Victoria Collins MP: written questions 2025
508 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Hospitality Industry: EmploymentTreasuryTabled 11 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 76732More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent tax changes on employment levels in the hospitality sector.
Answer: The Government recognises that the nature and rate of taxes on business is important to the hospitality sector, and the success and competitiveness of the UK. Given the difficult fiscal conditions we inherited, the Government asked all businesses to help ...
Answered 18 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordCoronavirus: VaccinationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 11 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 76731More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to ensure that people no longer eligible for covid-19 vaccines under the the Flu and Covid-19 Seasonal Vaccination Programme are able to receive them if they wish;
Answer: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is the independent expert committee which reviews the latest data on COVID-19 risks, vaccine safety, and effectiveness and advises the department on the approach to vaccination and immunisation pr...
Answered 29 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDisability: Cost of LivingDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 11 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 76730More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support disabled households with the cost of living in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: Extra costs disability benefits, including Personal Independence Payment (PIP), are individual benefits paid to all qualifying members of a household. They provide a contribution towards the extra costs that may arise from a long-term disability or health...
Answered 19 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordPlanning: Flood ControlMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 11 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 76729More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to improve coordination between Local Planning Authorities and Lead Local Flood Authorities on ensuring (a) adequate resources and (b) clear m
Answer: Planning practice guidance sets out that when considering proposals for major development the local planning authority will need to consult the lead local flood authority on surface water drainage. The guidance is clear that local planning authorities may...
Answered 20 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordHedgehogs: ConservationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 10 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 76448More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support hedgehog conservation initiatives in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: 48 responsible authorities were appointed by Defra to prepare Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) for their area. Under Hertfordshire County Council’s draft LNRS, the hedgehog is designated as a ‘Flagship Species’ which is set to benefit from identified...
Answered 17 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordBuildings: VATTreasuryTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73138More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of VAT on (a) repair and (b) retrofit works to older buildings; and whether she plans to review that taxation.
Answer: To stimulate the construction of new homes, the Government currently maintains a zero rate of VAT on new-build residential buildings. The Government also recognises the importance of reusing existing buildings and encourages this through the VAT system. R...
Answered 5 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordProtestHome OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73137More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Crime and Policing Bill on the right to peaceful protest; and what steps she is taking to ensure that lawful demonstration
Answer: The Government is committed to ensuring that protest legislation is both effective and proportionate. The Government keeps all public order legislation under constant review.While the right to protest remains a cornerstone of our democracy, the legal fram...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordNurses: Harpenden and BerkhamstedDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73136More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to increase funding for newly qualified nurse positions in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: On 11 August 2025, the Government announced the Graduate Guarantee for nurses and midwives. The guarantee will ensure that there are enough positions for every newly qualified nurse in England. The package of measures will unlock thousands of jobs and wil...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordIndividual Savings Accounts: Tax AllowancesTreasuryTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73135More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to regionalise the property cap on Lifetime ISAs.
Answer: Data from the latest UK House Price Index shows that while the average price paid by first-time buyers has increased, it is still below the Lifetime ISA property price cap in all regions of the UK except for London, where the average price paid is affecte...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordPress: PrivacyDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73134More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of press regulation in preventing press intrusion.
Answer: Our aim as a Government is ensuring the balance is right between press freedom and instances of intrusion. The government recognises that for victims and their families, incidents of undue attention and harassment from the media cause significant distress...
Answered 17 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordInfant Foods: RegulationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73031More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to update regulations on the (a) composition, (b) marketing and (c) labelling of commercial (i) infant and (ii) toddler foods.
Answer: Children’s early years provide an important foundation for their future health and strongly influence many aspects of wellbeing in later life. The Government has published voluntary industry baby food guidelines as part of our comprehensive strategy to gi...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordChildcareDepartment for EducationTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73029More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on local planning policies supporting the expansion of early years provision through the (a) protection
Answer: It is the government’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change. In 2025/26 alone, we plan to provide over £8 ...
Answered 9 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordAlcoholic Drinks: Excise DutiesTreasuryTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73028More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing draft duty relief for (a) consumers, (b) pubs and (c) breweries in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: The Chancellor’s draught rate cut at Autumn Budget 2024 applied to approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This took a penny of duty off a typical strength pint at a cost to the Exchequer of over £85m a year. Draught beer and cider now pa...
