Katie Lam MP: written questions 2025
86 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Chagos Islands: SovereigntyMinistry of DefenceTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54535More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has a line in his Departmental budget for costs arising from the planned transfer of sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius.
Answer: Costs relating to the Chagos agreement will be incurred from financial year 2026-27. These are being considered as part of the wider Government engagement on the second phase of the Spending Review, which concludes on 11 June 2025. The deal secures the un...
Answered 6 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordChagos Islands: SovereigntyForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54534More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has a line in his Departmental budget for costs arising from the planned transfer of sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius.
Answer: The Agreement will be underpinned by a financial package which will consist of: an annual payment; a Development Framework underpinned by UK grant funding; and a Trust Fund to benefit Chagossians. Costs and other aspects of the Treaty can be found at the...
Answered 5 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordDental Services: Employers' Contributions and Minimum WageDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54533More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing (a) employer National Insurance Contributions and the (b) National Minimum Wage on dental practices in (i) Kent and (ii) Wea
Answer: We have made the necessary decisions to fix the foundations of the public finances in the Autumn Budget. Resource spending for the Department will be £22.6 billion more in 2025/26 than in 2023/24, as part of the Spending Review settlement. The employers’ ...
Answered 6 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordPharmacy: Employers' Contributions and Minimum WageDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54532More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing (a) employer National Insurance Contributions and (b) the National Minimum Wage on pharmacies in (i) Kent and (ii) Weald of
Answer: We took the necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget. Resource spending for the Department will be £22.6 billion more in 2025/26 than in 2023/24, as part of the Spending Review settlement.The Department consid...
Answered 6 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordCare Homes: Employers' Contributions and Minimum WageDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54531More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing (a) employer National Insurance Contributions and (b) the National Minimum Wage on care homes in (i) Kent and (ii) Weald of
Answer: The Government has considered the cost pressures facing adult social care as part of the wider consideration of local government spending within the Spending Review process in 2024.To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as adult social c...
Answered 6 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordHospices: Employers' Contributions and Minimum WageDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54530More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing (a) employer National Insurance Contributions and (b) the National Minimum Wage on hospices in (i) Kent and (ii) Weald of Ke
Answer: We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, enabling the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.The employer ...
Answered 9 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordGeneral Practitioners: Employers' Contributions and Minimum WageDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54529More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing (a) employer National Insurance Contributions and (b) the National Minimum Wage on GP practices in (i) Kent and (ii) Weald o
Answer: We have made the necessary decisions to fix the foundations of the public finances in the Autumn Budget. Resource spending for the Department will be £22.6 billion more in 2025/26 than in 2023/24, as part of the Spending Review settlement. The employers’ ...
Answered 6 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordTourism: KentDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54528More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing (a) employer National Insurance Contributions and (b) the National Minimum Wage on tourism businesses in (i) Kent and (ii) the W
Answer: The Government protected small businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to Employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, and 865,000 employers will pay no NICs in 2025-26. My Department publishe...
Answered 4 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordManufacturing Industries: KentDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54527More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing employer National Insurance Contributions and the National Minimum Wage on manufacturing businesses in (a) Kent and (b) the Weal
Answer: The Government protected small businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to Employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, and 865,000 employers will pay no NICs in 2025-26. My Department publishe...
Answered 4 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: Special Educational NeedsDepartment for EducationTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54526More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many asylum seekers aged 25 years and under require special educational needs provision.
Answer: The department does not hold or collect information regarding how many asylum seekers aged 25 and under require special educational needs provision.
Answered 13 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordUndocumented Migrants: English ChannelHome OfficeTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54525More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department holds data on the number of people who have illegally arrived in the UK via small boat crossings having previously been deported.
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 7 March to Question 35056.
Answered 6 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordFood: ProcurementDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54524More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of the food procured by public sector bodies in (a) England, (b) Kent and (c) Weald of Kent constituency is from British farms.
Answer: The previous Government did not hold information about where the food served by public bodies comes from. However, at January’s Oxford Farming Conference, it was announced that, for the first time ever, the Government would monitor just that. The initial ...
Answered 6 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordMeat: SchoolsDepartment for EducationTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54523More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of meat procured by schools is (a) Halal and (b) slaughtered at sites which predominantly employ non-stun slaughter.
Answer: The department spends over £1.5 billion supporting schools to deliver healthy and nutritious breakfasts and lunches in schools. Schools are best placed to make decisions about how provision is made. They have the autonomy to source food locally and sustai...
