David Smith MP: written questions
159 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Cybercrime: North KoreaHome OfficeTabled 22 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47048More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of cybercrime from North Korea on the UK.
Answer: The UK is one of the most digital, connected and online countries in the world. This increases our exposure to a range of cyber threats including from states, ransomware gangs, and cyber criminals. Cyber crime causes immense damage to people and businesse...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordHospicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 22 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47047More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with hospices on (a) their role in and (b) funding in relation to the forthcoming NHS 10 Year Plan.
Answer: We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life. The Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and families receiv...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Services: FinanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 22 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47046More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with local authorities on updating the adult social care funding formula in the local government finance settlement for the 2026-27 financial year.
Answer: MHCLG’s consultation on the principles and objectives of reform to the local government finance system, which was published alongside the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement on the 18 December 2024, included material on the approach to distrib...
Answered 30 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 22 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47045More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans she has to include funding for home-to-school transport in the local government finance settlement in the 2026-27 financial year.
Answer: Funding for home-to-school transport is allocated to local authorities via un-ringfenced funding through the Local Government Finance Settlement. In total, the Local Government Finance Settlement for financial year 2025-26 makes available £69 billion to l...
Answered 30 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal Government Finance: Rural AreasMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 22 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47044More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she has taken to consult with stakeholders on the adequacy of the rurality weighting in the new council funding settlement.
Answer: Places with a significant rural population will on average receive almost a 6% increase in their Core Spending Power for 25-26, which is a real terms increase alongside new funding available to rural areas in 2025-26 through guaranteed EPR payments. I reg...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: TechnologyDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 2 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43702More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of waiting times for processing (a) applications to and (b) the release of funds from the Farm Equipment and Technology Fund in the past year.
Answer: a) The application window for Productivity and Slurry FETF 2024 grants closed on the 07 April 2024; the application window for Animal Health and Welfare FETF 2024 closed on the 01 May 2024.The majority of Productivity applicants received their Grant Funde...
Answered 11 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordChildren: DisabilityDepartment for EducationTabled 2 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43681More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to help ensure that eligible families have access to the Support for Families with Disabled Children programme.
Answer: Each year, the Support for Families with Disabled Children (SFDC) programme provides individual grants to approximately 60,000 low-income families raising a disabled or seriously ill child. The department is pleased to support the SFDC programme and we ex...
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordBritish Coal Staff Superannuation SchemeDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 1 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43280More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress he has made on reform to the British coal staff superannuation scheme.
Answer: I have written to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on this matter and we will continue to work closely with His Majesty’s Treasury on aspects related to the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme.
Answered 9 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordHomelessness: Young PeopleMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36538More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made a comparative assessment between (a) young adults and (b) other age groups experience of homelessness; and if she will help support young adult's
Answer: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 20895 on 19 December 2024.
Answered 12 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordHomelessness: Young PeopleMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 7 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36537More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the homelessness sector on tackling youth homelessness.
Answer: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 20895 on 19 December 2024.
Answered 12 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCarbon Emissions: Renewable FuelsDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36268More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of steps taken by the (a) Scottish Government, (b) Northern Ireland Executive and (c) Irish Government to commit to
Answer: I refer my hon Friend to the answer I gave on 6 March 2025 to my hon Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth to Question UIN 35113.
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordTaxation: USATreasuryTabled 6 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36267More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will have discussions with her US counterpart on the impact of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act on the privacy rights of UK citizens who have US citizenship but have never resided in that country.
Answer: US law subjects all US citizens to US taxation, regardless of where they reside. This can include US citizens who were born in the US but who may have left at a young age and have few remaining ties with the country. US tax policy is a matter for the US, ...
Answered 14 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordMental Health Services: PrisonersDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 3 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28312More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support is provided to people with mental health issues who are serving IPP sentences.
Answer: NHS England Health and Justice commissioned healthcare providers deliver both primary and secondary care mental health services to all individuals within the custodial estate, irrespective of their detained status. Each individual will be assessed, their ...
