Every parliamentary written question tabled by Melanie Onn this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 21–40 of 172 · this parliament
Whether her Department has contingency plans in place to protect students and apprentices in the event of disruption to qualification delivery by private awarding bodies.
Ofqual, the independent regulator of exams and assessments in England, requires awarding organisations to establish, maintain and comply with an up-to-date detailed written contingency plan to mitigate any incident that may cause a disruption to candidate...
Whether she plans to meet representatives of training providers affected by fee increases introduced by City & Guilds.
Departmental officials regularly meet with representatives of training providers and awarding organisations. Ofqual publishes annual qualification price statistics which are available on GOV.UK.
What steps his department is taking to ensure the safety of DWP staff working at the Crown House in Grimsby.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) take the safety of its staff very seriously, ensuring that through the relevant policies, procedures, training, risk assessments, and supervision, we allocate resources to manage risk and keep our people safe. Ea...
What support is available to individuals that no longer qualify for the Motability scheme and lose access to a vehicle.
If a customer no longer receives a qualifying benefit, then DWP will notify Motability who will support customers to return their vehicle and may offer a transition package. Further information is available on the Motability website: https://www.motabilit...
What the average waiting time is for (a) inspections, (b) approvals and (c) responses to correspondence from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency relating to fishing vessels.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation
What recent assessment she has made of the performance of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in its regulation of the UK fishing fleet.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation
What steps he is taking to ensure that reimbursement rates under Access to Work reflect the real cost of support, including travel and specialist equipment.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of delays in the Access to Work scheme on disabled people’s ability to start or remain in employment.
To protect employment opportunities, case managers prioritise Access to Work applications where the customer is due to start a job within four weeks. In 2025, we allocated c. 96% of applications starting work within 4 weeks in 28 days. We have increased the number of staff working in this area by 29% from 500 in March 2024 to 648 in March 2026.We know from employee and employer feedback that we inherited issues in the scheme, which is why we’re working with disabled people and their representative organisations to improve it. Reforms are essential to ensure a better service for customers, to help disabled people start and stay in work, to provide clarity in what support should be provided and to ensure we are providing value for money for the taxpayer.
How many Access to Work applications have been waiting longer than (a) three months, (b) six months and (c) twelve months for a decision.
Access to Work does not record the information in a way that allows data to be extracted by three, six or twelve month waiting periods. Providing the information requested would require manual examination of individual case records and would therefore incur disproportionate cost.
How many children ceased being looked after as of 31 March 2025 because (a) they returned home to live with parents or other person with parental responsibility, (b) are subject to a special guardianship order and (c) a residence order or child arrangement order was granted, broken down by local authority.
Information on children looked after is published in the annual statistical release available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2024. The latest available data on children ceasing care and the reasons they left care for the reporting year ending 31 March 2025 can be found in table ‘CLA ceasing during the year - characteristics - by local authority’ in the latest statistical release, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/6095935f-9f20-411c-35c4-08de9a2bfa8c.
How many looked-after children who were cared for in a family and friends foster placement as of 31 March 2025 had also previously been in (a) an unrelated foster placement, (b) another family and friends care placement, (c) a children's home and (d) other provision for looked-after children; and if she will provide this data at (i) national, (ii) regional and (iii) local authority area level.
Information on children looked after is published in the annual statistical release available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2024.Full information on the former placement arrangements of children looked after who are in a relative or friend foster placement is not held in the form requested. Due to the way in which the data is held, analysts in the department would not be able to provide this information you have requested without exceeding the cost threshold applicable to central government.
How many looked after children were cared for in a family and friends foster placement as of 31 March 2025, in each local authority.
Information on the number of children looked after who were cared for in a family and friends foster placement by local authority between 2004 and 2020 and for 2025 is in the attached table.
How many looked after children were cared for in a family and friends foster placement as of 31 March 2020, in each local authority; and in each year prior as far back as comparable statistical information is available.
Information on the number of children looked after who were cared for in a family and friends foster placement by local authority between 2004 and 2020 and for 2025 is in the attached table.
