Ben Lake MP: written questions
341 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Written question 30005Department for Business, Innovation, Science and TradeTabled 15 Sept 2026Awaiting answerUIN 30005More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure Wales receives its UK population share of UKRI funding.
Answer: No published answer in this record yet.
Original Parliament recordWritten question 30004TreasuryTabled 15 Sept 2026Awaiting answerUIN 30004More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the amount of consequential funding the Welsh Government would receive through the Barnett Formula if (a) HS2, (b) East- West rail and (c) Northern Powerhouse Rail were re-classif
Answer: No published answer in this record yet.
Original Parliament recordWritten question 30002TreasuryTabled 15 Sept 2026Awaiting answerUIN 30002More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of reducing VAT for the hospitality sector in Wales to 10%.
Answer: No published answer in this record yet.
Original Parliament recordWritten question 30001TreasuryTabled 15 Sept 2026Awaiting answerUIN 30001More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the total cost to the public sector in Wales to date of the increase in Employers National Insurance Contributions from April 2025.
Answer: No published answer in this record yet.
Original Parliament recordSyria: Politics and GovernmentForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 9 Sept 2026AnsweredUIN 28380More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help Syria develop local governance and security structures.
Answer: I refer the Rt Honourable Member to the answer provided by the former Minister for the Middle East on 4 June in response to Question 5915.
Answered 14 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordExport Health CertificatesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 7 Sept 2026AnsweredUIN 27510More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the timetable is for implementing dynamic alignment with the EU-UK SPS agreement; and what assessment has been made of whether current certification capacity can be sustained thro
Answer: The UK is currently negotiating an SPS Agreement with the EU. These negotiations are at an advanced stage and expected to remove the requirement for Export Health Certificates. The Agreement will have implications for Official Veterinarians undertaking...
Answered 18 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordExport Health CertificatesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 7 Sept 2026AnsweredUIN 27509More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the potential cost to UK exporters of disruption to certification capacity during the period before dynamic alignment with the EU-UK SPS agreement takes e
Answer: The UK is currently negotiating an SPS Agreement with the EU. These negotiations are at an advanced stage and expected to remove the requirement for Export Health Certificates. The Agreement will have implications for Official Veterinarians undertaking...
Answered 18 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordVeterinary Medicine: Export Health CertificatesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 7 Sept 2026AnsweredUIN 27508More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what contingency plans her Department has in place should Official Veterinarian capacity decline before certification requirements arising from current export arrangements are removed.
Answer: The UK is currently negotiating an SPS Agreement with the EU. These negotiations are at an advanced stage and expected to remove the requirement for Export Health Certificates. The Agreement will have implications for Official Veterinarians undertaking...
Answered 18 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordVeterinary Medicine: Export Health CertificatesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 7 Sept 2026AnsweredUIN 27507More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the number of Official Veterinarians currently undertaking export certification on a full-time basis.
Answer: The UK is currently negotiating an SPS Agreement with the EU. These negotiations are at an advanced stage and expected to remove the requirement for Export Health Certificates. The Agreement will have implications for Official Veterinarians undertaking...
Answered 18 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordVeterinary Medicine: Export Health CertificatesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 7 Sept 2026AnsweredUIN 27506More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the number of Official Veterinarians needed to maintain current export certification volumes through to the point at which dynamic alignment wi
Answer: The UK is currently negotiating an SPS Agreement with the EU. These negotiations are at an advanced stage and expected to remove the requirement for Export Health Certificates. The Agreement will have implications for Official Veterinarians undertaking...
Answered 18 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordPeatlands: FiresDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 7 Sept 2026AnsweredUIN 27505More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what fire intensity multiplier her Department uses when assessing the impact that higher fuel loads of vegetation will have on the ferocity of wildfires.
Answer: MHCLG is the lead department for wildfire. Defra works closely with them on wildfire preparedness and incident response. In England and Wales, the Met Office’s Fire Severity Index is used to evaluate how severe a wildfire could become if one were to ignit...
Answered 15 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordCommon Travel Area: Republic of IrelandHome OfficeTabled 2 Sept 2026AnsweredUIN 26599More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact on the a) effectiveness and b) future of the Common Travel Area between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic
Answer: No change has been made to the Government’s operation of the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangement. The CTA continues to afford British and Irish citizens the ability to move freely and reside in either jurisdiction and enjoy associated rights and privileg...
Answered 11 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordMotorcycles: Excise DutiesDepartment for TransportTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 21344More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many individuals in Wales pay Vehicle Excise Duty on motorcycles annually.
