Every parliamentary written question tabled by Jim Shannon this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1,441–1,460 of 2,211 · this parliament
Media and Sport, if she will review the VAT exemption cap for repairs on listed places of worship.
The Department has no plans to reconsider the £25,000 cap. Based on previous scheme data, we expect 94% of claims to be unaffected by the change. Future Government spending is a matter for the Spending Review.
What assessment she has made of trends in the level of overcrowding in prisons.
This Government inherited a prisons system in crisis and took immediate action to ensure it did not collapse. However, SDS40 was not a long term solution and we are once again at over 99% capacity. Recently, we only had 732 places left across the whole of the adult male estate.Figures and analysis relating to the level of crowding in prisons is published annually in the HMPPS Digest.This document states that in the 12-months to March 2024, the crowding rate at establishments across England and Wales was 23.6%, up from 22.9% in the previous 12-month period. Table 2, accompanying the Digest, provides a time series of crowding information back to 1999. The 2024/25 Digest will be published on 31 July 2025.
What discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the roll out of free breakfast clubs in Northern Ireland.
Education is a devolved matter and any decision to require breakfast clubs in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Executive.I have met with Paul Givan, Minister of Education for Northern Ireland. My hon. Friend, the Minister for School Standards meets with the devolved nations through the Child Poverty Taskforce, which she co-chairs with my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Employment. Officials from across the devolved nations also meet regularly regarding school food, including breakfast clubs.
What steps she is taking to increase awareness of the risks of social media in schools.
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.For schools in England, pupils are taught about online safety as part of statutory relationships and health education in primary schools and relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in secondary schools. Further information can respectively be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-education-primary and here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-and-sex-education-rse-secondary. This includes being taught about the implications of sharing private or personal data (including images) online, harmful content and contact, cyberbullying, and the risks associated with over-reliance on social media.The department is currently reviewing the statutory RSHE curriculum for primary and secondary pupils, and is analysing consultation responses, talking to stakeholders and considering relevant evidence before setting out next steps.
What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people with diabetes have access to free blood glucose kits.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the planning and commissioning of diabetes care. If an individual patient is eligible or deemed suitable for flash, specifically Freestyle Libre, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) or hybrid closed loop (HCL) systems, then a decision is required by the patient’s routine care provider in consultation with their patient.NHS England can confirm over 200,000 eligible people living with diabetes benefit from real-time CGM. However, they are currently unable to differentiate real-time CGM uptake by type 1 and type 2 diabetes populations.Following National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendations on access to HCL technology last year, the NICE and NHS England agreed on a phased implementation period for HCL over five-years for people with type 1 diabetes. Therefore, people with type 1 diabetes will be transitioning from CGM to HCL during this five year period.We are developing new reporting systems which are designed to support ICBs to monitor delivery. CGM data for diabetics is now collected as part of the National Diabetes Audit, which suggests that the number of people with type 2 diabetes using CGM is increasing. Metrics that are useful for health systems to monitor access to glucose monitoring will be published later this year.
What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of online HMRC services.
Accessibility is a priority for HMRC, and its digital services are continuously assessed against the obligations of the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations (PSBAR) (2018), which came into force in September 2020. Technical accessibility testing takes place when a new digital service is prepared for release to the public and again as it enters a mature, steady state. Any significant change to a service also requires an accessibility test to be conducted. This testing ensures that citizens who rely on assistive technologies, such as screen readers or dictation software, can use these tools to access the services and transact with HMRC. In addition to this, HMRC strives to involve users of assistive technology in the research, design and development of its digital services which is key to building and running digital services that everyone can use. There are also feedback mechanisms in place where citizens who run into accessibility issues with a live service can report these issues to our digital support team for investigation and resolution.
What steps she is taking to reduce thefts of (a) mobile phones, (b) handbags and (c) other personal items.
Through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee we will place thousands of additional police officers and police community support officers in neighbourhood policing roles to provide a more visible and effective service to the public, with each neighbourhood having a named, contactable officer dealing with local issues, including the theft of mobile phones, handbags and other personal items.To tackle mobile phone theft specifically, on 6 February the Home Secretary brought together police, the National Crime Agency, the Mayor of London, leading tech companies and others to drive greater collaboration in breaking the business model of mobile phone thieves. The Summit resulted in clear commitments from attendees to work in partnership, including to significantly boost the sharing of data and intelligence on mobile phone theft to build a comprehensive picture of the problem, better understand the role of organised crime networks and identify the most effective means of tackling these crimes. As part of ongoing work on this, the Policing Minister recently met with the National Crime Agency and Border Force to consider how best they may be able to contribute to efforts to tackle this criminality.In addition, the Crime and Policing Bill includes a measure to give police the power to enter and search premises for stolen property that has been electronically geo-location tracked to those premises, where it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant without seriously prejudicing the entry and search purpose.
What steps he is taking to reduce the number of children waiting two years for mental health treatment on the NHS.
We know that too many children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need and that waits for mental health services are too long. We are determined to change that.Nationally, the Government is providing £7 million of funding to extend support for 24 Early Support Hubs, that have a track record of helping thousands of young people in their community.We will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England, so that mental health conditions can be identified early on and prevented from developing into more serious conditions in later life. We will also roll out Young Futures Hubs to provide open access mental health support for children and young people.In addition, we plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services in England to ease the pressure on busy mental health services.
What steps her Department is taking to help promote support groups that provide training for employment for former prisoners.
