Steve Witherden MP: written questions 2025
67 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Religious Buildings: SecurityHome OfficeTabled 8 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 45315More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to protect places of worship from police raids.
Answer: The enforcement of the law is an operational matter for the police. It is for them to decide whether a particular action warrants police involvement, based on their operational expertise and the circumstances of the case.
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPress: RegulationDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 8 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 45314More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of introducing a press regulator that is independent of (a) the media industry and (b) politicians.
Answer: This Government is committed to an independent and free media, one that is completely separate from the Government and politicians. An independent self-regulatory regime is important to ensure the press adheres to clear and high standards. We are also cle...
Answered 25 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordCarbon Emissions and Renewable EnergyDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44821More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to hold Ofgem accountable for (a) achieving net zero and (b) supporting growth in renewables as part of its remit.
Answer: The industry regulator Ofgem is directly accountable to Parliament. However, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State and DESNZ Ministers have regular meetings with Ofgem on a range of issues. In December, the Government launched its first comprehensive ...
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordElectricity GenerationDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44820More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the P441 modification to the Balancing and Settlement Code.
Answer: The Government recognises that local energy will play an important role in achieving our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030, and some suppliers are already working with community energy groups to support local supply. The Secretary ...
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordMedia: PrivacyDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44819More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many newspapers have been (a) investigated and (b) fined by the Independent Press Standards Organisation since 2014.
Answer: The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), which is independent of Government, publishes annual reports on their website that include details on the number of complaints and enquiries received and their outcomes: https://www.ipso.co.uk/what-we-d...
Answered 25 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordMedia: PrivacyDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44818More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to prevent (a) phone hacking and (b) press intrusion.
Answer: The press have a responsibility to behave ethically and they must also operate within the bounds of the law. Any illegal conduct such as phone hacking would be a matter for the police.The Government does not intervene in or oversee the work of the UK’s in...
Answered 25 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordInfected Blood Compensation SchemeCabinet OfficeTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44817More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of recognising mono-HCV haemophiliacs as a separate cohort under the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme.
Answer: In March, Parliament approved the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations 2025, which established the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme in full and gave the Infected Blood Compensation Authority the powers it needs to begin making payments to all ...
Answered 22 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordInfected Blood Compensation SchemeCabinet OfficeTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44816More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what evidential basis the level of compensation for people with (a) Hepatitis C and (b) haemophiliacs infected with HIV under the Infected Blood Compensation scheme was determined.
Answer: As recommended by the Inquiry, the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme has been designed as a tariff-based framework. The proposed tariffs were developed on the advice of the Infected Blood Inquiry Response Expert Group, which included clinical and legal a...
Answered 22 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordInfected Blood Compensation SchemeCabinet OfficeTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44815More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme to distinguish between people subjected to deliberate, non-consensual trials and other people.
Answer: The Infected Blood Inquiry Report highlights many ethical failings that happened as part of the Infected Blood Scandal. The impact of these ethical failings on infected people has been recognised in the compensation scheme's core autonomy award. In his su...
Answered 22 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordInfected Blood Compensation SchemeCabinet OfficeTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44814More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people will be eligible for compensation under the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme in (a) Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr constituency, (b) Wales and (c) the UK.
Answer: Due to the nature of the Infected Blood scandal there is uncertainty over the number of people who might be eligible for compensation. The final number of eligible people will ultimately depend on the number of victims who come forward. While there is no ...
Answered 22 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPrivate Rented Housing: WalesTreasuryTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44813More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on the potential merits of providing support for the delivery of social homes in Wales through (a) increased capital funding and (b) expanded borrowing powers.
Answer: We remain committed to working in partnership with the Welsh Government to ensure the Fiscal Framework, which sets out their borrowing arrangements, continues to deliver value for money while upholding our shared commitment to fiscal responsibility. Discu...
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPrivate Rented Housing: WalesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44812More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on their decision not to legislate to end no-fault evictions for private rented sector tenants in Wales; and what assessmen
Answer: The Department has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders during the development of our reforms to the private rented sector, and we have sought to learn from the experience of the devolved nations. However, housing within Wales, Scotland and Northern ...
Answered 22 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordSecurity of Tenure: WalesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44811More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on the potential difference of security of tenure that will exist between England and Wales following the passage of the Re
Answer: The Department has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders during the development of our reforms to the private rented sector, and we have sought to learn from the experience of the devolved nations. However, housing within Wales, Scotland and Northern ...
Answered 22 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordHomelessness: WalesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44810More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on the potential impact of the spare room subsidy on homelessness in Wales.
Answer: The Secretary of State has not had discussions with the Welsh Government specifically about the Removal Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS) and homelessness in Wales. Housing is devolved to the Welsh Government and social security is reserved to the UK Government. ...
Answered 23 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal Housing Allowance: WalesDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44809More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of not uprating local housing allowance rates on homelessness in Wales.
Answer: The causes of homelessness are multi-faceted and often complex, they interact dynamically making it very difficult to isolate the relative importance of individual factors. Responsibility for housing and homelessness is devolved to the Welsh Government, w...
Answered 22 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence PaymentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43638More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of the Daily Living Element of Personal Independence Payment do not score more than four points in any of the daily living activities, by subcategory of psychiatric disorder.
Answer: Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get ...
Answered 22 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence PaymentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43636More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of the Daily Living Element of Personal Independence Payment do not score more than four points in any of the daily living activities, by category of disability.
Answer: Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get ...
Answered 22 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence PaymentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43635More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of the Daily Living Element of Personal Independence Payment do not score more than four points in any of the daily living activities (a) in total and (b) by category of disab
Answer: Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get ...
Answered 22 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordCooperativesForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43287More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of working with co-operative movements (a) in the UK and (b) globally.
Answer: The Government recognises the important contribution cooperatives have made in serving local communities around the world. Cooperatives are a tried-and-tested model in international development, that can enable citizens and producers to access services or...
Answered 9 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordFund for International Co-operative DevelopmentForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43286More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of supporting the Fund for International Co-operative Development.
Answer: The Government recognises the important contribution cooperatives have made in serving local communities around the world. Cooperatives are a tried-and-tested model in international development, that can enable citizens and producers to access services or...
Answered 10 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordGround RentMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43265More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of outlawing ground rents.
Answer: The government remains firmly committed to its manifesto commitment to tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, and we will deliver this in legislation.
Answered 22 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordEmployment: Disability and Visual ImpairmentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43263More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support employers to employ more (a) people with sight loss and (b) disabled people.
Answer: The Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Health and Social Care are committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with sight loss, with their employment journey. The Disability Confident Scheme ...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordWork Capability AssessmentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43262More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how her Department will determine which claimants will be exempt from the new baseline expectation of engagement or work-related requirements once the Work Capability Assessment is scrapped.
Answer: We recognise that some people may not be able to engage with new baseline expectations. We are consulting on how we should determine who should be subject to attend meetings only rather than also have wider conditionality requirements, and how we should d...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordHumanitarian AidForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43261More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure humanitarian funding for (a) conflict-affected and (b) climate-vulnerable regions following the planned reduction of Official De
Answer: Detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used are being worked through following the Spending Review and through resource allocation processes. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is focused on ensuri...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence Payment: DisabilityDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 41752More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's Pathways to Work Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, what estimate her Department has made of the number of disabled people who will lose access to PIP following
Answer: Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, with some information published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Bri...
Answered 1 Apr 2025
Original Parliament record
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