Lisa Smart MP: written questions
242 published records · newest first.
Written questions
British Nationality: AssessmentsHome OfficeTabled 3 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15781More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to update the content of the Life in the UK test;; and when she expects a revised version to be introduced.
Answer: The Government considers that everyone seeking to make a permanent home in the UK should be equipped to integrate successfully in UK society, with an appropriate level of English and an understanding of life in the UK.Applicants for settlement and citizen...
Answered 13 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordBritish Nationality: AssessmentsHome OfficeTabled 3 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15780More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the current Life in the UK test.
Answer: The Government considers that everyone seeking to make a permanent home in the UK should be equipped to integrate successfully in UK society, with an appropriate level of English and an understanding of life in the UK.Applicants for settlement and citizen...
Answered 13 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordVisas: ApplicationsHome OfficeTabled 22 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 11824More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her department is taking to reduce the waiting times for visa administrative reviews.
Answer: Applications for administrative review have increased and intake has doubled within the last five years. Resource for the Administrative Review Unit is now more than double the equivalent 2021 staffing levels in response to this continuing high demand.Adm...
Answered 30 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordCommunity Relations: ReligionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 18 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 900652More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to support cross-community interfaith work.
Answer: Interfaith relations are vital for strong, cohesive communities. Learning about different faiths and beliefs builds mutual understanding and contributes to community cohesion. The government’s support for cross-community interfaith work is demonstrated by...
Answered 24 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordInfected Blood Compensation SchemeCabinet OfficeTabled 15 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 9891More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of not paying interest on unpaid compensation awards for the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme on claimants, the estates of deceased claimants and bereaved fa
Answer: The Government has decided not to adjust individual compensation awards to account for interest a person could have received, or investments that someone could have made or could make in the future. The compensation scheme does not pay interest on awards ...
Answered 18 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordRussia: SubversionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 10 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 900448More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the level of the threat posed by Russia to UK elections.
Answer: The Government is committed to upholding and strengthening UK democracy by protecting against foreign interference, improving political transparency, adding tougher checks for donations and closing loopholes by reinforcing electoral legislation against fo...
Answered 16 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordDental Health: Medical TreatmentsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 8222More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential of anti-USAG-1 antibody therapy for tooth regeneration; and what steps he is taking to ensure UK (a) researchers and (b) patients can partic
Answer: The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which supports clinical, public health, social care and global health research in partnership with the National Health Service, academia and wider stakeholde...
Answered 16 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordDisability Aids: RecyclingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 8221More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the barriers faced by patients in returning NHS-issued walking aids for reuse or recycling; and what steps he is taking to ensure return schemes are accessible to pat
Answer: The National Health Service is committed to reducing waste, whilst also delivering cost savings and minimising environmental impact, as set out in the Delivering a Net Zero NHS report. Since the publication of the report in 2020, there have been substanti...
Answered 16 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordPrescriptions: Fees and ChargesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 9 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 8220More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress, he has made in reforming the Penalty Charge Notice system for unpaid prescription charges.
Answer: The Government has no such plans for reforming the Penalty Charge Notice system.
Answered 16 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordLord MandelsonCabinet OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6984More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department received communications from Ministers (a) regarding representations from Peter Mandelson about policy matters in their departments and (b) expressing concerns about such communications be
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the Government’s statement and release of information on 1st June, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The documents published in the first and second tranches contain the entirety of the documents the Gove...
Answered 10 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordLord MandelsonCabinet OfficeTabled 4 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6983More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department received communications from Ministers (a) regarding representations from Peter Mandelson about policy matters in their departments and (b) expressing concerns about such communications be
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the Government’s statement and release of information on 1st June, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The documents published in the first and second tranches contain the entirety of the documents the Gove...
Answered 10 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordLord MandelsonForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 2 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 6276More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps were taken to help mitigate potential conflicts of interest arising from Lord Mandelson's commercial interests before she took up the post of Ambassador to the Uni
Answer: As has been made clear in documents that were published in the Government's response to the Humble Address, on 1 June 2026, measures were put in place to manage Peter Mandelson's declared conflicts of interest. As was also made clear in the Chief Secretar...
Answered 10 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordBlue Badge SchemeDepartment for TransportTabled 1 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 5774More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Appendix H of her Department's document entitled Blue Badge scheme local authority guidance (England), updated on 3 June 2025, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the model pr
Answer: The model proforma was last reviewed in 2019 following the changes to the eligibility criteria. The Department works with the Blue Badge Digital Service supplier and with local authorities to help improve the service for all applications from people with ...
