Alex Burghart MP: written questions
539 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Plants: Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 15 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9200More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Safeguarding the Union, published on 31 January 2024, what recent progress his Department has made on removing prohibitions on shrubs and trees.
Answer: Since the publication of the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper, bans have been lifted on five species of plant including hazel, wild privet and linden. The Commission has published a further seven commodity risk assessments for other species, following...
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordUK Internal Trade: Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 15 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9199More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Safeguarding the Union, published on 31 January 2024, what progress his Department has made on ensuring there will be no checks when goods move wit
Answer: As set out in the Command Paper, as we transition to the UK internal market system we are focused on ensuring the smooth flow of trade through a risk-based and intelligence-led approach to tackling criminality, abuse of the scheme, smuggling and disease r...
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordUK Internal Trade: Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 15 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9198More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Safeguarding the Union, published on 31 January 2024, what progress his Department has made on establishing a UK Internal Market Guarantee.
Answer: The UK Internal Market Guarantee will apply to the operation of the UK internal market system when it is given effect next year. As envisaged in the Command Paper, this will be overseen by the Independent Monitoring Panel, the appointments to which were c...
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordUK Internal Trade: Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 15 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 9197More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Safeguarding the Union, published on 31 January 2024, what progress his Department has made on replacing the green lane with a UK internal market s
Answer: The Government is continuing, as set out in the Command Paper, to take steps to give effect to the internal market system. More than 9,000 businesses are registered for the existing UK Internal Market Scheme, which enables them to move goods from Great Br...
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordTerrorism: Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 14 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8847More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October to Question 7835 on Terrorism: Northern Ireland, if he will publish details of all requests for public inquiries that he has considered.
Answer: I do not intend to publish details of the requests I receive for public inquiries. I have written to those whose requests I have recently considered.
Answered 17 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordFurther Education: VATTreasuryTabled 14 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8846More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the VAT status is of further education colleges.
Answer: Education services supplied by an “eligible body” are exempt from VAT. For VAT purposes, an “eligible body” broadly refers to most regulated, publicly funded, or not-for-profit education providers. This means no VAT is charged on supplies of education mad...
Answered 17 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordWindsor FrameworkNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 9 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 8213More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Safeguarding the Union, published on 31 January 2024, what progress his Department has made on the implementation of the measures set out in paragr
Answer: The Government is committed to taking all steps necessary to protect the UK internal market. We continue to make significant progress on measures set out in paragraph 43 of the Safeguarding the Union Command Paper. Recent progress includes confirmation of...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordNumeracy: Adult EducationDepartment for EducationTabled 8 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7837More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Multiply maths initiative.
Answer: Multiply is the government’s UK wide programme for improving adult numeracy. Multiply provision spans from supporting to build confidence with numbers through to full maths qualifications.The department provides funding to all local areas in England to de...
Answered 16 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordSkills BootcampsDepartment for EducationTabled 8 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7836More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many skills bootcamps have been delivered in each of the last three years, by (a) local authority area and (b) discipline.
Answer: The department is awaiting finalised data for the 2023/24 financial year from providers so cannot provide data for this year.The department has published separate reports on the implementation of Skills Bootcamps for the 2022/23 (Wave 3) and 2021/22 (Wave...
Answered 23 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordTerrorism: Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 8 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7835More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 8 October 2024 to Question 5643 on Terrorism: Northern Ireland, how many requests for public inquiries he is considering.
Answer: I have recently considered several requests for public inquiries and decided to ask all the families involved to get in touch with the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR). The Government will consider any further req...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordNorthern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023Northern Ireland OfficeTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6419More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he plans to appeal against the judgment of the Belfast Court of Appeal in the challenge to the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, delivered on 20 September 2024.
Answer: On 7 October 2024, I laid a Written Ministerial Statement in Parliament providing the Government’s initial response to the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal’s judgment in Dillon & Others. The statement can be found here: https://questions-statements.pa...
Answered 9 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordFurther Education: VATTreasuryTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6418More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will give further education corporations the same VAT status as Multi Academy Trusts and 16 to 19 Free Schools.
Answer: On 29 July, the Government announced that, as of 1 January 2025, all education services and vocational training provided by a private school in the UK for a charge will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20 per cent. This will also apply to boardin...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPublic Sector: ProcurementCabinet OfficeTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6417More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to page 37 of his Department's publication entitled Transforming public procurement, what progress has been made on readying the Central Digital Platform.
Answer: The Central Digital Platform is an online system that will be established by the Procurement Act 2023 to improve transparency and efficiency in public procurement. The Central Digital Platform is currently being developed and will be operational and ready...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordCabinet Office: BuildingsCabinet OfficeTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6416More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to use 36 Whitehall.
