Jas Athwal MP: written questions 2026
59 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Food: WasteDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 14 Sept 2026Awaiting answerUIN 29828More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with colleagues in the Treasury on the potential impact of reducing food waste on the cost of living.
Answer: No published answer in this record yet.
Original Parliament recordFood: WasteDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 14 Sept 2026Awaiting answerUIN 29827More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of requiring large businesses to publicly report food waste.
Answer: No published answer in this record yet.
Original Parliament recordFoster CareDepartment for EducationTabled 9 Sept 2026AnsweredUIN 28573More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of expanding the Mockingbird Programme.
Answer: The government is committed to improving standards across the foster care sector and is taking steps to improve the recruitment and retention of foster carers, which is critical to improving outcomes for children. The department’s action plan to renew fos...
Answered 15 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordFoster CareDepartment for EducationTabled 9 Sept 2026AnsweredUIN 28572More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what further steps her Department has taken to evaluate the Mockingbird fostering model since the 2020 evaluation by her Department.
Answer: The government is committed to improving standards across the foster care sector and is taking steps to improve the recruitment and retention of foster carers, which is critical to improving outcomes for children. The department’s action plan to renew fos...
Answered 15 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordCarers: Labour TurnoverDepartment for EducationTabled 9 Sept 2026AnsweredUIN 28571More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on bringing new carers into the sector and stopping carers exiting the sector.
Answer: The government is committed to improving standards across the foster care sector and is taking steps to improve the recruitment and retention of foster carers, which is critical to improving outcomes for children. The department’s action plan to renew fos...
Answered 15 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordFoster Care: StandardsDepartment for EducationTabled 9 Sept 2026AnsweredUIN 28570More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve standards across the foster care sector.
Answer: The government is committed to improving standards across the foster care sector and is taking steps to improve the recruitment and retention of foster carers, which is critical to improving outcomes for children. The department’s action plan to renew fos...
Answered 15 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordUganda: ElectionsForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 24571More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Ugandan counterpart on safeguarding democracy and ensuring free and fair elections in that country.
Answer: The UK works with the Government of Uganda on a range of shared interests including trade, development, refugees, and regional security. Former Minister for Africa, Baroness Chapman, raised rule of law and media freedom with the President during her visit...
Answered 7 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordSocial Services: Employers' ContributionsTreasuryTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 24570More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made on the potential impact of the rise in employer National Insurance Contributions on the social care sector.
Answer: A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on indi...
Answered 4 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordKinship Care: Parental Leave and Parental PayDepartment for Business, Innovation, Science and TradeTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 24569More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what consideration his Department has made in the Parental Leave and Pay Review of kinship carers.
Answer: The Government’s Parental Leave and Pay Review is considering all current parental leave and pay entitlements, as well as the needs of working families who do not qualify for existing leave and pay entitlements, such as kinship carers. We are engaging wit...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordKinship Care: LeaveDepartment for Business, Innovation, Science and TradeTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 24568More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of leave entitlement for kinship carers.
Answer: The Government’s Parental Leave and Pay Review is considering all current parental leave and pay entitlements, as well as the needs of working families who do not qualify for existing leave and pay entitlements, such as kinship carers. We are engaging wit...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordYoung People: Extracurricular ActivitiesDepartment for Digital, Culture, Media and SportTabled 27 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 901167More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to provide young people with more enriching activities outside of school.
Answer: This Government is committed to providing young people more things to do outside school. Working with local authorities, charities and others, we aim to halve the gap in participation between disadvantaged young people and their peers. We are deploying £1...
Answered 3 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordAnimal ExperimentsDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 7 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 16739More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Policy paper: “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods”, published on 11 November 2025, w
Answer: The Government is increasing investment in alternative methods through delivery of the Replacing Animals in Science strategy. The strategy was supported by £75 million of funding to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods,...
