theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether through the (a) Railways Bill and (b) the associated policy framework she plans to ensure that (i) regulatory oversight of the infrastructure manager’s periodic review and (ii) the setting of its performance targets for each control period will be maintained at an adequate level. \p Keir Mather: The Railways Bill will create a new Periodic Review process in legislation. The key role that the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) plays in ensuring a robust and well evidenced plan for delivery, including performance targets, will be carried across. ORR will provide expert, independent, and public advice across Great British Railway’s (GBR) proposed plan for the 5-year period which the Secretary of State, and Scottish Ministers, will need to consider before approving GBR’s plan for delivery. ORR will continue providing scrutiny throughout the 5-year period and will be involved when GBR’s plan is updated and changed.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2025 to Question 86741 on Great British Railways, if she will publish the names of the (a) people and (b) organisations involved in the leadership and operational design of Great British Railways; and what proportion of those individuals are (i) civil servants, (ii) secondees from private companies and (iii) external appointees from the rail industry. \p Keir Mather: Richard Goodman, Director General, is the Department for Transport Senior Responsible Officer for the design of Great British Railways and Chair of the Rail Reform and Strategy Portfolio Board that includes the NR CEO and DfTO CEO.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to publish guidance on the handling of existing (a) contracts, (b) liabilities and (c) pension arrangements for Network Rail staff after their transfer to Great British Railways. \p Keir Mather: The Bill will not include operational and contractual details about transfer of property, rights, liabilities and staff into GBR or GBR's corporate structure.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what mechanisms will be put in place to ensure enforcement of service quality standards under Great British Railways. \p Keir Mather: Great British Railways (GBR) will be held to account for railway performance and customer experience including service quality, as will open access and devolved operators. We intend for minimum consumer standards to be set and monitored by the Passenger Watchdog and independently enforced by the Office of Road and Rail (ORR).

ORR will also have powers to independently monitor GBR's business performance and advise the Transport Secretary. Further details are set out in the Government's consultation response, A Railway Fit for Britain's Future.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Ruth Cadbury:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what dates South Western Railway plans to retire its fleet of Class 455 electric multiple units; and what plans it has to maintain current levels of passenger capacity on their retirement. \p Keir Mather: Southwestern Railway is planning to retire the Class 455 fleet by the end of December 2025. The Arterio fleet introduction programme will fully occupy all of the previously formed Class 455 diagrams.

Since May the number of new trains in service has quadrupled. The Arterio trains will provide 50 per cent increased capacity compared to the current 455 fleet in service. They will also provide accessible toilets, air conditioning, charging points at every seat, real-time information screens, onboard wi-fi and walk through carriages.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what formal representation (a) Welsh Ministers and (b) Transport for Wales will have in the governance structure of Great British Railways. \p Keir Mather: There will be a statutory requirement for Welsh Ministers and the Secretary of State to agree a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The contents of this MoU have been outlined in Written Ministerial Statements by the Secretary of State for Transport in the UK Parliament and Ken Skates, Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, in the Senedd, accompanying the Railways Bill. These statements reinforce our commitment to collaborative governance, outlining shared ministerial intentions across areas such as track and train integration, cross-border service oversight, and the establishment of a dedicated GBR Wales and Borders Business Unit.

The final MoU will be published in due course as committed to within the Bill.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Fleur Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the next meeting of the Hammersmith Bridge task force will be. \p Simon Lightwood: The Government intends to convene a further meeting of the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce in the near future.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to make funding available for infrastructure upgrades at (a) railway crossings and (b) (i) road and (ii) pedestrian bridges in (A) areas experiencing significant increases in freight traffic and (B) East Tilbury. \p Simon Lightwood: The Government recognises the benefits that infrastructure upgrades in East Tilbury could bring to the local community. However, we must target our investments to maximise growth and deliver value for taxpayers.

