Steve Darling MP: written questions
651 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Carer's Allowance Overpayments Independent ReviewDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 79003More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Independent Review of Carer's Allowance overpayments will be published.
Answer: The Government is carefully considering the recommendations of the Independent Review, conducted by Liz Sayce, into overpayments of Carer’s Allowance (CA). The review investigated how overpayments of CA related to earnings occurred, how we can best suppor...
Answered 20 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordAmusement ArcadesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 16 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77756More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the maximum value of (a) prizes and (b) stakes in arcades in line with inflation.
Answer: The Government intends to consult on changes to maximum stakes and prizes for Category D gaming machines, to understand if this would be an appropriate way to support the family entertainment centre sector while maintaining protections for children and yo...
Answered 13 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordMortgagesTreasuryTabled 15 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77232More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of the recommendations of the report by the London School of Economics entitled Releasing the Mortgage Prisoners, published in F
Answer: The Government takes the issue of mortgage prisoners seriously. We understand the challenges that this cohort of borrowers faces and will work with regulators and the industry to ensure that this problem is properly considered.
Answered 13 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordTorre Station: AccessDepartment for TransportTabled 15 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77231More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve accessibility at Torre railway station; and whether she plans to prioritise that station for accessibility funding.
Answer: This government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities. Under the previous government, nominations were sought for funding through the Access for All programme ...
Answered 14 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordLumo: TorbayDepartment for TransportTabled 15 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77230More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many civil servants in her Department are working on the open access applicaiton from FirstGroup for Lumo services between London Paddington and Paignton.
Answer: Access to the rail network including decisions on Open Access applications is a matter for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). When DfT provides views on individual applications as a key stakeholder, it does so with input from rail analytical and operation...
Answered 14 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordFreezing of Assets: RussiaTreasuryTabled 15 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 77229More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with his European Union counterparts on (a) seeking to increase the level of profits from frozen Russian assets and (b) sharing the legal risks of doing taking such an approach.
Answer: The Chancellor is actively engaging with our EU partners, including recently at ECOFIN, and through regular discussions with G7 finance ministers to explore all viable legal avenues to make use of Russia’s sovereign assets for the benefit of Ukraine, in l...
Answered 13 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordAquariums and Zoos: Government AssistanceDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 11 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 76679More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of holding a summit to support the zoos and aquarium industry.
Answer: Defra is responsible for ensuring zoos and aquariums provide the highest levels of welfare for the animals they keep, as well as delivering conservation and education. The Government published new Standards of Modern Zoo Practice for Great Britain on 24 M...
Answered 8 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordVoluntary ContributionsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 11 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 76678More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the April 2025 deadline for backdated voluntary National Insurance Contributions, how many requests for callbacks were logged by his Department before 6 April 2025; how many callbacks
Answer: In total, DWP received c528,000 call-back requests from customers ahead of the voluntary National Insurance Contributions (VNICS) deadline of 5 April 2025. The Department has taken a two-stage approach to actioning these requests.Stage 1 was to gather per...
Answered 18 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordVoluntary ContributionsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 11 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 76677More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the April 2025 deadline for backdated voluntary National Insurance Contributions how many requests for callbacks were logged by HMRC before 6 April 2025; how many callbacks have so far
Answer: In total, DWP received c528,000 call-back requests from customers ahead of the voluntary National Insurance Contributions (VNICS) deadline of 5 April 2025. The Department has taken a two-stage approach to actioning these requests.Stage 1 was to gather per...
Answered 18 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordPedestrian Areas: Visual ImpairmentDepartment for TransportTabled 10 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 76373More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress her Department has made on improving the (a) safety and (b) accessibility of streets for blind and partially sighted pedestrians.
Answer: Local authorities have a legal responsibility to manage their roads and public spaces in a way that meets the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) under the Equality Act 2010. It is for them to ensure that their streets are designed and maintained in a way ...
Answered 18 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordNHS Trusts: Public AppointmentsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 76372More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NHS England on (a) the appointment of a single Chair for two different NHS Trusts and (b) ensuring that the effectiveness of those Trusts' (i) governance, (ii) acco
Answer: The Government and NHS England support and expect collaboration between National Health Service trusts. Shared leadership, including having a shared chair, is one way which trusts can collaborate to address the issues they are facing.With any governance m...
Answered 18 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordPolice and Crime Commissioners: Police and Crime PanelsHome OfficeTabled 3 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74777More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Police and Crime Commissioners are held accountable to their respective Police and Crime Panels.
