Paula Barker MP: written questions 2024
170 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Homelessness: Departmental CoordinationMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 10 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 19073More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what (a) formal role and (b) ongoing involvement she will have in the (i) formulation and (ii) implementation of a cross-departmental strategy for ending homelessness.
Answer: The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from...
Answered 17 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordHomelessness: Departmental CoordinationMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 10 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 19072More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to consult the homelessness sector on the work of the development of a cross-departmental strategy for ending homelessness.
Answer: The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from...
Answered 17 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordHomelessnessMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 10 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 19071More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many times officials from her Department have met with homelessness sector stakeholders since July 2024.
Answer: The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from...
Answered 17 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordCrewe Station: FacilitiesDepartment for TransportTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17900More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has she made on the adequacy of of passenger facilities at Crewe railway station as a connection point for service between the North West and (a) the West Midlands and (b) the South East.
Answer: Avanti West Coast and Network Rail are working together to address issues with the lifts and canopies at Crewe. Options to improve passenger facilities are also under consideration as part of the renewal works expected to complete by 2029.
Answered 13 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordRailway TrackDepartment for TransportTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17899More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has she made on the number of points failures on the rail network in the last 12 months.
Answer: Between the start of this financial year and 9 November, there have been 1,772 points failures compared with 1,715 points failures in the same period last year.
Answered 12 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordTransport for Wales: OvercrowdingDepartment for TransportTabled 27 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16558More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has she made of overcrowding on Transport for Wales trains.
Answer: The specification, management and performance of Transport for Wales train services are devolved matters for Welsh Ministers.
Answered 4 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordRailways: StandardsDepartment for TransportTabled 27 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16557More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of rail operators over weekend periods in the last six months.
Answer: The Department is aware that short notice weekend changes have been occurring, with a shortage of traincrew causing a high proportion of these short notice changes. The Department is working with train operators urgently on this issue, as the level of ser...
Answered 9 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordLondon Northwestern Railway: StandardsDepartment for TransportTabled 27 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16556More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of London Northwestern Railway.
Answer: The Department constantly scrutinise performance and challenge West Midlands Trains, who manage the performance of London Northwestern Railway. The Rail Minister has met with WMT to reiterate that improving performance is a key priority for DfT and we hol...
Answered 4 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordNorthern: StandardsDepartment for TransportTabled 27 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16555More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of Northern Rail.
Answer: The Secretary of State has made clear to Northern’s management that its current performance is unacceptable. That is why we issued the company with a breach of contract notice and required it to develop a recovery plan. Ministers and officials regularly m...
Answered 4 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordRailways: TimetablesDepartment for TransportTabled 27 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16554More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of short notice changes to the timetable on the rail network.
Answer: The department is aware that short notice changes have been occurring due to factors such as incidences of infrastructure issues and traincrew shortages – with a shortage of traincrew causing a high proportion of these short notice changes. The department...
Answered 4 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordVisas: ParentsHome OfficeTabled 26 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16301More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to reduce the time taken to process visas for the parents of people living in the UK.
Answer: The Home Office keeps visa processing times under review, including on the routes available to parents. Different routes, and individual circumstances, involve varying levels of complexity but the Home Office is committed to improving process efficiency w...
Answered 3 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordVisasHome OfficeTabled 26 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16300More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make a comparative assessment of the processing times for (a) parent, (b) spousal and (c) work visas.
Answer: Applications for parental, spouse and work visas are assessed against different immigration rules and as such, processing times are subject to the complexities of the individual routes.The Home Office keeps visa processing times constantly under review an...
Answered 3 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordMental Health Services: Disclosure of InformationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 25 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15868More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what he is taking to ensure effective intelligence sharing between mental health services and (a) the police and (b) other relevant services when a patient is deemed to pose a risk to the wider pub
Answer: Mental health services work and engage with a range of services to manage patients identified as a potential risk. The nature of this engagement will vary depending on the nature and level of the risk. For example, this may be through formal processes suc...
Answered 2 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordMental Health Services: StandardsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 25 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15865More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that mental health patients who could pose a risk to the wider public have their cases managed appropriately.
Answer: The Mental Health Act 1983, now and when reformed, has the necessary powers to enable clinicians to manage high risk mental health patients. The planned reforms will not change the fundamental powers and purpose of the Act, which is to detain and treat pe...