The Spending Review 2025 settlement highlights the Government’s continued commitment to investing in rail and supporting schemes that drive maximum growth. The settlement represents an increase in funding compared with what has been spent on rail enhancements in recent years.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the current average waiting time is for a driving (a) practical and (b) test for motor cars; and if she will set out how this compares to the pre‑covid figures. \p Simon Lightwood: The national average waiting time for a car practical driving test in October 2025 was 21.9 weeks.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) supervise the delivery of light vehicle MOTs through approved MOT garages. As these are private garages, the DVSA does not collate overall average waiting time data for MOTs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2025 to Question 87145 on Driving Licenses, if she will provide this information by nationality. \p Simon Lightwood: The data requested is provided in the attached table which shows the number of GB licences exchanged for a licence issued in each of the countries listed. Please note that this will not necessarily be the nationality of the licence holder. The table also includes licences issued in exchange for a licence issued in Northern Ireland, the Crown Dependencies, the British Virgin Islands, the Falkland Islands, the Faroe Islands and Gibraltar.

Driving licences by nationalities (xlsx, 24.9KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) train scheduling and (b) barrier down-time on the number of unsafe crossing attempts by (i) pedestrians and (ii) drivers. \p Keir Mather: It is for Network Rail, as the operator of Britain’s rail network, to manage the risks at level crossings and to implement protective measures to manage those risks accordingly, consistent with its statutory obligations. Network Rail will consider numerous factors to inform its approach and ensure the safety of the public, from the frequency of services and pedestrian and road traffic volume at the crossing, to user behaviour and historical incident data, among other things. As it is the safety duty holder, it is best placed to make judgments on how best to mitigate risks at level crossings to ensure users are kept safe.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is her Department’s policy that airline and passenger charges should be central considerations in decision-making on Heathrow expansion. \p Keir Mather: The Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) provides the primary basis for decision making on development consent applications for a third runway at Heathrow Airport. The ANPS is now under review following the Secretary of State's announcement in October.

The Department is keen to see expansion happen in a manner that is efficient and maximises growth and economic opportunities for the whole country. Airline and passenger charges will be a key consideration within this; however, these are set by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in its role as the independent regulator for the sector. When making decisions on these charges, the CAA must have primary regard to furthering the interests of users of air transport services, and controlling costs forms an integral part of this.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of public procurement reforms on the long-term competitiveness of the UK bus manufacturing sector; and what steps her Department is taking to maximise procurement opportunities for UK manufacturers. \p Simon Lightwood: The Government is committed to supporting UK jobs and industry, including the UK bus manufacturing sector. As part of this, we have consulted on further procurement reforms to boost domestic supply chains and create more opportunities for businesses, including the UK bus manufacturing sector.

Additionally, we are supporting Combined Mayoral Authorities to coordinate the procurement of buses through a Crown Commercial Service commercial agreement; supplemented by the soon to be published ten-year pipeline of future bus orders, which will provide much needed certainty to the UK manufacturing sector. This includes providing advice on using social value criteria that play directly to the strengths of domestic suppliers when procuring new buses, such as creating and retaining jobs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking through the forthcoming 10-year bus procurement plan to support UK (a) bus manufacturers and (b) UK businesses in the bus manufacturing supply chain. \p Simon Lightwood: On 13 March 2025 I launched the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel, bringing together industry experts and local leaders to ensure that the UK remains a leader in bus manufacturing. The Panel is a forum to enable collaboration between Government, manufacturers and the wider industry.

The Panel has been developing a pipeline of future zero emission bus orders to provide better planning certainty to the sector – for both manufacturers and their supply chain. Data has been gathered on potential bus orders over the next ten years and will be published on GOV.UK shortly.

The procurement of zero emission buses is led by Mayoral Combined Authorities, Local Transport Authorities and bus operators.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of (a) the potential merits of establishing a regulatory framework for the registration and road use of three- and four-wheeled electric bicycles, (b) the adequacy of road safety standards to ensure that these vehicles can operate safely alongside other road users and (c) the potential impact of the wider adoption of properly regulated three- and four-wheeled e-bikes on the environment, accessibility and congestion. \p Simon Lightwood: The existing regulatory framework for electric cycles is comprised of the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983 and the Pedal Cycle (Construction and Use) Regulations 1983. These regulations apply to cycles with two or more wheels and are therefore applicable to three and four-wheeled electric cycles.

These cycles must be constructed to meet the standards in the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008. European Standard EN15194 is the industry standard which can contribute to meeting these regulations.

No assessment concerning the environment, accessibility or congestion is planned in respect of these cycles.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much Active Travel England has spent on translation and interpretation services in each of the last five years. \p Lilian Greenwood: Since its establishment in 2020, Active Travel England has not incurred any expenditure on translation and interpretation services.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the total number and proportion of road collisions involving uninsured drivers that were caused by non-UK citizens in each of the last five years. \p Lilian Greenwood: My Department does not hold the number and proportion of collisions involving uninsured drivers that were caused by non-UK citizens. Nor do we have information on the number of uninsured drivers that are non-UK citizens.