Answer: The Home Office provides funding through a dedicated annual grant to host local authorities to support the activity of Police and Crime Panels, who have a wide range of powers and responsibilities to scrutinise the actions and decisions of Police and Crim...
Answered 16 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordGaming Machines: Payment MethodsDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73167More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to update regulations on payment methods for amusement machines.
Answer: Direct use of debit cards and credit cards is currently prohibited on all gaming machines in Great Britain. The previous Government’s 2023 gambling white paper proposed removing the prohibition on the direct use of debit cards on gaming machines, subject ...
Answered 25 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordGaming Machines: Coastal AreasDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73165More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of reforming (a) stake and (b) prize limits for Category D machines on the economies of coastal towns.
Answer: Government recognises the important contributions family entertainment centres make to local communities, particularly seaside towns. However, this sector has seen a number of closures in recent years. We intend to consult on changes to stakes and prizes ...
Answered 15 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDisability Living Allowance: Young PeopleDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 72418More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people under 16 are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance where the primary medical condition is a neurodevelopmental disorder; and how many people in that category subsequently (a) make cl
Answer: As of February 2025, 703,120 claimants with a neurodevelopmental condition are receiving Disability Living Allowance for children (DLAc), in England and Wales. It is not possible to determine how many of these claimants will go on to claim, and receive, P...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordElectric Vehicles: Excise DutiesTreasuryTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 72008More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a compensation scheme for people for whom the resale value of their electric vehicle was affected by changes to the level of taxation for ele
Answer: There are no current plans to introduce a compensation scheme of this design. Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is a tax on vehicles used or kept on public roads and is designed to ensure all road users pay a fair contribution. Revenue from motoring taxes helps t...
Answered 9 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMarine Conservation Zones: TorbayDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 72007More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect the Torbay Marine Conservation Zone, in the context of climate change.
Answer: Torbay Marine Protected Area (MPA) was designated in 2013 to protect a range of features and species including native oysters, seagrass beds, and long – snouted seahorse. These features are protected through a mobile fishing gear permit byelaw that prohib...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDementia: Community CareDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 72006More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of community care for dementia patients.
Answer: Provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guide...
Answered 10 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordEquitable Life Assurance Society: CompensationTreasuryTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71760More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will consider the potential merits of reopening the Equitable Life Compensation Scheme.
Answer: The Equitable Life Payment Scheme has been fully wound down and closed since 2016 under the approach taken by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition Government. There are no plans to reopen any decisions relating to the Payment Scheme. Further gu...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordWater: StandardsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 28 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 905438More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help improve water quality.
Answer: The Government has secured a record £104 billion of private sector investment that will fund the rebuilding and repair of broken sewage pipes so we can cut sewage pollution into our waterways. We are also reforming agriculture to drastically reduce run-of...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordAccess to Work ProgrammeDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 70073More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether guidance has been issued to officials in her Department to reduce support levels under the Access to Work scheme.
Answer: No.In the past, some restrictions in the guidance have not always been implemented. The guidance is now being more consistently applied. For the last year, work has been underway to improve Scheme decision-making by applying the guidance with greater cons...
Answered 3 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Work and Pensions: BuildingsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69648More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of plans to consolidate smaller DWP offices into larger sites on staff; and what steps she is taking to help ensure that staff are adequately protect
Answer: Where customers do not need to be seen face-to-face for the delivery of services, the Department’s location strategy is to move away from a higher number of smaller sites to fewer, larger sites that can accommodate over 300 colleagues. By investing in the...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDomestic Abuse: TrainingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 15 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68076More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of mandating standardised domestic abuse training for all frontline NHS staff.
Answer: It is the responsibility of National Health Service organisations to ensure that all staff undertake mandatory training on domestic abuse. Mandatory training at Level 1 is captured in the NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR), as part of the integrated safegu...
Answered 22 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordDomestic Abuse: HomicideHome OfficeTabled 15 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68075More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to improve coordination across departments to ensure that key Domestic Homicide Review recommendations are acted upon in a timely manner.
Answer: Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) provide vital opportunities for national and local agencies, local communities and society as a whole to learn lessons from domestic abuse related deaths.We know that recommendations are often made to the Home Office by de...
Answered 23 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordDomestic Abuse: HomicideHome OfficeTabled 15 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68074More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) improve awareness of and (b) ensure the implementation of Domestic Homicide Reviews recommendations.
Answer: Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) provide vital opportunities for national and local agencies, local communities and society as a whole to learn lessons from domestic abuse related deaths.We know that recommendations are often made to the Home Office by de...
Answered 23 Jul 2025
Original Parliament record
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