Victoria Collins MP: written questions
379 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Countryside: AccessDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 14 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8954More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a right of responsible access to the countryside.
Answer: The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure this is safe and appropriate. Our countryside and green spaces are a source of great national pride, but too many acros...
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational NeedsDepartment for EducationTabled 14 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8953More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve the accountability of SEND support within schools; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the complaint routes for parents.
Answer: The department welcomes the publication of the response to the Big Listen, which stated that Ofsted will consult on introducing a new inspection judgement area for inclusion across education settings. The department continues to work with Ofsted to consid...
Answered 22 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational Needs: FinanceDepartment for EducationTabled 14 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8952More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reform the funding formula used to distribute SEND funds.
Answer: The department is taking time to consider the various funding formulae that the department and local authorities use to allocate funding for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. It is important that there is a fair ed...
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPalliative Care: StandardsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 11 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8728More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the provision of full-time community palliative and end of life care.
Answer: We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care, from diagnosis through to the end of life. The Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families...
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordCarer's Allowance: StudentsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 11 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8727More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending eligibility for Carer's Allowance to carers in full-time education.
Answer: This Government recognises and appreciates the vital contribution made by all unpaid carers. We think it is right that people in full-time education should be supported by the educational maintenance system, rather than the social security benefit system....
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordCarer's AllowanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 11 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8726More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing the number of hours of care per week required to qualify for Carer's Allowance.
Answer: It is a long-standing principle, under successive Governments, since Carer’s Allowance was introduced, that the threshold for the number of hours spent caring is 35 hours a week. Unpaid carers play a vital role in supporting elderly or disabled relatives ...
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPrivate Education: Special Educational NeedsDepartment for EducationTabled 11 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8725More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to help reduce the potential impact of the introduction of VAT on independent school fees for children at independent schools (a) who need SEND support and (b) do not have an E
Answer: Local authorities fund pupils’ places in private schools where their needs can only be met in a private school. For example, in England, where attendance at a private school is required by a child’s education, health and care plan, local authorities will ...
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordHoliday Activities and Food ProgrammeDepartment for EducationTabled 11 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8724More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) extending the Holiday Activities and Food Programme beyond March 2025 and (b) introducing other measures to help ensure children from low
Answer: The future of the Holiday Activities and Food programme beyond 31 March 2025 is subject to the next government Spending Review taking place this autumn and the department will communicate the outcome of that process in due course.
Answered 18 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordMaternal Mortality: Ethnic GroupsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 11 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8723More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help tackle inequalities in maternal mortality rates for (a) Black women and (b) women from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Answer: It is unacceptable that there are such stark inequalities in maternal outcomes. The Government is committed to closing the black and Asian maternal mortality gap. We are urgently considering the immediate action needed to tackle inequalities for women and...
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordAnimal WelfareDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 11 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8722More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to (a) reintroduce the Kept Animals Bill and (b) introduce a ban on snares.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for South Devon on 11 October 2024, PQ 7135.
Answered 18 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordFish Farming: Animal WelfareDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 11 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8721More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward species-specific legislative proposals to ensure farmed fish do not experience avoidable pain and suffering.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given to the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole, Vikki Slade, on 9 October 2024, PQ UIN 7335.
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordUniversal Credit: ChildrenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8569More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the two-child limit in Universal Credit on affected families' long-term (a) health, (b) social and (c) economic outcomes.
Answer: There are no plans to make such an assessment. The Child Poverty Taskforce will explore how we can harness all available levers to reduce child poverty, including by listening to stakeholders on potential changes, before publishing a strategy in Spring 20...
Answered 17 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordUniversal Credit: ChildrenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7076More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to reduce child poverty in families affected by the two-child limit in Universal Credit claims.
Answer: Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances of every child. The Child Poverty Taskforce, co-chaired by the Work and Pensions and Education Secretaries, has started ...