Answered 10 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordPrison SentencesMinistry of JusticeTabled 3 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28311More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the longest period is that a person is in prison over their minimum tariff; and what the original tariff length was for that person.
Answer: We believe that disclosing the exact tariff information for a single person would be likely to lead to the individual concerned being identified. For this reason, we have chosen to provide figures for the ten prisoners who have served the longest period o...
Answered 11 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordPrisoners: SuicideMinistry of JusticeTabled 3 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28310More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people took their own life in prison while serving an imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentence in 2024.
Answer: There were four self-inflicted deaths of those serving an indeterminate sentence for public protection in 2024. This information can be found in Table 1.7 of the 'Safety in custody: quarterly update to September 2024. Self-inflicted deaths are any deaths ...
Answered 11 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordHomelessness: Young PeopleMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 27741More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to consult young people on the homelessness strategy.
Answer: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 20894 on 19 December 2024.
Answered 7 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordHomelessness: Young PeopleMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 30 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 27740More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to include youth homelessness in the cross-government homelessness strategy.
Answer: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 20894 on 19 December 2024.
Answered 7 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordUniversal Credit: FarmersDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 8 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 22817More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will review the Minimum Income Floor for self-employed farmers on Universal Credit.
Answer: Universal Credit treats all forms and sectors of self-employment in the same way, focusing on the level of a customer’s earnings rather than the sector in which they work. The Minimum Income Floor (MIF) encourages self-employed customers to progress in wo...
Answered 14 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordEast Coast Main Line: FaresDepartment for TransportTabled 7 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 22483More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of public ownership on rail fares on the East Coast mainline.
Answer: Whilst it is our ambition through public ownership to deliver a more affordable railway, any long-term changes or concessions made to rail fares policy require balancing against the potential impacts on passengers, taxpayers, and the railway.
Answered 15 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordElectric ScootersHome OfficeTabled 7 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 22482More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve enforcement on people riding e-scooters illegally.
Answer: Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. The Government will give police the powers they need to take illegal, dangerous and antisocial vehicles off the streets for good by more qui...
Answered 15 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordFree School MealsDepartment for EducationTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20413More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department last made an estimate of the proportion of pupils who are eligible but not registered for means-tested free school meals.
Answer: The new government has a central mission to break down barriers to opportunity for every child.The government has inherited a trend of rising child poverty and widening attainment gaps between children eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their peers....
Answered 23 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordEnergy: MetersDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 9 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18788More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people have functioning smart meters in (a) North Northumberland constituency and (b) other rural areas.
Answer: The Department is working closely with industry to make sure they are addressing meters across GB that are not providing automatic readings. Statistics on meters not providing automatic readings are published at a GB wide level only (at: https://www.gov.u...
Answered 17 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordDomestic AbuseMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 14 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14423More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she is taking steps to ensure her Department's policies are trauma-informed; and what guidance her Department issues women fleeing domestic abuse.
Answer: This Government is committed to tackling the horrendous crime of domestic abuse, in line with our manifesto commitment to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, with improved support for victims.Since 2021, councils in England have a duty...
Answered 22 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordState Retirement Pensions: WomenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 14 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14421More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has had discussions with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on the contents of it's report entitled Women’s State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues, pu
Answer: The Secretary of State has not had discussions with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman since the report into Women’s State Pension age was published on 21 March 2024. As Pensions Minister, on behalf of the ministerial team, I had a meeting wit...
Answered 22 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordState Retirement Pensions: WomenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 14 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14420More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of women born in the 1950s affected by State Pension age changes in (a) North Northumberland constituency and (b) Northumberland.
Answer: ONS population estimates suggest that in 2021 there were approximately 7,630 females born in the 1950s currently resident in the North Northumberland constituency, and 23,639 females currently resident in Northumberland.
Answered 19 Nov 2024
Original Parliament record
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