Alex Sobel MP: written questions
280 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Visas: ApplicationsHome OfficeTabled 21 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107439More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will consider the potential merits of implementing service standards for visa applications expedited in cases of compassionate circumstances.
Answer: Visa, Status and Information Services have a range of premium services including; the Priority Services and Super Priority Services for visa applications where needed: Get a faster decision on your visa or settlement application: Applying for a faster dec...
Answered 26 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordHealth Services: Mental HealthDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107438More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made the potential impact of the implementation of guidance on trauma-informed practice on staff (a) culture and (b) practice.
Answer: No assessment has been made. NHS England published their trauma-informed and harm aware in-patient care guidance in October 2025, and it is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/trauma-informed-harm-aware-inpatient-care/The ...
Answered 28 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordPrison SentencesMinistry of JusticeTabled 20 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107130More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has conducted research into the potential impacts on long-term rehabilitation of Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences.
Answer: Section 67 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 requires the Secretary of State to prepare and publish an annual report about the steps taken to support the rehabilitation of IPP and Detention for Public Protection (DPP) offenders and their progress towa...
Answered 27 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordPrison SentencesMinistry of JusticeTabled 20 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107129More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has conducted research into the potential merits of retrospectively abolishing Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences.
Answer: It is right that the Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence was abolished. The Justice Committee and various organisations have considered a resentencing exercise but none have identified an approach that would not pose too great a risk to the ...
Answered 27 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordPrison SentencesMinistry of JusticeTabled 20 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107128More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will consider the potential merits of retrospectively abolishing Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences.
Answer: It is right that the Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence was abolished. Public protection will always be the top priority and abolishing the IPP sentence retrospectively would result in prisoners being released whom the independent Parole Bo...
Answered 27 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordVisas: Married PeopleHome OfficeTabled 20 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107127More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average timeframe is for decisions on fee waiver applications for partner visas.
Answer: Fee Waiver data is published in tables FW_01 – FW_03 of the ‘Immigration and Protection dataset’ found here: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK, However, the specific information requested is not currently available from the published statistics because...
Answered 26 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordRoad Signs and MarkingsDepartment for TransportTabled 20 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107126More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of creating a new brown tourist sign for ruined abbeys that excludes the depiction of a spire to prevent confusion between ruined abbeys and worki
Answer: The Department has made no assessment of the potential merits of creating a new brown tourist sign for ruined abbeys.
Answered 23 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordVeterinary Services: DrugsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 19 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106580More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what comparative estimate her Department has made of the cost of (a) veterinary medicines and (b) equivalent human medicines.
Answer: Veterinary medicine is a private service, including the prescription and supply of veterinary medicines. The Government does not regulate the cost of medicines and pricing structures are not subject to legislative controls. The costs of veterinary medicin...
Answered 29 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordVeterinary Services: Prescription DrugsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 19 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106579More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has considered introducing a cap on veterinary prescription fees.
Answer: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have been conducting a full market investigation into the supply of veterinary services for household pets in the UK since 23 May 2024. On 15 October 2025, the CMA released its Provisional Decision Report (PDR)....
Answered 29 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylumHome OfficeTabled 16 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106330More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve the quality of initial decision-making in asylum cases.
Answer: We have adopted a plan to improve the quality of asylum casework, this includes improved training for decision makers and feedback loops to ensure we are learning from appeals to get decisions right first time.Asylum decisions are subject to stringent qua...
Answered 26 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylumHome OfficeTabled 16 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106329More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department plans to take to help speed up decision-making for asylum cases; and what targets her Department has set for improving decision-making times.
Answer: The Home Office is investing in innovative techniques, including AI, to explore how we can improve productivity, speed up the processing of asylum cases awaiting an initial decision, and restore order in the asylum system.The proportion of asylum claims r...
Answered 26 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordADHD: DiagnosisDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 16 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106328More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made on increasing capacity for adult ADHD assessments in Leeds since 2024; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of those measures on waiting times.
Answer: It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment and tr...
Answered 26 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordLocal Housing Allowance: Private Rented HousingDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 16 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106327More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of freezing Local Housing Allowance rates in 2026-27 on private renters.
