Rebecca Paul MP: written questions
317 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Leasehold: Ground RentMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 99005More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what evaluation his Department has made of the need to ensure that planned reforms to the leasehold system address the matter of leaseholders struggling to sell share-of-freehold
Answer: The government is committed to addressing unregulated and unaffordable ground rents and we will do this in legislation. We will set out further details on our detailed plans for existing ground rents in due course.
Answered 5 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordPolice: Workplace PensionsHome OfficeTabled 10 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 98986More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, by when her Department expects to complete its ongoing work to to provide a remedy for those members of the Police Pension Scheme who opted out of, and are now left unable to opt back into, the 1987 p
Answer: The Government recognises concerns that the current legislation does not fully deliver the intended remedy for a small cohort of members who opted out of the police pension scheme and are now unable to return to their original scheme.This is a complex iss...
Answered 5 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordDebt Respite SchemeTreasuryTabled 2 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 96332More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of safeguards in the online application process for the Breathing Space debt respite scheme in preventing fraudulent or duplicate applications by the same individual
Answer: The Breathing Space Scheme gives debtors the space to engage with professional debt advice, or to receive crisis treatment for a mental health condition. A standard breathing space provides people in problem debt with protections from creditor enforcement...
Answered 10 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordDebt Respite SchemeTreasuryTabled 2 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 96331More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a mechanism for creditors to seek redress where a Breathing Space certification has been incorrectly granted and financial loss has resulted.
Answer: The Breathing Space Scheme gives debtors the space to engage with professional debt advice, or to receive crisis treatment for a mental health condition. A standard breathing space provides people in problem debt with protections from creditor enforcement...
Answered 10 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordDebt Respite SchemeDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 2 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 96330More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has collected data on the number of Breathing Space certifications which are subsequently cancelled due to ineligibility.
Answer: The Insolvency Service collects data regarding Breathing Space applications in England and Wales; this includes the number of applications subsequently cancelled due to ineligibility. 374,529 Breathing Space applications were registered between 4 May 2021...
Answered 8 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordDebt Respite SchemeMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 96329More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department provides to county courts on (a) the verification of documents submitted in support of Mental Health Breathing Space applications and (b) instances in which concerns have been raised
Answer: When a Breathing Space is cancelled, the creditor will be automatically notified by the Insolvency Service. They should provide a copy of this notification to the county court when they apply for any further enforcement action.The decision on whether some...
Answered 10 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordDebt Respite SchemeMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 96328More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he plans to take to help ensure that county courts update their records to reflect the cancellation of Breathing Space certifications.
Answer: When a Breathing Space is cancelled, the creditor will be automatically notified by the Insolvency Service. They should provide a copy of this notification to the county court when they apply for any further enforcement action.The decision on whether some...
Answered 10 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordMental Health: Debt Respite SchemeDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 2 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 96327More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that NHS staff are not able to falsely certify documents later used in applications for a Mental Health Breathing Space.
Answer: Access to Mental Health Crisis Breathing Space can only be started if an Approved Mental Health Professional confirms that the individual is receiving mental health crisis treatment. The debt adviser must also seek confirmation from a nominated point of c...
Answered 17 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordDebt Respite Scheme: FraudTreasuryTabled 2 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 96326More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance her Department provides to police forces in England regarding the handling of cases where there has been an alleged abuse or fraudulent use of the Breathing Space scheme.
Answer: The Breathing Space Scheme gives debtors the space to engage with professional debt advice, or to receive crisis treatment for a mental health condition. A standard breathing space provides people in problem debt with protections from creditor enforcement...
Answered 10 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordDriving TestsDepartment for TransportTabled 2 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 96325More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department took to communicate information regarding recent operational changes to the driving test booking system to Approved Driving Instructors ahead of those changes coming into force.
Answer: To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests across the country. The measures the Secretary of State ...
Answered 10 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordDriving TestsDepartment for TransportTabled 2 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 96324More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of preventing third parties from booking driving test slots on the range and quality of services driving instructors are able to offer pupils.
Answer: To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests across the country. The measures the Secretary of State ...
Answered 10 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic Bodies: ScotlandScotland OfficeTabled 18 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 906520More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that UK public bodies in Scotland implement the For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers Supreme Court judgment.
Answer: The Equality and Human Rights Commission has shared its updated draft statutory code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations with my Right Honourable Friend, the Minister for Women and Equalities. She will consider it fully and make a ...
Answered 26 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordHMP/YOI Downview: Transgender PeopleMinistry of JusticeTabled 18 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 92334More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many transgender young people are currently held in mixed gender settings within the Children and Young People Estate at HMP & YOI Downview.
