Every parliamentary written question tabled by Connor Naismith this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 136 · this parliament
Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the rollout of full fibre broadband infrastructure does not result in prolonged loss of service for households; and whether she has had discussions with network providers, including Openreach, on minimising disruption and providing timely support to affected consumers.
Awaiting answer.
What assessment he has made of the extent to which homelessness affects access to elective and planned medical procedures; and what steps his Department is taking, including in collaboration with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, to ensure that patients are not prevented from receiving necessary treatment due to a lack of suitable accommodation for recovery.
Awaiting answer.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential risk of trail hunting being used to circumvent the Hunting Act 2004.
Awaiting answer.
How many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions under the Hunting Act 2004 there have been in each of the last five years and whether he has considered changes to evidential thresholds for offences under the Hunting Act 2004.
Awaiting answer.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to bring forward reforms to the Hunting Act 2004 beyond a ban on trail hunting; and whether she has consulted (a) police forces, (b) prosecutors and (c) animal welfare organisations on potential reforms to the Hunting Act 2004.
Awaiting answer.
Food and Rural Affairs, (a) what review her Department has undertaken of the exemptions listed in Schedule 1 to the Hunting Act 2004, (b) whether she plans to amend or remove exemptions relating to the stalking and flushing of wild mammals and (c) whether she has considered reviewing the legal definitions of “research and observation” and “rescue of a wild mammal” within the Hunting Act 2004.
Awaiting answer.
What steps his Department is taking to ensure that patients experiencing homelessness are able to access planned medical treatment, including surgery, where a lack of stable accommodation may otherwise prevent procedures from going ahead; and whether he has assessed the impact of housing insecurity on patients being delayed or excluded from non-emergency care.
Awaiting answer.
Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to introduce a statutory difference between drag hunting using synthetic scents and activities involving animal-based scent trails.
Awaiting answer.
What assessment she has made of the adequacy of current school attendance enforcement policies in relation to parents with shared custody arrangements; and what plans her Department has to update guidance to local authorities to ensure that penalty notices are issued proportionately where one parent did not have care or control of the child during the period of absence.
Awaiting answer.
Whether the Government intends to exercise the break clause in the NHS Federated Data Platform contract with Palantir Technologies UK Ltd.
Awaiting answer.
What steps her Department is planning to take to reduce taxes on pensioners.
Awaiting answer.
What assessment she has made of trends in the use of Skilled Worker visas by UK airlines to recruit non-UK national airline pilots; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that qualified UK-based pilots are not being disadvantaged in recruitment processes.
Awaiting answer.
Communities and Local Government, whether his Department is taking steps to make private landlords responsible for tackling anti-social behaviour caused by their tenants, particularly where it impacts neighbouring residents.
Awaiting answer.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of regulations for making private landlords accountable for anti-social behaviour caused by their tenants; and whether he plans to introduce measures comparable to those applied to social landlords.
Awaiting answer.
Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of social landlords allocating properties through local authority housing allocation schemes before those homes are ready for occupation on households and local authorities; and whether his Department plans to introduce new standards or enforcement mechanisms to help prevent this practice.
Awaiting answer.
Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that housing developers remain responsible for the maintenance and rectification of roads, pavements and associated infrastructure on completed housing developments where (a) such assets have not yet been adopted by the local authority and (b) no management company is in place.
Awaiting answer.
(a) whether her Department monitors roads with a high number of serious traffic collisions, including fatalities; (b) whether her Department has provided guidance to local authorities on reviewing and intervening on these roads; and (c) if she will consider introducing national criteria or minimum thresholds to ensure that frequent collision hotspots are subject to regular review and remedial action.
The Department does not directly monitor individual roads for collision risk. Instead, it collects national reported road traffic collision statistics, while local highway authorities are responsible for analysing collisions on their own networks and taking appropriate action. A range of guidance has been published to support local highway authorities in reviewing and improving safety on their road networks. This includes Setting Local Speed Limits, which supports decisions on appropriate speeds, and Manual for Streets, which provides guidance on the design of streets to improve safety for all road users. Through the recently published Road Safety Strategy, the Department has committed to updating relevant guidance. There are no current plans to introduce national criteria or minimum thresholds for the review of collision hotspots. Decisions about reviewing and intervening on specific roads are matters for local highway authorities, which are best placed to consider local circumstances. The Department will continue to support local authorities through guidance.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Making Tax Digital reforms on childminders who (a) employ assistants and (b) operate from their own homes and have fixed property‑related costs, including the proposed removal of the 10 per cent wear‑and‑tear allowance for those with qualifying income above £50,000.
Childminders make a significant contribution to children’s development, learning, and wellbeing. The Government has eased rules on working from schools and community centres and increased early years funding rates above 2023 average fees. These increases reflect increased costs, and from April 2026, local authorities must pass at least 97 per cent of funding to providers. Only a small proportion of childminders with qualifying income over £50,000 have been mandated into Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax from April 2026. Childminders moving to MTD for income tax can continue to claim tax relief for household costs, wear and tear of household items and furniture, and food and drink, by deducting actual business costs. This ensures childminders receive tax relief for all of the costs that they incur in relation to their childminding business. The Government has recently published updated guidance for childminders to help them claim relief for these costs. The Government will monitor the impact of MTD for income tax on childminders and other home-based childcare providers in the same way as it will for all sole traders moving to MTD for income tax. We will also review the impacts of moving from the 10% deduction to actual costs for wear and tear claims.
Whether the Department plans to review or update the statutory framework for private hire licensing to reflect changes in technology and operating models since the legislation was introduced.
The taxi and private hire vehicle licensing regime in England is archaic, fragmented and inconsistent. We are considering, holistically, how the regulation of the sector could be reformed to achieve the best overall outcome for passengers by enabling the sector to deliver the range of safe, available, affordable and accessible services they need. The Department issues guidance to licensing authorities in England to help achieve consistency in the application of licensing requirements. We are seeking a power through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill to enable the setting of national standards to ensure robust standards are applied by all licensing authorities.
What mechanisms exist to help ensure consistency in the application of private hire licensing rules across local authorities.
The taxi and private hire vehicle licensing regime in England is archaic, fragmented and inconsistent. We are considering, holistically, how the regulation of the sector could be reformed to achieve the best overall outcome for passengers by enabling the sector to deliver the range of safe, available, affordable and accessible services they need. The Department issues guidance to licensing authorities in England to help achieve consistency in the application of licensing requirements. We are seeking a power through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill to enable the setting of national standards to ensure robust standards are applied by all licensing authorities.