Richard Holden MP: written questions 2025
1652 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Cane 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 recordForeign Influence Registration SchemeDepartment for EducationTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24258More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's press release, Government reaffirms commitment to Free Speech in universities, published on 15 January 2025, when she will implement the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.
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 recordElectronic Cigarettes: Young PeopleDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24257More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of very high-puff count vapes on trends in the level of youth vaping.
Answer: Selling nicotine vapes to children under 18 years old is illegal. Yet due to the branding and advertising of vapes to children, one-in-four children aged between 11 and 15 years old tried vaping in 2023. The health advice is clear, that vaping is never re...
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordElectronic Cigarettes: Young PeopleDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24256More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Material Focus study entitled Big puff vapes are surging onto the market adding to the vape environmental crisis, p
Answer: Selling nicotine vapes to children under 18 years old is illegal. Yet due to the branding and advertising of vapes to children, one-in-four children aged between 11 and 15 years old tried vaping in 2023. The health advice is clear, that vaping is never re...
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordElectronic Cigarettes: Young PeopleDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24255More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of provisions within the Tobacco and Vapes Bill on trends in the level of usage of very high puff-count vapes among young people.
Answer: Selling nicotine vapes to children under 18 years old is illegal. Yet due to the branding and advertising of vapes to children, one-in-four children aged between 11 and 15 years old tried vaping in 2023. The health advice is clear, that vaping is never re...
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordHonours: ForfeitureCabinet OfficeTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24254More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has issued guidance on whether breaching the Business Appointment Rules is grounds for consideration by the Forfeiture Committee for the revocation of an honour.
Answer: Honours, by their very nature, are a form of recognition for creditable actions or service by an individual. The Forfeiture Committee considers cases put to it when the holder of an honour may be deemed to have brought the honours system into disrepute. T...
Answered 23 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: EqualityCabinet OfficeTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24253More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what diversity and inclusion (a) days and (b) weeks (i) his Department and (ii) the Office for Equality and Opportunity plans to mark in 2025.
Answer: In January, February and March the Carers’ networks are planning coffee drop-in sessions, but these are not linked to any particular days or weeks. We also expect to find appropriate ways to mark external events such as International Women’s Day on 8 Marc...
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordSenior Civil Servants: RecruitmentDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24252More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Succession Select search tool published by Cabinet Office and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, on 17 December 2024, if he will make an assess
Answer: Succession Select is an enhanced search assistant powered by a large language model (LLM). It is an efficiency tool which provides a list of potential candidates to human talent specialists for consideration and is not used to fill vacancies. When there i...
Answered 23 Jan 2025
Original Parliament record48 GroupCabinet OfficeTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24251More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister has met members of the 48 Group Club.
Answer: Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on gov.uk as part of the government’s transparency agenda.
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordLord MandelsonForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24250More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Lord Mandelson has disposed of his lobbying interests on his appointment as Ambassador to the United States.
Answer: Cabinet Office guidance outlines the process for declaring and resolving conflicts of interest for Senior Civil Servants. The guidance - which applies in this case - makes clear that, "Any actual conflicts of interest must be resolved in a way which ...
Answered 30 Jan 2025
Original Parliament record10 Downing Street: ArtworksCabinet OfficeTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24249More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2024 to Question 12231 on 10 Downing Street: Art Works, if he will list each of the other (a) works of art and (b) portraits that have been removed for restoration.
Answer: No further works of art or portraits have been removed for restoration.
Answered 23 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Departments: CommunicationCabinet OfficeTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24248More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2024 to Question 16512 on Government Communication Service and his Department's statistical bulletin entitled Civil Service Statistics: 2024, last updated August 2024, for wh
Answer: The figures differ due to the different collection methodologies utilised, for example GCS’ data includes a greater number of organisations including public servants, public corporations and the NHS.
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic AppointmentsCabinet OfficeTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24247More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's policy document entitled Governance Code on Public Appointments, published on 8 February 2024, whether recruitment competitions for public appointments can be re-opened once cl
Answer: The Governance Code on Public Appointments, which has not changed since the General Election and is publicly available on gov.uk, advises that, as a recruitment competition closes, ministers should be consulted on the quality and diversity of the field an...
Answered 20 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Departments: FinanceTreasuryTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24246More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to make updates to the Financial Reporting Manual.
Answer: The government financial reporting manual (FReM) for financial year 2024-25 has been updated and was published in December 2024. The draft FReM for financial year 2025-26 was also updated and published in December 2024. Updates made are reviewed by the Fi...
Answered 23 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: Christmas CardsCabinet OfficeTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24245More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) people and (b) organisations were sent a hard copy official Christmas card delivered by Royal Mail from (i) the Prime Minister, (ii) the Cabinet Secretary, (iii) the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lanca
Answer: As was the case with previous Prime Ministers, Christmas cards are sent by the Prime Minister in an official capacity. Christmas cards sent by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and the Minister for the Cabinet Office were sent in their capacity as ...
Answered 28 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Departments: SanitationCabinet OfficeTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24244More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the policy of the Government Property Agency is on (a) retaining or (b) removing gender neutral toilets from the Government Estate, in the context of building regulations on toilets for new and refurbished
Answer: This policy is currently being reviewed following the launch of ‘Approved Document T: Toilet Accommodation’, including close consultation with MCLHG, the Health and Safety Executive and the Building Safety Regulator.
Answered 23 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Departments: Written QuestionsLeader of the HouseTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24243More
Question: To ask the Leader of the House, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2024 to Question 18705 on Home Office: Equality, if she will hold discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions whe
Answer: I have written to all Members of Cabinet to remind departments and Ministers about the importance of providing full and timely responses to parliamentary questions.The government's position regarding the relationship between the treatment of requests for ...
Answered 23 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordArms Length Bodies: Parliamentary QuestionsLeader of the HouseTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24242More
Question: To ask the Leader of the House, what guidance her Department has issued on how the policy and work of non-ministerial departments can be scrutinised by (a) oral and (b) written Parliamentary Questions.
Answer: The Ministerial Code gives guidance to Ministers on their responsibilities. Section 1.6(a) states that “Ministers have a duty to Parliament to account, and be held to account, for the policies, decisions and actions of their departments and agencies”. It ...
Answered 23 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordRachel ReevesCabinet OfficeTabled 15 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24241More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Prime Minister will ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer to return part of her salary.
Answer: No. The Chancellor is paid according to the usual arrangements for ministerial salaries, which are unchanged since the previous government.
Answered 21 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordHereditary Diseases: Midwives and NursesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 14 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 23897More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2025 to Question 22100 on Genetics: Diseases, how many additional (a) midwives and (b) close relative neonatal nurses were provided for the Genetic Risk Equity p
Answer: There were an additional 3.8 working time equivalent (WTE) midwives and 1 WTE neonatal nurse in post in 2024/25. Staff costs represented 22% of project costs, or 59% if full recruitment to funded posts was secured.
Answered 28 Feb 2025
Original Parliament record
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