Paul Kohler MP: written questions 2026
51 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Police: BiometricsHome OfficeTabled 20 May 2026AnsweredUIN 3503More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what safeguards are in place to ensure (a) lawful and (b) proportionate use of live facial recognition technology by police forces in England and Wales.
Answer: Live Facial Recognition (LFR) technology uses live video footage of people passing an LFR camera in a public place and compares their images to a specific list of people wanted by the police (known as a watchlist).Police use of facial recognition is gover...
Answered 1 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordRelationships and Sex EducationDepartment for EducationTabled 20 May 2026AnsweredUIN 3501More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has considered (a) lessons from road safety education, and (b) circumstances where (i) sustained education and (ii) meaningful consequences for offenders reduced harm, in developing its a
Answer: We have published updated guidance for relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) for teaching from September 2026, which includes a focus on developing skills for healthy relationships from the beginning of primary school and sets out that secondary ...
Answered 4 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordRelationships and Sex EducationDepartment for EducationTabled 20 May 2026AnsweredUIN 3500More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the delivery of education on (a) relationships, (b) consent and (c) behaviour across different key stages.
Answer: We recognise that more needs to be done to support effective delivery of relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in schools. That is why the department has published updated RSHE statutory guidance for teaching from September 2026 with strengthened...
Answered 5 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordPrisoners: MediaMinistry of JusticeTabled 20 May 2026AnsweredUIN 3476More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what criteria are used to determine when prisoners may be prohibited from communicating with the media.
Answer: Prison Service Instruction 37/2010 Prisoners' Access to the Media sets out the contact that prisoners are allowed to have with the media. The instruction includes details of the restrictions that are in place and the criteria taken into account when consi...
Answered 1 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordWimbledon Park Station: LiftsDepartment for TransportTabled 27 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 116566More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with Transport for London regarding the 1,435 hours of lift closures across 244 incidents at Wimbledon Park station in 2025 due solely to a lack of trained staff, including a contin
Answer: Ministers and officials have regular conversations with Transport for London on a variety of issues including accessibility of their network. Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor, and TfL is responsible for managing the London Underground.
Answered 6 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordLondon Underground: LiftsDepartment for TransportTabled 27 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 116565More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with TfL on the increase in lift closures due solely to a lack of trained staff on the London Underground to 6,365 hours in 2025, compared with 6,197 hours in 2024.
Answer: Ministers and officials have regular conversations with Transport for London on a variety of issues including accessibility of their network. Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor, and TfL is responsible for managing the London Underground.
Answered 6 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational Needs: AppealsMinistry of JusticeTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109449More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals relating to special educational needs and disabilities were lodged with the First-tier Tribunal in each of the last five years.
Answer: Information about appeals lodged with the First-tier Tribunal for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.
Answered 6 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational NeedsDepartment for EducationTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109448More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children and young people were waiting for an Education, Health and Care Plan decision in January (a) 2025 and (b) 2026.
Answer: The number of requests for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment received during the calendar year, the outcome of those requests and the number of requests where the decision is outstanding at the end of the calendar year is available at: ...
Answered 6 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational NeedsDepartment for EducationTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109447More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average time taken was to complete an Education, Health and Care Plan assessment in England in each of the last five years.
Answer: The number of requests for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment received during the calendar year, the outcome of those requests and the number of requests where the decision is outstanding at the end of the calendar year is available at: ...
Answered 6 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordUK Border Force: StaffHome OfficeTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109446More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff were employed in Border Force in each of the last five years.
Answer: The latest published staffing and finance figures for Border Force can be found in the Home Office Annual Report for 2020-2025 at: HO annual report and accounts 2020-25 (Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK)
Answered 6 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordGender Based ViolenceCabinet OfficeTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109445More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of reported incidents of violence against women and girls in England and Wales.
Answer: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 28th January is attached.
Answered 6 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordPolice: Job Satisfaction and Labour TurnoverHome OfficeTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109444More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of police officer retention and morale.
Answer: The Government’s Safer Streets Mission sets a clear expectation for policing to deliver safer communities and improved public confidence. The retention of police officers is an important element of managing the police workforce.Leaver rates for police off...
Answered 5 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordPoliceHome OfficeTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109443More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many full-time equivalent police officers there were in England and Wales in each of the last five years.
Answer: The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales, on a bi-annual basis, as at 31 March and 30 September each year in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: https:...
