John Whitby MP: written questions 2025
74 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Juries: ChildcareMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74400More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the amount jurors can claim for jury service in the context of trends in the level of childcare costs in the last five years.
Answer: The Government keeps under review all support provided to jurors throughout their service. Jury service is an important civic duty, and we want to ensure jurors feel supported as they undertake this important role. Jurors can claim childcare expenses for ...
Answered 10 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordElectronic Commerce: TaxationTreasuryTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 72997More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to reduce differences between the level of tax applied to (a) physical and (b) online businesses.
Answer: To provide stability and predictability to both physical and online businesses, the government published its Corporate Tax Roadmap at Autumn Budget 2024. The roadmap committed to maintaining the main rate of Corporation Tax at 25%, which is the lowest in ...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordHoliday Accommodation: RegistrationDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 72996More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that the proposed short-term let registration scheme will ensure all properties are clean and safe.
Answer: The registration scheme will make short-term let providers aware of their legal responsibilities, particularly around safety, helping to raise standards of accommodation, build consumer confidence, and support fair competition.
Answered 19 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordElectronic Funds Transfer: FraudTreasuryTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 72993More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure that banks abide by the Payment Systems Regulator's new mandatory reimbursement framework and swiftly investigate cases of APP fraud.
Answer: The Government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and is dedicated to protecting the public from this appalling crime. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is the independent regulator with responsibility for the Authorised Push Payment (APP) scam rei...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing Benefit: Supported HousingDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 72599More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reductions to the housing benefit taper rate on the number of young people in supported accommodation entering employment.
Answer: It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment. The Department acknowledges there is a challenge presented by the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing B...
Answered 5 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordIsrael: Arms TradeForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 72376More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that, with the exception of the F-35, no British arms being exported to Israel are being used in the conflict in Gaza.
Answer: All export licences are assessed on a case-by-case basis. All licences for exports to the Israeli Defence Forces are kept under careful ongoing review to ensure they are not being used for military operations in Gaza or the West Bank.
Answered 17 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDental Services: FinanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 70172More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the proportion of NHS expenditure allocated to primary care dentistry net of patient charge revenue compared with other areas of NHS primary care in each financial year since 2010/11.
Answer: Prior to 2023/24, there was no specific dental budget allocation and dentistry formed part of a wider budget including community pharmacy and optometry. Since 2023/24, there has been a specific dental ringfence allocation for integrated care boards. This ...
Answered 22 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordDental Services: FinanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 70171More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that NHS dentistry receives adequate investment from new NHS funds allocated to the Department through the Spending Review.
Answer: The Department settlement announced at the 2025 Spending Review means that annual National Health Service day-to-day spending will increase by £29 billion in real terms, a £53 billion cash increase, by 2028/29 compared to 2023/24. This will take the NHS r...
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordFire Prevention: High Rise FlatsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69994More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that leaseholders receive cladding remediation as swiftly as possible.
Answer: On 2 December 2024, the government set out the Remediation Acceleration Plan (RAP) which, for the first time, set targets for remediation so that by the end of 2029 all 18m+ buildings with unsafe cladding in a government funded scheme will have been remed...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordCarbon EmissionsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69734More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to mandate embodied carbon reporting.
Answer: The government recognises that embodied carbon can account for a significant portion of a building’s whole life carbon emissions and remains committed to the 2050 net zero target. We have recently published research to improve understanding of embodied ca...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMental Health Services: Rural AreasDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69732More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve mental health provision in (a) rural and (b) agricultural communities.
Answer: We are working with NHS England on a refreshed workforce plan, which will revolve around the three shifts to deliver our 10-Year Health Plan: moving more care from hospitals to communities; making better use of technology in health and care; and focusing ...
Answered 2 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordGround RentMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69731More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to introduce a cap on ground rents.
Answer: The government remains firmly committed to its manifesto commitment to tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, and we will deliver this in legislation.
Answered 3 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDental Services: Rural AreasDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 905336More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to NHS dentists in rural areas.
