Every parliamentary written question tabled by Wendy Chamberlain this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 21–40 of 161 · this parliament
What steps her Department is taking to align the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism with (a) the EU and (b) other international partners to (i) minimise trade frictions and (ii) administrative burdens for UK busi
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will be introduced from 1 January 2027. CBAM is a new tax which will ensure that highly traded, carbon intensive goods which are imported into the UK face a comparable carbon price to what is paid by manufactu...
Pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2026 to Question 122806 on the Warm Homes Plan, what value of funding has been reallocated between projects under the Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund schemes due to identified or anticipated underspend in the 2025–26 financial year.
The Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund will support hundreds of thousands of homes to become warmer and cheaper to run throughout the course of this Parliament, as part of our £15 billion Warm Homes Plan. We maximise delivery throughout the course of the scheme to ensure that the budget for each year is fully utilised so households across England reap the full benefits of the schemes. This includes through reallocating funding where local authorities and housing associations indicate they won’t be able to spend their full budget for the year. We reallocated £2.5m within Warm Homes: Local Grant, and £7.59m within Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund projects respectively in the first year of delivery.
What steps his Department is taking to improve outcomes for invasive lobular breast cancer patients.
Lobular breast cancer impacts many lives. According to Cancer Research UK, lobular is the second most common breast cancer in the UK.We are backing world-leading AI trials to improve diagnostic capacity and early detection. On 4 February 2025, the Department of Health and Social Care announced that nearly 700,000 women across the country will take part in a world-leading Early Detection using Information Technology in Health, or EDITH, trial backed by £11 million of government support via National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NHS in England will also monitor the emerging evidence from the Breast Risk Adaptive Imaging for Density, or BRAID, trial, which aims to determine whether additional imaging with one of several types of scans, is helpful in diagnosing breast cancer in women with dense breast tissue. This will target screening programmes at women who are at greater risk of cancer.The Medical Research Council (MRC) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) are committed to continuing to support the development of fundable research proposals and help drive a stronger collective understanding of the biology behind lobular breast cancer, as well as effective treatment and management of this disease. In order to further stimulate research in this area, the NIHR launched a highlight notice in late 2025, encouraging applications across its research programmes and training.Under our National Cancer Plan for England, we will take action to raise awareness locally, improve pathways and offer better treatments to ensure more patients survive and live well with cancer than ever before, including for lobular breast cancer.
Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the use of animal testing in sepsis research.
On 11th November 2025 the government published “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods” which outlines the steps we will take to achieve this. (Replacing animals in science strategy - GOV.UK) Sepsis is a complex and multifaceted condition, and its study presents significant scientific challenges. We will consider sepsis during the development of our areas of research interest list to determine the best path forward for new model development that drives scientific innovation, supports improved therapy development, and reduces reliance on animals.
Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 19 March to question 120937, if she will respond to the original question as it relates to the fishing industry.
Defra is actively monitoring the impact of diesel price changes on the fishing sector. The Government has raised industry concerns about red diesel prices, including price transparency, with the Competition and Markets Authority and we are committed to ensuring that this market functions fairly. The fishing sector can continue to access Marine Voyages Relief reducing the cost of their fuel by allowing them to partially claim back fuel duty.
What estimate his Department has made of the level of underspend, or projected underspend, in the first year of the Warm Homes Local Grant and Warm Homes Social Fund; how many local authorities have submitted expenditure data to date; and whether the Department has modelled the full-year underspend based on these partial returns.
The Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG) and the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (WH:SHF) schemes began delivery in April 2025. Both schemes were oversubscribed demonstrating the high ambition of local authorities and social housing providers. We continue to see strong demand in both schemes. To maximise delivery, where potential underspend has been identified it has been reallocated to high performing projects to ensure that grant funding is used by the end of the financial year. Across both schemes, the final in-year spend can only be confirmed following robust financial management assessments. Financial reporting for the schemes will be available as part of DESNZ’s published annual accounts.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of reports that recent criminal regulations introduced by the Taliban impose harsher punishments on women and minority groups; and what representations the UK Government has made to international partners regarding the protection of the rights and safety of women and girls.
I refer the Hon Member to the statement issued by the Foreign Secretary on this matter on 26 February, where she said: "I am appalled by continuing restrictions imposed on women and girls in Afghanistan. The Taliban's new criminal procedure code legitimises domestic violence and targets women and minorities. These oppressive measures must be rescinded. The rights of all Afghans must be protected." The UK is working closely with international partners on the issue, including through our chairmanship of the G7+ group of countries, and engagement through the UN and the Human Rights Council.
How many Chevening Scholars who have claimed asylum in each year between 2021 and 2025 broken down by home country.
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of people claiming asylum where the latest leave held prior to claim was a study visa is published in table Asy_D01a of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions datasets’. The number of student entry clearance visas issued is published in table Vis_D02 of the 'Entry clearance visas datasets'.The requested information on asylum claims from Chevening scholars is not available from published statistics.Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.
What steps he is taking to provide support to the fishing industry with changing diesel prices.