Answer: The 36 Whitehall building is not in use and there are no current plans to bring it back into use.
Answered 21 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordModernaDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 6415More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made with Moderna on the (a) manufacture of mRNA vaccines in the UK, (b) establishment of a global clinical trials base and (c) investment in UK-based research and development
Answer: As part of the Moderna-UK Strategic Partnership signed in December 2022, Moderna is building an mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility in Harwell, Oxfordshire. The Moderna Innovation and Technology Centre will support the United Kingdom to be more resilient ...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordT-levelsDepartment for EducationTabled 12 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5645More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her oral statement of 24 July 2024, Official Record, col 697, on Education and Opportunity, what plans her Department has to consult (a) external stakeholders and (b) people who have undertake
Answer: The department is committed to working to break down barriers to opportunity, harnessing talent and driving growth. In July this year, my Right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced that the department is undertaking an internal revi...
Answered 7 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordT-levelsDepartment for EducationTabled 12 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5644More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support colleges and schools to (a) adopt T-levels and (b) expand their T-levels programmes in their settings in the 2025-26 academic year.
Answer: The government is committed to supporting the continued roll-out of T Levels to ensure young people have a choice of high quality options post-16.T Level providers have access to a suite of support and resources to help them prepare for and deliver T Leve...
Answered 7 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordTerrorism: Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 12 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5643More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to his oral statement of 11 September 2024 on Patrick Finucane Murder, Official Report, columns 841-3, whether he is considering other requests for public inquiries into incidents from the
Answer: The Government considers all requests for public inquiries on a case-by-case basis.As I outlined in my oral statement of 11 September 2024, there are exceptional reasons why I have decided to establish an inquiry into the death of Patrick Finucane.
Answered 8 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordMurder of Patrick Finucane Independent InquiryNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 12 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5642More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to his oral statement of 11 September 2024 on Patrick Finucane Murder, Official Report, columns 842-3, when he plans to (a) appoint a chair of the inquiry and (b) have agreed terms of refe
Answer: The Government will follow due process under the Inquiries Act 2005 in establishing the inquiry into the death of Patrick Finucane. This will include the appointment of the Inquiry Chair and consulting him on the Terms of Reference.As outlined in my oral ...
Answered 8 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordIncubator for Artificial IntelligenceDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 12 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5641More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 3 September 2024 to Question 1967 on Incubator for Artificial Intelligence, by when he plans to have the agreed full-time headcount of 70 staff employed.
Answer: i.AI is building to a full complement of 70FTE. Recruitment was paused due to the pre-election period and will resume shortly.
Answered 10 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordIndependent Commission for Reconciliation and Information RecoveryNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 11 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5353More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to his speech of 7 September 2024, entitled A new chapter in the UK-Ireland relationship, when he plans to set out his plans to increase the independence of the Independent Commission on R
Answer: The High Court found the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) to be independent and capable of conducting human rights compliant investigations. The recent Court of Appeal judgment also recognised the structural indep...
Answered 8 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPublic History of British Policy During the Northern Ireland Conflict Expert Advisory PanelNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 11 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 5352More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent progress the Expert Advisory Panel for Public History of British Policy During the Northern Ireland Conflict has made.
Answer: The advisory panel continues to work under the published terms of reference. I was pleased to meet with the panel on 17 September to discuss details of the project.
Answered 8 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPatrick FinucaneNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 9 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 4764More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2024 to Question 3049 on Patrick Finucane, if he will publish copies of his letters to (a) Mrs Finucane and (b) the Court of Appeal.
Answer: On Wednesday 11 September, I made an oral statement to Parliament announcing the Government’s intention to establish an independent inquiry into the death of Patrick Finucane. I have notified the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal of this decision and Mrs G...
Answered 12 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordNorthern Ireland Veterans CommissionerNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 9 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 4763More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he plans to appoint a new Veterans’ Commissioner for Northern Ireland.
Answer: We are committed to continuing to support veterans in Northern Ireland, including through the Veterans Welfare Service NI and the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust. We will set out next steps for the appointment of a new Northern Ireland Veterans Commissio...
Answered 12 Sept 2024
Original Parliament recordPoultry: Import ControlsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 9 Sept 2024AnsweredUIN 4762More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 September 2024 to Question 3050 on Poultry: Import Controls, what certification is required to evidence that products are from unvaccinated ducks.
Answer: Currently, imports of vaccinated ducks cannot be certified as the animal health requirements in the Import Health Certificates cannot be met. Standard certificates for imports of products of animal origin and live animals, available on GOV.UK, are used. T...
Answered 17 Sept 2024
Original Parliament record
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