Freddie van Mierlo MP: written questions
735 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Childcare: Fees and ChargesTreasuryTabled 2 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74381More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the tax-free childcare system on levels of administration for early years providers.
Answer: HMRC continually assesses the administrative impact of Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) on childcare providers, including those focused on early years provision, via customer feedback and internal system reviews. For many providers, once they have registered for ...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordChildcareDepartment for EducationTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73584More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has provided guidance to local authorities on (a) forecasting and (b) meeting childcare demand in areas of rapid population growth.
Answer: It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change. The government is boosting availability and i...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordChildcare and Pre-school Education: InfrastructureDepartment for EducationTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73583More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) early years and (b) childcare infrastructure keeps pace with housing growth in (i) rural and (ii) semi-rural areas.
Answer: It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change. The government is boosting availability and i...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMaternity ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73582More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of ensuring that the national review of Maternity Services (a) includes representations from (i) patients and (ii) campaign groups and (b) encour
Answer: On 23 June, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced an independent investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal services to understand the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies, and fa...
Answered 15 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordChildbirthDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73581More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) births and (b) elective c-sections occurred in each NHS trust in England in 2024.
Answer: The National Health Service routinely publishes data on maternity activity for NHS hospitals, including data relating to the number of births, the method of onset of labour, delivery methods, and places of delivery. An annual publication for this data, co...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordSports Competitors: InternetDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73580More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of (a) trends in the level of online abuse of sport people and (b) the effectiveness of online safety provisions.
Answer: The government is extremely concerned by the online abuse of sportspeople and will continue working with the sports sector to tackle this.The Online Safety Act strengthens protections for public figures online. Harassment and hate crime are priority offen...
Answered 3 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordFamily Liaison OfficersHome OfficeTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 70218More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which police forces provide a family liaison officer in cases of (a) murder, (b) fatal accident, (c) unexplained death and (d) suicide.
Answer: We recognise that the role of the FLO is an important one, especially when supporting families during difficult times.However, decisions to assign an FLO in specific cases are made by individual police forces, and such decisions would therefore be an oper...
Answered 2 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordAdoptionDepartment for EducationTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 70159More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has with the Scottish and Welsh Assemblies on the potential merits of issuing an apology to people affected by the adoption of children of unmarried women between 1949-1976.
Answer: Departmental officials have had, and will continue to have, discussions with the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly to understand and learn from their approaches. We are considering all aspects of this issue with the seriousness and sensitivity it...
Answered 2 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordChildcare and Pre-School EducationDepartment for EducationTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69490More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of early years and childcare provision in areas experiencing significant housing development.
Answer: It is this government’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change. In 2025/26, we plan to provide over £8 billi...
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordPre-school Education: FinanceDepartment for EducationTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69489More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with representatives of the early years sector on reforming the funding model to improve sustainability and reduce bureaucracy.
Answer: The early years sector was widely consulted as part of the development of the Best Start in Life strategy, published by the department on 7 July 2025. This close working relationship will continue as we deliver on our commitment to consulting with the sec...
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordPlanning Permission: Cultural HeritageMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69488More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she plans to bring into force the provisions of the section 102 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 to require planning authorities to have special regard to the d
Answer: The government is reviewing heritage planning policy in the context of wider reforms to the planning system. As part of that work, we will consider the outstanding measures from the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 including the duty of regard to ce...
Answered 2 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Departments: ProcurementCabinet OfficeTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69487More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) transparency, (b) impartiality and (c) equality of the public procurement process for government contracts.
Answer: The Government has recently implemented the Procurement Act 2023 which has introduced significantly enhanced transparency throughout the commercial lifecycle. Alongside this, a new Central Digital Platform has been rolled out and captures this data in the...
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordThames WaterDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 21 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69486More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April to Question 46551 on Thames Water, what recent progress Ofwat has made in its enforcement case investigation into Thames Water's potential breach of
Answer: It is not appropriate for the Government to comment on an ongoing investigation. We have a system of independent environmental and economic regulation, and the recently introduced Water (Special Measures) Act provides the most significant increase in enfo...
