Every parliamentary written question tabled by Dan Norris this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 121–140 of 293 · this parliament
Media and Sport, what estimate her Department has made of the number of holiday lets in the West of England.
DCMS is developing a registration scheme to collect data on short-term lets across England. The Scheme, which is launching in 2026, will give the Government and local authorities valuable insights on the number of short-term lets in local areas.
Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of progress on improving broadband coverage in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
Good progress on improving broadband coverage has been made in the North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.According to the independent website ThinkBroadband.com, approximately 91% of premises in this constituency have access to gigabit-capable broadband (of 1000 Mbps or faster), this is up from 87% in 2024. This figure exceeds the UK average, which currently stands at 89%.
What estimate she has made of the number of families which will receive 30 hours of free childcare in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency in 2025.
It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.The latest January 2025 statistics relating to funded early education and childcare were published on 11 July 2025. Statistics at constituency level are not readily available. Figures on the number of 3 and 4 year-olds registered for the 30-hour working parent entitlement in Bath and North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/440c7635-9b30-45ae-7a83-08de11c58191.Following the expansion from September 2025, figures on the number of children aged 9 months to 2 years registered for the 30-hour working parent entitlement, at local authority, regional, and national level, will be published in next year’s January 2026 statistics on GOV.UK.
If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing taxes on the gambling industry on the economy.
The Government makes tax policy decisions at fiscal events. If any changes are made to gambling duties at Budget, legislation will be accompanied by a Tax Information and Impact Note which will set out the expected impacts.
What recent progress his Department has made on preparing for COP30.
Net Zero is the economic opportunity of the 21st Century – one that has the potential to reignite our industrial heartlands, create good jobs for the future, and lower bills in the long termWe’re restoring the UK as a global leader on climate action and green growth, and you can expect to see the PM driving forward that agenda at COP30. As he did last year at COP29, the Secretary of State will be leading the UK delegation in Brazil supported by myself and other Ministers. We will work with others to support multilateralism and push for maximal ambition.
What steps she is taking to promote (a) walking, (b) wheeling and (c) cycling in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
The Spending Review in June 2025, which covers multiple years from 2026/27 onwards, allocated £616 million for Active Travel England to support local authorities to build and maintain walking, wheeling, and cycling infrastructure including dedicated cycling routes. This comes on top of £222.5 million announced in February 2025 for local authorities over 2024/25-25/26. Active Travel funding supports local transport authorities with developing and constructing walking, wheeling and cycling facilities, as well as supporting behaviour change activities and capability building measures. The West of England Combined Authority, of which North-east Somerset and Hanham constituency is part, has been allocated £3,481,065 from the Consolidated Active Travel Fund 2025-26.
What information her Department holds on the number of pupils who were persistently absent from school in (a) north east Somerset and (b) South Gloucestershire between September 2024 and July 2025.
The department publishes figures from the school census on pupil absence in England. The latest data covers the autumn and spring terms of the 2024/25 academic year and is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england/2024-25-autumn-and-spring-term. This data has been available since 23 October 2025.The published data includes numbers and rates of persistent absence by local authority, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/917c09ab-3598-4b7e-95ac-08de11382822. Absence data from the school census is not yet available for the full 2024/25 academic year.
What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the steps she has taken to help (a) improve school attendance and (b) reduce the numbers of pupils persistently absent.
This government is determined to tackle the challenge of school absence. Missing school regularly is harmful to children’s attainment and wellbeing.We are continuing our focus on improving school attendance through a ‘support first’ approach as set out in our statutory guidance. We have also developed real-time data tools that allows schools to compare attendance against similar schools and enable earlier intervention. Alongside this, we are investing in targeted support, including £15 million to set up the attendance mentors programme supporting 10,800 pupils and establishing 90 attendance and behaviour hubs that will support thousands of schools around the country.Thanks to the efforts of schools, absence is moving in the right direction, with children attending over 5.31 million more days this year compared to last. However, around one in five pupils are still missing 10% or more of school, which is why the department is continuing to drive further improvement.
Whether he will take steps to make Integrated Care Boards coterminous with strategic authorities.
The English devolution white paper made clear the Government’s long-term ambition to align public service boundaries, including health and strategic authority boundaries. We reaffirmed this commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan, published on 3 July 2025. Our aim is that integrated care boards should be coterminous with strategic authorities wherever feasibly possible.I also refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS915 I made to the House on 9 September 2025, which provided an update on further progress.
What assessment he has made of the progress of reform of the private pension system.
We are committed to making reforms to the workplace pensions system to deliver better outcomes for UK savers and pensioners and to increase productive investment in the UK economy.We have already completed our landmark Pensions Investment Review, which reported in May 2025. The Pension Schemes Bill, which was introduced in June, will legislate for the outcomes of the Review, in addition to other reforms to the pensions system. Our Bill Impact Assessment shows around 20 million savers could benefit and an average earner saving over their career could have around £29,000 more in their defined contribution pension pot at retirement as a result of the package of measures.Additionally, the Bill will unlock some of the estimated £160 billion of surplus funds from well-funded Defined Benefit pension schemes to benefit sponsoring employers and members, with appropriate safeguards in place to protect members.In July we launched the next phase of our reform agenda. The time is now right to finish the job started by the Turner Commission two decades ago and that is why we have revived the Commission, which is led by Baroness Jeannie Drake, Sir Ian Cheshire and Professor Nick Pearce. The Pensions Commission will make recommendations to ensure we have a pensions system that is strong, fair and sustainable.Our reforms will also boost investment and growth in the UK. The Mansion House Accord will see leading workplace pension providers invest 10% of their workplace portfolio in productive assets such as infrastructure, property, and private equity. At least half of this will be in the UK.
