28 Oct 2024·Department for Culture, Media and Sport·Answered
AskedMedia and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to promote the heritage of county Essex.
ReplyHis Majesty’s Government is committed to promoting local heritage for the benefit of present and future generations.Historic England (HE), the government’s expert advisor on heritage, works closely with heritage organisations in Essex, such as the Thomas ...
28 Oct 2024·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedHow much funding his Department has provided for the early detection of breast cancer in the 2024-25 financial year.
ReplyImproving early diagnosis of cancer, including breast cancer, is a priority for the Government. There are a number of National Health Service initiatives and funding streams across the NHS in England that support the early detection of breast cancer, and ...
24 Oct 2024·Department for Energy Security and Net Zero·Answered
AskedWhether the North Sea Transition Authority plans to award new licences for the (a) production and (b) extraction of oil and gas.
ReplyThe Government will consult later this year on the implementation of our manifesto position not to issue new oil and gas licences to explore new fields.The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has independently paused issuing any invitations to apply for...
24 Oct 2024·Department for Energy Security and Net Zero·Answered
AskedWhether the Coal Authority plans to award new licences for the (a) mining and (b) extraction of coal.
ReplyOur manifesto was clear on our intention to not grant new coal licences, and we are exploring avenues to achieve this. We want to end coal licensing to support our net zero ambitions and our priority to lead on international climate action, based on our d...
23 Oct 2024·Ministry of Justice·Answered
AskedWhat plans her Department has to increase the number of daily sitting hours by Crown Court judges.
ReplyThere are no current plans to extend the standard sitting hours of the Crown Court.The Lord Chancellor has a statutory duty to ensure there is an effective and efficient system to support the carrying on of the businesses of the courts, and that appropria...
22 Oct 2024·Scotland Office·Answered
AskedWhat assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decision not to issue North Sea oil and gas licences on employment in Scotland.
ReplyWe are transitioning towards a clean energy future, but oil and gas production in the North Sea will be a key part of the UK energy landscape for many years to come. Scotland has the heritage, expertise and world-class workforce to help win this global ra...
21 Oct 2024·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
AskedCommonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish the agreement with St Helena on future migrants arriving on the British Indian Ocean Territory.
ReplyThe new Memorandum of Understanding with the St Helena Government has been deposited in the library of both Houses, as communicated by the Minister for the Overseas Territories in a recent letter to the Hon Gentleman. The St Helena Government has also pub...
21 Oct 2024·Attorney General·Answered
AskedIf she will hold discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service on reducing the number of pre-charge cases awaiting decision.
ReplyPublic confidence in the criminal justice is underpinned by access to swift justice. It is critical that cases progress through the system as quickly as possible, both before and after a charge is made. Improving timeliness and reducing the backlogs of ou...
21 Oct 2024·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
AskedCommonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the St Helena Government on levels of police resources on St Helena.
ReplyThe UK Government provide funding to support the delivery of public services in St Helena, including policing. In addition, the UK Government has a long-term programme to increase capacity and capability in the Royal St Helena Police Service. During recen...
21 Oct 2024·Ministry of Justice·Answered
AskedWhat steps she is taking to tackle the backlog of cases awaiting Crown Court hearings.
ReplyThe Crown Court outstanding caseload remains one of the biggest challenges facing the Criminal Justice System and we are committed to reducing the caseload and bringing waiting times down.We want to make sure every victim has the swift access to justice t...
21 Oct 2024·Ministry of Justice·Answered
AskedWhat steps she is taking to improve the condition of (a) court buildings and (b) other physical infrastructure in the courts system.
ReplyIt is important that the infrastructure of our courts does not prevent hearings from taking place.HMCTS has a facilities management contract with Equans for undertaking routine court maintenance which has delivered over 30,000 routine maintenance jobs acr...
18 Oct 2024·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
AskedCommonwealth and Development Affairs, what consultation his Department has conducted with the resident community on St Helena on the housing of illegal migrants from the Chagos Islands archipelago.
ReplyThe new Memorandum of Understanding with the St Helena Government has been deposited in the library of both Houses, as communicated by the Minister for the Overseas Territories in a recent letter to the Hon Gentleman. The St Helena Government has also pub...
18 Oct 2024·Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office·Answered
AskedCommonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with residents of St Helena on the housing of illegal migrants from the Chagos Islands archipelago.
ReplyThe new Memorandum of Understanding with the St Helena Government has been deposited in the library of both Houses, as communicated by the Minister for the Overseas Territories in a recent letter to the Hon Gentleman. The St Helena Government has also pub...
16 Oct 2024·Home Office·Answered
AskedHow many people of Chagossian descent have taken British nationality since 2022.
ReplyWe are unable to provide this data as we do not record data relating to an individual’s ancestry.Whilst the BIOT (British Indian Oceans Territory) citizenship registration route was introduced in November 2022, there may be people of Chagossian descent wh...
16 Oct 2024·Home Office·Answered
AskedHow many people of Chagossian descent have applied for (a) British overseas territories and (b) British citizenship in the last five years for which data is available, broken down by the country in wh
ReplyWe are unable to provide this data as we do not record data relating to an individual’s ancestry.Whilst the BIOT (British Indian Oceans Territory) citizenship registration route was introduced in November 2022, there may be people of Chagossian descent wh...
15 Oct 2024·Department for Education·Answered
AskedIf she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a cap on student numbers per university, in the context of recent trends in the availability of student housing.
ReplyStudent accommodation is a busy part of the housing market, and this government recognises the concerns that some students may have about the availability of accommodation. As universities and landlords are private, autonomous bodies, the government has n...
15 Oct 2024·Department for Transport·Answered
AskedIf she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of outbound flights from the six largest airports serving London that were delayed over the last three months; and whether she has had discussions with
ReplyThe aviation industry predominantly operates in the private sector, therefore it is the responsibility of the industry to have robust resilience plans in place to meet demand, recruit, and roster staff, and have appropriate mitigations in place. The Civil...
15 Oct 2024·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhether he plans to take steps with NHS England to expand access to indication-specific pricing agreements.
ReplyAs part of the 2024 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth, NHS England committed to undertake two consultations on amendments to the NHS Commercial Framework for New Medicines. The first of these was launched on 31 July 2024 an...
15 Oct 2024·Department for Energy Security and Net Zero·Answered
AskedIf he will make supporting the growth of community-based renewable energy schemes an aim of Great British Energy.
ReplyGreat British Energy’s Founding Statement is clear that the Local Power Plan will be one of Great British Energy’s core functions. Through the Local Power Plan, Great British Energy will support local and combined authorities – as well as community energy...
15 Oct 2024·Treasury·Answered
AskedIf she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the powers of Trading Standards officers to tackle tobacco duty avoidance.
ReplyTrading Standards have a range of powers to effectively tackle the illicit supply of tobacco. In 2023 those powers were extended to enable Trading Standards to tackle non-compliance with the UK’s Tobacco Track and Trace system, which regulates tobacco at ...