Sarah Pochin MP: written questions
498 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Small Businesses: FinanceDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15142More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Answer: The British Business Bank’s Small Business Finance Markets Report 2026 found that around half of SMEs used external finance in 2025. SME lending increased between 2024 and 2025 – reaching £68 billion in nominal terms – but remains below pre-pandemic level...
Answered 10 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordInsolvencyDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15141More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many businesses entered insolvency in each region of England in each of the last five years.
Answer: This information is available in Table 1a of the Insolvency Service’s Business Insolvency Demography official statistics, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/business-insolvency-demography-2015-to-2025.
Answered 14 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordRailway Stations: AccessDepartment for TransportTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15140More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many railway stations in England operate without step-free access.
Answer: The Department continues to improve accessibility through programmes such as the Access for All scheme, including the announcement in January of 31 new projects progressing. There are currently 488 stations with no step-free access. A further 392 stations...
Answered 10 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordDriving Tests: Waiting ListsDepartment for TransportTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15139More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of driving test waiting times on learner drivers.
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) recognises the importance of timely access to practical driving tests for learner drivers across the country, and the role this plays in supporting employment, education, and mobility. The Government set out ...
Answered 6 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordDriving Tests: Waiting ListsDepartment for TransportTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15138More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving tests are awaiting allocation across England.
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) recognises the importance of timely access to practical driving tests for learner drivers across the country, and the role this plays in supporting employment, education, and mobility. The Government set out ...
Answered 6 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordBus Services: Rural AreasDepartment for TransportTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15137More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of bus service reductions on rural communities.
Answer: The Government recognises the impact that reductions to local bus services can have and knows the importance of reliable bus services in enabling people to stay connected and access education, work and vital services, particularly in rural areas where bus...
Answered 7 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordBus Services: North WestDepartment for TransportTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15135More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many bus routes in the North West have been withdrawn in each of the last five years.
Answer: The Government recognises the impact that reductions to local bus services can have and knows the importance of reliable bus services in enabling people to stay connected and access education, work and vital services, particularly in rural areas where bus...
Answered 7 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordHomelessnessMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15133More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of homelessness across England.
Answer: Homelessness is far too high, but the government’s National Plan to End Homelessness sets out the steps that we are taking to get back on track to ending homelessness. The government publishes quarterly data including the number of households in temporary...
Answered 7 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordTemporary AccommodationMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15132More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many households are living in temporary accommodation in each region of England.
Answer: Homelessness is far too high, but the government’s National Plan to End Homelessness sets out the steps that we are taking to get back on track to ending homelessness. The government publishes quarterly data including the number of households in temporary...
Answered 7 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordFirst Time BuyersMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15131More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential barriers to home ownership for first-time buyers.
Answer: This government recognises that the affordability challenges facing prospective first-time buyers mean that too many people are now locked out of homeownership.In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, the government is supporting peop...
Answered 20 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordPlanning PermissionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15130More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many planning applications were approved in England in each of the last five years.
Answer: Data on planning application statistics can be found in Live Table P120 on gov.uk here.
Answered 20 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordHousing: PopulationMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15129More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of population growth on housing demand in England.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to Question UIN 51990 on 19 May 2025.
Answered 20 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordPrisons: StaffMinistry of JusticeTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15128More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many assaults on prison staff were recorded in prisons in England and Wales in each of the last five years.
Answer: Assaults on staff by year can be found in the Safety in Custody Summary Tables on row 21 in table 4 available at the following link: Safety in custody statistics - GOV.UK.
Answered 14 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordPrisons: StaffMinistry of JusticeTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15126More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of staffing levels across the prison estate.
Answer: We know that sufficient and skilled frontline staffing is fundamental to delivering safe, secure and rehabilitative prison regimes. The number of band 3-5 prison officers in post against Target Staffing Levels (the number of staff required to run an optim...
Answered 14 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordPrison Officers: ResignationsMinistry of JusticeTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15125More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers left the prison service in each of the last five years.
Answer: We know that sufficient and skilled frontline staffing is fundamental to delivering safe, secure and rehabilitative prison regimes. The number of band 3-5 prison officers in post against Target Staffing Levels (the number of staff required to run an optim...
Answered 14 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordCourts: StandardsMinistry of JusticeTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15124More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the impact of court backlogs on victims of crime.
Answer: As of March 2026, the Crown Court backlog stood at over 80,000 cases, with 22,000 open for over a year. Behind each of those cases is someone awaiting justice – victims putting their lives on hold and witnesses waiting to share their testimony. Justice de...
Answered 10 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordCourts: StandardsMinistry of JusticeTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15123More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many court hearings were postponed in England and Wales in each of the last five years.
Answer: We have interpreted your question to be asking for information on how many magistrates’ and Crown Court trials were ineffective in England and Wales in each of the last five years. An ineffective trial is one that does not go ahead on the scheduled trial ...
Answered 10 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordPolice: FirearmsHome OfficeTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 15122More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many authorised firearms officers were employed by each police force in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.
Answer: The Home Office publishes annual statistics on the total number of armed officers and operationally deployable armed officers (which excludes absences) in England and Wales in the “Police use of firearms statistics” publication. The latest data, covering ...
Answered 6 Aug 2026
Original Parliament recordOrganised CrimeHome OfficeTabled 26 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 13756More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in organised crime activity across England and Wales.
Answer: This Government are committed to tackling serious and organised crime (SOC) in all forms, in line with the priorities set out by this Government on crime and policing and security, including the Safer Streets Mission and border security. The UK's response...
Answered 6 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordCrimes of Violence: AcidsCabinet OfficeTabled 26 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 13755More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many offences involving acid attacks were recorded in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.
Answer: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.A response to the Parliamentary Question of 26th June is attached.
Answered 7 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 26 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 13754More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her department has made of the annual cost of asylum accommodation contracts.
Answer: I refer to the Hon. Member to the answer she received to PQ 9977.
Answered 6 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HotelsHome OfficeTabled 26 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 13753More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers are currently being accommodated in hotels in each local authority area.
Answer: Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, and by local authority can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
Answered 6 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordOffenders: DeportationHome OfficeTabled 26 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 13752More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of deportation arrangements for foreign national offenders.
Answer: Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will pursue their deportation.Since this Government came to power almost 10,000 foreign national offenders (FNOs) have been returned either v...
Answered 7 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordOffenders: DeportationHome OfficeTabled 26 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 13751More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign national offenders were removed from the United Kingdom in each of the last five years.
Answer: Since this Government came to power almost 10,000 foreign national offenders (FNOs) have been returned, an increase of 36%, and we will continue to do everything we can to remove these vile criminals from our streets.The number of FNOs returned is publish...
Answered 3 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordMaternity Services: Rural AreasDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 13750More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the availability of NHS maternity services in rural areas.
Answer: It is important that all women and babies receive safe, equitable, and compassionate care, regardless of where they live.Recognising the specific challenges in rural and remote areas, such as distance from services and workforce constraints, NHS England a...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament record
Published records only — not a full account of an MP’s work. How we work →