Wendy Morton MP: written questions 2025
1301 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Climate Change: FinanceForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36409More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent progress his Department has made on increasing private finance through (a) British International Investment and (b) British Investment Partnerships to help meet t
Answer: In 2023, the British Investment Partnerships (BIP) portfolio invested £1.5 billion in developing countries which mobilised over £3.5 billion of private sector investment. Over 54 per cent of BIP programme spend was classified as International Climate Fina...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordClimate Change: FinanceForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36408More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) gender equity and (b) the needs of (i) women, (ii) indigenous groups, (iii) people with disabilities and (iv) other vul
Answer: The International Development Act 2002, as amended by the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014, requires a consideration of gender equality before spending development and humanitarian assistance, including International Climate Finance. T...
Answered 24 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordClimate Change: FinanceForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36407More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking ensure the (a) effectiveness and (b) adequacy of the delivery of international climate finance spending planned for the (i) final two year
Answer: To ensure the effectiveness and adequacy of the delivery of international climate finance (ICF) spending the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has robust delivery rules in place - these can be found here: FCDO Programme Operating Framewo...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordClimate Change: FinanceForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36406More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that aid reclassified as international climate finance provides additional finance to developing countries.
Answer: All UK International Climate Finance (ICF) supports developing countries with capital investment, technical assistance, and capacity building to help drive the transition to low-carbon, climate resilient and nature positive development paths. Since 2011 U...
Answered 19 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordInternational Day of EducationForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36405More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2025 to Question 28556 on International Day of Education, how much funding his Department will provide in (a) 2025-26 and (b) subsequent
Answer: The difficult decision to reduce UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending to 0.3% of Gross National Income (GNI) to fund an increase in defence spending to 2.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2027 has been taken by the Prime Minister to addre...
Answered 24 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCharities: LotteriesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36404More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to increase the (a) transparency and (b) accountability of lottery fundraising by charities.
Answer: The transparency and accountability of society lottery operators is a matter for the Gambling Commission through its Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP). The Minister for Gambling has no current plans to take action in this area.
Answered 17 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCharities: LotteriesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36403More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to remove the cap on charity lottery ticket sales.
Answer: Society lotteries are a vital fundraising tool for many charities, community groups, sports clubs and other non-commercial organisations. We are carefully considering calls to increase or remove limits on ticket sales, alongside the results of independen...
Answered 17 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPension Credit: Aldridge-brownhillsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36402More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 33016 on Pension Credit: Aldridge-Brownhills, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing data on the number of outstanding Pe
Answer: There are currently no plans to publish volumes of Pension Credit Outstanding Claims at a constituency level. Statistics on the number of Pension Credit outstanding claims for Great Britain were published on 27 February 2025. This includes numbers of appl...
Answered 12 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPension Credit: InternetDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36401More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to reduce potential barriers to accessing Pension Credit for pensioners who do not have access to digital services or face challenges with online applications.
Answer: The Department is in the process of modernising the Pension Credit delivery and consideration of accessibility, having previously introduced online claims, in addition to telephone and paper claims. Claims for Pension Credit can be made online at: www.gov...
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic Sector: PayTreasuryTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36400More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help mitigate the impact of public sector pay settlements for 2025 on inflation.
Answer: For 2025-26, public sector pay awards for most frontline sector workforces are subject to the ongoing Pay Review Body (PRB) process. The majority of PRBs are required, per their terms of reference, to consider the government’s inflation target when formin...
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordAgriculture and Business: Inheritance TaxTreasuryTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36399More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) on the ability of farming families to pass on agricultural (a) businesses and (b) property to future gener
Answer: The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advant...
Answered 12 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordRetail Trade: Urban AreasMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36398More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to support (a) councils and (b) local authorities to improve high streets.
Answer: The commercial vacancy rate is 13.3% in England and 16.2% in the West Midlands. This government is committed to tackling high street vacancy and supporting small businesses. On 4 March, we launched the Plan for Neighbourhoods, a £1.5 billion investment to...
Answered 17 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordEmpty Property: Retail TradeMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36397More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of the number of empty retail units in town centres; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing new (a) grants
Answer: The commercial vacancy rate is 13.3% in England and 16.2% in the West Midlands. This government is committed to tackling high street vacancy and supporting small businesses. On 4 March, we launched the Plan for Neighbourhoods, a £1.5 billion investment to...
