Tony Vaughan MP: written questions
56 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Agriculture: UK Trade with EUDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 125499More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of a variable pace transitional arrangement with different commencement dates for dynamic alignment for the UK's agricultural
Answer: The Government is currently negotiating a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement to make agrifood trade with its biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and regulatory barriers for British producers and retailers. These negotiations are ongoi...
Answered 23 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordFly-tipping: Rural AreasDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 125498More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce fly tipping in rural areas.
Answer: Local councils are responsible for keeping their public land clear of fly-tipped waste, including public rural areas. Local councils have powers to take enforcement action against offenders. Anyone caught fly-tipping may be prosecuted which can lead to a ...
Answered 14 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordLivestock Worrying: Crime PreventionDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 125497More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce livestock crime.
Answer: The Government recognises that there can be challenges in responding to rural crime. That is why the Government collaborated with the National Police Chiefs’ Councils to deliver their renewal of the Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy, which was published i...
Answered 28 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordSudan: Armed ConflictForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 125475More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps she is taking to help support the end of the civil war in Sudan.
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the oral statement made by the Foreign Secretary on 5 February following her recent visit to the Chad-Sudan border, and her speech to the United Nations on 19 February, available at the link below. Further updates will follow the...
Answered 20 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordNHS: DatabasesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 125255More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the merits of ending the NHS' Federated Data Platform contract with Palantir.
Answer: The current contract for the NHS Federated Data Platform is for seven years, ending in 2031, with the initial term ending March 2027. Advice is given regularly on the contract and performance, and ministers have been given advice on the need for a decisio...
Answered 28 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordHospitality Industry: Business RatesTreasuryTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 125250More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the merits of delaying the Business Rates revaluation for hospitality businesses.
Answer: At the Budget, the Valuation Office announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation, which came into effect on 1 April. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some proper...
Answered 15 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordHospitality Industry: Business RatesTreasuryTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 125249More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the merits of increasing the Business Rates discount to twenty percent for hospitality venues.
Answer: At the Budget, the Valuation Office announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation, which came into effect on 1 April. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some proper...
Answered 15 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordHospitality Industry: Business RatesTreasuryTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 125248More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to financially support hospitality businesses that are dealing with the loss of business rates relief and an increase in their rateable value at the same time.
Answer: At the Budget, the Valuation Office announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation, which came into effect on 1 April. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some proper...
Answered 15 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational NeedsDepartment for EducationTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 124902More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether additional funding for the Targeted Plus group will be ring fenced.
Answer: The department is taking steps to ensure that this additional funding will be spent for its intended purpose to support mainstream inclusion, this includes providing funding such as the Inclusive Mainstream Fund as a separate grant with reporting conditio...
Answered 28 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational NeedsDepartment for EducationTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 124901More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the educational rights of the Targeted Plus group will be enforced where those children do not have EHCPs.
Answer: Changes to how support is delivered will be underlined by stronger accountability across local authorities and health and education settings to ensure each layer of support is delivered effectively.Schools will be required to produce an Inclusion Strategy...
Answered 20 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational NeedsDepartment for EducationTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 124900More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how Specialist Resource Provisions fit within new school bases proposed in SEND reforms.
Answer: As part of our reforms, to clarify and simplify terminology, we will collectively describe provision such as special educational needs (SEN) units, resourced provision and pupil support units as inclusion bases, underpinned by two models:Support bases: co...
Answered 16 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational NeedsDepartment for EducationTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 124899More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether proposed SEND reforms include provision for education other than in school.
Answer: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Answered 29 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordImmigration: TurkeyHome OfficeTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 124898More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many ECAA Indefinite Leave to Remain applications are pending.
Answer: Leave granted under the European Community Association Agreement (ECAA) allows people, largely Turkish nationals, to work or establish businesses in the UK.The Home Office does not publish information specifically relating to the volume of applications pe...
