Rachael Maskell MP: written questions
708 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Bus Services: ConcessionsDepartment for TransportTabled 20 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39863More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will consider extending funding for disabled bus passes to include journeys made before 9:30am.
Answer: The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age. The ENCTS costs around £700 million annually and any changes to the statutory obligations, such...
Answered 27 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordHoliday Activities and Food ProgrammeDepartment for EducationTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33931More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has she made of the contribution of the Holidays and Activities Fund (a) nationally and (b) in York.
Answer: Since 2022, the department has invested over £200 million each year in free holiday club places for children from low-income families, through the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme, with all 153 local authorities in England delivering during the...
Answered 12 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordHoliday Activities and Food ProgrammeDepartment for EducationTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33930More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to provide continuity of the Holdiay and Activities Fund after 31 March 2025.
Answer: The government announced over £200 million funding for the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme for 2025/26, as part of the 2024 spending review and set out in the Autumn Budget 2024. The future of the HAF programme beyond 31 March 2026 is subject ...
Answered 29 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordNuclear DisarmamentMinistry of DefenceTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 31929More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his policy to support nuclear disarmament.
Answer: The United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent exists to deter the most extreme threats to our national security and way of life. It will remain essential for as long as the global security threat picture demands it. This Government's commitment to our nuclear de...
Answered 19 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordNuclear WeaponsMinistry of DefenceTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 31928More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to review the UK's nuclear weapons policy.
Answer: The United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent exists to deter the most extreme threats to our national security and way of life, which cannot be deterred by other means. It will remain essential for as long as the global security environment demands. We continua...
Answered 19 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordTreaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear WeaponsMinistry of DefenceTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 31927More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to send representatives to attend the Third Meeting of States Parties of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons as observers.
Answer: No officials will attend the Third Meeting of States Parties of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Answered 19 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordChildren: AsylumDepartment for EducationTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30132More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that unaccompanied children arriving in the UK are (a) safeguarded by local authorities and (b) placed in appropriate fostering placements.
Answer: An unaccompanied child will become looked after by the local authority after having been accommodated under section 20(1) of the Children Act 1989 for 24 hours. This will mean that they will be entitled to the same local authority provision as any other l...
Answered 14 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordImmigration: UkraineHome OfficeTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30131More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of enabling Ukrainian refugees who are living in the UK to obtain the right to remain.
Answer: This Government stands with Ukraine and is committed to providing stability for those we have welcomed to the UK and those who still need our sanctuary.To provide certainty to those who have been provided with temporary sanctuary in the UK under the exist...
Answered 13 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: SlaveryHome OfficeTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30130More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support people who arrive in the UK as a result of being trafficked to apply for asylum.
Answer: The Home Office is committed to identifying and safeguarding those who are exploited or vulnerable in the United Kingdom. All operational staff complete the required Home Office Modern Slavery First Responders training. This content was developed by the H...
Answered 13 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordShort-term Holding FacilitiesHome OfficeTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30129More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will place a limit on the period of time that someone can remain in a short-term hold facility.
Answer: There are already time limits on detention in short-term holding facilities.Section 147 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 defines a short-term holding facility as a place where a detained person may be detained for not more than 7 days, or such other...
Answered 14 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: DeportationHome OfficeTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30128More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the non-criminal reasons are that could be lead to a person claiming asylum being deported.
Answer: An asylum seeker whose claim is unsuccessful and has exhausted any appeal rights will be liable for removal where they have no permission to remain in the UK. A person may also be deported on the ground that it is conducive to the public good, which can f...
Answered 14 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: DeportationHome OfficeTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30127More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what offences would require an asylum seeker to be deported.
Answer: All foreign nationals, including asylum seekers and refugees, can and do face prosecution for criminal offences in the same way as any other individual in the UK, and routinely have their immigration status reviewed if convicted.Under existing legislation...
Answered 13 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylumHome OfficeTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30126More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the safe and legal routes for asylum seekers to enter the UK.