Answer: HMP & YOI Downview is not part of the Children and Young People Estate. No children or young people are accommodated there.
Answered 24 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordHealth Services: Prisons and Young Offender InstitutionsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 91843More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure (a) equality of access to and (b) quality of healthcare provision across the (i) women’s and (ii) Children and Young People's estate.
Answer: To improve health and social care outcomes for all women in prison and upon their release, NHS England and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service commissioned the National Women’s Prisons Health and Social Care Review. The review’s report identified a...
Answered 25 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordMental Health Services: PrisonsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 91842More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time is for routine mental health appointments across the prison estate in England.
Answer: The information requested is not held centrally. As part of the formal prisoner induction process, all prisoners undergo health screening that incorporates a mental health assessment. The secondary care mental health assessment is carried out by a mental ...
Answered 25 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordHealth Services: HMP/YOI BronzefieldDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 91841More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has identified service gaps in the provision of primary care, mental health, dentistry and substance misuse services at HMP/YOI Downview.
Answer: Primary care, mental health, dentistry, and substance misuse services at HMP/YOI Downview are delivered under the national specification for integrated healthcare. As part of the commissioning monitoring processes outlined in the NHS Strategic Commissioni...
Answered 1 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordHMP/YOI Downview: Sexual OffencesMinistry of JusticeTabled 17 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 91837More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many sexual assaults of female prisoners by biologically male prisoners took place in HMP Downview in (a) 2016, (b) 2017, (c) 2018 and (d) 2019.
Answer: There were no recorded sexual assaults of female prisoners by biologically male prisoners at HMP & YOI Downview, during the specified periods.
Answered 20 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordPrisoners: Transgender PeopleMinistry of JusticeTabled 17 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 91829More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what decisions his Department has made on the (a) scope and (b) timeline of the review of transgender prisoner policy following the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers.
Answer: We are reviewing transgender prisoner policy following the For Women Scotland Supreme Court ruling. Alongside this, the Office for Equality and Opportunity is currently reviewing the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s draft updated Code of Practice on...
Answered 20 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordYoung Offender Institutions: Transgender PeopleMinistry of JusticeTabled 17 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 91828More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what criteria his Department uses to determine placement of transgender young people within the Children and Young People's Estate.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 November 2025 to Question 85613.
Answered 20 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordNHS: FinesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 13 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 90832More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of issuing penalty charge notices as a deterrent against improper claims of free NHS prescriptions.
Answer: From November 2024 to October 2025, the NHS Business Service Authority issued 47,058 penalty charge notices (PCNs) to people who claimed a medical exemption but were found to have no exemption in place when checked. Of these, 21,328 were eased, for variou...
Answered 5 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordChronic Illnesses: PrescriptionsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 13 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 90831More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the requirement to obtain a medical exemption certificate before being eligible to claim free prescriptions on people with chronic
Answer: The Department has made no assessment.The exemption certificate provides the patient with evidence to demonstrate to dispensers that they are entitled to have the National Health Service cover the cost of their prescriptions. The exemption certificate req...
Answered 4 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordPrescriptions: Fees and ChargesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 13 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 90830More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS penalty charges for incorrectly claimed free prescriptions have been issued to individuals who qualified for but did not hold NHS medical exemption certificates in the last 12 months.
Answer: From November 2024 to October 2025, the NHS Business Service Authority issued 47,058 penalty charge notices (PCNs) to people who claimed a medical exemption but were found to have no exemption in place when checked. Of these, 21,328 were eased, for variou...
Answered 5 Dec 2025
Original Parliament recordChildcareDepartment for EducationTabled 13 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 90810More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merit of allowing nannies to offer funded hours under the Free Childcare for Working Parents programme.
Answer: It is the government’s ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change. Nannies are an unregulated part of the sector...
Answered 24 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordHMP/YOI DownviewMinistry of JusticeTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 89041More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to page 8 of the Independent Monitoring Board's report entitled Annual report of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP/YOI Downview, published on 3 September 2025, when he plans to respond to the
Answer: My noble friend Lord Timpson wrote to the Chair of the IMB on 27 October 2025, setting out the Ministry of Justice’s response to the report. It can be accessed at: Downview 2024-25 annual report - ministerial response - Independent Monitoring Boards.
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordMental Health Services: Prisons and Young Offender InstitutionsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 27 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 85614More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Independent Monitoring Board's report entitled Annual report of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP/YOI Downview, published on 3 September 2025, what steps he is taking to
Answer: NHS England commissions prison health care services for HMP/YOI Downview and every other prison and young offenders institution in England. Every prison has onsite health care services including primary care, mental health, dentistry, and substance misuse...
Answered 6 Nov 2025
Original Parliament record
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