Steve Darling MP: written questions 2026
167 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Teachers: Disciplinary ProceedingsDepartment for EducationTabled 2 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 116829More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to review how teacher suspensions are used in disciplinary investigations.
Answer: By law, all maintained schools are required to have a capabilities policy, which sets out disciplinary and grievance procedures in the workplace. As employers, all schools and trusts must follow all aspects of employment law and equalities legislation in ...
Answered 18 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPrisons: InspectionsMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 116828More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what mechanisms his Department has put in place to help ensure that lessons identified in (a) inspections and (b) reports are implemented consistently across relevant agencies.
Answer: In response to all reports by HM Inspectorate of Prison and HM Inspectorate of Probation, H M Prison and Probation Service is required to produce a formal action plan, which is published on the GOV.UK website, to address concerns raised and recommendation...
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPrisoners' TransfersMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 116827More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help improve the accuracy of documentation used during transfers between custodial settings.
Answer: Obtaining the information requested relating to possible miscommunications with respect to person escort records would require each prison to undertake a manual search of all such records for the period in question. That could not be undertaken without in...
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPrisons: AdmissionsMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 116826More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what processes are used to assess risks presented by people on admission to custodial facilities.
Answer: Obtaining the information requested relating to possible miscommunications with respect to person escort records would require each prison to undertake a manual search of all such records for the period in question. That could not be undertaken without in...
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPrisoner EscortsMinistry of JusticeTabled 2 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 116825More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the number of cases in which there have been miscommunications with respect to the Person Escort Record in the last 12 months.
Answer: Obtaining the information requested relating to possible miscommunications with respect to person escort records would require each prison to undertake a manual search of all such records for the period in question. That could not be undertaken without in...
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Work and Pensions: Telephone ServicesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 25 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 116097More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many full-time equivalent front-line customer support staff worked on his Department's bereavement line in each year between 2021 and 2026.
Answer: The number of staff employed is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. ProductMar-21Mar-22 Mar-23Mar-24...
Answered 10 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Work and Pensions: Telephone ServicesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 25 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 116095More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) average and (b) longest recorded wait time was on his Department's bereavement line in each year between 2021 and 2026.
Answer: The below table shows the Average Time to Answer and Maximum Time to Answer for all calls to Bereavement Services in an hours, minutes and seconds format (hh:mm:ss), itemised by each of the requested Reporting Years. Please note, that the current *2025 – ...
Answered 26 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordSocial Security Benefits: GraduatesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 25 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 116094More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many graduates who graduated in the last five years are registered as claimants at jobcentres.
Answer: There has been no assessment made of the number of graduates who have graduated in the last five years and are claiming benefits.
Answered 3 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPatients: SurveysDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 24 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 115580More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has undertaken sampling of patient experiences since changes to the Patient Access Charter in October 2025.
Answer: The Office for National Statistics’ Health Insight Survey has been collecting monthly data on patient experience since July 2024. Recent findings show that overall patient satisfaction has begun to improve after a decade of decline. The survey also report...
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPharmacy: StandardsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 24 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 115578More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Pharmacy First on (a) patient satisfaction, (b) GP access and (c) pharmacy outcomes.
Answer: Pharmacies deliver a wide range of National Health Services, including Pharmacy First, that relieve pressure on general practices (GPs) and other parts of the NHS and help patients access healthcare advice, treatment, and preventative interventions more e...
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordGeneral Practitioners: StandardsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 24 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 115577More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how he plans to reward high-performing GP practices.
Answer: Practices that participate in the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) are financially rewarded for achieving performance indicators. Indicators and thresholds are designed to be stretching, but attainable.QOF has been refined for 2026/27 to support more ...
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordParliamentary and Health Service OmbudsmanCabinet OfficeTabled 24 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 115514More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will amend the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 to enable the Public Health and Service Ombudsman to stop requiring an hon. Member's signature before members of the public can refer a complaint to them.
Answer: The Government believes the filtering process MPs facilitate continues to provide an effective way to empower backbenchers to hold the executive to account and emphasises the Ombudsman’s position as a servant of Parliament. We have no plans to amend the P...
Answered 4 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordBreast Cancer: DrugsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114336More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of NICE condition severity ratings on the accessibility of drugs for those with secondary breast cancer.
