Fred Thomas MP: written questions
65 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Special Educational NeedsDepartment for EducationTabled 21 May 2025AnsweredUIN 54138More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of a levels of Educational Psychologists on EHCP (a) assessment and (b) review waiting times.
Answer: This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.Educational psycho...
Answered 6 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordOctopuses: PlymouthDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 14 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52443More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the (a) increase in biomass of Octopus vulgaris and (b) their predation of shellfish in pots at sea on the livelihoods of (i) c
Answer: I recently visited the fishing industry in Plymouth and was made aware of reports of an unusual abundance of octopus in the Southwest including Cornwall. Defra understands this ‘octopus bloom’ is impacting shellfish potting fisheries and causing concern t...
Answered 21 May 2025
Original Parliament recordArmed Forces: Body ArmourMinistry of DefenceTabled 10 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36920More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on replacing enhanced combat body armour for all deployed armed forces personnel.
Answer: The safety of personnel remains the Ministry of Defence’s top priority and we are taking all necessary steps to ensure the safety of our forces and maintain operational readiness. Where it is appropriate, alternative body armour plates have been issued to...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordChild Maintenance Service: FraudDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32292More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she plans to take to (a) tackle the fraudulent reporting of earnings to the Child Maintenance Service and (b) ensure that parents are paid the correct amount of maintenance.
Answer: The primary goal of the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is to ensure that children receive the financial support they are entitled to. To achieve this, the CMS collaborates with HMRC and Benefit systems to accurately calculate maintenance payments. This c...
Answered 27 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordProbation OfficersMinistry of JusticeTabled 3 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28432More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of probation officers had a caseload of (a) above 30, (b) above 40, (c) above 50 and (d) above 60 in (i) 2010, (ii) 2014, (iii) 2019 and (iv) 2023.
Answer: Caseload data for Probation Officers is unavailable pre-unification of the Probation Service (June 2021). Caseload data for the service as a whole is published for earlier periods (Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK) but is not broken down ...
Answered 11 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordProbation Officers: RetirementMinistry of JusticeTabled 3 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28431More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many probation officers retired from the service in (a) 2010, (b) 2014, (c) 2019 and (d) 2023.
Answer: The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the leaving reasons of probation officers in Table 14b of the quarterly “HM Prison and Probation Service workforce statistics” publication. The latest publication and tables, which covers the year to September 202...
Answered 11 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordProbation OfficersMinistry of JusticeTabled 3 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28430More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of probation officers had (a) less than one years’ experience (b) less than three years' experience and (c) three or more years’ service at (i) 30 June 2010, (ii) 30 June 2014 and (ii
Answer: The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the length of service of Probation Officers in Table 4 of the quarterly “HM Prison and Probation Service workforce statistics” publication. The latest publication and associated tables, which cover the year to Sep...
Answered 11 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordPrison AccommodationMinistry of JusticeTabled 5 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18273More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what is the net change in prison places since 5 July 2024.
Answer: The capacity of the prison estate is published weekly and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-population-figures-2024.
Answered 10 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordReoffendersMinistry of JusticeTabled 3 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17680More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the recall rate was for offenders released under the End of Custody Supervised License scheme between October 2023 and June 2024.
Answer: The recall rate for people released under the End of Custody Supervised Licence (ECSL) scheme that have been recalled in the most recent period for which data is available could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.9,782 number of recalls took plac...
Answered 9 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordPrison AccommodationMinistry of JusticeTabled 3 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17679More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison places have been added to the estate since 5 July 2024.
Answer: 475 places have been delivered as part of the 20,000 place prison programmes since this Government took office on 5 July 2024. We will be publishing a 10 year capacity strategy by the end of the year.
Answered 9 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordPrison Accommodation: CostsMinistry of JusticeTabled 3 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17678More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the forecasted cost to the public purse was of adding 20,000 places to the prison estate (a) in total and (b) per place in October 2021.
Answer: The Department’s estimate of the total cost of completing the additional 20,000 places to the prison estate at the point of the SR21 settlement was c.£5.2bn and this in turn equated to an average of c.£257k per place.
Answered 6 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordPrison Estate Transformation Programme: ExpenditureMinistry of JusticeTabled 3 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 17677More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) total cost and (b) cost for each new prison place was for the Prison Estate Transformation Programme between 2016 and 2019.
Answer: The total cost of the prison places delivered by the Prison Estate Transformation Programme (PETP) was c.£37.4m. The cost per place was c.£182k. This includes some places delivered in 2020 where they relate to the phased delivery of a single project.
Answered 6 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordSubmarinesMinistry of DefenceTabled 8 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 900609More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure the future of the UK's submersible capabilities.
Answer: This Government’s unwavering commitment to the triple lock to our nuclear deterrent is underpinned by major infrastructure programmes underway on the Clyde and in Devonport and the Dreadnought submarine programme in Barrow-in-Furness.Our commitment to SSN...
Answered 14 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordOffice of Government CommerceTreasuryTabled 4 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 7039More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will re-establish the Office of Government Commerce.
Answer: There are no plans to re-establish the Office of Government Commerce (OGC). The principal functions of the OGC are being successfully delivered by the Government Commercial Function including the Crown Commercial Service.
Answered 15 Oct 2024
Original Parliament recordPrimary CareDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Jul 2024AnsweredUIN 900028More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to primary care services.
Answer: Too many patients are finding it impossible to access care. In May, a staggering 1.4 million patients waited for over a month for an appointment. That is why we are committed to: fix the front door to the NHS; bring back the family doctor; and shift the f...
Answered 25 Jul 2024
Original Parliament record
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