We are committed to breaking the cycle of re-offending, by better supporting prisons to link with employers and the voluntary sector to get more people with convictions into work. We know that finding employment after release reduces the chances of re-offending significantly - by up to nine percentage points. HM Prison & Probation Service, through its Creating Future Opportunities programme, offers tailored support for ex-offenders to secure employment, training and education opportunities, so that they are able to make a positive new start on release. This includes promoting the use of voluntary and community sector enterprise (VCSE) organisations as contributors to this work. Employment Advisory Board members also have the opportunity link up with offenders after release, to interview and potentially recruit offenders. In addition, Clinks, the national infrastructure charity dedicated to supporting voluntary organisations working with people in the criminal justice system, has been awarded a further four years of grant funding to support small and medium VCSE organisations in the criminal justice system. This includes many of our delivery partners in prisons and probation who provide ex-offenders with training and employment support.
If he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the level of ambulance and emergency waiting times in England.
The Government recognises that urgent and emergency care performance has fallen short in recent years and is committed to restoring ambulance response times and accident and emergency waiting times to the National Health Service constitutional standards.A 10-Year Health Plan will be published in the Spring, setting out major NHS reforms, moving healthcare from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention.Additional actions to improve urgent and emergency care performance during 2025/26 will also be set out shortly.
How many people have been prosecuted for hate crimes in the last 12 months.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutes hate crimes in England and Wales. In the year to December 2024, in England and Wales the CPS prosecuted 14,657 defendants for offences flagged as hate crimes with a charge rate of 87.4%, and a conviction rate of 86.1%. Further information can be found in quarterly data published on the CPS website: CPS quarterly data summaries | The Crown Prosecution Service.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the kidnapping of British citizens abroad.
Whenever a British person is kidnapped abroad, we will try to do everything we can to make sure they are released safely. Wherever possible we will work with the government and law enforcement agencies where the kidnapping has happened, as they will normally be responsible for leading the response. It is the long-standing policy of successive governments that we will not make substantive concessions to kidnappers. Travel Advice published by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office on gov.uk provides safety information for travellers, and includes information on kidnap risks in relevant countries.
Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on funding safe houses for victims of domestic abuse.
Matters related to domestic abuse, including provision of safe accommodation, are devolved in Northern Ireland and managed by the Northern Ireland Executive. The Northern Ireland Executive received £18.2 billion from the UK Government for 2025-26, the largest financial settlement in real terms in the history of devolution. It is for the Executive to decide how it utilises this funding. UK Government ministers talk regularly to counterparts in Northern Ireland across the full range of government business, including at the Interministerial Group for Housing, Local Governments and Communities which is next meeting in summer.
Whether he plans to expand the role of National Clinical Directors.
In recent years, the cohort of national clinical directors has expanded and is now supported by an additional cadre of national specialty advisors.Ministers and senior Department officials are working with the new executive team in NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the leadership, structure, and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care. As part of this process, we are carefully considering the future role of national clinical directors. While no specific decisions have been made yet regarding their scope and responsibilities within the new organisation, their expertise and leadership will continue to be pivotal in shaping the future of healthcare in our country.
What his plans are for the future (a) scope, (b) role and (c) responsibilities of National Clinical Directors.
NHS England and the Department are strongly supportive of clinical leadership and recognise the critical need to incorporate clinical expertise into our work. The national clinical directors are a key part of this approach and play an important role in policy development and implementation.Ministers and senior Department officials are working with the new executive team in NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the leadership, structure, and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care. As part of this process, we are carefully considering the future role of national clinical directors. While no specific decisions have been made yet regarding their scope and responsibilities within the new organisation, their expertise and leadership will continue to be pivotal in shaping the future of healthcare in our country.
What steps he plans to take with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure adequate funding for SEND in devolved nations.
Funding for special educational needs is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive. It is for the Department of Education to ensure special educational needs are adequately funded in Northern Ireland.As set out in the recent Spending Review, this Government is providing the Executive with a record £18.2bn for 2025-26, the largest settlement since the start of devolution. That translates into over £1.5 billion more in 2025-26. It is now for the Executive to decide how to allocate that funding.
Communities and Local Government, whether her Department holds information on the number of buildings that do not meet standards for safe cladding.
The department publishes monthly data on the number of 11m+ residential buildings identified with unsafe cladding and their remediation progress. This can be found here: Building Safety Remediation - GOV.UK. The latest release shows that as at 31st March 2025, there are 5,031 11m+ buildings identified with unsafe cladding, of which 1,637 (33%) have completed remediation works.
Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to expand tenants rights in relation to eviction notices.
The Renters’ Rights Bill delivers our manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting, including by ending Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. The Bill will improve the current system for both the 11 million private renters and 2.3 million landlords in England. It will give renters much greater security and stability so they can stay in their homes for longer, build lives in their communities, and avoid the risk of homelessness.
Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to ensure community cohesion within local planning departments.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is leading cross-government efforts to develop a longer-term, more strategic approach to social cohesion, working in partnership with communities and local stakeholders to rebuild, renew and address the deep-seated issues which local areas face.The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that planning policies and decisions should aim to promote healthy, inclusive and safe places which promote social interaction, including opportunities for meetings between people who might not otherwise come into contact with each other.Places should be safe and accessible, so that crime and disorder, and the fear of crime, do not undermine the quality of life or community cohesion.Local Planning Authorities should plan positively for the provision and use of shared spaces, community facilities and other local services to enhance the sustainability of communities and residential environments, taking into account local strategies to improve health, social and cultural wellbeing for all sections of the community.
What discussions she has had with her counterparts in Northern Ireland on tackling unsafe road conditions.
As transport is a devolved matter, it is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive to mitigate for unsafe road conditions. Where appropriate, the Department for Transport will work with the Northern Ireland Executive on shared transport challenges.