Every parliamentary written question tabled by Vikki Slade this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 301–320 of 373 · this parliament
What recent assessment she has made of the impact of the current caps on the values of fines available to local authorities outside London on driver behaviour.
No recent assessment has been made. A number of parking sector stakeholders conducted research recently into this complex issue, and it has been submitted to the Department. Officials will be reviewing the research and its findings in due course.
With reference to the ongoing e-scooter trials, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of e-scooters on (a) the modal shift of transport away from private cars and (b) reducing traffic congestion in trial areas; and what estimate she has made of the number of collisions involving e-scooters.
The first national evaluation of the e-scooter trials was published in December 2022. This found that e-scooters increasingly replaced private motor vehicle or taxi use over time (from 12% of journeys in March 2021 to 21% in December 2021). 42% of e-scooter trips replaced walking journeys in December 2021, and 9% of e-scooter journeys in the same period would otherwise not have been made. Statistics on road collisions are collected via data reported to the Department by police forces. Provisional estimates for the year ending June 2024 suggest that there were 1,194 casualties in collisions involving both private and rented e-scooters.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of (a) increasing protections for sellers in conveyancing processes, in the context of levels of protections in (i) Scotland and (ii) Australia where bids to buy houses are binding once accepted and (b) requiring sellers to provide a full legal pack.
I refer the Hon Member to (a) the answer given to Question UIN PQ 32038 on 28 February 2025, and (b) the answer given to Question UIN PQ 18947 on 20 December 2024.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing local authorities with the ability to use automatic number-plate recognition in car parks to help (a) increase the efficiency of payment collection, (b) improve enforcement and (c) reduce risks to civil enforcement officers.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ 17350 on 12 December 2024.
Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ban the use of (a) cages for (i) laying hens and (ii) other animals and (b) close confinement systems for (A) sows and calves and (B) other animals in farming environments.
We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The use of cages and other close confinement systems for farmed animals is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully.
How many offenders convicted of offences against children have been released under early release schemes; and what continuing supervision is taking place.
This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We were forced to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. All sex offences, irrespective of sentence length, are excluded from SDS40.Offenders released on licence are subject to strict conditions, such as curfews and exclusion zones, and face being immediately returned to prison if they break the rules.
When she expects the Migration Advisory Committee's review into the financial requirements for the Family Visa route to be published; and what plans she has for the minimum salary threshold for the Family Visa.
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is an independent body, and their review of the financial requirements will be robust and transparent. It is expected the MAC will issue their report in the Summer. We will carefully consider the MAC’s recommendations before making any further changes.
With reference to the NHS's 2025/26 priorities and operational planning guidance, published on 30 January 2025, what steps his Department is taking to include health infrastructure planning decisions in the scope of the commitment to streamline planning.
The Government is committed to delivering a National Health Service that is fit for the future. This means we need to see world class NHS infrastructure across the entire NHS estate. Beyond hospitals, we know we need the right infrastructure in the right place to deliver a true Neighbourhood Health Service and to ensure that patients receive the care they deserve. The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government on how to extend our collective interactions in the planning process, from local plan making to negotiating developer contributions, through updates to national guidance. This is alongside our support for the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government’s efforts to streamline the planning process, by extensively feeding into the ways in which health infrastructure plans can facilitate this.
Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to ensure that ongoing work under the digital identities framework to digitise (a) sex and (b) other personal information incorporates safeguards to guarantee the information used is accurate where it might be recorded differently on (i) passports, (ii) driving licences and (iiI) other documents.
Digital identities do not offer a new way to determine sex or gender. As with physical verification, individual organisations are responsible for determining what precise information it is appropriate to verify in a particular case and how they verify that to meet their requirements. The UK digital identity and attributes trust framework creates rules for how digital identity services operate. It does not set requirements for how government departments record sex and other personal information. Under data protection law, personal data which is processed must be accurate for the purposes for which it is processed.
Communities and Local Government, when she plans to announce the allocation by local authority of the £5 million Internal Drainage Board support grant for 2025/26.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 43491 on 10 April 2025.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a long-term funding strategy for Internal Drainage Boards.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 43491 on 10 April 2025.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of waste incineration on (a) public health and (b) respiratory conditions.
The Environment Agency assesses the emissions from new waste incinerators, also known as Energy from Waste (EfW) plants, as part of the permitting process and consults the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on every application received. The UKHSA’s position is that modern, well-run and regulated municipal waste incinerators are not a significant risk to public health. This view is based on detailed assessments of the effects of air pollutants on health and on the fact that EfW plants make only a very small contribution to local concentrations and overall national emissions of air pollutants.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of an increase in waste incinerators on the UK's carbon emission reduction targets.
The Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy. Defra published the Residual Waste Infrastructure Capacity Note and an accompanying statement on 30 December 2024, which set out that government will only back new Energy from Waste projects that meet strict conditions. Proposals for new facilities will have to demonstrate a clearly defined domestic residual waste treatment capacity need to facilitate the diversion of residual waste away from landfill, or enable the replacement of older, less-efficient facilities. New facilities will have to maximise efficiency and support the delivery of economic growth, net zero and the move to a circular economy. This will be achieved through application of Decarbonisation Readiness requirements that come into force from February 2026, increased heat recovery, and roll-out of Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS). The government is developing a business model to support Waste CCUS projects and stimulate private investment. The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Authority has confirmed its intention to include waste incineration and energy from waste in the scheme from 2028. Inclusion in the ETS means the sector's emissions will be capped along with other sectors in the scheme, and that cap will reduce in line with delivery of climate targets.
If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on investment by businesses.
The Government has taken a number of difficult but necessary decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to fix the public finances and fund public services. One of the toughest decisions we took was to raise the rate of employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) from 13.8% to 15%, whilst reducing the per-employee threshold at which employers start to pay National Insurance (the Secondary Threshold) from £9,100 to £5,000. The Office for Budget Responsibility published the Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO), which sets out a detailed forecast of the economy and public finances. We acknowledge that, as the OBR set out, employers will pass on some of the costs of this change, as well absorbing some themselves, and employers have a choice about how they respond.
What assessment she has made of the potential merits of enabling carers receiving Carer's allowance who defer drawing state pension to receive the same uplift as those who do not.
Where a person has deferred claiming their State Pension, they cannot accumulate increments that will increase their State Pension amount if they have received certain social security benefits including Carer’s Allowance. The underlying principle is to prevent a person earning an enhancement to their pension while drawing another benefit that would otherwise have not been payable had they been receiving their State Pension. The Department encourages people to seek independent financial advice before making a decision not to claim their State Pension when they reach State Pension age and this is set out in GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/plan-retirement-income/get-financial-advice
Whether she plans to increase funding rates for early years provision of three and four year olds.
As usual, the hourly funding rates will vary between local authorities reflecting the different communities that local authorities serve. However, for the 2025/26 financial year, the national average three and four year-old hourly funding rate of local authorities is increasing by 4.1%. On top of this, eligible children can also attract additional funding through the early years pupil premium.Early education gives all children, especially disadvantaged children, the best start in life. That is why the department is delivering the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium, increasing the rate by over 45% from 68p per hour in 2024/25 to £1 per hour in 2025/26, equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year.Future spending decisions beyond 2025/26 will be announced following the next spending review.
If her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of linking stamp duty thresholds to regional house prices.
Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a national tax in England and Northern Ireland charged using the same percentage rates across the country. This ensures stable and predictable revenue for the Exchequer while maintaining fairness for taxpayers. The current structure of SDLT ensures that those buying the most expensive properties contribute the most. Linking SDLT thresholds to regional house prices could increase complexity and create distortive effects around borders, impacting property markets. More broadly, SDLT continues to be an important source of Government revenue, raising around £12 billion each year to help pay for the essential services the Government provides. Any reforms to SDLT would have to carefully consider impacts on the Exchequer alongside administrative costs and simplicity for the taxpayer. The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the usual tax policy making process.
What information her Department holds on the number of vehicular accidents involving drivers who have not disclosed age-related health conditions on their driving license renewals in each of the last five years.
This information is not held by the Department for Transport.The Department’s data on road injury collisions is based on information reported to the police via the STATS19 data collection system. STATS19 does not capture information on the health conditions of those involved in collisions.
What steps his Department plans to take to help retain alternatives to digital booking systems for GP appointments for those that cannot access online systems.
We understand that not all patients can or want to use online services. The GP Contract is clear that patients should always have the option of telephoning or visiting their practice in person, and all online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing a general practice.The 2025/26 GP Contract includes a new requirement for practices to enable online appointment requests throughout the duration of core opening hours. In addition to improving online access, this will help free up phone lines for people who prefer to telephone.
Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of HM Passport Office accepting multilingual standardised birth certificates as part of passport applications for the children of British parents born in Europe.
His Majesty’s Passport Office requires customers to provide a full birth certificate, issued in the country of birth, as part of a passport application. Multilingual Standard Forms do not meet this criteria: they are an extract of a civil registration record translated into the language needed and are not a full original certificate.