Richard Holden MP: written questions 2024
322 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Public Sector: ProductivityCabinet OfficeTabled 14 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9049More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2024 to Question 7568 on Civil Service: Productivity, what metrics his Department uses to assess productivity in the (a) Civil Service and (b) wider public sector.
Answer: Over the coming months the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury will continue to work with departments to improve productivity and efficiency both in the public sector and in the Civil Service. More detail on this work will be provided at the next multi-year Sp...
Answered 7 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordHome InsuranceTreasuryTabled 14 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9039More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the insurance industry on ensuring that premiums for homeowners do not increase substantially.
Answer: Treasury Ministers and officials have regular meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors on an ongoing basis.Insurers make commercial decisions about pricing and the terms of cover they offer based on their assessment ...
Answered 17 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordFinancial Services: Off-payroll WorkingTreasuryTabled 14 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9038More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help reduce the impact of off-payroll working rules on the financial services sector and those working in it; and whether she plans to review those rules.
Answer: The Government keeps all tax policy and legislation under review. The Government and HMRC published both external research and internal analysis on the impacts of the 2021 reform in the private and voluntary sectors here: https://www.gov.uk/government/pub...
Answered 17 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPrisoners' Release: FamiliesMinistry of JusticeTabled 14 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9034More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the new Early Release Scheme on the families of those released.
Answer: The Government was forced to introduce SDS40 to avoid the collapse of the criminal justice system. At the point when SDS40 came into effect on 10 September, the use of End of Custody Supervised Licence came to an end. In designing the SDS40 measure, we to...
Answered 18 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPrisoners: ChildrenMinistry of JusticeTabled 14 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9033More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to ensure that the children of those imprisoned are (a) identified and (b) offered support.
Answer: The Government recently published the first official statistics to estimate the number of children affected by parental imprisonment using administrative government data. It's estimated that between 1 October 2021 and 1 October 2022 there were around 193,...
Answered 17 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordBBC: FinanceDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 10 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 900682More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to prepare the BBC for its charter review.
Answer: The next Charter Review has to ensure the BBC doesn’t just survive but thrives for decades to come.My Department is in the early stages of preparation for the upcoming Charter Review, which we expect to launch in 2025. My Department is already in discussi...
Answered 17 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordFoodDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 9 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8239More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he will make an assessment of the potential merits of granting protected food status to traditional pie and mash.
Answer: Defra officials have already discussed the application process for Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) status with a representative of the producers. They are clear that an application for TSG status requires agreement on the recipe that producers wou...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordElectric Vehicles: VansDepartment for TransportTabled 9 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8238More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an recent assessment of the potential merits of extending the plug-in grant for vans.
Answer: The plug-in van grant has been in place since 2012 to help reduce up-front purchase costs, supporting almost 90,000 zero emission vans and heavy goods vehicles across the UK. Plug-in vehicle grants will continue for vans, trucks, motorcycles, taxis and wh...
Answered 18 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordBuses: Greater LondonDepartment for TransportTabled 9 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8237More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the number and proportion of buses operating in London that were made in the UK.
Answer: The Department does not hold information on the number or proportion of buses operating in London that were made in the UK.
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordCivil Service: ProductivityCabinet OfficeTabled 7 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7568More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to (a) monitor and (b) increase productivity in the civil service.
Answer: This Government is committed to improving the productivity of the public sector to deliver high quality public services, achieve value for money and support economic growth. The Government will develop a strategic plan for a more efficient and effective c...
Answered 10 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordBroadbandDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 7 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7567More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions his has had with Openreach on plans for full-fibre broadband rollout (a) nationally and (b) in Essex; and whether there has been any change in the speed of the rollout
Answer: OpenReach has announced commercial plans to deliver full-fibre broadband to 25 million premises in the UK by 2026 and 30 million by 2030.As part of Project Gigabit, Building Digital UK has signed a framework agreement with Openreach, with a value of up to...
Answered 15 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordWater: East of EnglandDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 7 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7566More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with Essex and Suffolk Water on levels of investment in local water infrastructure.
Answer: Since taking office, the Secretary of State and I have met with representatives from all water and wastewater companies. Officials also regularly meet with water companies to discuss localised and regional issues. On 11 July, Ofwat proposed allowing a spe...
