theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) cost-efficiency of pothole repair strategies in Surrey Heath Constituency. \p Lilian Greenwood: Surrey County Council is the local highway authority for the Surrey Heath constituency. The Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is committed to helping local highway authorities such as Surrey County Council maintain and renew their local highway networks.

At Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced an extra £500 million for local highway maintenance for the 2025/26 financial year, with funding allocations to individual English local highway authorities announced on 20 December 2024. Surrey County Council will receive up to £32.4 million for local highway maintenance in 2025/26, an increase of around 38% compared to the current financial year.

The effectiveness and cost-efficiency of Surrey’s highway maintenance programmes, including strategies concerning potholes and other road defects, is a matter for the Council.
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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 34245 on Transport: Infrastructure, if she will publish Capital Review Panel's (a) terms of reference, (b) the dates it has met and (c) its budget; whether members of the Panel receive (i) remuneration, (ii) expenses and (iii) other financial recompense; and if the Panel has considered the (A) A12 widening scheme; and (B) the A120 dualling scheme proposals. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Capital Review is an internal review, therefore the Panel’s terms of reference and proceedings are internal to the Department. Panel members are providing their time voluntarily and have not received any expenses or other financial recompense. The Panel has no allocated budget and the only costs incurred are through a small official secretariat.

The Capital Review’s primary aim is to provide the Secretary of State with strategic advice, not to provide advice on individual schemes.
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Tonia Antoniazzi:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has had discussions with the DVLA on the timeliness of drivers receiving licence renewal reminder letters. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency sends reminders for vocational licences and ten-year photocard licence renewals 56 days before the licence is due to expire. For those renewing their licence at the age of 70 and those renewing a short-period medical licence, reminders are sent 90 days before the licence is due to expire. There are no plans to change these timescales.
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Anneliese Dodds:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that all cars should include an emergency glass hammer. \p Lilian Greenwood: The carriage by motorists of emergency equipment such as first aid kits, warning triangles, high visibility jackets and escape tools is not generally prescribed in law. The Highway Code recommends the carriage of many items of emergency equipment and my officials are currently working on proposals to clarify the Highway Code recommendations including adding the carriage of an appropriate escape tool.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of public transport procurement projects contracted by her Department since 5 July 2024 have included net zero requirements; and if she will make an estimate of the total extra cost as a result of including those requirements. \p Simon Lightwood: The Department for Transport does not record the net-zero requirements included in procurement projects contracted.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to support local authorities in west Dorset to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of affordable and accessible charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle. The Government and industry have supported the installation of 75,305 publicly available charging devices, including 15,082 rapid charging devices. There are currently over 5,250 open-access rapid and ultra-rapid chargers within one mile of the strategic road network.

As of 1 January 2025, there were 107 public charging devices in West Dorset, including 30 rapid or ultra-rapid devices. Dorset Council, which includes West Dorset constituency, were allocated almost £3 million of capital and resource funding through the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund. The £381 million LEVI Fund supports local authorities in England to work with industry and transform the availability of EV charging for drivers without off-street parking. The funding, backed by private investment, will support the installation of at least 100,000 on-street chargepoints across England.
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Mike Martin:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) extending and (b) removing the 30-day time limit for completing a blue badge application. \p Lilian Greenwood: While there is no time limit for completion of a Blue Badge application in legislation, in order to comply with UK data handling regulations personal data relating to an application on the Blue Badge online application system is deleted after thirty days. In that thirty-day period applicants are able to save and return to their online application.
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Sarah Coombes:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions her Department has had with the DVLA on 4D number plates. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), various police forces and Trading Standards in relation to the supply and use of illegal number plates as well as number plates with raised characters, commonly known as ‘4D plates’. Some 4D plates can also be described as ‘ghost’ plates where the characters are constructed from materials that are unable to be read by infrared Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems. Work is currently ongoing to quantify the number of illegal plates that may be in circulation.

It is already an offence to sell number plates that do not meet the requirements of the relevant legislation. That offence is punishable by a fine of up to £2,500. The DVLA works with the police and Trading Standards to help prosecute suppliers found to be operating outside of the law.