Answered 5 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordCarers: DisabilityDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73027More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of conducting a national safeguarding review into the protection of disabled dependents when their sole carer is incapacitated.
Answer: Any form of abuse or neglect is unacceptable, and the Government is committed to ensuring that families have the support that they need.Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have a statutory duty to make enquiries about safeguarding concerns and supp...
Answered 19 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordPostural Tachycardia Syndrome: Harpenden and BerkhamstedDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73024More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to provide support for people with postural tachycardia syndrome in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: Improving health outcomes for everyone living with a long-term condition, including postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS), is a key part of the Government's mission to build an NHS fit for the future.People with PoTS can access a variety of NHS services, w...
Answered 5 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordBusiness: TrainingDepartment for EducationTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68574More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help support businesses to invest in skills and training in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: The department’s Industrial Strategy outlines key interventions to boost employer engagement with the skills system. These include: Shorter and foundation apprenticeships in priority sectors.New short courses in England, funded by the growth and skills le...
Answered 24 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordDigital Technology: Harpenden and BerkhamstedDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68573More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help support businesses to take up digital technologies in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answer: The Hertfordshire Growth Hub provides businesses in Harpenden and Berkhamsted with support and advice on adopting digital technology. More widely, the industry-led SME Digital Adoption Taskforce will soon publish its final recommendations on how Governmen...
Answered 23 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordMobile Phones: Rural AreasDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68571More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure mobile network operators cannot invoke the all reasonable efforts clause to avoid penalties under the Shared Rural Network agreement in (a)
Answer: The Shared Rural Network programme is underpinned by licence obligations enforced by Ofcom. Under the licences, the mobile network operators can only invoke the reasonable endeavours clauses under specific circumstances, by providing evidence to Ofcom, an...
Answered 25 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordBroadband: Coastal Areas and Rural AreasDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68570More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2025 to Question 59177 on Broadband: Coastal Areas and Rural Areas, whether the reported 95 percent coverage achieved by the Shared Rural Network will
Answer: The previously agreed coverage thresholds for the Shared Rural Network were designed to reflect the level of service required to make calls and access online services in areas that previously had little to no service. This remains the baseline for the pro...
Answered 25 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordSchools: UniformsDepartment for EducationTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68569More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with schools on the potential impact of branded school uniform policies on families; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that schools comply with the statut
Answer: Whilst many schools are taking action to reduce costs, too many families tell us that the cost of school uniform remains a financial burden. The department’s research shows that the average cost of uniform is significantly lower when parents can buy items...
Answered 25 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordDefibrillators: Emergency ServicesHome OfficeTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68568More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will hold discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of increasing the proportion of (a) police, (b) fire and (c) other emergency service vehicles that are fitted with defibril
Answer: The Department for Health and Social Care has confirmed that all ambulances carry defibrillators. Provision of defibrillators in police and fire vehicles is an operational matter for either the individual police force or fire and rescue service to determi...
Answered 24 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordDriving: DefibrillatorsDepartment for TransportTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68567More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department make an assessment of amending (a) the Highway Code and (b) driving (i) theory and (ii) practical tests to ensure that all drivers are trained in the use of defibrillators.
Answer: The Highway Code currently contains information on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), but not on the use of defibrillators. The Department for Transport regularly updates the Highway Code and ensures the information contained reflects the latest advice....
Answered 22 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordHeart Diseases: DeathDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68566More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of deaths as a result of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in (a) 2020, (b) 2021, (c) 2022, (d) 2023 and (e) 2024.
Answer: NHS England has published the national service specification Inherited Cardiac Conditions (All Ages), that covers patients who often present as young adults with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease and families requiring follow up due to a death from t...
Answered 5 Aug 2025
Original Parliament recordSmall Businesses: HertfordshireDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68565More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps his Department has taken to consult with rural community-owned businesses in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) Hertfordshire in the development of its planned small b
Answer: This Government is committed to embedding the voice of small business into policy. The Department for Business and Trade has engaged with hundreds of individual SMEs across all sectors and regions as part of co-designing our SME Strategy. This has include...
Answered 23 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordMotor Vehicles: DefibrillatorsDepartment for TransportTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68564More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making it a mandatory requirement to fit defibrillators in every newly manufactured car.
Answer: The Government has no current plans to legislate to make it a mandatory requirement to fit defibrillators in every newly manufactured car.
Answered 21 Jul 2025
Original Parliament record
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