What steps he is takin to support young people into employment, education and training in North East Somerset & Hanham constituency.
As set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper, we are developing a Youth Guarantee to ensure young people are either learning or earning. This includes access to high-quality training, apprenticeships, and personalised support to find work. As a first step, eight Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England began mobilising the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in April. These Trailblazers are testing new local approaches to identify and support young people at risk of falling out of education, employment or training and becoming NEET. North East Somerset and Hanham constituency are part of the West of England Trailblazer, supporting young people into employment, education and training opportunities together with transport issues around reaching available job vacancies and opportunities. In addition to this young people claiming Universal Credit can access support through our Youth Offer. This includes a range of support designed to help young people move closer to employment, such as dedicated support from Youth Employability Coaches, access to Youth Hubs, and intensive guidance from Jobcentre Work Coaches during the first 13 weeks of a Universal Credit claim.
What assessment he has made of the potential merits of using geothermal heat from former, flooded coal mines to help reach his Department's clean energy targets.
To achieve net zero at lowest cost, we must look at how to accelerate all low carbon technologies including geothermal. The Government recognises that the mine water from coal mines shows good potential as a renewable source for heat networks. The government is therefore supporting such mine water schemes as Gateshead and Seaham Garden Village through the Heat Network Investment Project and the Green Heat Network Fund. The Mining Remediation Authority has also released opportunity maps for 10 Cities in England Mine Water Heat Opportunity Mapping for 10 Cities in England - data.gov.uk
Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to improve levels of community (a) involvement and (b) engagement in planning processes.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Questions UIN 58236 on 17 June 2025 and UIN 72839 on 15 September 2025.
What recent assessment he has made of progress in increasing levels of apprenticeship (a) starts, (b) participation and (c) achievement.
The latest data on apprenticeship starts, participation and achievements are published in the Apprenticeships statistics publication and can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/09b15b1b-393d-40ff-f86a-08de0724494aThis has been available since 17 July 2025. Finalised figures for the 2024/25 academic year will be published in the Apprenticeships: November 2025 statistics publication.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to improve administrative processes for (a) plant and (b) food imports to the UK.
As announced at the UK-EU Leaders Summit on 19 May, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area which will slash costs and remove red tape. Removing the need for Export Health Certification will save trading businesses up to £200 per consignment every time goods are sent, meaning a single lorry carrying a mixed load of animal products could see reduced costs by thousands of pounds. We are expecting to start negotiations once the EU has confirmed their mandate. In the meantime, plant health import requirements and the requirements for products of animal origin are kept under continuous review.
What recent assessment she has made of progress in ineasing levels of teacher recruitment.
As part of the Plan for Change, the government has a commitment to recruit an additional 6,500 expert teachers across secondary and special schools and further education colleges by the end of this Parliament to ensure a high quality teacher in every classroom. Our measures are already having an impact, with the workforce in England having grown by 2,346 full-time equivalents in secondary and special schools in the 2024/25 academic year compared to the previous year.Our work to improve recruitment and retention has been supported by a near 10% pay award for teachers and leaders over the past two years and our investment of a further £590 million for colleges and other 16 to 19 providers in the 2025/26 financial year.We have also confirmed a package of financial incentives to support teacher recruitment in the 2026/27 academic year, including tax-free bursaries and scholarships worth up to £31,000 each for teachers of priority subjects in both schools and colleges. The best recruitment strategy starts with a retention strategy, which is why we have also confirmed targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 after tax.
What steps he is taking to support hospices to provide high quality end-of-life care.
We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life. Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life and their loved ones.We are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which, until recently, was known as the children and young people’s hospice grant.I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next spending review period, 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see circa £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local integrated care boards on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26. This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.In the long-term, the Government and the NHS will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.Officials will present further proposals to ministers over the coming months, outlining the drivers and incentives that are required in palliative care and end of life care to enable the shift from hospital to community, including as part of neighbourhood health teams.
What recent steps his Department has taken to negotiate trade agreements with other countries.
The government has concluded a trade deal with India, the fastest-growing economy in the G20. We have also agreed the General Terms for an Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD) with the United States and agreed a new Strategic Partnership with the European Union.We are continuing to make good progress in our negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Republic of Korea, Switzerland and Turkey.
What steps his Department is taking to improve (a) electronic patient records and (b) associated systems in the NHS.
We are improving National Health Service electronic patient records (EPRs) through a £2 billion investment in IT systems, the implementation of a Frontline Digitisation programme, and the approval of new general practice IT systems to increase digital maturity across secondary and primary care. The programme is forecasting to achieve 98% EPR coverage by March 2026, with the remaining 2% of NHS trusts advanced in their plans for an EPR.This aims to reduce administrative tasks, improve data access for better patient outcomes, and foster collaboration by replacing paper records with digital ones.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee on North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
The commitments set out in the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee are now making a difference to the service communities receive from their neighbourhood policing teams.As a result of the Guarantee, communities are now benefitting from enhanced police visibility and responsiveness.Avon and Somerset Police have been allocated £4,574,856 from the £200 million neighborhood policing fund for 2025/26. Based on their funding allocation, Avon and Somerset Police’s projected growth over 2025/26 will be 70 Police Officers (FTE).