Answered 8 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordBlue Badge SchemeDepartment for TransportTabled 1 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 5773More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness the Blue Badge application process for people with non-visible or hidden disabilities, including deafness.
Answer: The model proforma was last reviewed in 2019 following the changes to the eligibility criteria. The Department works with the Blue Badge Digital Service supplier and with local authorities to help improve the service for all applications from people with ...
Answered 8 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordHealth Services: PrisonersDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 May 2026AnsweredUIN 4600More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of healthcare provision in the prison estate for prisoners with neuromuscular and other progressive degenerative conditions, including the ti
Answer: NHS England commissions prison health care services into every prison in England to the equivalence of the community, to include range, access and quality of service. Access to specialist consultants and referrals into specialised support is available in ...
Answered 15 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordProbate: StandardsMinistry of JusticeTabled 29 May 2026AnsweredUIN 4580More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that emergency applications for grants of probate are processed promptly; and whether he has made an assessment of the impact of staffing levels at the Probate Servic
Answer: HM Courts & Tribunals Service has invested in more staff in 2026, alongside system and process improvements and a programme of upskilling in order to improve the processing time for applications and to ensure outstanding caseload does not increase. Se...
Answered 8 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordRoads: SafetyDepartment for TransportTabled 15 May 2026AnsweredUIN 1768More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that road safety interventions can be targeted at locations with high numbers of damage-only collisions and near-misses before a (a) killed and (b) seriously injure
Answer: Local authorities have a statutory duty under section 39 of the 1988 Road Traffic Act to take steps both to reduce and prevent collisions. It is not for the Department to take steps to define local interventions but for local authorities to determine what...
Answered 19 May 2026
Original Parliament recordDisability Living AllowanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 15 May 2026AnsweredUIN 1757More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the (a) complexity and (b) length of the Disability Living Allowance claim form on claimants; and whether he plans to amend the form.
Answer: The Disability Living Allowance claim form is under regular review to ensure that it is as easy to understand as possible, and that the information collected is complete. Recently, work has been undertaken to improve the legibility of the claim form. This...
Answered 26 May 2026
Original Parliament recordPectus Excavatum: Medical TreatmentsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 23 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 129575More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with NHS England and relevant Integrated Care Boards on the funding of specialist orthotist posts required to deliver vacuum bell therapy at NHS pectus and c
Answer: The factors that determine whether a service is a prescribed specialised service are: the number of individuals who require the service; the cost of providing the service or facility; and the number of people able to provide the service or facility.Vacuum...
Answered 29 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordPectus Excavatum: Medical TreatmentsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 23 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 129574More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason NHS England has designated vacuum bell therapy for pectus excavatum as the responsibility of Integrated Care Boards rather than including it within the specialised commissioning arr
Answer: The factors that determine whether a service is a prescribed specialised service are: the number of individuals who require the service; the cost of providing the service or facility; and the number of people able to provide the service or facility.Vacuum...
Answered 29 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordDefibrillatorsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 23 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 129572More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help support shops, small businesses and public buildings to host publicly accessible defibrillators.
Answer: The Government’s position is that local communities are best placed to make decisions about procuring, locating, and maintaining automated external defibrillators (AEDs). Over 110,000 defibrillators are registered in the United Kingdom on The Circuit, the...
Answered 29 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordDisability Living AllowanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 20 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 128406More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Disability Living Allowance claim form; and whether he plans to take steps to make the form easier to complete.
Answer: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Answered 29 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordRussia: SubversionForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 15 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 908767More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the level of the threat posed by Russia to UK elections.
Answer: The UK electoral system is highly resilient, and to date, we have not seen evidence of successful Russian interference in UK democratic processes. But we know that the Kremlin seeks to sow discord in the West and undermine our institutions. Working closel...
Answered 21 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordAccess to Work ProgrammeDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 13 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 126785More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the current average time taken is to pay Access to Work suppliers for services delivered; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce delays in paying suppliers.
Answer: Access to Work payment processing is currently at 10 working days for generic payments and 15 days for special aids and equipment. We are upskilling additional staff to deliver payments and reduce processing times.
Answered 20 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordDisability Living AllowanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 13 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 126784More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the accessibility of the Disability Living Allowance claim form; and whether he plans to take steps to improve it.
Answer: An accessible online version of a DLA1 (new claim form) is available to download from gov.uk.All other DLA Child forms and letters are available as a reasonable adjustment for customers who require alternative methods to interact with the department. Thes...
Answered 20 Apr 2026
Original Parliament record
Published records only — not a full account of an MP’s work. How we work →