Victoria Collins MP: written questions
786 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Climate and Nature BillDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 8 May 2025AnsweredUIN 51050More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the Climate and Nature Bill.
Answer: This Government is absolutely committed to tackling the climate and nature crises and has agreed steps to take forward the spirit and substance of the Climate and Nature Bill with the Bill’s Sponsors. There is already a well-developed legislative framewor...
Answered 22 May 2025
Original Parliament recordEmployment Schemes: Harpenden and BerkhamstedDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 6 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50330More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support vulnerable people into work in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: The Get Britain Working White Paper set out the biggest reforms to employment support for a generation to support our ambition to achieve an 80% employment rate. The Department for Work and Pensions will shift from being a department for employment suppor...
Answered 14 May 2025
Original Parliament recordWinter Fuel Payment: Harpenden and BerkhamstedDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 6 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50329More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the Winter Fuel Payment on living standards for pensioners in Harpenden and Berkhamsted.
Answer: The Government is, protecting pensioners on the lowest incomes. Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or other qualifying means-tested benefits or tax credits. They will continue to be ...
Answered 14 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPension CreditDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 6 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50328More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the level of uptake of Pension Credit in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) the rest of England.
Answer: The Government wants all pensioners to get the support to which they are rightly entitled. That is why we ran the biggest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign across the whole of Great Britian. This included adverts on television; radio; social media; on ...
Answered 14 May 2025
Original Parliament recordFood: AdvertisingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 6 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50327More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of introducing regulations on the advertising of products high in fat, sugar or salt (a) in outdoor spaces and (b) on audio-only media on public
Answer: The Government is taking bold action to tackle the childhood obesity crisis, and will create the healthiest generation of children ever. We are progressing with the implementation of the advertising restrictions for less healthy food or drink products on ...
Answered 15 May 2025
Original Parliament recordLife ExpectancyDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 6 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50326More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce differences in healthy life expectancy between regions in England.
Answer: Tackling health inequalities is central to our Health Mission, which is why the Government has committed to halving the healthy life expectancy gap between the richest and poorest regions, by addressing the social determinants of health. Work is currently...
Answered 9 May 2025
Original Parliament recordCarers: Harpenden and BerkhamstedDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49617More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve support for family carers in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: The Government is committed to ensuring that families have the support they need. Local authorities have duties to support people caring for their family and friends. The Care Act 2014 requires them to provide a wide range of sustainable, high-quality car...
Answered 8 May 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Services: DisabilityDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49616More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that deafblind people can access appropriate social care in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) the rest of England.
Answer: Under the Care Act 2014 and Care and Support (Assessment) Regulations 2014, local authorities are responsible for ensuring people with complex disabilities, including deafblind people, access the right care and support. Under the Equality Act (2010), loca...
Answered 8 May 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Services: DisabilityDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49615More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce barriers to social care for (a) deafblind people and (b) other disabled people with complex needs in (i) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency an
Answer: Under the Care Act 2014 and Care and Support (Assessment) Regulations 2014, local authorities are responsible for ensuring people with complex disabilities, including deafblind people, access the right care and support. Under the Equality Act (2010), loca...
Answered 8 May 2025
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: SubsidiesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49614More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will take steps to adapt farming subsidy schemes to incentivise the (a) housing of all farmed animals in woodland and (b) planting of woodland in permanent pasture; a
Answer: Businesses must notify the competent authorities in advance of a consignment arriving in GB when it contains High risk or Medium A risk plants and plant products as they are subject to phytosanitary controls. Upon completion of the notification an initial...
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: ForestryDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49613More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will extend agroforestry funding to (a) include multiple species and (b) increase tree planting density to help provide an appropriate habitat for (i) pigs and (ii) c
Answer: Our in-field agroforestry offers under the Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes allow flexibility for land managers to decide on tree species and densities that suit their objectives, to realise the multiple benefits that trees provide in the farmi...
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Rented Housing: FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49612More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of providing additional funding for social rent homes in the forthcoming spending review.
Answer: The government is committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.At Spring statement, the government announced an immediate injection of £2 billion to support delivery of the biggest increase in social ...