Answered 17 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordLand UseMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36396More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the National Planning Policy Framework, published in December 2024, what instruction has been given to the planning inspectorate on determining land as grey bel
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answers to Question UIN 26011 on 31 January 2025 and Question UIN 26507 on 5 February 2025. Land is Green Belt if designated as such in a Local Plan.On 27 February, Planning Practice Guidance was published to assist local au...
Answered 12 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordLand UseMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36395More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the National Planning Policy Framework, published in December 2024, what steps she plans to take to ensure consultation with local communities before any develo
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answers to Question UIN 26011 on 31 January 2025 and Question UIN 26507 on 5 February 2025. Land is Green Belt if designated as such in a Local Plan.On 27 February, Planning Practice Guidance was published to assist local au...
Answered 12 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordLand UseMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36394More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the National Planning Policy Framework published in December 2024, what her Department's definitions of (a) grey belt and (b) green belt are.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answers to Question UIN 26011 on 31 January 2025 and Question UIN 26507 on 5 February 2025. Land is Green Belt if designated as such in a Local Plan.On 27 February, Planning Practice Guidance was published to assist local au...
Answered 12 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordNeighbourhood Policing: FinanceHome OfficeTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36082More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on the funding for neighbourhood police officers in the financial year 2025-26 and beyond.
Answer: The 2025-26 final police funding settlement provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1.1 billion when compared to the 2024-25 and represents a 6% cash increase and 3.5% rea...
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCrimeHome OfficeTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36081More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that police forces are sufficiently resourced to tackle crime rates.
Answer: The 2025-26 final police funding settlement provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1.1 billion when compared to the 2024-25 and represents a 6% cash increase and 3.5% rea...
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPolice Stations: ClosuresHome OfficeTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36080More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed closures of (a) Aldridge Police Station and (b) other local police stations on community safety.
Answer: The Home Office does not collect data on the number or location of police stations, or the impact of their closure. Police stations are just one of the ways people can access their local police services, including reporting online and by phone 24/7.It is ...
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordBus Services and Railways: Employers' ContributionsDepartment for TransportTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36079More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the increase in Employers National Insurance Contributions on the budgets of train and bus operators transitioning from franchise to public mode of operat
Answer: Budgets for 2025/26 are in the process of being agreed, as part of the annual business planning process, with train operating companies. These budgets take account of the increase in the cost of changes to employer National Insurance contributions made at...
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordEmployers' ContributionsTreasuryTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36078More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she plans to take to (a) support small businesses and (b) ensure that they are not disproportionately impacted, in the context of the anticipated increase in Employers National Insurance Contributions fro
Answer: The Government has taken difficult but necessary decisions to deliver long-term growth. Fixing the public finances is the only way to create long-term stability in which businesses can invest and thrive. The Government recognises the need to protect the s...
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordSmall Businesses: Employers' ContributionsTreasuryTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36077More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of introducing a phased reduction in employer National Insurance contributions for businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
Answer: The Government has taken a number of difficult but necessary decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to fix the public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability after the situation we inherited from the previous administration. One of...
Answered 13 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordEmployers' Contributions: ReformTreasuryTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36076More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) introducing targeted relief for and (b) reforming employer National Insurance contributions.
Answer: The Government has taken difficult but necessary decisions to deliver long-term growth. Fixing the public finances is essential for providing long-term stability in which businesses can invest and thrive. The Government recognises the need to protect the ...
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordSerbia: Politics and GovernmentForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36075More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the meeting of the All-Serbian Assembly in June 2024.
Answer: While the UK welcomes inclusive regional cooperation, economic integration and inter-connectivity initiatives across the region, we have underlined to Serbia's leadership concerns about the June 2024 All Serb Assembly and Declaration and encouraged adhere...
Answered 24 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordSyria: OffendersForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36074More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps is he taking to ensure continued accountability for people responsible for crimes committed during Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Answer: The Foreign Secretary has raised the need for accountability directly with Syrian interim Foreign Minister Shaibani. We continue to support partners who are playing a pivotal role in developing a credible evidence base to record atrocities committed by th...
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament record
Published records only — not a full account of an MP’s work. How we work →