Answer: At Autumn Budget, the Secretary of State reviewed Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates and confirmed in his Written Ministerial Statement that LHA rates would be maintained at their current 2024/25 levels for 2026/27. The impacts on private renters were co...
Answered 26 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordAffordable Housing: DisabilityMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 14 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105851More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps were taken to encourage housing associations to partake in the Home Ownership for people with Long-term Disabilities scheme.
Answer: The Home Ownership for People with Long-term Disabilities scheme is a specialist form of shared ownership and we have confirmed that it will continue to be funded under the new Social and Affordable Homes Programme where proposals meet programme requireme...
Answered 23 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordAffordable Housing: DisabilityMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 14 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105850More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Home Ownership for people with a long-term disability scheme will receive funding for the 2026/2027 financial year.
Answer: The Home Ownership for People with Long-term Disabilities scheme is a specialist form of shared ownership and we have confirmed that it will continue to be funded under the new Social and Affordable Homes Programme where proposals meet programme requireme...
Answered 23 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordStudents: LoansDepartment for EducationTabled 13 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 907330More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of raising the minimum income threshold for student maintenance loans in line with inflation.
Answer: This government is committed to supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to attend higher education. We are future proofing our maintenance loan offer by increasing maintenance loans in line with forecast inflation ev...
Answered 19 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordVisas: Skilled WorkersHome OfficeTabled 13 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105323More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed £50,270 threshold for eligibility for five year Indefinite Leave to Remain on Skilled Worker visa holders employed in lower wage re
Answer: The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, will raise the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years.We are proposing a series of tests that will measure a person’s contribution to this country a...
Answered 21 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordVisas: Skilled WorkersHome OfficeTabled 13 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105322More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the White Paper entitled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, published on 12 May 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed Indefinite Leave to
Answer: The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, will raise the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years.We are proposing a series of tests that will measure a person’s contribution to this country a...
Answered 21 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordTemporary AccommodationMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104810More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on the mental and physical health impacts of placing households in temporary accommodation outside of their local area.
Answer: This government inherited a homelessness crisis with record numbers in temporary accommodation. Our National Plan to End Homelessness sets out how we will get back on track to ending homelessness by tackling its root causes. We are building 1.5 million ho...
Answered 19 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordAffordable Housing: Leeds Central and HeadingleyMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104809More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to build more social and affordable homes in Leeds Central and Headingley constituency.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 2 July 2025 (HCWS771) and the answer given to Question UIN 101017 on 6 January 2026.
Answered 19 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordAcademic Technology Approval SchemeForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 9 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104581More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing a service standard for decisions on Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate applicatio
Answer: Most Academic Technology Approval Scheme applications are straightforward and 98 per cent of applications during the past year were processed within 30 working days. No new service standard is therefore considered necessary at this time.
Answered 19 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordApprentices: FinanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 8 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 104214More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of withdrawing funding for Level 7 apprenticeships for most learners aged 22 and over who are unable to self-fund postgraduate study on social mobil
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57823.
Answered 29 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordJobseeker's AllowanceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 7 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 103840More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the rates of New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance in relation to living costs for a single adult.
Answer: The Secretary of State is required by law to undertake an annual review of benefit rates. In a statement made on 26 November 2025, the Secretary of State announced that from April 2026, Jobseeker’s Allowance will be increased by 3.8% in line with the incr...
Answered 15 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordDriving: CyclingDepartment for TransportTabled 7 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 103839More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure the Road Safety Strategy will (a) improve drivers’ understanding of cyclists’ rights and (b) promote safer interactions between drivers and cyclists on the roads.
Answer: On 7 January 2026, the Government published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. The Strategy sets an ambitious target to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on British roads by ...
Answered 19 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordPapua: Overseas CompaniesForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 6 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 103389More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that UK companies operating in West Papua respect the rights of Indigenous peoples and prevent adverse environmental or hum
Answer: The UK Government takes seriously any concerns about environmental and human rights impacts linked to British businesses operating abroad. We regularly engage with both the Government of Indonesia and UK companies to promote responsible business conduct a...
Answered 14 Jan 2026
Original Parliament record
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