Graeme Downie MP: written questions
460 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Strategic Defence ReviewDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 20 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 25097More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department provided evidence to the Strategic Defence Review.
Answer: On 30 July 2024, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) was invited, alongside other Government Departments, to provide written evidence to the Strategic Defence Review (SDR).DBT responded to that call for evidence on 23 September 2024. The findings ...
Answered 31 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordMotor Vehicles: LightingDepartment for TransportTabled 20 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 25096More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2024 to Question 21874 on Motor Vehicles: Lighting, when the independent research started; which organisation is undertaking the work; and if she will publish the terms of re
Answer: The research started in October last year and is being carried out by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL). There are no plans to publish the Terms of Reference for the research, but further details can be found on the TRL website. https://www.trl.co.u...
Answered 28 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordRussia: ShippingMinistry of DefenceTabled 3 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 21885More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how often Royal Navy vessels have been tasked to shadow Russian navy ships near the UK in each of the last five years.
Answer: The Royal Navy continuously monitor UK waters and are ready to respond to the presence of Russian vessels. Specific detail cannot be confirmed for reasons of safeguading national security.
Answered 13 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordCulture: DunfermlineMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 3 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 21884More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when she plans to announce the outcome of the consultation on cultural funding for the City of Dunfermline.
Answer: The consultation for this funding launched on 31 October with a deadline for responses by 13 December. Returns are being carefully considered. In line with our expectations that the process would take approximately 12 weeks, we hope to communicate a decis...
Answered 10 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordArctic: DefenceMinistry of DefenceTabled 3 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 21883More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what forces are committed to defending the High North.
Answer: The UK is committed to maintaining a coherent Defence posture, presence, and profile in the High North region. The Royal Marines have conducted annual exercises with Norway for over 50 years to hone their extreme cold weather warfighting skills, supported...
Answered 13 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordArctic: DefenceMinistry of DefenceTabled 3 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 21882More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he last had discussions with his NATO counterparts on protecting the High North.
Answer: Engagement with NATO Allies is central to our approach to defend and deter in the Arctic and High North. Secretary of State for Defence and Defence Ministers regularly engage with their NATO counterparts, including High North countries to discuss how to s...
Answered 13 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordArctic: DefenceMinistry of DefenceTabled 3 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 21881More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps NATO is taking to defend the High North.
Answer: As a leading European Ally in NATO, the UK will defend and support our High North and Arctic Allies should the need arise, and contest malign and destabilising behaviours and activity in the region which threatens our interests, the interests of our Allie...
Answered 8 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordElectric Cables and Telecommunications Cables: Baltic SeaMinistry of DefenceTabled 3 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 21880More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has offered support to Finland in protecting sub-sea cables in the Baltic Sea.
Answer: Following recent damage to the Estlink2 undersea cable in the Baltic sea, the UK – acting as framework nation for the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) – has activated a JEF Response Option (JRO), known as NORDIC WARDEN, which will harness AI to track poten...
Answered 8 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordElectric Cables and Telecommunications Cables: North SeaMinistry of DefenceTabled 3 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 21879More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help protect sub-sea cables in the North Sea from the Russian shadow fleet.
Answer: The UK Government constantly monitors and regularly assesses the security of critical national infrastructure, including energy and telecommunications assets. Following the incident damaging the Estlink 2 undersea cable between Finland and Estonia on 25 D...
Answered 8 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordElectric Cables and Telecommunications Cables: Baltic Sea and North SeaMinistry of DefenceTabled 3 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 21878More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, he last had discussions with NATO allies on protecting sub-sea cables in the (a) Baltic and (b) North Sea.
Answer: Recent incidents of damage to sub-sea cables underlines the importance of partners continuing to work together on shared challenges in the region. The Government regularly discusses strengthening NATO’s protection of critical undersea infrastructure in en...
Answered 8 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordRussia: ShippingForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 3 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 21877More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help tackle the threat from the Russian shadow fleet in the (a) Baltic and (b) North Sea.
