Chris Coghlan MP: written questions
258 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Housing: PlanningMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 125967More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the proposed revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of encouraging low-density development wit
Answer: Encouraging low-density development within reasonable walking distance of well-connected stations is contrary to this government’s objectives. As such, we did not include proposals to that end as part of the consultation on a new National Planning Policy ...
Answered 20 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordNeighbourhood Health CentresDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Apr 2026AnsweredUIN 125832More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has considered the potential impact of the proposed timeline for the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild programme on the involvement of the new unitary authorities.
Answer: Published on 17 March 2026, the Neighbourhood Health Framework empowers local leaders to develop and scale neighbourhood health. It provides clarity and consistency to support joined-up partnership between integrated care boards (ICBs), local authorities,...
Answered 16 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordFree Schools: DorkingDepartment for EducationTabled 25 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 123927More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to (a) her confirmation of 24 March 2026 that her Department accepts Surrey County Council’s decision to continue with FS0756 Betchwood Vale Academy, (b) the Answer of 3 February 2025 to Question
Answer: The department confirmed Surrey County Council’s decision to continue with Betchwood Vale Academy on 24 March. Officials are working on a new delivery programme and will be in contact with Surrey County Council and the Trust to discuss next steps. A revie...
Answered 13 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordTunnels: BradfordDepartment for TransportTabled 25 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 123831More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the value for money of the decision by National Highways to block up the Queensbury Tunnel in the Bradford Metropolitan District.
Answer: Sustrans (now called Walk, Wheel, Cycle Trust) produced a report for Bradford Council that assessed the Benefit Cost Ratios (BCR) of the active travel route options. The options included routes that would use the Queensbury Tunnel. The report made clear t...
Answered 17 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordInternet: FraudDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 23 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 123081More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that online platforms tackle fraud on their services.
Answer: The Online Safety Act lists fraud as a priority offence, meaning that in-scope services must now prevent and minimise user-generated fraud content from appearing on their platforms, and swiftly remove it if it does. Services designated by Ofcom as Categor...
Answered 1 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordEnergy Supply: ResearchDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 18 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 908497More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of funding for energy security research and development on the economy.
Answer: The Government announced record public R&D investment of £86 billion over the four years to 2030 and our Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan sets out the UK’s major growth opportunities from the energy transition. This includes £2.5bn investment in fu...
Answered 24 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordSchools: Children in CareDepartment for EducationTabled 13 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 120687More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will review section 1.37 of the School Admissions Code 2021 to assess the potential benefits of requiring all schools designated with a religious character to prioritise all looked-after and previously l
Answer: The department values the contribution schools with a religious character make to a diverse school system, and it is important faith schools can set admissions criteria that work for their local circumstances.As a minimum, faith schools must give priority...
Answered 23 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordAffordable HousingMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 6 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118613More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to help ensure that developers do not remove affordable housing when sites are deemed unviable.
Answer: The government is committed to strengthening the system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on changes to the National Planni...
Answered 16 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordDriving Licences: Digital TechnologyDepartment for TransportTabled 2 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 117124More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure the new digital service will handle applications with greater efficiency and consistency to tackle to backlog in medical license issues and renewal wait times.
Answer: The DVLA’s new casework system for driving licence applications where a medical condition must be investigated will deliver significant improvements and the DVLA is also launching a new digital medical services portal in April. These enhancements, alongsi...
Answered 5 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordProstate Cancer: ScreeningDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 24 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 115769More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, following the National Screening Committee Report on prostate cancer screening in November, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) establishing an NHS information campaign to
Answer: On 28 November 2025, the UK National Screening Committee opened a 12-week public consultation on a draft recommendation on screening for prostate cancer. This consultation has now closed, and the Committee is considering the responses.We anticipate a fina...
Answered 3 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordDental Services: Dorking and HorleyDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114670More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (1) help tacklethe number of NHS dental practices in and around Dorking and Horley that are not accepting new NHS patients; and (2) increase access to NHS den
Answer: Patients in England are not registered with a National Health Service dental practice, although many NHS dental practices do tend to see patients regularly. There is no geographical restriction on which practice a patient may attend. Some dental practices...
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordHighway Code: PublicityDepartment for TransportTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111967More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she plans to undertake a public awareness campaign to promote the new Highway Code rules as part of the Road Safety strategy.
Answer: Improving road safety is one of my Department’s highest priorities. Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users. That is why on 7 January...
Answered 16 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordArmy: Termination of EmploymentMinistry of DefenceTabled 9 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111966More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many non-commissioned officers ranked Staff Sergeant or above, have left the Army in the last 3 years, broken down per year.