Answered 3 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordTerrorism: Reading EastDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 25 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15864More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) NHS England and (b) Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust respond to Sir Adrian Fulford's prevention of future deaths report following the Forbury Ga
Answer: It is the responsibility of the individual organisations named within a Report to Prevent Future Deaths to take action to address any identified failures. Following Sir Adrian Fulford's report, each organisation, including NHS England and the trusts, has ...
Answered 2 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordBenjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant: Arrest WarrantsForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 21 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15525More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to help ensure the (a) arrest and (b) surrender to the International Criminal Court of (i) Benjamin Netanyahu and (ii) Yoav Gallant.
Answer: The issue of enforcing an arrest warrant would only arise if the indicted individual were to visit the UK. There is a domestic legal process set out in the ICC Act 2001 which would be followed in such a situation.
Answered 4 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordBenjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant: Arrest WarrantsForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 21 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15524More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will reaffirm support for the International Criminal Court; and if he will publish an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the arrest warrants i
Answer: We confirm our support and respect for the independence of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Whilst we do not have plans to publish an assessment, we remain focused on pushing for an immediate ceasefire, to bring an end to the devastating violence i...
Answered 4 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordArmed Forces: HousingMinistry of DefenceTabled 19 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15112More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many service personnel were living in (a) single living accommodation and (b) grade four rated single living accommodation per local authority on (i) 1 May 2010 and (ii) 3 July 2024.
Answer: The attached supporting tables show a count of the number of Armed Forces Personnel living in single living accommodation and grade four rated single living accommodation per local authority on 1 May 2010 and 3 July 2024. The tables have been broken down ...
Answered 26 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordSocial Media: DiscriminationDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 19 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 15033More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help protect young people from (a) misogynistic behaviour and (b) unrealistic expectations of young women on social media platforms.
Answer: The Online Safety Act requires in-scope services to protect users from harmful illegal content, much of which disproportionately affects women and girls. Services must also employ age-appropriate measures to protect children from legal abusive and hateful...
Answered 25 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordGaza: PolioForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 19 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14965More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will hold discussions with his international counterparts on taking steps to help prevent a polio outbreak in Gaza.
Answer: The UK has been at the forefront of efforts to drive urgent action on polio vaccination in Gaza, including by convening an emergency session of the UN Security Council in August. The UK supported delivery of the vaccination campaign through our funding to...
Answered 4 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordSmall Businesses: FinanceDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 19 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14964More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to provide additional funding to small businesses to help meet additional costs arising from the Autumn Budget 2024.
Answer: The Government remains committed to helping small businesses thrive and will be publishing our Small Business Strategy next year. This will set out our vision for all small businesses, from boosting scale-ups to growing the co-operative economy.At the Aut...
Answered 27 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordOccupied Territories: Crimes against HumanityForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 14 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14342More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with international counterparts on the collective measures available to ensure the implementation of treaty obligations to prevent genocide and ot
Answer: It is the UK's long-standing policy that any determination as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent national or international court, and not for governments or non-judicial bodies. This approach ensures that any determination is abo...
Answered 4 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordGaza: Genocide ConventionForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 14 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14341More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to fulfil its (a) duty to prevent and (b) other obligations under the Genocide Convention with respect to Gaza, with reference to (i) the
Answer: It is the UK's long-standing policy that any determination as to whether genocide has occurred is a matter for a competent national or international court, and not for governments or non-judicial bodies. This approach ensures that any determination is abo...
Answered 4 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordIsrael and Occupied Territories: CrimeForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 13 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14086More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a UN Investigative Team to (a) collect high-quality evidence on and (b) promote accountability for crime
Answer: The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the primary international institution for investigating and prosecuting the most serious crimes of international concern and prosecuting their perpetrators. The UK respects the independence of the ICC in its extan...
Answered 27 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordGaza: Humanitarian AidForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 31 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 12220More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on allowing medical aid into Gaza.
Answer: The humanitarian situation in Gaza is intolerable, and we remain deeply concerned by the impact of the conflict on access to medical facilities and healthcare. We are clear that Israel can and must do more to get aid into Gaza. The Prime Minister stressed...
Answered 12 Nov 2024
Original Parliament record
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