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordTechnology: TaxationTreasuryTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49611More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to increase taxes on global tech companies.
Answer: The UK remains committed to reaching a global solution on the taxation of the digital economy through Pillar 1 of the G20-OECD Inclusive Framework project. The UK has fully implemented Pillar 2 of the project which ensures all multinationals are subject t...
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordChildren: Social ServicesDepartment for EducationTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49610More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to improve training for disabled children’s social care professionals in local authorities.
Answer: Every day, children’s social care professionals provide a vital service to children in need of support, including disabled children. Whilst it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that their social care workforces are well-equipped for the roles the...
Answered 30 May 2025
Original Parliament recordChildren: Social ServicesDepartment for EducationTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49609More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce regional differences in social care provision for disabled children.
Answer: On Thursday 20 March I announced the launch of the national Families First Partnership programme, backed by over £500 million in grant funding to support rollout. This includes the publication of the Families First Programme guide, which can be found here...
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Rented Housing: FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49608More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will provide funding for social rent homes in the Spending Review.
Answer: The government is committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.At Spring statement, the government announced an immediate injection of £2 billion to support delivery of the biggest increase in social ...
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational NeedsDepartment for EducationTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49607More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase access to assessments for Special Educational Needs in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) England.
Answer: The department wants to drive a consistent and inclusive approach to supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to achieve and thrive in mainstream settings through early identification, effective support, ...
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordHospitals: DischargesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49606More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the rate of discharge from hospitals into social care in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) England.
Answer: It is a priority for the Government to support hospital discharge and ensure that people receive the care that they need.On 30 January 2025, the Government published the policy framework for the Better Care Fund (BCF) in 2025/26, which took effect on 1 Ap...
Answered 8 May 2025
Original Parliament recordDental Services: Harpenden and BerkhamstedDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49605More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to emergency dentistry in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild den...
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordOnline Information Advisory CommitteeDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49604More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with Ofcom on the terms of reference for the Advisory Committee on Online Information.
Answer: Ofcom and its advisory committees are independent of government. The design of the advisory committee’s Terms of Reference are therefore a matter for Ofcom.The Online Safety Act includes clear requirements for the Committee’s responsibilities: advising Of...
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordExport Health Certificates: Fees and ChargesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 30 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49603More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a cap on the fees charged by veterinary practices for issuing Animal Health Certificates.
Answer: All fees set by veterinary surgeons or veterinary practices are a private matter between individual practices and their clients. Neither the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), the UK regulator of the veterinary profession, nor Defra intervene in...
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordDevelopment Aid: Debts Written OffForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47474More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of proposed reductions in spending on official development assistance on levels of debt-cancellation to heavil
Answer: Supporting developing countries to tackle unsustainable debt is a priority of this government. Where the UK Government is a creditor, we will fully engage in multilateral negotiations with debtor countries via the Paris Club and G20 Common Framework mecha...
Answered 1 May 2025
Original Parliament recordRight to Buy SchemeMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47473More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that homes sold under Right to Buy are not used as private rental properties.
Answer: Former council tenants who have purchased their home under the Right to Buy scheme but wish to resell or dispose of it within a 10-year period, must first offer the property for sale at the full market value to either the former landlord or to another soc...
Answered 1 May 2025
Original Parliament recordCouncil Housing: ConstructionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47472More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has considered allowing local authorities to (a) retain and (b) reinvest all proceeds from Right to Buy sales into building new council homes.
Answer: Former council tenants who have purchased their home under the Right to Buy scheme but wish to resell or dispose of it within a 10-year period, must first offer the property for sale at the full market value to either the former landlord or to another soc...
Answered 1 May 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Rented Housing: ConstructionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47471More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Right to Buy scheme on local councils’ ability to invest in new social housing.
Answer: Former council tenants who have purchased their home under the Right to Buy scheme but wish to resell or dispose of it within a 10-year period, must first offer the property for sale at the full market value to either the former landlord or to another soc...
Answered 1 May 2025
Original Parliament record
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