Answer: he latest data for technology appraisals published up until the end of September 2025 shows that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended a greater proportion of medicines for advanced cancer since the severity modifier...
Answered 3 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordBreast CancerDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114335More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help improve the prognosis of those with secondary breast cancer.
Answer: The National Cancer Plan, published 4 February 2026, has set out actions aimed at improving prognosis for people with secondary breast cancer. The plan highlights the Government’s ambition to ensure that every person with secondary breast cancer has faste...
Answered 3 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordRailways: CompensationDepartment for TransportTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114334More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to standardise delay repay thresholds across operators.
Answer: There are no current plans to standardise across all train operators. We have one of the most generous delay repay systems in Europe and continue to make progress on improving the ease with which passengers can claim Delay Repay with the majority of the D...
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordSewage: TorquayDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114246More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Environment Agency has undertaken modelling of wastewater discharges from the Meadfoot sewage outfall in Torquay to assess the interaction of those discharges with tidal mo
Answer: The beach is monitored by the EA during the bathing season which runs from mid-May to September. The EA monitors the bathing water for bacteria. The results from Meadfoot Beach put it in the highest class for clean water quality: it is rated as excellent....
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPharmacy: StaffDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114061More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent consideration he has made of the potential merits of a national workforce strategy for community pharmacies.
Answer: The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has t...
Answered 27 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordInternet: Data ProtectionDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 113865More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will ask Ofcom to investigate the consent or pay model for websites.
Answer: Consent or pay models are used by some websites to gather consent for the use “storage and access technologies”, the most common of which is cookies. The rules around consent for such technology are governed by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Re...
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordAccess to Work Programme: EmailDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 11 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112864More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason Access to Work advisers no longer accept supporting evidence by email for new and renewal applications, and instead require applicants to submit documents by post; what assessment has be
Answer: As has been the case for many years under successive administrations, DWP does not generally allow evidence for health and disability benefits to be submitted via email. This is because this evidence often contains sensitive personal data, which must be s...
Answered 1 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordVeterinary Services: Fees and ChargesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 11 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112863More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has considered a) regulating the cost of veterinary procedures, and b) requiring increased transparency around costs of veterinary procedures for pets.
Answer: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are finalising a market investigation into veterinary services for household pets. On 15 October, they released a Provisional Decision Report, which included proposed remedies such as increased transparency of v...
Answered 23 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordHome Education: AssessmentsDepartment for EducationTabled 11 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112752More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the financial impact of participating in GCSE exams on home-schooled students.
Answer: Parents who choose to educate children at home bear the financial responsibility for doing so, including covering the costs of their exam entry. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will not change this.However, the Bill does introduce a new support ...
Answered 23 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordData Centres: Environment ProtectionDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 11 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112751More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Government are taking to tackle the environmental impact of data centres.
Answer: The Government is taking a coordinated approach to address the environmental impact of data centres as it seeks to promote sustainable sectoral growth. Through the AI Energy Council, we are working with industry, regulators and the energy system to improv...
Answered 27 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordDevelopment Aid: Droughts and Water supplyForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 11 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112750More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans does the UK Government have to support overseas states experiencing severe droughts and difficulty in accessing water.
Answer: The UK works with partner governments to strengthen water resilience, including resilience to severe drought, and to expand access to safely managed water services. For example, through the Just Transitions for Water Security programme, we have supported ...
Answered 27 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordAdoption: Mental Health ServicesDepartment for EducationTabled 11 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112749More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to support adopted children’s recovery from early years trauma.
Answer: Professionals working with adopted children should receive appropriate trauma-informed training. The department has funded Adoption England with £8.8 million this year to develop national approaches for adoption services, helping ensure consistently high‑...
Answered 24 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordAdoption: TrainingDepartment for EducationTabled 11 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112748More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of trauma-informed training undertaken by professionals working with adopted children.
Answer: Professionals working with adopted children should receive appropriate trauma-informed training. The department has funded Adoption England with £8.8 million this year to develop national approaches for adoption services, helping ensure consistently high‑...
Answered 24 Feb 2026
Original Parliament record
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