Blake Stephenson MP: written questions
1633 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Challenger Tanks: ProcurementMinistry of DefenceTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52043More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of not replacing Challenger 2 tanks.
Answer: The Challenger 3 Main Battle Tank (MBT) upgrade has been developed to deliver multiple improvements to the existing Challenger 2 platform. Challenger 3 MBT will upgrade and replace 148 Challenger 2 platforms from 2027.
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordElectric Vehicles: ImportsDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52042More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the target to reach net zero on the number of imports of electric vehicles from China in each of the next ten years.
Answer: The Secretary of State and I regularly meet stakeholders from the Auto sector to discuss net zero related issues, including imports of electric vehicles from China. China has rapidly become a major automotive manufacturer and brings competitive challenges...
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordMotor Vehicles: SalesDepartment for TransportTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52041More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to defer the ban on the sale of new (a) petrol and (b) diesel vehicles; and whether she will make an assessment of the potential impact of deferring the ban on the sale of new (a)
Answer: On 7 April the Government confirmed that we are committed to phasing out the sale of new cars that rely solely on a petrol or diesel engine by 2030 and phasing out all new non-zero emission cars and vans by 2035. We are providing industry with the clear d...
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPrivate Education: VATDepartment for EducationTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52040More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason the change in the VAT status of private school fees was introduced during the school year.
Answer: Tax policy is a matter for HM Treasury.As set out in the government response to the technical note on applying VAT to private school fees, the government believes it was right to introduce these changes as soon as possible in order to raise the funding ne...
Answered 21 May 2025
Original Parliament recordCancer: ResearchDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 8 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50991More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department plans to provide for cancer research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research in (a) 2025, (b) 2026 and (c) 2027.
Answer: Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), with cancer as one of the largest areas of spend,...
Answered 15 May 2025
Original Parliament recordDental ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 8 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50990More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of available dental appointments in (a) Mid Bedfordshire and (b) the UK.
Answer: The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild den...
Answered 20 May 2025
Original Parliament recordUrinary Tract Infections: Medical TreatmentsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 8 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50989More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to review the treatment guidelines for recurring UTIs.
Answer: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that develops authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on best practice. The NICE has published a guideline on antimicrobial prescribing for...
Answered 14 May 2025
Original Parliament recordUrinary Tract Infections: ScreeningDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 8 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50988More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve testing for chronic urinary tract infections.
Answer: Diagnostic tests for chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs), such as urinalysis and urine culture, are widely available across all pathology networks in England. Ensuring accurate diagnostic testing not only aids in the effective identification of infect...
Answered 14 May 2025
Original Parliament recordCheetahs: HuntingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 8 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50987More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to continue approving permits for British trophy hunters who shoot Cheetahs to bring the trophies back to the UK.
Answer: The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), an executive agency of Defra, is responsible for issuing import permits for hunting trophies. APHA will continue to issue import permits only when the strict criteria set out in the UK Wildlife Trade Regulations ...
Answered 15 May 2025
Original Parliament recordFloods: HousingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 8 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50986More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make a comparative assessment of the number of houses at risk of (a) surface water and (b) all other flooding in (i) the UK and (ii) the G7 in the last 10 years.
Answer: Flood risk management is a devolved matter. In England, the Environment Agency’s latest National Flood Risk Assessment published in 2024 estimates that around 6.3 million properties are in areas at risk of flooding from one or a combination of sources: ri...
Answered 21 May 2025
Original Parliament recordEnergy: PricesDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 8 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50985More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether it remains his policy to reduce energy bills by £300 a year.
Answer: The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently. It remains our ambition to cut energy bills by up to £300 by 2030. The creati...
Answered 16 May 2025
Original Parliament recordMotor Vehicles: Manufacturing IndustriesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 8 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50984More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the vehicle manufacturing industry.
Answer: On Monday 21 October, the Government published a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill. This package provides analysis of the potential sectoral impacts of the Bill.It shows the majority of employees will benefit fr...
Answered 16 May 2025
Original Parliament recordHoney: RegulationDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50647More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the definition of honey included in the 2015 Honey England Regulations.
Answer: The Honey (England) Regulations 2015 lay down detailed specifications for honey in terms of its composition and quality criteria. One of the aims of these is to protect the use of the reserved description “honey” by setting a minimum expected compositiona...