Answer: Figures for outflow of non-commissioned officers ranked Staff Sergeant or above can be found below. Army Trade Trained Regular Non-Commissioned Officer Outflow, Staff Sergeant to Warrant Officer 1Financial Year (FY)Numbers OutflowingOutflow Rate2022-231,...
Answered 12 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HotelsHome OfficeTabled 6 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 111497More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to close asylum hotels, particularly the Four Points Hotel in Horley.
Answer: This Government inherited a broken asylum system, with tens of thousands stuck in a backlog and claims not being processed, wasting millions in taxpayer money. We will empty asylum hotels as soon as possible, and by the end of this Parliament. That is a c...
Answered 12 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordArmy: OfficersMinistry of DefenceTabled 28 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 109362More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what are the restrictions on officer roles for late entry officers in the Army; and why those restrictions are in place.
Answer: Late Entry (LE) officers are eligible to apply for the same appointments as Direct Entry (DE) officers, and since 2023 all officers have been considered together for roles under a single, merit-based system. There are no formal restrictions preventing LE ...
Answered 4 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordVisas: EU CountriesCabinet OfficeTabled 27 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 108938More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to help improve reciprocal visa-waiver arrangements with the EU.
Answer: HMG officials and Ministers, including myself, regularly engage the EU and EU Member State counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals. The UK and the EU allow for visa-free, short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for th...
Answered 5 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordBrighton Main Line: Greater LondonDepartment for TransportTabled 22 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107869More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what alternative schemes she is considering that will address the capacity issues on the Brighton Main Line, namely around Reigate and the Selhurst Triangle, which would have been addressed by the Croydon Area
Answer: We are focused on prioritising the schemes that will make the greatest difference for passengers and support economic growth as quickly as possible. The previous government had committed to a number of projects that were unfunded, including the Croydon Ar...
Answered 4 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordChannel Tunnel: FaresDepartment for TransportTabled 22 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107868More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2026 to Question 104026 on 7 January 2026 on Channel Tunnel: Fares, what discussions she has had with the Office for Road and Rail on (a) consumer protection and (b) customer
Answer: The Office of Rail and Road is the independent economic and safety regulator for Britain's railways, including international rail services, and is also responsible for some consumer protection matters. The Minister of State for Rail recently met with the ...
Answered 6 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordElectricityDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 21 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107569More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2026 to Question 104371 on Electricity, how he plans to meet that demand.
Answer: In December 2024 we published our Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, setting out how we will meet future electricity demand and deliver a clean power system by 2030. We are making strong progress: recent CfD allocation results secured significant new capacity;...
Answered 30 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordStamp Duty Land TaxTreasuryTabled 14 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106065More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she has made an assessment of the potential impact of Stamp Duty on primary residences on (a) labour mobility, (b) housing supply and (c) house prices.
Answer: Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is an important source of government revenue, raising around £12 billion each year to help pay for essential public services. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) sets out some of the interactions between SDLT, house price...
Answered 21 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordCrossrail 2 LineDepartment for TransportTabled 14 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105989More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, further to 2 January 2026 written questions 102231: Crossrail 2 Line and 102232: Crossrail 2 Line, if she will use the analysis of the lessons learned from the success of the Elizabeth Line to assess other rail
Answer: Yes – I can confirm that every effort is made to learn lessons from other projects, including from the Elizabeth Line, when assessing plans and proposals.
Answered 26 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordAsylum: Hong KongHome OfficeTabled 14 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105945More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the humanitarian and mental health impact of asylum delays for Hong Kongers fleeing political persecution; and what steps the Government will take to ensure their claim
Answer: The Home Office takes safeguarding issues extremely seriously. Protecting vulnerable people is a key cross-cutting departmental priority. We recognise that that all asylum seekers are potentially vulnerable. During the asylum decision making process we ai...
Answered 21 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordBritish National (Overseas): PensionsTreasuryTabled 14 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105943More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions the Government has had with HSBC and other UK linked financial institutions about reports that BN(O) status holders are being denied access to their pension savings in Hong Kong when they leave.
Answer: This government is deeply committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK. We are aware that individuals who have chosen to take up the British National (Overseas) route are having difficulties accessing their Manda...
Answered 22 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordImmigration: Hong KongHome OfficeTabled 14 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105939More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the government will ensure that any changes to BN(O) and wider settlement rules are matched by a plan to boost domestic skills and fill vacancies in the NHS and wider economy.
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.The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the ...
Answered 21 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordImmigration: Hong KongHome OfficeTabled 14 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105937More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what transitional protections are planned to be put in place for BN(O) applicants, dependants and children reaching 5 years’ residence from 2026 so they are not disadvantaged compared with the expecta
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.The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the ...
Answered 21 Jan 2026
Original Parliament record
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