The Road Traffic Act 1988 requires all drivers to have third party insurance cover. The Government takes uninsured driving seriously. Police forces work closely with the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) to tackle this. This collaborates through Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE), a scheme where MIB and DVLA collaborate to identify uninsured drivers, police enforcement on the road and through Operation Tutelage.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions her Department has had with road safety organisations regarding measures to reduce serious incidents involving young drivers in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Lilian Greenwood: Whilst my Department has not met with any road safety organisations in the Surrey Heath constituency, we keep in regular contact with a range of road safety stakeholders across the country.

We absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads and continue to tackle this through our THINK! campaign.

We are considering other measures to address this and protect young and newly qualified drivers, as part of our upcoming strategy for road safety.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Dr Scott Arthur:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing standardised eligibility for the Blue Badge scheme across local authorities. \p Simon Lightwood: The standardised eligibility criteria for the Blue Badge scheme are published on GOV.UK. Local authorities are responsible for determining and implementing the administrative, assessment, and enforcement procedures which they believe are in accordance with the governing legislation.

The Blue Badge scheme is devolved in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland; each Devolved Administration is responsible for the scheme within their respective areas.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the potential public health impact of excess nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel vehicles fitted with defeat devices since 2015. \p Simon Lightwood: The Government is committed to reducing air pollution from all forms of transport.

The department recognises that elevated NOx emissions from diesel vehicles contribute to poor air quality. The Department has not produced a specific UK-only assessment of the potential health impact.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s Market Surveillance Unit (MSU) is investigating cases of possible non-compliant diesel emissions in cars and vans. The investigations aim to ensure any non-compliance found is fixed as soon as reasonably possible, working together with manufacturers to achieve real-world impacts on air quality.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of waiting times by test centre in England for learner drivers undertaking a (a) Theory test and (b) Practical driving test. \p Simon Lightwood: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) have a key performance indicator (KPI) requiring that theory test candidates will wait on average no more than 28 calendar days from booking to their appointment. Despite unprecedented levels of high demand for theory tests, this KPI is consistently met.

The average waiting time for a car practical driving test in October 2025 in England was 22.4 weeks.

The attached Excel spreadsheet shows the average waiting time in weeks at driving test centres (DTC) in England, as of October 2025. Please note that this spreadsheet also includes DTCs, such as part-time test centres, which do not count towards the official waiting time measure mentioned above. Also please note that DTCs included in the official measure can change, for example for temporary or permanent closures, or other operational reasons.

Table - Driving tests waiting times (xlsx, 21.3KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will list the titles of all the events organised by Civil Service networks in her Department since 2017. \p Simon Lightwood: The Department for Transport is unable to answer on the grounds of disproportionate cost. This is due to the resource required to conduct searches across the time period requested.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Joe Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on supporting people to use electric vehicles. \p Keir Mather: Officials from the Department for Transport regularly engage with the Department for Infrastructure on initiatives to support the use of zero emission vehicles (ZEV). Minister Lightwood met the Northern Ireland Minister for Infrastructure in April during the British Irish Council meeting, and the Secretary of State met with the Northern Ireland Minister for Infrastructure earlier this month [November] as part of the Interministerial Group for Transport. Both meetings included discussions on the ZEV transition.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2025 to Question 87207 on Local Government: Reorganisation, whether considers Thurrock's financial circumstances to be sufficiently strong justification for cancelling the 2026 elections; and whether he considers those circumstances to be equivalent to Surrey's. \p Alison McGovern: On the handling of Thurrock Council’s debt, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 77936 on 13 October 2025.

Our starting point remains for all elections in 2026 to go ahead unless there is strong justification otherwise.

The elections in May 2026 to the new councils of East Surrey and West Surrey will replace scheduled council elections, subject to Parliament. Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock are on a different timeline and I have today updated the House on the consultation on their proposals for unitary councils. We anticipate elections to any new councils in May 2027, with a ‘go live’ date for new authorities of April 2028. We are not cancelling elections in Thurrock in May 2026.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with refence to his Department's oral statement of 5 February 2025 on English Devolution and Local Government, Official Report, col 767, whether it remains his Department's policy that it does not hold elections to bodies that will not exist. \p Alison McGovern: The Department has received no formal requests to postpone elections from councils in Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock that were invited to submit proposals for unitary local government.