Answer: Those individuals who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.Information on the UK’s safe and legal routes is published on gov.uk.
Answered 13 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordXanomeline/Trospium ChlorideDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30123More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Cobenfy; and whether he is taking steps to licence this medication in the UK.
Answer: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has not received an application for the Market Authorisation of Cobenfy by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
Answered 14 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordLong CovidDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30092More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the response by Integrated Care Boards to long Covid.
Answer: NHS England has recently completed a long COVID stocktake, aiming to provide a nationwide overview of service delivery in commissioning and contracting, assessing access, activity, and outcomes. Executive NHS England board members were updated on the curr...
Answered 13 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordMedical Laboratory Scientific Officers: TrainingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 30091More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of available training positions for qualified graduates to become registered biomedical scientists.
Answer: Decisions on the availability of graduate-entry trainee positions to become registered biomedical scientists are matters for individual National Health Service trusts. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level to ensure they have the right numb...
Answered 14 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordAdoption and Special Guardianship Support FundDepartment for EducationTabled 23 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26027More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund permanent.
Answer: The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how its budget will be allocated for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being made as part of these discu...
Answered 29 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordAdoption and Special Guardianship Support FundDepartment for EducationTabled 23 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26026More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support families that are seeking therapeutic support via the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund beyond financial year 2025-26.
Answer: The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how its budget will be allocated for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being made as part of these discu...
Answered 29 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordAdoption and Special Guardianship Support FundDepartment for EducationTabled 23 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26025More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her planned timetable is for announcing funding for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund for financial year 2025-26.
Answer: The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how its budget will be allocated for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being made as part of these discu...
Answered 29 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordChildren: Corporal PunishmentDepartment for EducationTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20220More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to legislate for (a) a ban on the physical chastisement of children and (b) penalties for people who do so.
Answer: This government does not condone violence or abuse of children. There are laws in place to protect children against this.Crown Prosecution Service guidance is clear that only the mildest form of physical punishment can be used to justify discipline. Where...
Answered 23 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordSaudi Arabia: Capital PunishmentForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 18 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14665More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Saudi counterpart on the (a) policy and (b) scale of capital punishment in that country.
Answer: The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as our joint statement with the EU on World Day Against the Death Penalty made clear. The Saudi authorities are well aware of our opposition. As the Minister for the Middle East, I raised Saudi human r...
Answered 28 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordFood Insecurity: Climate ChangeForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 5 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12739More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the World Food Programme and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations' report on Hunger Hotspots June to October 2024, published in June 2024
Answer: The UK is closely monitoring the potential development of La Niña conditions and in particular the risk of food security impacts in the Horn of Africa and Southern Africa.The UK is a committed humanitarian donor, channelling over £277 million in humanitar...
Answered 11 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordDeveloping Countries: Food InsecurityForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 5 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12738More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the World Food Programme and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations' report on Hunger Hotspots June to October 2024, published in June 2024
Answer: The UK is deeply concerned by the findings of the June-October 2024 Hunger Hotspots report. We are the second largest government donor to the World Food Programme (WFP) and to date in 2024 have contributed over $360 million to WFP programmes, including in...
Answered 11 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordDeveloping Countries: Food InsecurityForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 5 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12737More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the World Food Programme and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations' report on Hunger Hotspots June to October 2024, published in June 2024
Answer: The UK is deeply concerned by the findings of the June-October 2024 Hunger Hotspots report. We are the second largest government donor to the World Food Programme (WFP) and to date in 2024 have contributed over $360 million to WFP programmes, including in...
Answered 11 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordCancer: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 4 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 12437More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a 10-year national cancer plan.
Answer: The Health Mission sets the objective of building a National Health Service fit for the future. As part of that work, and in response to Lord Darzi’s report, we have launched an extensive programme of engagement to develop a 10-Year Health Plan to reform ...
Answered 11 Nov 2024
Original Parliament record
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