Steve Darling MP: written questions
356 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Social Rented Housing: FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3340More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that investment in social rented housing will be prioritised for communities with (a) lower levels of social rented housing stock and (b) high
Answer: The Government is committed to the greatest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. We intend to ensure that we are supporting the delivery of the right kinds of affordable homes to meet local need.The bid scoring mechanism of the...
Answered 5 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordBank Services: AccessTreasuryTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3339More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a national framework inclusion strategy on accessible and inclusive banking.
Answer: Ensuring all individuals have access to the appropriate financial services and products they need is a key priority for Government and is vital to supporting people’s financial resilience and wellbeing. It is also an essential part of achieving inclusive ...
Answered 9 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordBeavers: ConservationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3338More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help increase the population of wild beavers.
Answer: The Government supports species reintroductions where there are clear benefits for nature, people and the environment. All reintroductions in England are expected to follow the Code for Reintroductions and other Conservation Translocations. We will contin...
Answered 9 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordFisheries: Migrant WorkersDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3337More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the potential merits of amending visa rules for fishing crew to provide additional (a) employment and
Answer: The Government understands that there are labour shortages across our seafood sectors, and ensuring sufficient labour availability in critical sectors is a Defra priority. The welfare of workers is of utmost importance to this Government as we look to bui...
Answered 9 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordFisheriesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3336More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect fishing grounds in the context of the increase in (a) offshore wind energy developments and (b) protected areas.
Answer: Food security is national security. That is why the new Government will always back our great British fishing industry. We are engaging with industry and across Government on the spatial prioritisation programme to champion to protect the fishing sector. ...
Answered 12 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordFisheriesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3335More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) providing additional Government funding and (b) co-funding with fishing groups to help improve the development of fisheries
Answer: Decisions on future funding for the fishing industry will be taken through the Spending Review processes and in light of Government priorities, including food security, protecting nature and growing the economy.Food security is national security, and a su...
Answered 9 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordFisheries: FinanceDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3334More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to provide grant funding for the refurbishment of (a) fishing ports and (b) processing infrastructure.
Answer: Decisions on future funding for the fishing industry will be taken through the Spending Review processes and in light of Government priorities, including food security, protecting nature and growing the economy.Food security is national security, and a su...
Answered 9 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordFishing Vessels: FuelsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3333More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to introduce incentives to replace older fishing vessels with fuel-efficient alternatives.
Answer: Decisions on future funding for the fishing industry will be taken through the Spending Review processes and in light of Government priorities, including food security, protecting nature and growing the economy.Food security is national security, and a su...
Answered 9 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordFisheries: FinanceDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3332More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to provide grant funding to support the modernisation of the fishing industry.
Answer: Decisions on future funding for the fishing industry will be taken through the Spending Review processes and in light of Government priorities, including food security, protecting nature and growing the economy.Food security is national security, and a su...
Answered 9 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordSeafood: Trade PromotionDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3331More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to promote British seafood (a) domestically and (b) abroad.
Answer: This Government will tirelessly promote high-quality seafood from all parts of the United Kingdom, both at home and abroad. As part of the UK Seafood Fund DEFRA and its partners in the Department for Business and Trade and in Seafish have delivered the Se...
Answered 9 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordFisheriesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Aug 2024AnsweredUIN 3330More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to develop a national fishing strategy.
Answer: I have recently heard the representations of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations and others on the benefits of a national fishing strategy. This is something to discuss further with the industry and with colleagues in the Devolved Adminis...
Answered 11 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordMotorhomes: ParkingMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2593More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of placing a duty on local authorities to provide overnight parking for motorhomes on local authority owned land.
Answer: Parking is the responsibility of local authorities, and it is for them to determine what is best for their own area. My department has no plans to consider such a duty.Should members of the public wish to influence policies, statutory guidance allows loca...
Answered 5 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordPublic Buildings: DefibrillatorsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2592More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a duty on local authorities to facilitate the installation of defibrillators on buildings that they own.