Answered 10 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPoverty: ChildrenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7075More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of children who will be (a) affected by the two-child limit, (b) living in poverty and (c) both affected by the two-child limit and living in poverty in each o
Answer: Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances of every child. The Child Poverty Taskforce, co-chaired by the Work and Pensions and Education Secretaries, has started ...
Answered 10 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordAchondroplasia: VosoritideDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7074More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason vosoritide is not available for the treatment of achondroplasia in children.
Answer: Voxzogo has not been licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Should an application for Voxzogo, or any product containing the active ingredient vosoritide, be received, the MHRA will consider this accordingly, with rega...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordFlood Control: Harpenden and BerkhamstedDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7073More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help protect rural communities in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency from flooding.
Answer: Protecting all communities around the country from flooding is one of the Secretary of State’s five core priorities. The new Government has established a Floods Resilience Taskforce, a key commitment that marks a new approach to preparing for flooding and...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordCancer: ScreeningDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7072More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the development of (a) a breath test to identify pancreatic cancer and (b) technologies to aid e
Answer: The project to develop a breath test to identify pancreatic cancer is funded via the NIHR i4i/OLS: Early Cancer Diagnosis Clinical Validation and Evaluation Call. This £11 million programme funds 6 projects that aim to develop technologies to aid early de...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPancreatic Cancer: ResearchDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7071More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase funding available for pancreatic cancer research.
Answer: Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1.5 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR's research expenditure for all cancers was £121.8 millio...
Answered 16 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational Needs: TribunalsMinistry of JusticeTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7070More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing the anonymised outcomes of tribunal cases related to SEND support.
Answer: The decision whether to publish a judgment is a judicial one.Judgments of the Special Education Needs and Disability jurisdiction of the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal are not routinely published.However, members of t...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordLuton AirportDepartment for TransportTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7069More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the report by the Climate Change Committee entitled 2023 Progress Report to Parliament, published on 28 June 2023, what assessment she has made of the compatibility of expanding Luton Airport
Answer: The Climate Change Committee published its most recent Progress Report to Parliament on 18 July 2024. The government will carefully consider all of the CCC’s recommendations and respond later this year. The statutory deadline for a decision on the applica...
Answered 11 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordGambling: InternetDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7068More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to reform online gambling to tackle gambling addictions; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of limiting the practice of offering free bets to
Answer: The Government is considering the best available evidence from a wide range of sources to inform decisions on how best to fulfil its manifesto commitment to reducing gambling-related harm.The Gambling Commission has recently implemented a number of regula...
Answered 17 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordState Retirement Pensions: WomenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7067More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman entitled Women’s State Pension age: our findings on injustice
Answer: We will need time to review and consider the Ombudsman’s report along with the evidence provided during the investigation. We need to consider the views that have been expressed on all sides including the points raised by representatives from the WASPI Ca...
Answered 15 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordAirports: Carbon EmissionsDepartment for TransportTabled 12 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 900487More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of airport expansion on the Government's ability to meet net zero targets.
Answer: This government does not oppose airport expansion as long as it provides economic growth and is compatible with strict environmental standards. We are considering our wider approach to decarbonising aviation and remain committed to achieving net zero targ...
Answered 10 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPupils: AttendanceDepartment for EducationTabled 10 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5178More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the rate of fines for parents and carers taking their children out of school during term times on encouraging school attendance.
Answer: Tackling absence is at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. The government understands that reasons for absence are varied, which is why updated statutory attendance guidance sets out that schools, trusts and local ...
Answered 18 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordChildren: ProtectionDepartment for EducationTabled 10 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5177More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she made of the implications for her policies of the document entitled General Election 2024: NSPCC priorities for manifestos and programmes for government, published in May 2024.
Answer: Nothing is more important than keeping children safe and the government is committed to protecting children experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, significant harm as well as tackling the underlying factors driving this. The department is interested in...
Answered 18 Sept 2024
Original Parliament record
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