Answered 15 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordBangladesh: Religious FreedomForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 17 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 10876More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with her Bangladeshi counterparts on the protection of religious freedoms for (a) Hindus, (b) Christians, (c) Buddhists, (d) Sikhs and (e)
Answer: The UK condemns all acts of violence targeting religious or ethnic minorities and continues to emphasise the importance of protecting the rights of all communities to the Bangladesh Government.Following the February 2026 elections, I visited Bangladesh an...
Answered 22 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordSyria: Religious FreedomForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 17 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 10866More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help protect (a) Christians and (b) other religious minorities from discrimination and violence in Syria.
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to my statement on GOV.UK marking the one‑year anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime, available at the link below, which set out the UK's support for the efforts of the new Syrian government to build a more stable, inclusive, ...
Answered 22 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordFree School MealsDepartment for EducationTabled 15 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 9888More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of free-school meals on children in Ilford South constituency; and whether she has considered trialling Free School Meals to children in secondary
Answer: The department is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have announced that free school meals will be extended to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026, lifting 100,000 ...
Answered 23 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordSports: Public ParticipationDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 11 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 900510More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding her Department is providing to help increase levels of participation in grassroots sport.
Answer: The Government believes in the power of grassroots sport. Everyone should have access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. We provide the majority of support through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 m...
Answered 18 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordCoronavirus: SikhsCabinet OfficeTabled 3 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6618More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department can identify COVID-19 mortality rates, hospitalisation rates and infection rates among Sikhs.
Answer: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Gentleman's Parliamentary Question's of 3rd June is attached.
Answered 15 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordCoronavirus: SikhsCabinet OfficeTabled 3 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6617More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department holds data on how many Sikhs died during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answer: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Gentleman's Parliamentary Question's of 3rd June is attached.
Answered 15 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordSikhsCabinet OfficeTabled 3 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6584More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the number of Sikhs in the UK using (a) ethnicity and (b) religion data.
Answer: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.A response to the Gentleman's Parliamentary Question of 3rd June is attached.
Answered 15 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordSikhsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 3 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6583More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which major Government datasets do not permit the identification of Sikhs as a distinct ethnic group.
Answer: The GSS ethnicity harmonised standard helps to make statistics and data more comparable, consistent and coherent. MHCLG collects data in line with the ethnicity harmonised standard, which is developed by the independent Office for National Statistics. I r...
Answered 12 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordSikhsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 3 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6582More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has her Department made of the implications for her policies of Sikhs not being recognised as a distinct ethnic group within official ethnicity classifications.
Answer: The GSS ethnicity harmonised standard helps to make statistics and data more comparable, consistent and coherent. MHCLG collects data in line with the ethnicity harmonised standard, which is developed by the independent Office for National Statistics. I r...
Answered 12 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordSchool Meals: NutritionDepartment for EducationTabled 29 May 2026AnsweredUIN 4940More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve the nutritional quality of grab and go style foods in schools.
Answer: The School Food Standards set the mandatory nutritional framework for food and drink provided in state‑funded schools in England. They are designed to ensure children receive the energy and nutrients they need during the school day, while giving schools f...
Answered 16 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordFamily Courts: StandardsMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 126495More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps is the Department taking to reduce waiting times in the family courts.
Answer: This Government is committed to improving the performance of the Family Courts, and the Family Justice Board has agreed system-wide priorities and targets for reducing delay across England and Wales. The latest published data shows a reduction in the nati...
Answered 20 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordFamily ProceedingsMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 126494More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that family courts safeguard the wellbeing of both parents and children.
Answer: This Government is committed to ensuring that families involved in private family law proceedings receive the support they need and we are delivering a package of reforms to strengthen their wellbeing and safety throughout the process.A key part of this r...
Answered 20 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordFamily ProceedingsMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 126493More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the repeal of the presumption of parental involvement on children’s safety and wellbeing.
Answer: This Government is committed to ensuring that families involved in private family law proceedings receive the support they need and we are delivering a package of reforms to strengthen their wellbeing and safety throughout the process.A key part of this r...
Answered 20 Apr 2026
Original Parliament record
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