Answer: This Government is determined to improve access to NHS dentistry.We are targeting areas most in need, including in rural areas, by delivering 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments and recruiting dentists under the Golden Hellos scheme.We will reform th...
Answered 24 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordSolar Power: ParkingDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68663More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to introduce requirements for car parking companies to install solar canopies on large parking lots.
Answer: Outdoor car parks provide potential to deploy solar canopies providing clean electricity, potential for electric vehicle charging and shelter for cars. As such, the government published a Call for Evidence, which closed on the 18th June, to gather robust ...
Answered 25 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: Health and SafetyDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68659More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to improve workplace health and safety protections for farm and agricultural workers.
Answer: In line with its published Strategy 2022 to 2032, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) focuses on the most effective and efficient ways to improve the health and safety performance of all industries in Great Britain, including farming. Between 2018 and 2...
Answered 22 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordStatutory Sick PayDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 15 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68300More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to improve employer compliance with statutory sick pay obligations.
Answer: The Government believes that enforcement of Statutory Sick Pay is vital in ensuring that employees receive the correct amount of Statutory Sick Pay they are due. Guidance to both employers and employees is provided on Gov.uk. HMRC also operates a dispute ...
Answered 17 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: Solar PowerDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 14 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 67795More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to support the installation of solar energy projects on local government buildings.
Answer: The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero is working closely with Great British Energy (GBE), the Department for Health and Social Care, and the Department for Education to install rooftop solar panels on schools and hospitals. In England £180 mil...
Answered 22 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordNHS: ManagersDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 18 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 61086More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of moving non-clinical service delivery decision-making from managers to (a) consultants and (b) specialist doctors.
Answer: Integrated care boards (ICBs) are the strategic commissioners of health and care services in England. NHS England has asked the ICBs to reduce the duplication of functions, to achieve efficiencies and reduce their running costs, with the aim to direct the...
Answered 27 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordGrasslandsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 60679More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has a (a) grassland policy group and (b) person responsible for grassland policy.
Answer: There is no single group responsible for grassland policy, as policies affecting grasslands cut across several Defra policy areas. These include Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMs), National Biodiversity, Protected Sites and Protected Landscapes....
Answered 24 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordIVF: LGBT+ PeopleDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 16 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 60389More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that more same-sex couples can access NHS-funded IVF.
Answer: We expect integrated care boards to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. NICE is currently reviewing the fertility guidelines and will consider whether the current recommendations ...
Answered 7 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordSchools: TransportDepartment for EducationTabled 16 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 60388More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of levels of school transport provision in remote rural areas.
Answer: I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Derbyshire Dales to the answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54948.
Answered 24 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordSchools: Rural AreasDepartment for EducationTabled 16 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 60387More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support rural primary schools with declining pupil numbers.
Answer: The government recognises the challenges some schools are facing due to falling pupil rolls.Local authorities hold the statutory place planning function, ensuring there are sufficient schools in their area to meet the needs of pupils. It is for local auth...
Answered 24 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordFarms: TenantsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 4 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 57518More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that tenant farmers are protected from eviction when landowners choose not to renew existing tenancies.
Answer: The Government is committed to ensuring agricultural tenancies are fair and collaborative. Agricultural tenancy agreements grant tenant farmers statutory protections. In cases of a tenancy ending all parties are encouraged to employ the Agricultural Landl...
Answered 12 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordDental Services: Rural AreasDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 3 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 57102More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for NHS dentist placements in rural areas.
Answer: We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a dentist, particularly in more rural and coastal areas, and we are already taking action through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment initiative will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,...
Answered 9 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordBroadband: Rural AreasDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 2 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 56667More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) farmers and (b) rural communities have access to improved (i) broadband and (ii) mobile signal.
Answer: Project Gigabit is the government’s programme to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to homes and businesses that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans. This includes farms and other types of premises in rural communities.We will also continue to ...
Answered 10 Jun 2025
Original Parliament record
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