In terms of cancelling elections, I expect the secondary legislation that establishes new unitary councils to replace scheduled elections with elections to the new councils. For Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock I anticipate there will be elections to new unitary councils in May 2027.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Joe Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the demand for housing in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland and (c) Newcastle. \p Matthew Pennycook: The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 includes a new Standard Method for assessing housing needs that is aligned to our Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million new safe and decent homes in England by the end of this Parliament.

Indicative local housing need figures both for local authorities and regions under the revised standard method can be found on gov.uk here. Indicative figures have not been provided for Hexham constituency, as it falls under Northumberland County Council.

The standard method is used by local authorities to inform the preparation of their local plans. Once local housing need has been assessed, authorities should then make an assessment of the number of new homes that can be provided in their area. This should be justified by evidence on land availability, constraints on development, such as National Landscapes and areas at risk of flooding, and any other relevant matters. The approach taken is then tested by the Planning Inspector during the examination of the Local Plan.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the proportion of planning applications rejected by Councils in each of the last five years, broken down by controlling political party. \p Matthew Pennycook: The proportions of planning applications that have been rejected in each of the past five years in England and in London can be derived from the data available in the PS2 time series section of the interactive planning application statistics dashboard, available here.

They can also be derived from the detailed data held in PS2 open data file on gov.uk here.

My Department does not hold the information on political control needed to provide the requested breakdown of figures by controlling political party in each of the last five years.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the contribution of the Social and Affordable Homes Programme to meeting national housing need. \p Matthew Pennycook: Bidding for the Programme in question has not yet opened.

On 7 November 2025, my Department published a policy statement on the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) which can be found on gov.uk here. This was accompanied by detailed guidance for prospective bidders published by Homes England and the Greater London Authority.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has conducted research on the public’s understanding of the roles and responsibilities of different (a) local and (b) national government (i) authorities and (ii) office holders. \p Alison McGovern: The department has not conducted research on the public’s understanding of the roles and responsibilities of different (a) local and (b) national government (i) authorities and (ii) office holders.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 81148 on Leasehold: Ground Rent and to the Answer of 15 September 2025 to Question 74455 on Ground Rent: Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) identify developments where mortgage lenders are refusing to lend due to rent escalation clauses and (b) require freeholders to offer deeds of variation where leases are already inhibited by such clauses. \p Matthew Pennycook: Some of the most problematic ground rent terms involving clauses doubling more quickly than every 20 years have already been subject to enforcement action by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as unfair contractual terms. If leaseholders find developers and freeholders are failing to meet these binding commitments to remove ground increases and repay past ground rent increases, they should contact the CMA directly.

The government is committed to addressing unregulated and unaffordable ground rents and we will do this in legislation. We will set out further details in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what proportion of residential development projects had a main developer which was classified as an SME in each of the last five years. \p Matthew Pennycook: This information is not recorded by my Department.
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Sir James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to publish revised land value estimates, updated in August 2020; and whether his Department has had recent discussions with the Valuation Office Agency on this issue. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government is developing updated land value estimates for use in policy appraisal and has commissioned work from the Valuation Office Agency to that end. Our aim is to publish updated values for a range of land uses within the next 12 months.
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Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 85334 on Private Rented Housing: Construction, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of Build to Let developments on housing affordability in areas with high rental demand. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to my previous answer given to Question UIN 85334 on 4 November 2025.
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Sir James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the value for money of the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loans Fund. \p Matthew Pennycook: An independent evaluation of the Housing Investment Fund commissioned by Greater Manchester Combined Authority concluded that it delivers good value for money.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the number of long leases that have been turned into Assured Shorthold Tenancies because their ground rent was increased to more than £250. \p Matthew Pennycook: My Department does not hold data on long leases that have been treated as assured shorthold tenancies as a result of ground rent increases. Nor does it hold data on the number of leases that have been forfeited due to ground rent arrears.

The government has acted through the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 to ensure that leases granted for more than 21 years will be excluded from the assured tenancy regime. The relevant provisions will come into force on 27 December 2025 and will mean that from that date it will no longer be the case that, under provisions of the Housing Act 1988, leaseholders paying a ground rent of more than £250 a year (or more than £1,000 in London) can be legally regarded as assured tenants, and as such can have their home repossessed if they fall behind on their ground rents.