Number plates are currently supplied by private businesses who are required to be registered with the DVLA. Suppliers who fail to request proof of identification or entitlement to the registration number can be subject to enforcement action, including fines and removal from the Register of Number Plate Suppliers via a court order.
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Sir Gavin Williamson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many properties are owned by HS2 Ltd. in the village of Hopton in Staffordshire. \p Lilian Greenwood: There are currently 43 properties in the village of Hopton, Staffordshire owned by the Secretary of State for Transport; these properties were acquired on behalf of the Government by HS2 Ltd.
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Sir Gavin Williamson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will set out her (a) plans and (b) timetable for the disposing of properties owned by HS2 Ltd. following the cancellation of HS2 Phase 2a and 2b. \p Lilian Greenwood: This government is carefully reviewing the position it has inherited on HS2 and wider rail infrastructure and will set out detailed plans in due course.

These will include our plans for HS2 Phase 2b safeguarding and a disposal programme for land and property acquired for HS2 that is no longer required.
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Lisa Smart:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to introduce safeguards to help tackle (a) errors and (b) delayed updates by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in (i) cases where initial penalty charge notices are issued and (ii) other cases. \p Lilian Greenwood: It is a legal requirement for the keeper of a vehicle to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of any changes to details on the vehicle record including a change of address or when someone has bought or sold a vehicle. This can be done by sending a notification by post or the online channel at GOV.UK. The DVLA aims to issue a revised registration certificate within four weeks.

The DVLA is not responsible for the issue of a penalty charge notice. These are generally issued by local authorities or Transport for London in relation to parking offences or congestion charging, for example. The DVLA is responsible for issuing Late Licensing Penalty or Out of Court Settlements to the keeper of untaxed vehicles or Fixed Penalty Notices to the keeper of an uninsured vehicle. Any penalty issued by the DVLA will be sent to the keeper held on record at the time of the offence.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve road infrastructure in Fylde constituency. \p Lilian Greenwood: In 2024 National Highways completed the £162m Windy Harbour to Skippool off-line bypass around the village of Little Singleton, removing a major bottleneck on the A585 into Fleetwood. Other routes serving the region, such as the M55 have been considered as part of National Highways South Pennines Route Strategy, and this will form the evidence base for future investment planning decisions for the strategic road network in the region.

Investment on the local road network in the region is the responsibility of Lancashire County Council, who will benefit from their share of an extra £500 million for highways maintenance during 2025/26 as announced at the Autumn Budget.
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Lincoln Jopp:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2025 to Question 35580, how far does a person have to travel to a driving test centre for it to be considered accessible. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s travel distance criteria service level agreement, states that most customers live within a certain distance of a driving test centre (DTC) dependent on the population density of the local authority they live in. For example, in more densely populated areas of the country where the population is equal to or greater than 1,250 persons per square kilometre, such as Spelthorne, the practical test centre should be located so that most customers travel no more than seven miles to a test centre.

For customers in Spelthorne, depending in which part of the constituency they live, Isleworth, Chertsey, Slough, Tolworth, and Uxbridge DTCs respectively are within this travel distance criteria.
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Greg Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with grant making agencies on additional financial assistance to buildings with projects over £25,000 (a) underway and (b) about to commence work unable to claim back VAT under proposed changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. \p Chris Bryant: Based on the Department’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications between 2022-2024 have been under £25,000, and most of these claims were for under £5,000. We believe that the modifications were necessary and adequate given the tight fiscal challenges we inherited from the previous government and the capital pressures on other parts of the heritage sector.
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Rebecca Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department made an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, announced on 22 January 2025, on the ability of religious buildings in (a) areas of (i) deprivation and (ii) low economic activity and (b) investment zones to serve their communities. \p Chris Bryant: DCMS Ministers received advice on changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, including consideration of the potential impacts of various options to scale the scheme.

We believe that the changes announced will continue the widest distribution of the scheme’s benefits for communities within the available means, including in areas of deprivation and low economic activity. Based on previous scheme data, we expect 94% of claims to be unaffected by this change.
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Greg Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on the number of apprenticeships and training opportunities across the heritage sector. \p Chris Bryant: We believe that the changes announced were necessary and adequate given the tight fiscal challenges we inherited from the previous government and considering competing financial demands in other parts of the heritage and cultural sector, and will continue the widest distribution of the scheme’s benefits within the available means. Based on previous scheme data, we expect 94% of claims to be unaffected by this change.
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Greg Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her Department's Sector Plan for the creative industries, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on (a) creators and creative networks in the UK and (b) the ability to deliver Art for Everyone Everywhere. \p Chris Bryant: DCMS Ministers received advice on changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, including consideration of the potential impacts of various options to scale the scheme.