Answered 21 May 2025
Original Parliament recordTrade Agreements: USADepartment for Business and TradeTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50646More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on negotiating a free trade agreement with that country.
Answer: We have concluded a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to get an agreement with President Trump.This deal protects jobs in the automotive, steel, aluminium, pharmaceutical and aerospace sectors – sectors that em...
Answered 14 May 2025
Original Parliament recordCancer: Health ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50645More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish a national cancer plan.
Answer: The National Cancer Plan for England will be published in the second half of this year, following the publication of the 10-Year Health Plan.
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordBedford Hospital and Luton and Dunstable University Hospital: Repairs and MaintenanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50644More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much and what proportion of the capital funding allocated for hospital maintenance at the Autumn Budget 2024 has been allocated to (a) Bedford and (b) Luton and Dunstable Hospitals.
Answer: The Government is backing the National Health Service with over £4 billion in operational capital in 2025/26 to fund day-to-day operational investments, including hospital maintenance. The Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes Integrated Care System (ICS...
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordRoads: Judicial ReviewDepartment for TransportTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50643More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the average length of time that judicial reviews took to complete for road infrastructure projects between 2015 and 2025.
Answer: Between 2015 and 2025, 11 judicial reviews were submitted in relation to Development Consent Orders for road infrastructure projects. The Department successfully defended 9 of these, highlighting the fair, legally robust decisions the Department makes to ...
Answered 15 May 2025
Original Parliament recordRailways: TourismDepartment for TransportTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50642More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Leisure travel tops charts for reasons people choose rail, published on 9 April 2025, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential imp
Answer: The Department has not made an assessment of the potential implications for the tourism industry of the recent research findings. The research provides a snapshot of rail travel in England at the time of fieldwork, and the data will help inform DfT’s mode...
Answered 13 May 2025
Original Parliament recordBusiness: Mid BedfordshireCabinet OfficeTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50641More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the number of businesses that have ceased trading in Mid-Bedfordshire constituency since the Autumn Budget 2024.
Answer: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 7th May is attached.
Answered 15 May 2025
Original Parliament recordImport Duties: USATreasuryTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50640More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of a 10% tariff on UK exports to the US on her Department's fiscal headroom.
Answer: On 8 May 2025, the government concluded a landmark economic deal with the United States. The Economic Prosperity Deal will reduce tariffs for UK exporters in critical sectors, will protect thousands of jobs in key British industries, and help drive econom...
Answered 14 May 2025
Original Parliament recordNational Wealth FundTreasuryTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50639More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what individual investments have been made by the National Wealth Fund since July 2024; and how many jobs each investment is expected to support.
Answer: The National Wealth Fund and its predecessor the UK Infrastructure Bank have announced 19 deals since July 2024, committing nearly £3bn, and estimate creating or supporting over 12,400 jobs. The National Wealth Fund sets out details of the investments whi...
Answered 15 May 2025
Original Parliament recordMotor Vehicles: Employers' ContributionsTreasuryTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50638More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of increased employer National Insurance contributions on the British vehicle manufacturing industry.
Answer: A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on indi...
Answered 14 May 2025
Original Parliament recordUniversal Studios: BedfordshireDepartment for TransportTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50637More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will have discussions with the (a) Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on an infrastructure strategy for the Universal Studios project in Bedfordshire.
Answer: Officials from my Department continue to work closely with their counterparts across government, including HM Treasury and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to consider the infrastructure required around the site and in the local area to support...
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordUniversal United Kingdom Resort: Planning PermissionMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50636More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the planning system in Bedfordshire to manage planning applications for (a) accommodation, (b) hospitality and leisure and (c) o
Answer: On 9 April 2025, the Prime Minister announced that a multi-billion-pound investment in a major new Universal theme park and resort in Bedford had been agreed between Universal Studios, the UK Government, and Bedford Borough Council. The Secretary of State...
Answered 16 May 2025
Original Parliament recordFloods: Mental HealthDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 7 May 2025AnsweredUIN 50635More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's case study entitled Mental health costs of flooding, published on 4 April 2025, whether the prices used are for 2025.
Answer: The Mental health costs of flooding and erosion case study found the mental health losses per adult per flood event to be £1,878 per adult per flood for shallow floods (less than 30cm of water in a home). This increases to £4,136 per adult per flood for d...
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament record
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