We also recognise that under the current legal framework, landlords may rely on a contractual right to forfeit a lease where a leaseholder breaches a covenant – such as the failure to pay ground rent. The availability of forfeiture as a remedy can create a significant power imbalance between landlords and leaseholders, with its use resulting in the leaseholder losing both their home and any equity accrued in the property.

We will address this through the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill by removing the disproportionate and draconian threat of forfeiture as a means of enforcing lease compliance. The Government also remains committed to addressing unregulated and unaffordable ground rents and doing so in legislation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made a recent estimate of the market value of properties subject to a ground rent of more than £250 in each of the last five years. \p Matthew Pennycook: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 73504 on 15 September 2025.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will list the titles of all the events organised by Civil Service networks in his Department since 2017. \p Samantha Dixon: The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost to the Department.
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Joe Morris:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Community Ownership Fund on Hexham constituency. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: Looking ahead the Department commissioned an evaluation of the Community Ownership Fund in May 2023 to measure the social and economic impacts of different kinds of asset ownership, and will conclude in March 2026.

Interim findings will be published in the coming months highlighting the impact of the funding. A final report will be published in Spring 2026.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_421

Mike Wood:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the whether Simon Case is being remunerated for his work on the Team Barrow Delivery Board. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: Lord Simon Case was directly appointed Chair of the Barrow Delivery Board by the then Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government in February 2025. He is remunerated for this role in line with Cabinet Office guidance on direct appointments, available on gov.uk.
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_422
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_422

Sir James Cleverly:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate has the Office for National Statistics made of the (a) cash terms and (b) percentage terms increase in private rent prices since July 2024 in (i) each local authority and (ii) England. \p Josh Simons: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Rt. Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 11th November is attached.

Letter from the National Statistician (pdf, 92.3KB)

Supporting documentation (xlsx, 43.8KB)
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_423
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_423

Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish an updated list of Parliamentary Private Secretaries. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: A list of Parliamentary Private Secretaries was published by the Cabinet Office in November 2025 on gov.uk and is available here. It will be updated periodically.
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_424
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_424

Sir James Cleverly:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2025  to Question 86644 on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, whether the initial council tax bill issued to HM Government in March 2025 included a second homes council tax premium. \p Anna Turley: The Second Homes Premium was introduced by Westminster City Council on the 1st April 2025. This was billed by the council in July 2025 as a one-off payment for the financial year and paid on the same day.
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_425
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_425

Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2024-25, HC1372, published on 23 October 2025, and the HMT Guidance on Public Sector Exit Payments: Use of Special Severance Payments, updated on 28 July 2025, on what dates the severance payments to (a) Simon Case and (b) Alex Chisholm were approved by (i) the Accounting Officer and (ii) Cabinet Office Ministers, under the prevailing guidance in force at the time. \p Anna Turley: The payments reported in the CO annual report (page 94) were approved on the following dates:

Alex Chisholm - payment was approved by the Cabinet Secretary on 7 February 2024 and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 22 February 2024.

Simon Case - payment was approved by the CO Permanent Secretary on 12 March 2025 and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 21 March 2025.
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_426
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_426

Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy that the Office for National Statistics' December publication of its plans is drawn to the attention of the House via a written Ministerial Statement. \p Josh Simons: The ONS’ planned publication of the Economic Statistics Plan and the Survey Improvement and Enhancement Plan updates on 4 December is an important milestone in the ONS’ recovery plan. The Government welcomes the ONS’ open and transparent approach to its economic statistics recovery.

We have asked the ONS Parliamentary team to note your question and they have assured us they will highlight the publication through their normal routes in the usual way.
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_427
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_427

Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many staff his Department intends to hire for the new Digital ID policy directorate; and what the total annual budget for that division is. \p Josh Simons: The digital ID policy team is in the process of being established. The staffing and budget will be considered as part of the Cabinet Office Business Plan in the normal way.
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_428
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_428

Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 82341 on Identity Cards: Digital Technology, whether officials from (a) his Department and (b) 10 Downing Street have had discussions with (i) Larry Ellison and (ii) Oracle on Digital ID Cards. \p Josh Simons: We are not talking to Larry Ellison or Oracle about digital ID. Throughout the development of the new digital ID, the Government will work closely with expert stakeholders, including civil society groups, technology companies and industry bodies to make it as effective and inclusive as possible.