We believe that the changes announced were necessary and adequate given the tight fiscal challenges we inherited from the previous government and considering competing financial demands in other parts of the heritage and cultural sector, and will continue the widest distribution of the scheme’s benefits within the available means. Based on previous scheme data, we expect 94% of claims to be unaffected by this change.
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Rebecca Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has considered (a) phasing in changes and (b) enabling the completion of projects that were (i) already on-site, (ii) due to commence shortly and (ii) part of phased works that had begun prior to the changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. \p Chris Bryant: Claims received in this financial year are unaffected, assuming that they are eligible claims with the required detail and documentation.

We expect the cap will be applied to all claims received on or after 1 April 2025. We will be publishing guidance on scheme applications and eligibility in due course.
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Jo Platt:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support independent cinemas to access funding for (a) infrastructure and (b) urgent works. \p Chris Bryant: The government recognises the importance of cinemas as part of the UK’s film industry and as community assets, and we continue to work closely with the British Film Institute (BFI) and the cinema sector. The Government’s tax incentives, including the new Independent Film Tax Credit, are bolstering the slate of films available to be shown in British cinemas.

The BFI’s Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) is a collaboration of 8 film hubs, managed by leading film organisations and venues around the UK which provides support to cinemas on a local level. Film hubs are centres of expertise and support that connect cinemas, festivals and creative practitioners. Further information on BFI FAN can be found at: https://www.bfi.org.uk/get-funding-support/bring-film-wider-uk-audience.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps with (a) local authorities and (b) industry stakeholders to help increase the sustainability of (i) live music venues and (ii) other aspects of the night-time economy. \p Chris Bryant: The government is urging the live music industry to introduce a voluntary levy on tickets for stadium and arena shows, to help safeguard the future of the grassroots music sector. We welcome steps taken by industry to set up a charitable trust to distribute funds from the ticket levy, and commitments made by artists to support grassroots music. DCMS will continue to work closely with the music sector and Arts Council England on the implementation of the industry-led ticket levy.

In addition, we are continuing to support Arts Council England’s (ACE’s) Supporting Grassroots Music Fund by providing £2.5 million funding in 2025-26, which provides grants to grassroots music organisations, including those that host or promote electronic music.

The government recognises the role of night time economy businesses in supporting resilient high streets, and we are focused on our five-point plan to breathe life back into Britain’s high streets, to ensure they are great places for businesses, and economic growth across the UK.

To protect the high street, from 2026-27, the government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values (RV) less than £500,000. To provide further support, the government has extended RHL relief at 40% for 2025-26.
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Ben Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education to prioritise (a) PE and (b) school sports within the school day. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and the Minister for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth regularly meet with Ministerial counterparts from the Department for Education on a range of issues, including PE and school sport. The Minister for Sport recently attended a meeting with a range of National Governing Bodies on access to PE and school sport, hosted by the Minister for School Standards.
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Mr Louie French:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish the criteria used to appoint senior members of the (a) Shadow Football Regulator and (b) Independent Football Regulator. \p Stephanie Peacock: All senior staff appointments to the Shadow Football Regulator have followed the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles and this will continue to be the case once the regulator is legally established; however, the criteria used for selection will always be dependent on the role being advertised. The Chief Executive Officer will be appointed by the Chair following a fair and open competition expected later this year.

The assessment criteria for the appointments of the Chair and Non-Executive Directors were advertised on the government appointments website. The process is being run in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
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Max Wilkinson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish a list of the sports governing bodies she has met with since 5 July 2024. \p Stephanie Peacock: DCMS publishes transparency data on GOV.UK, including details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations. Details of all meetings between 1 July and 30 September 2024 were published on 30 January 2025 and details for the following quarter will be published in due course.
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Mr Louie French:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2025 to Question 33607 on Extracurricular Activities: Finance, what discussions she has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Education and (b) Chancellor of the Exchequer on the future of the School Games programme. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport and the Minister for Sport, Media, Civil Society and Youth regularly meet with Ministerial counterparts from the Department for Education on a range of issues, including school sport.