Answered 20 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordImmigration: TurkeyHome OfficeTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 124897More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many ECAA Indefinite Leave to Remain applications have been decided in the last four months.
Answer: Leave granted under the European Community Association Agreement (ECAA) allows people, largely Turkish nationals, to work or establish businesses in the UK.The Home Office does not publish information specifically relating to the volume of applications pe...
Answered 21 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordRefugeesHome OfficeTabled 17 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 908452More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help support refugee integration.
Answer: Refugees can already access the labour market, benefits, employment support and funded English language support.After the introduction of our asylum reforms, we will create new work and study routes for those who are receiving protection, which will provi...
Answered 23 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordNuclear Decommissioning Authority: FinanceDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 16 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 121179More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps are being taken to provide funding to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
Answer: Funding for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is being provided through the Government’s Spending Review (SR) settlement, confirmed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in June 2025, which allocated £13.9 billion of capital funding for the period ...
Answered 23 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordElectoral SystemsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 16 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 121178More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of alternative electoral systems to the single member district system used to elect MPs.
Answer: The government has no plans to change the electoral system for UK Parliamentary elections.
Answered 23 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFood Strategy Advisory BoardDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114333More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to ensure that members of the Food Strategy Advisory Board do not have conflicts of interest.
Answer: FSAB members are appointed in a personal capacity to advise and inform the strategic direction of the Government’s Food Strategy based on their professional experience in the food and drink system. They are not appointed to represent a body, group or part...
Answered 3 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordRevenue and Customs: PayTreasuryTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114332More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of compensation for HMRC staff due to the late award of the Flexibility Payment.
Answer: HMRC has considered the appropriateness and potential merits of compensation and reflected on the factors set out below: The new Flexibility rates required complex payroll system design, build and testing to ensure the 3,000 eligible staff would be paid c...
Answered 3 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordLivestock Industry: Migrant WorkersDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114322More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of ending temporary concessionary visas for sheep shearers on sheep welfare.
Answer: Defra recognises the importance that shearing sheep plays in managing the health and welfare of around 30m sheep in the UK flock, and the continued challenges that the industry faces each year in sourcing sufficient numbers of trained shearers. The depart...
Answered 3 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordSheep: Livestock IndustryDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114321More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps with British Wool to help increase the supply of British-trained sheep shearers.
Answer: British Wool is the main provider and promoter of training for sheep shearers in the UK. In each of the last five years (2021-2025) they have invested an average of £134,000 net costs in providing shearing training for between 798 and 898 people at skill ...
Answered 3 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordMigrant Workers: Livestock IndustryHome OfficeTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114320More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of ending temporary concessionary visas for sheep shearers on the total labour supply of sheep shearers for the farming sector.
Answer: Immigration Rules concessionary arrangements are temporary and subject to regular Ministerial review. The sheep shearing concession had been operating for 14 years and closed after the 2025 shearing season as it reasonable to expect that over this period ...
Answered 3 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordAir Passenger DutyTreasuryTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114249More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to increase the number of private jet passengers paying the higher rate of Air Passenger Duty.
Answer: The Government is ensuring all private jets are taxed fairly. Currently, only 36% of private jet passengers pay the higher APD rate, while most pay the same as those on commercial flights, despite using a more premium service with far higher emissions per...
Answered 26 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordRoyal Mail: Workplace PensionsCabinet OfficeTabled 11 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112896More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will provide an update on the status of the Royal Mail Statutory Scheme Pension deficit.
Answer: The administration of the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme (RMSPS) is the responsibility of the Cabinet Office. The RMSPS was created in April 2012 when the UK government assumed responsibility for the historic liabilities (accrued before 2012) of the ...
Answered 29 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordNuclear Regulatory ReviewDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 4 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 907806More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce.
Answer: We will present a full implementation plan by the end of February 2026, taking account of international obligations, security considerations, and planning, environmental and court processes. We aim to complete implementation within two years, subject to l...
Answered 10 Feb 2026
Original Parliament record
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