Answered 15 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordElectric Vehicles: Charging PointsDepartment for TransportTabled 7 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7565More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will publish advice for local transport authorities on best practice for on-street charging.
Answer: To support best practice in local charging infrastructure strategy and delivery, including on-street, the Government has funded local authority electric vehicle (EV) officers and a dedicated EV infrastructure training course. These officers receive expert...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordBuses: Exhaust EmissionsScotland OfficeTabled 7 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7564More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on its purchase of new zero-emission buses from non-UK manufacturers.
Answer: None. This is a devolved matter and, as such, a decision for the Scottish Government.I have recently met UK bus manufacturers to understand how the UK Government can support the transport sector.
Answered 10 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPolice: Termination of EmploymentHome OfficeTabled 7 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7563More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers have left each police force since 4 July 2024.
Answer: The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of police officers who leave the service in England and Wales, broken down by Police Force Area (PFA), on an annual basis in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can...
Answered 10 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPensioners: Tax Rates and BandsTreasuryTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6585More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of pensioner households have at least one (a) higher rate and (b) additional rate taxpayer.
Answer: The number of individuals over the state pension age paying higher and additional rate Income Tax in 2021 to 2022 is estimated as 455,000 and 39,300 respectively. These estimates account for the whole of the UK and are based on the 2021 to 2022 Survey of ...
Answered 10 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordDeportationHome OfficeTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6584More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were deported from the UK between November 1990 and May 1997.
Answer: Home Office statistics relating to deportation action are available through the National Archives, in the ‘Control of Immigration: Statistics’ biannual publications.
Answered 11 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordNHS: PayDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6583More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether pay rises for (a) doctors and (b) other NHS staff will be met from existing NHS budgets.
Answer: My Rt Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s statement on 29 July 2024 sets out the position across the Government, which includes departments making savings to pay towards the outcomes of the pay review bodies. The process for agreeing savings is...
Answered 10 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordChina: Republic of IrelandForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6582More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the involvement of the People’s Republic of China in joint marine research work with universities in
Answer: My officials routinely monitor developments in partner countries, and any implications of these for the UK. The UK also regularly discusses economic and academic security issues with partners, including Ireland. Whilst in Dublin on 3 October, the Foreign ...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordGeorgiaForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6581More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the territorial integrity of Georgia.
Answer: I reaffirmed my resolute support for Georgia's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders, both to the Georgian Ambassador on 18 September and to Foreign Minister Darchiashvili on 9 October. We conti...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordMexico: JudiciaryForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6580More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Mexico on recent changes to judicial appointments.
Answer: Democracy and respect for the rule of law are at the heart of the UK's values. We are closely monitoring Mexico's constitutional reforms and how they will be implemented in secondary legislation. Our Embassy in Mexico regularly engages with the Mexican Go...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordCoal: MiningDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 12 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5668More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy, Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 26 July 2024 to Question 1982 on Coal: Imports and Production and the Answer of 30 August 2024 to Question 3169 on Coal: Railways, if he will make an assessment of
Answer: Our manifesto was clear on our intention to not grant new coal licences and we are exploring avenues to achieve this.
Answered 11 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordCars: Spare PartsDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3671More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether there is an embargo on spare parts for foreign cars.
Answer: The UK has not placed a blanket embargo on spare parts for foreign cars.All information on trade sanctions, embargoes and restrictions, including trade controls and transit controls can be found on GOV.UK [here].
Answered 6 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordDebtsTreasuryTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3177More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) restricting early repayment charges on debt to benefit customers and (b) encouraging early repayment.
Answer: While specific decisions around early repayment charges on loans are a commercial matter for lenders in which the Government does not intervene, there are rules that govern their use. For mortgages, the Financial Conduct Authority rules set out that lende...
Answered 5 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordFood: Genetically Modified OrganismsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3176More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mandatory labelling for genetically modified food.
Answer: Existing labelling rules for genetically modified organisms (GMO) stipulate that foods sold in the United Kingdom that contain GMO ingredients must be labelled. This labelling gives consumers the choice on whether to consume such foods containing, or cons...
Answered 9 Sept 2024
Original Parliament record
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