
Answer: The Carr-Hill formula is outdated, as the formula is based on data that is 25 years old in some cases. It uses the expected workload of general practices (GPs) to determine the distribution of funding for GPs across England. Currently, GPs serving more de...
Answered 10 Nov 2025
Original Parliament record
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