The Digital ID will be designed, built and run by government digital teams. Any additional specialist external services that may be needed to support delivery will be subject to the usual competitive processes.
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_429
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_429

Martin Wrigley:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will (a) conduct and (b) publish a data protection impact assessment on plans to introduce digital ID. \p Josh Simons: We will ensure that a Data Protection Impact Assessment is conducted in line with legal requirements under Article 35 of the UK GDPR, before implementing digital ID. Decisions on publication will be taken in accordance with ICO guidance.
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_431
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_431

Jim McMahon:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of Government procurement of (a) British and (b) non-British made vehicles in each of the last three years. \p Dan Jarvis: The Department has not made any estimates of these costs as internationally integrated supply chains make detailed comparative cost assessments highly complex.
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_432
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_432

Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of critical national infrastructure sites on the v-list are located in Cambridgeshire. \p Dan Jarvis: The UK Government does not publicly communicate the location or identity of Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) sites.
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_433
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_433

Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings his Department has had with European Union counterparts on the proposed emissions trade system agreement since the announcement of the UK-EU Reset Deal. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: I and my department speak to EU counterparts on a regular basis, including on the Sanitary and Phytosanitary and Emissions Trading Systems linking agreements. I will not be providing a running commentary on negotiations.
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_434
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_434

Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of negotiating reciprocal exemptions from new electronic travel authorisation schemes with the European Union. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: HMG officials and Ministers regularly engage EU counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals. The EU is developing the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), their pre-travel authorisation system for third-country nationals. This will apply to those who do not need a visa to travel to the Schengen area. The European Commission has confirmed that ETIAS will apply to British citizens, when it is introduced. The UKs electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme is fully implemented for non-visa national visitors to the UK, this includes EU nationals.
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_435
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_435

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if the Prime Minister will publicly state whether breaches of the Ministerial Code are deemed to be serious. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: This Government has strengthened the Ministerial Code. The Prime Minister seeks advice from the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards where the Ministerial Code may have been engaged.
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_436
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_436

Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister sought advice from the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests on the receipt of donations from David Kogan prior to his appointment as the Independent Football Regulator Chair. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: I refer the Hon Member to the Prime Minister’s letter to the Independent Adviser for Ministerial Standards, published on 12 November.
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_437
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_437

Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish correspondence between the Prime Minister's Office and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the appointment of the Independent Football Regulator Chair. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: I refer the Hon Member to the Prime Minister’s letter to the Independent Adviser for Ministerial Standards, published on 12 November.
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_438
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_438

Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 10 October, to Question 71230, on Cabinet Office: Calder Conferences, what the specific event was for each of the individual room hires since 4 April 2025 other than Civil Service Live and the Infected Blood Inquiry. \p Chris Ward: As stated in my previous answer to Question 71230, to provide additional background information on each booking would incur disproportionate costs as this information is not centrally held.
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_439
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_439

Rupert Lowe:To ask the Solicitor General, how many (a) active and (b) concluded cases the Government Legal Department has handled relating to legal challenges against the one-in, one-out migrant returns scheme; and what the total cost of that litigation has been. \p Ellie Reeves: The Attorney General's Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_440
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_440

Sir John Hayes:To ask the Solicitor General, how much the Serious Fraud Office has spent on translation and interpretation services in each of the last five years. \p Ellie Reeves: Almost all the SFO’s cases are connected to other jurisdictions and often include overseas suspects or witnesses and involve significant amounts of evidential material. This means that it needs to make use of translation services in its work. We regularly monitor expenditure to ensure best value for money for taxpayers.

Its expenditure on translation services is contained in the following table.

2020-21

2021-22

2022-2023

2023-2024

2024-2025

£101,102

£125,082

£168,777

£67,149

£55,393

The SFO has not made use of any interpretation services in the last five financial years.
wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_441
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-11-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-11-19 conversation_441

Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Solicitor General, what discussions her Department has had with other Government departments on proposals to make first cousin marriage unlawful. \p Ellie Reeves: By long-standing convention, the fact that I, or a fellow Law Officer, may have advised or not advised, as well as the content of our advice, is not disclosed outside government.

As explained in Erskine May: “By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence."