Steve Witherden MP: written questions 2026
22 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Ministry of Defence: Elbit Systems and Rafael Advanced Defense SystemsMinistry of DefenceTabled 9 Sept 2026Awaiting answerUIN 28569More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, to state the value of contracts awarded by his department to a) Elbit Systems, and b) Rafael, broken down for each year since 2020.
Answer: No published answer in this record yet.
Original Parliament recordIsrael: Armed ForcesMinistry of DefenceTabled 9 Sept 2026AnsweredUIN 28568More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many British armed forces officers are currently studying or training in Israel.
Answer: Currently, no British Armed Forces officers are studying or training in Israel.
Answered 14 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordHomicide: SentencingMinistry of JusticeTabled 8 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17177More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he will commit to publishing a clear timetable for closing the 10 year sentencing starting point gap between most domestic murders and other murders.
Answer: On 30 June, the Deputy Prime Minister announced the Government’s intention to introduce a new 25-year sentencing starting point for domestic murders, which will apply to offenders who murder their current or former intimate partner. This change can be imp...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordCraig Foreman and Lindsay ForemanForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 8 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17176More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to raise the case of Lindsay and Craig Foreman with her US counterpart.
Answer: As the Foreign Secretary has said, Craig and Lindsay's detention in Iran is completely appalling and unjustified. We regularly engage likeminded states on issues of mutual interest, including the detention of our nationals abroad.
Answered 14 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordArms Trade: United Arab EmiratesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 8 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17175More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessments he has made of the potential risk that arms exports licensed by the UK Government to the United Arab Emirates might be diverted and used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of
Answer: We take very seriously any allegations of UK military equipment ending up in Sudan in breach of the UK arms embargo. However, after extensive assessment, we have found no evidence of UK weapons or ammunition being used in Sudan.We keep all our licensing d...
Answered 16 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordUnited Arab Emirates: Arms TradeForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 8 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17174More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps does her Department take to protect against the diversion of arms exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for use in Sudan.
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 8 June to Question 4500.
Answered 14 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordUnited Arab Emirates: Arms TradeForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 8 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 17173More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment has her Department made of the potential for the diversion of UK arms exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for use in Sudan.
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 8 June to Question 4500.
Answered 14 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordAnimal Products: Import ControlsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 8 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 7642More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the list of species the Department considers to be of conservation concern under the proposed legislation to ban imports of hunting trophies; and how the Department
Answer: This Government is committed to delivering on its manifesto commitment to ban the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern. Defra is continuing to engage with relevant stakeholders to help determine the most appropriate scope for a ...
Answered 11 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordNHS: DatabasesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Jun 2026AnsweredUIN 5811More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is any data on Welsh patients treated in England (a) held and (b) processed by Palantir.
Answer: The NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) safely connects information from different systems across the National Health Service into a single, secure environment. This allows staff to co-ordinate care better to improve outcomes for patients. The NHS FDP ...
Answered 8 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordRuabon Station: AccessDepartment for TransportTabled 20 May 2026AnsweredUIN 3598More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made on providing step-free access at Ruabon station.
Answer: On 15 January, Ministers announced Ruabon station as one of 23 stations across Great Britain selected to progress to the next stage of the Access for All programme. The scheme will now move into detailed design, which is expected to be completed by Autumn...
Answered 2 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordPigs: SlaughterhousesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 19 May 2026AnsweredUIN 3158More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to accept the recommendation of the Animal Welfare Committee's report entitled The welfare impacts on pigs of high concentration CO2 gas stunning and of po
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the response given on 20 May 2026 to PQ UIN 316.
Answered 28 May 2026
Original Parliament recordRoyal Mail: InsolvencyDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 17 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 128139More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made contingency arrangements in the event of Royal Mail becoming insolvent.
Answer: The Department develops and maintains contingency plans for a range of scenarios as part of its regular resilience planning. This regular planning includes contingency plans for the insolvency of Royal Mail as the universal service provider.
Answered 22 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordEmployment and Support AllowanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 13 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 126909More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are (a) receiving Employment Support Allowance in March 2026 and (b) have experienced ‘failed transitions’ from Employment Support Allowance to Universal Credit; and what steps he is tak
Answer: a) Statistics for the number of people on Employment and Support Allowance are published quarterly. The latest statistics for August 2025 are available in the ESA data tables on Stat-Xplore - Table View. b) Statistics for the number or people invited to M...
Answered 21 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordFurs: SalesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 23 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 122919More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the sale of unethical fur products.
Answer: Fur farming is banned in the UK. Restrictions also apply to imports including fur and fur products from seals, cats and dogs. Other long-established controls include those covering fur from species protected by the Convention on International Trade in End...
Answered 31 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFuel OilDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 17 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 121659More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what support his Department providing to people that require access to heating oil in the medium to near term.
Answer: The UK benefits from strong and diverse security of fuel supplies. We are aware that some customers have been experiencing delays or difficulties in receiving heating oil deliveries. This reflects an increase in demand, rather than issues with supply. We ...
Answered 23 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFuel Oil: Government AssistanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 17 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 121656More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what are the qualifying criteria for "most vulnerable households" in the provision of heating oil support.
Answer: Local authorities have flexibility to determine eligibility for heating‑oil support under the Crisis and Resilience Fund, applying their own discretion to identify the most vulnerable households facing immediate financial difficulties as a result of risin...
Answered 24 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordSchools: FinanceDepartment for EducationTabled 11 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 120198More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Schools White Paper, whether moving to all schools being part of school trusts means academy trusts.
Answer: In the Schools White Paper, we introduced a new term ‘school trusts’ to refer to existing academy trusts and new trusts, including academy trusts established by local authorities or local area partnerships. We will also update co-operative academy school ...
Answered 29 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordState Retirement Pensions: WomenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 23 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 115262More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Statement of 29 January 2026, what assessment he has made of the reasons why the findings of the 2007 research report did not lead to a targeted public communications campaign to a
Answer: The Secretary of State reviewed the 2007 Report on Automatic Pension Forecasts before coming to his decision on the Ombudsman’s investigation. The 2007 Report concluded that “overall…the evidence suggests negligible influence of the APF on pensions knowle...
Answered 26 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordState Retirement Pensions: WomenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 23 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 115261More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report on changes to women's State Pension age, published on 21 March 2024, if he will make an assessment of the potential (a) economic;
Answer: The Government carefully considered the findings of the Ombudsman’s report on the communication of changes to women’s State Pension age, and a detailed response including an Equality Analysis has been deposited in the House library.
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordHunting: Birds of PreyDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114681More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of exemptions permitting the use of birds of prey in fox hunting activities; and whether it plans to review those provision
Answer: The department has made no assessment of the effectiveness of exemptions permitting the use of birds of prey in fox hunting activities and has no plans to review those provisions.
Answered 26 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordCultureDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 12 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 907896More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help increase access to arts and culture.
Answer: The Government is committed to making arts and culture accessible to everyone. We invest £600 million annually through Arts Council England to support access to arts and culture across the country. Our £1.5 billion Arts Everywhere investment will save ove...
Answered 26 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordPalestine Embassy: SecurityHome OfficeTabled 2 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 110214More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure adequate security provision for the Palestinian Embassy in London.
Answer: The Government takes the protective security of diplomatic missions extremely seriously.The UK’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate, but it would not be appropriate to comment in detail on those arrangements.
Answered 9 Feb 2026
Original Parliament record
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