The School Games Organisers are essential in ensuring that all children have the opportunity to take part in local and accessible sport and physical activity. The Government has confirmed funding for the School Games Organisers (SGOs) until the end of the 2024/25 Academic Year. Funding beyond then will be confirmed in due course, with funding from April 2026 onwards subject to the ongoing Spending Review.
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Cat Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much and what proportion of the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme she plans to spend on (a) tennis and (b) padel facilities in each of the next three years. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.

The majority of funding for grassroots sport is provided through Sport England, our arm’s length body. Sport England provides long term investment to the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel in Britain, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years (between 2022-2027) to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives.

The Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities programme is focused on investment into sports pitches and ancillary facilities, like changing rooms and clubhouses.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2025 to Question 24247 on Public Appointments, on how many occasions Ministers have rejected Advisory Assessment Panel advice and asked that a competition is re-run since 5 July 2024; and for which appointments. \p Georgia Gould: The public appointments digital system, run by the Cabinet Office, enables departments to effectively and consistently manage their public appointment campaigns. It shows the current stage of a campaign and the outcome when completed. However, the system does not record if a campaign has been re-run, and where campaigns are re-run, the Cabinet Office does not collect the reasons for this. That would be a matter for individual sponsor departments and their ministers as part of the normal day-to-day management of the recruitment campaigns they run.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average salary cost of a civil servant was in each year between 2009 and 2024. \p Georgia Gould: Information on both the mean and median salary of civil servants is published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics. The annual publications from 2006 to 2024 with accompanying data tables containing mean and median salary measures can be found at the link below.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics#annual-statistics
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, in what ways he plans to use funding previously allocated to the Vetting Transformation Programme to improve United Kingdom Security Vetting. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The funding for the Vetting Transformation Programme (VTP) was provided by United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) customers. Prior to the closure of the VTP, investments were made in digital system enhancements, resulting in increased assurance and improvement in the applicant user journey. Funding not used will be returned to UKSV customers.

In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many flights using Government (a) owned and (b) chartered planes the Prime Minister has taken in the United Kingdom since 4 July 2024. \p Georgia Gould: I refer the Rt Hon Member to my answer of 6 March 2025, Official Report, PQ 34453.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the transparency data entitled Rt hon. Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP and Rt hon. Rishi Sunak MP official charity receptions, July to September 2024, updated on 30 January 2025, if he will publish the (a) names and (b) organisations of people who attended the (a) business reception on 23 July, (b) missions receptions on 27 July and (c) London Fashion Week reception on 16 September. \p Georgia Gould: As under previous administrations, details of official receptions are published in quarterly transparency returns on gov.uk.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of drug deaths in the last 12 months. \p Georgia Gould: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 17th March is attached.

Letter from the National Statistician (pdf, 111.6KB)
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many procurement contracts awarded by his Department have been awarded without competitive tendering since 5 July 2024. \p Georgia Gould: It is Cabinet Office policy to publish contracts with a value of over £10,000 on Contracts Finder within 30 days of contract award.

The Contract Notices published on Contracts Finder between 5 July 2024 and the present date include information on Procedure type, which will allow the requestor to determine how many contracts above £10,000 have been awarded by Cabinet Office without the use of competitive tendering.

Identifying the number of procurement contracts since 5 July 2024 that are under the value of £10,000 and awarded without competitive tendering would incur a disproportionate cost to the department.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many public contracts awarded by the Crown Commercial Service have included mandatory commitments to publish suppliers’ gender and ethnicity pay gaps since 5 July 2024. \p Georgia Gould: I refer the honourable member to the answer given on 3 March 2025 in response to question 34005.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many public procurement contracts issued by the Crown Commercial Service have included mandatory commitments to trade union recognition since July 2024. \p Georgia Gould: I refer the honourable member to the answer given on 3 March 2025 in response to question 33867.
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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service has a role in approving contracts issued by the Cabinet Office. \p Georgia Gould: The Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service is an approving member of the Cabinet Office Commercial Spend Control Panel, which oversees spend controls for the whole of the HM Government, including non-ministerial departments, executive agencies, and other arms-length, non-commercial bodies that are majority controlled and/or financed by departments (Non-Departmental Public Bodies). This includes the Cabinet Office. Cabinet Office Commercial Spend Controls apply to all commercial activity with a value of £20m or more, excluding VAT. ).
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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people aged 66 and over who are in (a) full time employment and (b) part time employment. \p Georgia Gould: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 18th March is attached.

