Alison Bennett MP: written questions
107 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Orthopaedics: Surgical HubsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 3 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44082More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many of the new surgical hubs will be focused solely on orthopaedic procedures.
Answer: The Elective Reform Plan has committed to providing quicker access for patients to common surgical hub procedures by opening 17 new and expanded surgical hubs by June 2025 and ramping up the number of hubs over the next three years, so more operations can...
Answered 8 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordLower Thames Crossing: Environment ProtectionDepartment for TransportTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43347More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help protect (a) woodland and (b) natural habitats in the context of the construction of the lower Thames crossing.
Answer: The Minister for Local Transport’s considerations on the Lower Thames Crossing scheme are explained in the Decision Letter, published on the Planning Inspectorate website, and this sets out the proposed mitigations regarding habitats, including woodlands....
Answered 8 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordMeat Products: ImportsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43346More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that farmers are not undercut by imports from countries with lower animal welfare standards.
Answer: The Government shares the public’s high regard for the UK’s environmental protections, food standards and animal welfare. This Government will uphold and protect our high environmental and animal welfare standards in future trade deals. We will promote ro...
Answered 8 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordBurnsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 31 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42973More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report entitled Saving Lives Is Not Enough, published by the British Burn Association in Augu
Answer: I note this report is from 2019, my officials will discuss this further with colleagues in the Department for Health and Social Care, and the National Fire Chiefs Council.
Answered 4 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordFly-tippingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 25 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 903504More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle fly-tipping.
Answer: We are seeking powers in the Home Office’s Crime and Policing Bill to provide statutory enforcement guidance to help councils make full and proper use of their fly-tipping enforcement powers. These include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, vehicle sei...
Answered 1 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordDelivery Services: Crimes against the PersonHome OfficeTabled 24 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 40924More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the benefits of extending protections for retail workers to retail delivery drivers in the Crime and Policing Bill.
Answer: Under the previous government, shop theft soared to record highs, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers. We won’t stand for this because everybody has a right to feel safe at their place of work. To tackle the unaccepta...
Answered 27 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPrisons: Crimes of ViolenceMinistry of JusticeTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39289More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans she has to reduce the number of attacks on prison staff.
Answer: Staff must be able to expect a safe and decent work environment. We will not tolerate any violence against prison officers and prisoners who are violent towards staff will face the full consequences of their actions.The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Court...
Answered 25 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPrisoners: DeathMinistry of JusticeTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39288More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she plans to take to reduce deaths in custody.
Answer: Every death in custody is a tragedy and we continue to do all we can to improve the safety of prisoners.The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman investigates the deaths of prisoners in custody. The investigations are a vital tool to ensure lessons are learned ...
Answered 25 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordFurniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) RegulationsDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 18 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 39286More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with the Leader of the House on the timetable for bringing forward statutory instruments to make amendments to The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988
Answer: I have not discussed this with the Leader of the House. As announced in the policy paper ‘The fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture’, published on January 22, the Government will bring forward amendments to the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Sa...
Answered 26 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordInfant Foods: LabellingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 38820More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that retailers (a) provide (i) clear, (ii) accurate and (iii) impartial information on the nutritional sufficiency of infant formula products in (A) re
Answer: Infant feeding is critical to a baby’s healthy growth and development. The Government is committed to giving every child the best start in life and that includes helping families to access support to feed their baby.Whilst breastfeeding has significant he...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordInfant Foods: LabellingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 38819More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that healthcare settings provide (i) timely, (ii) clear, (iii) accurate and (iv) impartial information on the nutritional sufficiency of infant formula
Answer: Infant feeding is critical to a baby’s healthy growth and development. The Government is committed to giving every child the best start in life and that includes helping families to access support to feed their baby.Whilst breastfeeding has significant he...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordBetter Care Fund: CarersDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 11 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 37470More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish funding by the Better Care Fund to support unpaid carers for (a) 2023 and (b) 2024, by region.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 3 March 2025 to Question 33291.