Answer: The Department does not have any plans to introduce a duty on local authorities to facilitate the installation of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) on buildings that they own. The Government is committed to improving access to AEDs in public spaces...
Answered 2 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordHoliday Accommodation: RegistrationDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2591More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a registration scheme for short term lets.
Answer: Short-term lets are an integral part of what the UK has to offer visitors. They can bring a range of benefits to local and national economies, but communities in tourismdestinations, particularly coastal and rural communities, must be able to reap the ben...
Answered 4 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordDental Services: TorbayDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2590More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the waiting list for NHS dentists in Torbay.
Answer: The Government will tackle the immediate crisis with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most.Patients in England are not registered with a National Health Service dental pr...
Answered 4 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordVisitEngland: DevonDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2589More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding her Department plans to allocate to the Devon Local Visitor Economy Partnership.
Answer: The Department does not allocate funds to Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) directly, but has allocated £7.15 million in core funding to its arm’s-length body VisitEngland, plus £1.35 million for destination management organisations; and VisitEng...
Answered 4 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordLong-term Plan for Towns: TorquayMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2588More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Our Long-Term Plan for Towns, published on 1 October 2023, what her planned timetable is for providing targeted support t
Answer: The government has inherited an extremely difficult fiscal environment and has a responsibility to fix the foundations of our economy, to ensure economic stability.The department will set out further details on next steps and confirmation of the revised t...
Answered 4 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordExploitation: ChildrenHome OfficeTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2587More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to criminalise the act of exploiting children for criminal purposes.
Answer: The Government is committed to preventing young people being lured into crime, drugs, and criminal gangs. We will deliver on our Manifesto commitment and will bring forward measures to strengthen the law to tackle child criminal exploitation.
Answered 3 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordSocial Rented Housing: FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2586More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that funding for social rented housing goes to communities where the need is greatest.
Answer: The Government is committed to the biggest growth in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. We intend to ensure that we are supporting the delivery of the right kinds of affordable homes to meet local need.The bid scoring mechanism of the Af...
Answered 6 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordWater: StandardsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2585More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure water quality monitoring data is published all year round.
Answer: The Environment Act places monitoring duties on the water industry to improve transparency and reduce harm from sewage discharges. As outlined in Section 82, the Continuous Water Quality Monitoring programme will require water companies to continuously me...
Answered 5 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordGovernment Departments: South WestCabinet OfficeTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2584More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to relocate Government (a) departments and (b) agencies to the South West.
Answer: The government is committed to ensuring that the Civil Service workforce operates across the country, including in the South West, to improve policy making and outcomes for UK citizens.
Answered 6 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordSwimming: Coastal AreasDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2583More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help improve the quality of bathing water around Britain's shores.
Answer: During the bathing water season, the Environment Agency (EA) will carry out a sampling programme at the 451 designated bathing water sites in England to provide robust monitoring of water quality. The EA will also have action plans with clear objectives f...
Answered 5 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordMayors: South WestMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2582More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of public support for an elected Mayor in the South West peninsula.
Answer: The Government wants more areas to benefit from devolution settlements, with new powers that will allow them to play a leading role in delivering growth and bring economic benefit to communities. This is why we are encouraging local authorities to advance...
Answered 6 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordRailways: DevonDepartment for TransportTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2581More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress she has made on (a) rail and (b) station improvements in (i) Torbay and (ii) Devon.
Answer: The Chancellor set out on 29 July a range of pressures on public spending, including £2.9 billion of unfunded transport specific spending. Following this, the Secretary of State’s Written Ministerial Statement on 30 July set out that the Department is und...
Answered 4 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordSummertimeDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 30 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 2580More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment as part of his next spending review of the potential economic merits of double British Summer time.
Answer: The Government has no current plans to change the approach to Daylight Savings.
Answered 2 Sept 2024
Original Parliament record
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