Richard Holden MP: written questions
1068 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Crown Court: TrialsMinistry of JusticeTabled 28 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26914More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases were awaiting a crown court date on (a) 4 July 2024 and (b) 28 January 2025.
Answer: The information requested for January is a subset of future official accredited statistics on the Crown Court open caseload due to be published according to a pre-announced quarterly timetable as part of the Criminal Court statistics publication. It is no...
Answered 5 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordPension Funds: InvestmentTreasuryTabled 28 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26859More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she is taking steps to encourage pension funds to invest into (a) venture capital and (b) growth equity funds.
Answer: The Government published the Interim Report of the Pensions Investment Review alongside the Chancellor’s Mansion House Speech on 14 November 2024. The proposed reforms in the Interim Report could potentially unlock around £80 billion of productive investm...
Answered 4 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordBritish Patient Capital: FinanceTreasuryTabled 28 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26858More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will increase the funding available to British Patient Capital's Future Fund: Breakthrough.
Answer: At Autumn Budget 2024 the government announced that it will increase funding for the £425m Future Fund: Breakthrough programme to co-invest in high-growth, innovative firms. The programme, delivered by the Bank’s commercial subsidiary, British Patient Cap...
Answered 5 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordDeath: ChildrenDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 28 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26857More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of Child Death Overview Panels cited consanguinity as the (a) primary and (b) secondary cause of death of children in each of the last 30 years.
Answer: The Child Death Review Statutory and Operational Guidance (England) sets out as a statutory requirement that, ‘When a child dies, in any circumstances, it is important for parents and families to understand what has happened and whether there are any less...
Answered 18 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordRecyclingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 28 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26852More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support closed loop recycling schemes; and if he will bring forward legislative proposals to protect those schemes through regulations.
Answer: The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024, which reform the UK’s producer responsibility system for packaging came into force on 1 January 2025. Extended Producer Responsibility is a major reform that will be...
Answered 10 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordFloods Resilience TaskforceDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 27 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26581More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many times the Flood Resilience Taskforce has met since 4 July 2024.
Answer: The Floods Resilience Taskforce held its first full meeting on 12 September 2024. Following this meeting a series of working level discussions have been held with various Taskforce member organisations on specific issues, which will report back to the ful...
Answered 5 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational NeedsDepartment for EducationTabled 27 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26566More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of school children have required additional support due to special educational needs in each of the last ten years; and if she will make an assessment of the reasons for the trend i
Answer: Information on the number of pupils in England with special educational needs can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england. The figures for England for each academic year since...
Answered 30 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational NeedsDepartment for EducationTabled 27 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26558More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish a table of the proportion of requests for EHCP assessment met within the correct timeframe by local authorities.
Answer: Information on the number and percentage of education, health and care plans issued within the statutory 20 week deadline, with and without statutory exceptions to that deadline applying, is published as part of the 2024 statistical release, ‘Education, h...
Answered 30 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordMedicine: UniversitiesDepartment for EducationTabled 27 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26550More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the oral contribution of the hon. Member for Bury St Edmunds at Education Questions on 27 January 2025, which medical schools are offering (a) voluntary and (b) compulsory redundancy to clinic
Answer: The government acknowledges the significant impact of our world leading higher education (HE) sector. As both educational and research institutions, universities make a vital contribution to our economy, society, and to industry and innovation.Universitie...
Answered 30 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic Appointments and Special AdvisersCabinet OfficeTabled 23 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26089More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government has received legal advice on the compatibility of (a) Ministerial and (b) special adviser appointments with section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006.
Answer: As is a longstanding practice under successive administrations, Civil Service or legal advice on appointments is treated in confidence.
Answered 30 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordCash Dispensing and Payment MethodsTreasuryTabled 20 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24955More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department is taking steps to help promote (a) payment choice and (b) access to cash.
Answer: It is for individual businesses to decide on the forms of payment it chooses to accept. This decision will be based on a variety of factors, including cost and the needs and preferences of their customers. However, the Government recognises that cash cont...
Answered 27 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordAdoptionDepartment for EducationTabled 20 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24954More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) approved families looking to adopt and (b) children ready for adoption there were in each of the last 30 years.
Answer: The department does not hold information centrally on the number of approved families that are looking to adopt.The number of children looked after for whom the local authority has made the decision that they should be placed for adoption is published in ...
Answered 18 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordAdoptionDepartment for EducationTabled 20 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24953More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will continue a national approach to recruiting adopters similar to the national recruitment campaign in 2020-21.
Answer: The department has provided £9 million of funding in the 2024/25 financial year for Adoption England to help develop national approaches for adoption services. This will help ensure consistency of high-quality adoption services across the country. This in...