Answered 18 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordConstruction: New BusinessesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 10 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36972More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if his Department will take steps with Companies House to create a database to enable consumers to check whether builders have previously liquidated their companies and opened new businesses under a ne
Answer: Companies House does not have any plans to build a specific database for the purpose outlined. Companies House is taking action to improve the quality of the information on the Register of Companies using powers made available by the Economic Crime and Co...
Answered 13 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordConstruction: LicensingDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 10 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36971More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans his Department has to introduce a licensing scheme for builders undertaking domestic building works.
Answer: This Government is working to ensure we have a high-quality and professional construction industry, with consumer protection at the heart of this. TrustMark, sponsored by the Department and licenced by the Government, is the Government Endorsed Quality Sc...
Answered 13 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordApple: CryptographyHome OfficeTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36544More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the protection of personal data in the context of Apple’s withdrawal of Advanced Data Protection.
Answer: The UK has a strong track record of protecting people’s privacy whilst also ensuring action can be taken against child sexual abusers and terrorists.The Investigatory Powers Act contains robust safeguards and independent oversight to protect privacy and e...
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordStreptococcus: ScreeningDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 3 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35121More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that Group B Streptococcus-specific enriched culture medium testing is available in hospital laboratories.
Answer: Enriched culture medium testing is used in National Health Service laboratories. Current clinical practice is that if a routine urine test in pregnancy indicates a bacterial infection, microbiology techniques, such as enriched culture medium plates, shoul...
Answered 10 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordStreptococcus: VaccinationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 3 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35120More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on the (a) development and (b) future rollout of a Group B Streptococcus vaccine.
Answer: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has identified that maternal vaccine products to protect infants against group B streptococcus (GBS) are currently in development. A sub-committee of the JCVI will be stood up to evaluate the bene...
Answered 7 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordStreptococcus: Clinical TrialsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 3 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35119More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to ensure that the results of the GBS3 trial are acted upon (a) quickly and (b) effectively.
Answer: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) stands ready to receive the results of the GBS3 trial. The UK NSC Secretariat is in close and regular contact with the researchers. The committee will consider the evidence from the trial, once the report is av...
Answered 7 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordArmed Conflict: Democratic Republic of CongoHome OfficeTabled 3 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35118More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether money spent on the UK and Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership has been distributed to M23 militias in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Answer: Under the previous government’s Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) with Rwanda, an Economic Transformation and Integration Fund was agreed to support the Government of Rwanda to achieve its Vision 2050 and National Strategy for Transfor...
Answered 19 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordDriving under InfluenceDepartment for TransportTabled 27 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34516More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to review offences in the Road Traffic Act 1988 relating to driving under the influence of drinks or drugs.
Answer: The Government takes road safety seriously, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. My Department has begun work on a new Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade, and will share more details in due c...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing and PlanningMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34150More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) new planning proposals and (b) increased house building do not (i) negatively impact wildlife and (ii) worsen environmental degradatio
Answer: The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by recognising the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside, and the wider benefits from natur...
Answered 10 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordBetter Care FundDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 24 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33291More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish funding by the Better Care Fund to support unpaid carers for (a) 2023 and (b) 2024, by region; and what information his Department holds on regional variation in Better Care Fund
Answer: NHS England publishes planning data for the Better Care Fund, by region and local authority. This provides a breakdown of income, planned expenditure by different types of activity and planned performance against agreed metrics. The latest data is availab...
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCarersDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32768More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to increase the proportion of carers who are provided practical support after they have undertaken a carer’s assessment.
Answer: Local authorities have a responsibility to support those caring for family and friends.Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities must provide a range of high-quality care services, including support for carers. They are required to conduct Carer’s Assess...
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCarersDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32767More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of placing a new statutory duty on local authorities to ensure all unpaid carers are able to take regular breaks.
Answer: This Government is committed to ensuring families have the support they need. We want to ensure that people who care for family and friends are better able to look after their own health and wellbeing. Local authorities have duties to support people carin...
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCarers: FinanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32764More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on how much local authorities have spent on unpaid carers in each of the last five years.
Answer: The Department holds data on the number of unpaid carers over the age of 18 receiving direct support from local authorities (LAs) in England, and the cost of this support. Data is collected from LAs in the Short and Long Term data return and the Adult Soc...
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament record
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