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordAntenatal Care: Public BodiesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 18 Jul 2025WithdrawnUIN 69156More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a regulatory body for antenatal education organisations.
Answer: No published answer in this record yet.
Original Parliament recordAntenatal Care: Public BodiesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68970More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a regulatory body for antenatal education organisations.
Answer: As outlined in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are cutting the number of regulatory bodies as they are overwhelming the National Health Service system and taking focus away from the basics of patient care. The changes we are making will improve quality and sa...
Answered 23 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordAntenatal Care: Health EducationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68966More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to (a) improve access to antenatal care education for women and families and (b) ensure that high-quality (a) information and (b) information on birthing is delivered during
Answer: Maternity services are commissioned by integrated care boards (ICBs), and it is the responsibility of local commissioners to ensure services, including antenatal education, are designed to be accessible and high-quality. As was set out in the 2025/26 Nati...
Answered 23 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordMaternity Services: ReviewsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 17 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68962More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the inclusion of Oxford University Hospitals Trust in the rapid review of NHS maternity services.
Answer: The investigation will carry out rapid reviews of up to ten trusts with specific issues. The process of determining which trusts to review is ongoing, and once decided, they will be announced as soon as possible.
Answered 8 Aug 2025
Original Parliament recordSwimming: WaterDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 17 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68849More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's guidance entitled Designate a bathing water: guidance on how to apply, updated on 15 May 2025, for what reason applications cannot include organised
Answer: As per the criteria set out on GOV.UK, for a site to be eligible for designation as a bathing water, it must be used by an average of at least 100 bathers a day during the bathing season (15 May to 30 September). User surveys must be taken at a site to ev...
Answered 22 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordPre-school Education: Employers' ContributionsDepartment for EducationTabled 16 Jul 2025WithdrawnUIN 68617More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact of recent changes to National Insurance Contributions on the financial viability of early years settings.
Answer: No published answer in this record yet.
Original Parliament recordNHS Trusts: PharmacyDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68616More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support NHS Trusts with (a) additional pharmacist staff salaries, (b) the cost of additional monitoring blood tests and (c) additional service delivery costs when new dru
Answer: The 2025/26 NHS Payment Scheme, published on 4 April 2025, governs transactions between providers and commissioners of secondary healthcare by setting the rules for determining the amount payable for the provision of healthcare services. In short, it defi...
Answered 4 Aug 2025
Original Parliament recordSwimming: WaterDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68614More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 63716 on Bathing Water, what kind of epidemiological studies she is carrying out in relation to wider reforms.
Answer: We have begun policy development and research on how best to implement the wider reforms as consulted on last year. These are expanding the definition of a ‘bather’ and introducing the use of multiple monitoring points at bathing sites. Policy development...
Answered 21 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordWater: ReformDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 16 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68612More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 63264 on Water: Reform, what her planned timetable is for the implementation of wider reform one.
Answer: In November 2024, the Government, jointly with the Welsh Government, consulted on Reforms to The Bathing Water Regulations 2013, in the first shake-up to the Bathing Water Regulations since they were introduced. We have begun policy development and resear...
Answered 21 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordPre-school Education: FinanceDepartment for EducationTabled 15 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68247More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent changes to National Insurance contributions on the financial viability of early years settings.
Answer: It is the government’s ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life.Despite tough decisions to get public finances back on track, the government is cont...
Answered 1 Aug 2025
Original Parliament recordRoads: NoiseDepartment for TransportTabled 15 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68246More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to introduce noise cameras.
Answer: Further to my response to PQ66815, the Department does not currently have plans to introduce noise cameras but is keeping up to date with any advancements in this technology. It is ultimately for local authorities and the police to consider what the most ...
Answered 21 Jul 2025
Original Parliament recordHarassment: Public ServiceHome OfficeTabled 15 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 68245More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to (a) help tackle online harassment and (b) improve protection for people in public life.
Answer: As Chair of the Defending Democracy Taskforce, I want to be clear: the harassment or intimidation of elected representatives - whether online or in person - is never acceptable. The work we are taking forward includes working across Government with the po...
Answered 22 Jul 2025
Original Parliament record
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