Letter from the National Statistician (pdf, 126.5KB)
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Jim Allister:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2024 to Question 10214 on Crafts: Northern Ireland, whether the Government has made a decision on the vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly on the applicability motion in relation to EU Regulation 2023/2411 on 19 March 2024. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: As set out in my response to your question of October 2024, the Government continues to evaluate the implications of Regulation 2023/2411, reflecting the applicability motion vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the conditions set out in Schedule 6B of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

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Sir Julian Lewis:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on how many occasions UK National Security Advisers have appeared as witnesses in front of (a) Commons, (b) Lords and (c) joint committees in each year since 2010; and if he will list those committees. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: National Security Advisers and Deputy National Security Advisers have previously appeared in front of a range of Parliamentary Committees when necessary and appropriate to do so. This includes the Commons Defence Committee, the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, the Commons Public Accounts Commission, the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, the House of Lords EU Sub-Committee, the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, and the Intelligence and Security Committee. Information on attendance at individual Committee evidence sessions is published by the relevant Committee, except in some limited circumstances on national security grounds.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-24 conversation_341

Sir John Hayes:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has banned the use of DeepSeek. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The Government has a robust set of security policies in place to oversee how information is handled, within our buildings, on our IT, and by our staff.

We keep these policies under constant review to ensure they are applicable to new technologies.

The Government's Generative AI framework outlines that only corporately assured Generative AI tools should be used to process HMG information. Everyone who works in government has a duty of confidentiality and a responsibility to safeguard any government information or data that they process, access or share, and all government departments are required to meet a range of mandatory security standards.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-24 conversation_342

David Chadwick:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he plans to take to ensure there is regular and reliable economic growth data published for the nations and regions of the UK, in the context of the ONS decision to end its regional Quarterly Country and Regional Gross Domestic Product in July 2023. \p Georgia Gould: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 14th March is attached.

Letter from the National Statistician (pdf, 120.5KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-24 conversation_343

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 33046 on Prime Minister, how his Department records its policy of non-engagement with the Muslim Council of Britain. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: Our policy on engagement with the Muslim Council of Britain has not changed.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-24 conversation_344

Andrew Griffith:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Prime Minister plans to respond to the letter of 13 February 2025 from the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs. \p Georgia Gould: A response was issued on 19 March 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-24 conversation_345

Mr Peter Bedford:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the (a) total number of employees and (b) full-time equivalent headcount will be in the civil service by the end of this Parliament; and what the total employment costs for civil servants will be in the same period. \p Georgia Gould: The Prime Minister has set out his ambition to deliver long-term, impactful changes to reshape the British state and the Government is taking forward a number of measures to deliver greater efficiency and transformation in the Civil Service. Each department will take a decision on its individual size and shape as per the financial settlement it agrees with HMT in the Spending Review, due for conclusion in June 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-24 conversation_346

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Meta's content reporting procedures. \p Feryal Clark: Under the Online Safety Act all in scope services, including Meta, will be required to have systems and processes to enable users and other affected persons to report instances of the types of content the services have responsibility for. This includes illegal content, and, where relevant, content that is harmful to children (where services are likely to be accessed by children).