Fuel markets are governed by competition and consumer protection law, overseen by the Competition Market Authority (CMA). The Government and the CMA are closely monitoring petrol and diesel prices in light of instability in the Middle East, and the Chancellor and Secretary of State recently met with fuel retailers to set out a clear message: drivers must get a fair deal at the pump. We are also engaging regularly with refiners, importers and distributors to ensure any emerging risks are identified and managed promptly. The UK benefits from strong and diverse security of energy supplies, and there are no issues with fuel supply. This government has also introduced the Fuel Finder scheme, which will increase price transparency so drivers can compare prices to find the best deal and incentivise greater competition.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of diesel price levels on the sustainability of the fishing industry.
Defra is actively monitoring the impact of diesel price changes on our fishing sector. The Government has raised industry concerns about red diesel prices, including price transparency, with the Competition and Markets Authority and we are committed to ensuring that this market functions fairly.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the war in the Middle East on the cost of fertiliser for farmers.
The fertiliser market is a global market, and while there is no immediate risk to UK supply, the market price in the UK is strongly influenced by international prices for fertiliser and by the value of the pound. The Government is aware of the current price increase for fertiliser due to the conflict in the Gulf. Defra is in close contact with domestic fertiliser suppliers and is monitoring overall supply to the UK. The Government remains ready to support businesses as effectively as possible in these challenging times.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Middle East conflict on the cost of heating oil for domestic users.
The Government is closely monitoring heating oil supply and price in light of instability in the Middle East. International kerosene prices are >75% higher than they were before the conflict and this is putting pressure on heating oil prices. The Secretary of State has written to the industry reminding heating oil distributors of their commitments under the UKIFDA Code of Practice, including the need for fair, transparent and justifiable pricing. Ministers have also spoken with the Competition and Markets Authority, who have announced they are reviewing evidence of potential unfair practices and anti-competitive behaviour. We are keeping under review whether any further support or action is needed to protect consumers.
How many cases were awaiting Work Capability Assessment reassessments as of 31 January 2026 in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales.
The information requested is not held because data is not held at individual country level.
How many cases were awaiting Work Capability Assessment reassessments as of 31 January 2026 in each constituency.
The information requested about Work Capability Assessment reassessments is not held, this is because the data is not held at constituency level.
The current (a) mean average and (b) longest waiting time for a Work Capability Assessment reassessment.
The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to reducing waiting times for claimants awaiting a WCA reassessment. The department is increasing assessment capacity by working with suppliers to expand their workforce, including through accelerated recruitment and training of additional assessors. These measures will help ensure that the department continues to prioritise assessments for new claims, while also increasing throughput of reassessment activity. From 1 January 2018 to 31 January 2026, the mean average working days for outstanding Work Capability Assessment (WCA) reassessments currently stands at 290 days, whilst the current longest waiting time for an outstanding WCA reassessment to be completed is 1,870 working days (3 December 2018). Please note All volumes have been rounded to the nearest 10.All the above data is derived from contractual management information produced by the Assessment Providers.The above data is derived from unpublished management information which is collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.The date range for the mean average working days for outstanding WCA reassessments 1 January 2018 to 31 January 2026 has been used because the outstanding cases within our head of work can be traced back to 1 January 2018.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 6 January 2026 to Question UIN 101823, whether her Department (a) acknowledges; and (b) accepts the findings of the People's Tribunal of Women of Afghanistan's judgement of 11 December 2025.
The UK Government supports legal initiatives to hold the Taliban to account for their repression of Afghan women and girls, and we welcome the progress being made across a range of such initiatives. In the interim, we are continuing to work with international partners to maintain collective pressure on the Taliban to reverse their inhuman restrictions on women and girls.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to implement the recommendations of the People's Tribunal of Women of Afghanistan's judgement of 11 December 2025.
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 21 October in response to Question 81211.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if her Department has any plans to provide financial support to the operations of UNHCR in Afghanistan.
The UK remains one of the largest donors to Afghanistan, providing £151 million in aid for the 2025/26 financial year. The UK does not currently directly fund United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) operations in Afghanistan, but we have supported those operations indirectly via pooled funds managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Future funding allocations for UN and non-governmental organisation partners in Afghanistan will be set out in the normal way in due course.
Whether his Department will commit to publishing regular data on leukaemia diagnosis delays and outcomes.
The National Disease Registration Service collects information on how many people in England are diagnosed with or treated for cancer. Blood cancer is included as a distinct category, labelled haematological neoplasms, with further information avaiable at the following link: https://nhsd-ndrs.shinyapps.io/incidence_and_mortality/ This creates a clinically rich data resource that is used to measure diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for patients diagnosed with cancer. The 28-day faster diagnosis standard is a performance standard that aims to have a patient diagnosed with or have cancer ruled out within 28-days from referral. This performance metric monitors diagnostic performance and delays in diagnosis across cancer types, including leukaemia. It is published monthly and can be found at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/Data is collected on cancer survival, with the most recent dataset being published in February 2023, which provides survival data from 2016 to 2020, followed up to 2021. The next publication will be released soon and will provide data on cancer survival diagnosed from 2018 to 2022 followed up to 2023. The survival datasets can be found at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/cancer-survival-in-england#latest-statistics
Pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2025 to Question 96733, how many of the EASI inspections carried out in Scotland in 2024/25 took place (a) on farms and (b) in social care settings.
The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorates legal remit only extends to Employment Agencies and Businesses.Therefore, EAS has no legal powers to conduct visits to farms or social care settings and has conducted no visits in the sectors queried.EAS does however work closely with The Gangmasters Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) and the Care Inspectorate in Scotland, who do have the necessary powers in the queried sectors.