What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency's complaints procedures for candidates who experience inappropriate behaviour from driving examiners.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has a published complaints process which enables driving test candidates to raise concerns about the standard of service they have received, including the behaviour of driving examiners. Complaints about driving tests and the conduct of examiners are considered and investigated in line with this procedure. Candidates who are dissatisfied with DVSA’s response after completing the final stage of the Agency’s complaints process may ask for their complaint to be reviewed by an Independent Complaints Assessor.
Communities and Local Government, what measures the Government is considering to lower the cost of building new properties in marsh land areas in order to ensure they can be competitive in low value areas.
The government has no current plans to directly intervene to lower the cost of building new properties in marsh land areas.We are taking decisive action across a wide range of areas to support housebuilding across the country, including in lower value areas.The Brownfield Land Release Fund provides funding to local planning authorities to help address market failures and viability gaps on small to medium sized brownfield sites.
Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made on developing the Able Humber Ports site at Killingholme following the awarding of the Industrial Strategy Zone Site Accelerator Grant funding.
As one of the twenty-two Industrial Strategy Zones across the UK, Humber Freeport was awarded £490,000 of Site Accelerator Grant to progress vital work to unlock a new quay and offshore wind supply‑chain hub at Immingham. Alongside the private sector investment at Killingholme – this will unlock wider benefits for the region that will create jobs, support decarbonisation, and deliver long‑term economic growth across the Humber.
What assessment she has made of the extent to which foster carers approved by independent fostering agencies receive equivalent support from local authorities compared with in house foster carers.
Fostering is a challenging role that requires skills and dedication from those who foster, and it is crucial that foster carers receive the support they need to enable them to fulfil this role.The National Minimum Standards (NMS) for fostering sets out the minimum expectations for the support, supervision and training that all fostering services must provide to foster carers, ensuring consistently high quality care for children. The NMS sets out the expectation that each foster carer receives at least the national minimum allowance for the child in their care.We have committed to reviewing and updating the NMS as part of our wider programme of reforms. The government’s action plan published in February 2026, ‘Renewing Fostering: Homes for 10,000 More Children’, sets out our approach to recruiting more foster carers, and strengthening support for foster families. This includes the development of an enhanced training and support package for foster carers, which will be rolled out from 2026/27.
What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the dissolution of NHS Protect on levels of violence against NHS workers.
NHS England’s Violence Prevention and Reduction (VPR) Standard was initiated in 2019 following the cessation of NHS Protect in 2017.The VPR standard provides employers with guidance and resources to support them in their development of local strategies to prevent and reduce violence. The standard was refreshed in partnership with the Social Partnership Forum in December 2024. Additionally, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, accepted all recommendations related to additional action on violence prevention and reduction on 9 April 2025, as part of the Agenda for Change Pay Deal. These measures will be further strengthened by the introduction of a new set of staff standards at the national level, as detailed in the 10-Year Health Plan.
Whether tariffs for procedures under the Minor Surgery Directed Enhanced Service have been adjusted to account for inflation, staff costs and premises costs since 2004.
Practices sign up to deliver the Minor Surgery Directed Enhanced Service. The Primary Medical Services (Directed Enhanced Services) Directions 2025 set out the national requirements for the Minor Surgery Directed Enhanced Service, with further information available at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e683d737baea91c58c9fd4/primary-medical-services-directed-enhanced-services-directions-2025.pdfHowever, please note that the service specification and payment arrangements for this directed enhanced service are determined locally by commissioners.
What methodology his Department used to calculate tariffs set out in the Minor Surgery Directed Enhanced Service for (a) joint injections and (b) minor surgical excisions.
Practices sign up to deliver the Minor Surgery Directed Enhanced Service. The Primary Medical Services (Directed Enhanced Services) Directions 2025 set out the national requirements for the Minor Surgery Directed Enhanced Service, with further information available at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e683d737baea91c58c9fd4/primary-medical-services-directed-enhanced-services-directions-2025.pdfHowever, please note that the service specification and payment arrangements for this directed enhanced service are determined locally by commissioners.