Answered 29 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordAdoptionDepartment for EducationTabled 20 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24952More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to publish a revised Adoption Strategy.
Answer: The department has provided £9 million of funding in the 2024/25 financial year for Adoption England to help develop national approaches for adoption services. This will help ensure consistency of high-quality adoption services across the country. This in...
Answered 29 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordAdoption and Special Guardianship Support FundDepartment for EducationTabled 20 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24951More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with (a) regional adoption agencies and (b) local authorities to reduce the time taken for initial assessments for the Adoption Support Fund post adoption order.
Answer: Adoption England are working with regional adoption agencies to develop national standards for adoption support. This will help ensure that wherever families live, they can expect the same level of high-quality support. This includes the development of a ...
Answered 29 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordAdoptionDepartment for EducationTabled 20 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24950More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that provision of support services for adopters with newly placed children is geographically equitable.
Answer: Adoption England are working with regional adoption agencies to develop national standards for adoption support. This will help ensure that wherever families live, they can expect the same level of high-quality support. This includes the development of a ...
Answered 29 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordAdoptionDepartment for EducationTabled 20 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24949More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on creating a national matching service for adoption services.
Answer: The department has provided £9 million of funding in the 2024/25 financial year for Adoption England to help develop national approaches for adoption services. This will help ensure consistency of high-quality adoption services across the country. This in...
Answered 29 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordOffice for StudentsDepartment for EducationTabled 20 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24948More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what changes the Office for Students has made to the regulatory framework to (a) ensure value for money and (b) good outcomes for students since January 2024.
Answer: There has been one significant change to the Office for Students (OfS) regulatory framework, which was announced last year. This introduced the registration condition on harassment and sexual misconduct. The main condition will not come into force until 1...
Answered 31 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordHigher Education: FranchisesDepartment for EducationTabled 20 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24947More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report entitled Investigation into student finance for study at franchised higher education providers, published by the National Audit Office on 18 January 2024, what discussions she has h
Answer: As set out in the government’s response to the Public Accounts Committee, the government is shortly due to publish a consultation on proposals to strengthen oversight of partnership delivery in higher education, having worked closely with the Office for S...
Answered 31 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordCane SugarDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 20 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24946More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to assist producers in driving sustainability in production of sugar that is refined in the UK.
Answer: The Government recognises the importance of the sugar beet crop for many farmers in the centre and east of England, and its vital contribution to UK sugar production. It often plays a vital role in soil and crop health in the arable farm rotation allowing...
Answered 29 Jan 2025
Original Parliament record10 Downing Street: Government Art CollectionCabinet OfficeTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24489More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 December 2024 to Question 20833 on 10 Downing Street: Art Works, if he will issue a Ministerial Correction with a working weblink to the Government Art Collection works from Downing
Answer: The Government Art Collection lists artwork under the search term 'Downing Street' here: https://artcollection.dcms.gov.uk/?s=downing+street&display=artworkonly
Answered 24 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordArtificial Intelligence: EqualityMinistry of DefenceTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24488More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the AI tool entitled MOD: Textio, published on 17 December 2024, whether the tool has been programmed to (a) avoid unconscious bias and (b) promote equality, diversity and inclusion.
Answer: Textio is a recruitment AI tool, procured for use within the Ministry of Defence to support recruitment of the best candidates. Whilst Defence is not privy to the specific programming of the software by its developers, we have utilised it over several yea...
Answered 23 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordMembers' InterestsHouse of Commons CommissionTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24487More
Question: To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, what guidance the House of Commons issues to hon. Members on declaring reportable gifts, donations or hospitality which are returned or reimbursed within 2
Answer: Registration requirements are set out in the Code of Conduct together with the Guide to the Rules relating to the Conduct of Members, approved by the House on 12 December 2022. (https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmcode/1083/1083.pdf)Paragraph 5...
Answered 21 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordParish and Town CouncilsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24260More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether it is her policy to introduce increased roles for parish and town councils.
Answer: Local authorities act independently of central government. Town and parish councils can work with other tiers of local government to determine how they can best serve their communities in their area. The English Devolution White Paper was clear that we kn...
Answered 22 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordAcademic FreedomDepartment for EducationTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24259More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her oral statement on 15 January 2025 on Higher Education Regulatory Approach, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of encouraging higher education institutions to adopt The Ch
Answer: As my right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Security said in the House of Lords on 16 December, the Home Office plans to lay the regulations that underpin the scheme in early 2025, ahead of the scheme going live in the summer. The department is kee...
Answered 28 Jan 2025
Original Parliament record
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