The Act also requires Ofcom to review the efficacy of content reporting and complaints mechanisms once the above duties have been implemented.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-24 conversation_347

Robin Swann:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of the 14 March 2025 to Question 37022 on Business: Northern Ireland, whether his Permanent Secretary briefed him prior to the announcement. \p Fleur Anderson: I refer the Honourable Gentleman to my previous answer (UIN 37022).
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-24 conversation_348

Robin Swann:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the Northern Ireland Public Sector Transformation Board has (a) permanent o (b) interim status. \p Fleur Anderson: The Board structure used to provide recommendations for the first tranche of projects held interim status. The Northern Ireland Minister of Finance has proposed expanding the membership of the Public Sector Transformation Board and moving toward a permanent Board ahead of the allocation of remaining funding.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-24 conversation_349

David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when the Minister for Industry last met trustees of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme. \p Sarah Jones: Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-24 conversation_350

David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will publish a timeline for the release of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme investment reserve. \p Sarah Jones: The British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS) has some differences to the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme, but we will be working with the BCSSS Trustees to consider their proposals. Any outcome will need to be agreed with the Trustees and the Treasury following analysis of the potential impacts.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-24 conversation_351

David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, on what dates his Department has met with trustees of the (a) British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme and (b) Mineworkers' Pension Scheme since 4 July 2024. \p Sarah Jones: Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-24 conversation_352

Gideon Amos:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to increase British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme pensions in line with the changes made to the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme. \p Sarah Jones: The British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS) has some differences to the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme, but we will be working with the BCSSS Trustees to consider their proposals. Any outcome will need to be agreed with the Trustees and the Treasury following analysis of the potential impacts.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-24 conversation_353

Claire Young:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of recent trends in the level of smart meter failures (a) during installation and (b) in the weeks after installation. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: While the Department collects data on the number of smart meters not operating in smart mode, this does not differentiate between when meters are impacted.

The latest Government statistics on smart meter installations to end December 2024 were published on 20th March and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/smart-meters-statistics. These include information about the number of smart meters operating in smart mode.

At the end of 2024 over 90% of smart meters were operating as intended and sending automatic readings to suppliers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-24 conversation_354

Claire Young:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what data his Department holds on the number of smart meter failures broken down by (a) installing company, (b) type of smart meter and (c) local authority. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: Statistics are available on the number of smart meters not operating in smart mode, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/smart-meters-statistics. A breakdown of this figure by energy supplier is published by Ofgem (https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/energy-policy-and-regulation/policy-and-regulatory-programmes/smart-meter-transition-and-data-communications-company-dcc/smart-meter-performance). The Department does not collect data on smart meters not operating in smart mode by local authority.

A smart meter not operating in smart mode will continue to record energy usage accurately, with an energy company meter reader or the customer needing to take manual meter readings.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-24 conversation_355

Claire Young:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the cost to the public purse was of spending to support the installation of smart meters in financial years (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The investment needed for smart metering including installation of smart meters is funded by energy suppliers.

Government expenditure on the Smart Metering Implementation Programme in DESNZ in 2022-23 was £9.7m, in 2023-4 it was £9.8m and forecast expenditure in 2024-25 is £10.5m.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-24 conversation_356

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to manage the environmental impact of installing overground pylons. \p Michael Shanks: Developers of transmission projects and all nationally significant infrastructure projects in England and Wales must assess the impacts of their proposals. This includes conducting assessments of projects’ impacts on the environment through Environmental Impact Assessments. Additionally, developers engage with statutory and non-statutory stakeholders through consultations to ensure their feedback is considered and incorporated into project proposals. These assessments are considered as part of the consenting process by the Secretary of State. Scottish planning requirements are a devolved matter but also require due and proper consideration of environmental and other impacts and the opportunity for public scrutiny within the planning process.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-24 conversation_357

Sir Julian Lewis:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2025 to Question 37979 on Natural Gas: Imports, what the minimum safety criteria are with which a shale gas company must comply when plugging an unused well; and who monitors compliance with safety standards. \p Michael Shanks: The Heath and Safety Executive and the North Sea Transition Authority are the relevant regulators for onshore shale gas extraction. They regulate compliance with the criteria set for plugging and abandoning wells at the end of their useful life.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-24 conversation_358

Claire Young:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department plans to take to help community energy projects secure appropriate minimum prices for the power generated. \p Michael Shanks: The Government recognises the role community groups play in our efforts to tackle climate change. The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is a market-led mechanism that was designed to ensure that there is a guaranteed route to market for any small-scale low-carbon generator, such as a community energy project, that compensates for the value of their exported electricity.

The Department is also working alongside Ofgem and other key stakeholders to explore options for addressing the regulatory barriers to local energy supply, including route to market.