Answered 3 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordSchool Fruit and Vegetable SchemeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54522More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of food under the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme is procured from British farms.
Answer: The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme sources the fruit and vegetables used by the scheme from a number of different countries. 18.9% of the produce used by the scheme is sourced from the United Kingdom, and this is the highest proportion of any country s...
Answered 5 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordSchools: FoodDepartment for EducationTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54521More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of food procured by schools for (a) the free breakfast club trial and (b) free school meals is from the South East.
Answer: The department spends over £1.5 billion supporting schools to deliver healthy and nutritious breakfasts and lunches in schools. Schools are best placed to make decisions about how provision is made. They have the autonomy to source food locally and sustai...
Answered 3 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordSchools: FoodDepartment for EducationTabled 22 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54520More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of food procured by schools for (a) the free breakfast club trial and (b) free school meals is imported.
Answer: The department spends over £1.5 billion supporting schools to deliver healthy and nutritious breakfasts and lunches in schools. Schools are best placed to make decisions about how provision is made. They have the autonomy to source food locally and sustai...
Answered 3 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordTreasury: CorrespondenceTreasuryTabled 21 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54166More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason HM Treasury did not meet (a) 81 and (b) 77 per cent of its target response times to correspondence from MPs and Peers in (i) Q3 and (ii) Q4 of 2024.
Answer: Since July 2024, Treasury ministers have received over 7,000 pieces of correspondence from Members. That is significantly more than usual, creating a significant backlog. Officials and Private Offices are working hard to reduce the backlog and clear outst...
Answered 3 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordRevenue and Customs: CorrespondenceTreasuryTabled 21 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54165More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason HMRC Policy did not meet (a) 100 and (b) 87 per cent of her Department's target response times to correspondence from MPs and Peers in (i) Q3 and (ii) Q4 of 2024.
Answer: I refer the honourable member to the answer to question UIN 54166.
Answered 4 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordDevelopment Aid: SlaughterhousesForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 6 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50374More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Overseas Development Assistance funding has contributed to the (a) establishment and (b) ongoing operation of foreign abattoirs since July 2024.
Answer: The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office deploys Official Development Assistance (ODA) to fund a range of organisations and programmes which address the productivity of farmers and small-medium enterprises in agri-food value chains in developing...
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordSlaughterhouses: Domestic VisitsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 6 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50373More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many abattoirs he has visited in (a) England, (b) the South East of England and (c) Kent.
Answer: As Minister for Farming, I have visited abattoirs and will continue to do so.
Answered 6 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: SubsidiesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 6 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50372More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 35595 on Agriculture: Subsidies, how many producer organisations have written to him to express concern over the discontinuation of t
Answer: Since January 2025 there have been 16 pieces of correspondence addressed to Defra ministers by producer organisations, expressing their concern over the discontinuation of the Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme on 31 December 2025.
Answered 21 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPlaying Fields: MicroplasticsDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 28 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 48787More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of microplastics on artificial sports fields on the (a) respiratory health and (b) safety of children while playing sports.
Answer: Artificial Grass Pitches (AGPs) currently play a crucial role in getting more people active across the UK. They provide durable, safe, year-round playing surfaces which can sustain up to 80 hours of use per week - significantly more than grass pitches, he...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament recordChurch of England: SlaveryChurch CommissionersTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 48023More
Question: To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to Questions 48 and 49 of the Questions to the General Synod on 10 February 2025, what assessment the Church Commissioners have made of the potential implications
Answer: The Church Commissioners have had informal and constructive dialogue with the Charity Commission about how to implement the Church Commissioners’ response to their historic links to African chattel enslavement (known as “Project Spire”).This informal enga...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament recordChurch of England: SlaveryChurch CommissionersTabled 22 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47120More
Question: To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, with reference to p.10 of the report entitled Church Commissioners' Research into Historic Links to Transatlantic Chattel Slavery, published on 1 January 2023, for what reason th
Answer: Peer-reviewed publications are usually written for an academic audience. For instance, an academic journal will send a proposed article to anonymous peer reviewers. Likewise, an academic monograph proposal will be sent for peer review. Documents intended ...
Answered 7 May 2025
Original Parliament recordChurch of England: SlaveryChurch CommissionersTabled 22 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47119More
Question: To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, how much money has been spent on (a) research funding, (b) salaries and (c) legal advice for Project Spire.
Answer: The Annual Reports of the Church Commissioners’ contains information on fees relating to forensic accounting services provided to support a research project into the fund of Queen Anne’s Bounty, one of the Commissioners’ predecessor bodies. Information (2...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament record
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