Answered 5 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordMigrants: DeportationHome OfficeTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109442More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people without leave to remain were removed from the UK in each of the last five years.
Answer: The Home Office publishes data on returns in the ‘Immigration System Statistics quarterly release’. Data on returns can be found in Ret_01 of the ‘Returns summary tables’. This data goes up to September 2025 and includes only individuals who do not have v...
Answered 6 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylum: Temporary AccommodationHome OfficeTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109441More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers are housed in contingency accommodation; and what assessment she has made of trends in the level of the use of that accommodation.
Answer: At its peak, around 400 hotels were in use as contingency accommodation for asylum seekers, at a cost of approximately £9 million per day. The number of hotels in use has since reduced to fewer than 200. The Government remains committed to ending the use ...
Answered 6 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylumHome OfficeTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109440More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum cases were awaiting an initial decision in January (a) 2025 and (b) 2026.
Answer: The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the 'Immigration System Statistics' and the ‘Migration Transparency Data’ releases.Data on the number of asylum claims awaiting an initial decision by duration is published in table Asy_D03 of the ‘Asylum claims...
Answered 6 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylumHome OfficeTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109439More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken to make an initial decision on an asylum claim was in each of the last five years.
Answer: The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the 'Immigration System Statistics' and the ‘Migration Transparency Data’ releases.Data on the number of asylum claims awaiting an initial decision by duration is published in table Asy_D03 of the ‘Asylum claims...
Answered 6 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordPrisons: DrugsMinistry of JusticeTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109438More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the prevalence of (a) drug use and (b) synthetic drug use among the prison population in England and Wales.
Answer: We recognise that illicit drug use in prisons is too high, and are committed to tackling this to improve safety, support rehabilitation and reduce reoffending. We are investing over £40 million in physical security measures this financial year and have fu...
Answered 3 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCourts and TribunalsMinistry of JusticeTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109437More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many sitting days each (a) court and (b) tribunal in England and Wales has been allocated in the 2025–26 financial year.
Answer: The Ministry of Justice interprets this question as referring to the total allocations for each court and tribunal jurisdiction for the FY 2025/26. As part of this Government’s commitment to transparency, we began publishing total sitting‑day allocations ...
Answered 6 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCriminal Proceedings: StandardsMinistry of JusticeTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109436More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the longest waiting time was for a case to be heard in a criminal court in England and Wales once referred, as of the most recent data available.
Answer: We have interpreted your question to be asking for information on the longest time a case has taken to have its first hearing at a criminal court from the point of crime referral.The Ministry of Justice does not hold data regarding timeliness from the dat...
Answered 6 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordLegal Profession: ClosuresMinistry of JusticeTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109435More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the number of criminal legal aid firms that have ceased operating in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.
Answer: The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning legal aid services in England and Wales. The LAA monitors the number of legal aid providers contracted to provide criminal legal aid services throughout England and Wales.Information regarding th...
Answered 6 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordGender Based Violence: ConvictionsMinistry of JusticeTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109434More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the number of convictions for violence against women and girls in England and Wales in the last 12 months.
Answer: Violence against women and girls constitutes a number of offences. The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data on convictions for a number of offences including offences related to violence against women and girls in the Outcomes by Offence data tool...
Answered 3 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordRape: TrialsMinistry of JusticeTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109433More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of rape trials in England and Wales that were postponed in each year since 2015; and what the principal reasons were for those postponements.
Answer: The Ministry of Justice publishes figures for the volume of ineffective trials and reasons on a quarterly basis in the ‘Trial effectiveness at the criminal courts’ tool: Criminal court statistics quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK. An ineffective ...
Answered 3 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordRape: Criminal ProceedingsMinistry of JusticeTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109432More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of time was from charge to completion in court for rape cases in England and Wales in each year since 2016.
Answer: The Ministry of Justice publishes figures for Crown Court timeliness on a quarterly basis in the ‘End-to-end timeliness tool (Crown Court)’. This includes time taken from charge to completion for rape cases: Criminal court statistics quarterly: July to Se...
Answered 3 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordTrade: Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109431More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what support his Department is providing to help firms in Northern Ireland maximise the potential benefits of dual market access while managing regulatory and administrative burdens.
Answer: Dual market access is a unique trading advantage that can attract further investment in Northern Ireland. I meet a wide range of businesses in Northern Ireland - and recently visited the Camlin Group, Leckey and the Exact Group who all highlight dual mark...
Answered 3 Feb 2026
Original Parliament record
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