Answer: Information on the amount of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) raised annually from motorcycles registered to keepers in Wales can only be retrieved at disproportionate cost as it would require detailed analysis of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s vehicl...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordMotorcycles: Excise DutiesDepartment for TransportTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 21343More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much is raised annually from Vehicle Excise Duty on motorcycles with owners registered in Wales.
Answer: Information on the amount of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) raised annually from motorcycles registered to keepers in Wales can only be retrieved at disproportionate cost as it would require detailed analysis of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s vehicl...
Answered 8 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordPost Offices: Business RatesTreasuryTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 21342More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has considered extending the proposed 20% business rates reduction for pubs, social clubs and live music venues to post offices.
Answer: The Government recognises the important contribution that post offices make to local economies and communities through the services they provide to residents and businesses.Businesses continue to benefit from the Government's wider business rates reforms,...
Answered 7 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordProstate Cancer: ScreeningDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 21341More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2026 to Question 12794, how the commitment made in the Written Statement of 2 June 2026 to maintain and regularly update the UK National Screening Committee's prost
Answer: Despite some recent misinformed media coverage, I can confirm to the Hon. Members that there has been no change to the policy in respect of prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing for men aged over 50 years old. Any such man who is concerned about prostat...
Answered 10 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordProstate Cancer: ScreeningDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 21340More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2026 to Question 12794, what timetable the UK National Screening Committee is working to for (a) reviewing the recently published evidence on the Stockholm3 test, (
Answer: Despite some recent misinformed media coverage, I can confirm to the Hon. Members that there has been no change to the policy in respect of prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing for men aged over 50 years old. Any such man who is concerned about prostat...
Answered 10 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordTransport: DisabilityDepartment for TransportTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 21339More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to help improve accessible transport options for disabled people in rural and coastal communities.
Answer: The Government wants everyone to have access to public transport and is committed to improving the system, so it is more inclusive and enables disabled people to travel safely, confidently and with dignity. We recognise the particular importance of access...
Answered 7 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordEnergy SupplyDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 21338More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to support network operators to adopt a predictive, data-led and technology-enabled energy network.
Answer: In March 2026, government and Ofgem published the Energy Digitalisation Framework to provide strategic direction for energy sector digitalisation. The Framework introduced a data domain model to improve data quality and standardisation across key areas, i...
Answered 3 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordEnergy SupplyDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 21337More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the forthcoming Energy Resilience Strategy will reinforce the need for a more predictive, data-led and technology-enabled energy network.
Answer: The upcoming Energy Resilience Strategy will seize the once in a generation opportunity presented by the clean energy transition to build a stronger, more resilient energy system. It would be inappropriate to pre-empt the content of the Strategy at this t...
Answered 3 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordEnergy Supply: Rural AreasDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 28 Aug 2026AnsweredUIN 21336More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to strengthen incentives for long-term investment in network resilience in rural and storm-impacted areas.
Answer: Maintaining the resilience of the energy system is one of Government’s top priorities. We work with industry and Ofgem to ensure that sufficient investment is made into rural power networks, but also that support is provided when power cuts do occur. The ...
Answered 3 Sept 2026
Original Parliament recordIsrael: DetaineesForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 8 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 16973More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to secure the release of Dr Abu Safiya and other medical staff from Israeli prisons, following the findings by UN Special Rapporteurs on 7
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 15 July in response to Question 16811.
Answered 15 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordSeeds: ImportsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 7 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 16504More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2026 to Question 2218 Seeds: Imports, what measures is the government taking to safeguard domestic agriculture and horticulture from the risk of bacter
Answer: Seeds purchased online from a non-UK seller are usually imported into the UK through large courier companies. They arrive and are sorted at the following airports and hubs: East Midlands, Heathrow, Stanstead, Coventry Hub. At all these sites there is a sc...
Answered 15 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordProbate: ApplicationsMinistry of JusticeTabled 6 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 16046More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications for a grant of probate were submitted in a) English and b) Welsh in each year since 2021.
Answer: Grants of representation(1) applied for by language submitted in, England and Wales Annually 2021 to 2025Source: HMCTS Core Case Data Total Applications(2) Language submitted inYear English (or not specified)Welsh2021282,857 281,9948632022292,252 291,3279...
Answered 14 Jul 2026
Original Parliament recordRescue Services: Ceredigion PreseliDepartment for TransportTabled 1 Jul 2026AnsweredUIN 14912More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's revised volunteer model for Coastguard Rescue Officers on the level of maritime and coastal search and rescue provisi
Answer: Plans to move the Coastguard Rescue Service to an expenses-only volunteer model in September will not go ahead, and current arrangements will remain in place. We will now take time to gather the robust information required to understand the full operation...
Answered 4 Aug 2026
Original Parliament record
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