Answer: Our oil-related sanctions are having a significant impact, with Russia forced to shoulder a 25 percent reduction in oil and gas revenues from January to October 2024, compared to the same period in 2022. Where Russia has sought to circumvent those sanctio...
Answered 9 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordRussia: ShippingForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 3 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 21876More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help tackle the threat from the Russian shadow fleet.
Answer: Our oil-related sanctions are having a significant impact, with Russia forced to shoulder a 25 percent reduction in oil and gas revenues from January to October 2024, compared to the same period in 2022. Where Russia has sought to circumvent those sanctio...
Answered 16 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordRussia: ShippingMinistry of DefenceTabled 3 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 21875More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he last had discussions with his Finnish counterpart on Russian shadow fleet aggression in the Baltic Sea.
Answer: The Secretary of State for Defence contacted his Finnish counterpart immediately following the incident damaging the Estlink 2 undersea cable between Finland and Estonia on Christmas Day. They also discussed the incident when they met at the Ukraine Defen...
Answered 13 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordMotor Vehicles: LightingDepartment for TransportTabled 3 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 21874More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the safety of LED headlights on (a) cars and (b) other vehicles.
Answer: National collision statistics, which can record headlamp dazzle as a contributory factor, do not show any discernible trend to suggest that advances in lighting technology are contributing negatively to road vehicle collisions. However, noting increased p...
Answered 8 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordNational Insurance ContributionsTreasuryTabled 19 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 21484More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much was paid in Class (a) 2 and (b) 4 National Insurance contributions in 2023.
Answer: The number of people with Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) liabilities are estimated based on the 2021-22 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Ma...
Answered 9 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordNational Insurance ContributionsTreasuryTabled 19 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 21482More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people paid Class (a) 2 and (b) 4 National Insurance contributions in 2023.
Answer: The number of people with Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) liabilities are estimated based on the 2021-22 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Ma...
Answered 9 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordNuclear Submarines: DecommissioningMinistry of DefenceTabled 19 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 21447More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding he has allocated to the submarine dismantling programme for each of the next five years.
Answer: The Department does not release spending profiles for individual programmes. However, I can confirm the latest Whole Life Cost for the Submarine Dismantling Project, as published in the Department’s 2023 Government Major Projects Portfolio data, is £298 m...
Answered 13 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordChild Maintenance ServiceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20452More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to ensure the Flat Rate of Child Maintenance reflects changes in the cost of living.
Answer: The Child Maintenance Service believes that both parents have a financial responsibility to contribute towards the cost of bringing up their child, regardless of their financial situation.The level of flat rate maintenance for non-resident parents was las...
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordChild Maintenance ServiceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20451More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Flat Rate of Child Maintenance awarded by the Child Maintenance Service.
Answer: The Child Maintenance Service believes that both parents have a financial responsibility to contribute towards the cost of bringing up their child, regardless of their financial situation.The level of flat rate maintenance for non-resident parents was las...
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordChild Maintenance ServiceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20450More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to review the formula used by the Child Maintenance Service to calculate the Flat Rate of child maintenance.
Answer: The Child Maintenance Service believes that both parents have a financial responsibility to contribute towards the cost of bringing up their child, regardless of their financial situation.The level of flat rate maintenance for non-resident parents was las...
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordChild Maintenance ServiceDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20449More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the formula used by the Child Maintenance Service to calculate the Flat Rate of child maintenance was last reviewed.
Answer: The Child Maintenance Service believes that both parents have a financial responsibility to contribute towards the cost of bringing up their child, regardless of their financial situation.The level of flat rate maintenance for non-resident parents was las...
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordHighway CodeDepartment for TransportTabled 13 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20100More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she plans to take to increase awareness of the changes to the hierarchy of road users in Highway Code Rules H1 to 3.
Answer: Following a review of the Highway Code in 2022, the Department introduced a hierarchy of road users, which ensures that those who can do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat they may pose to others.Communicatio...
Answered 18 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordNational Insurance ContributionsTreasuryTabled 9 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18813More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) men and (b) women paid Class Four National Insurance contributions in each of the last five years by income decile.
Answer: HMRC does not routinely publish estimates of the number of Class 2 or Class 4 National Insurance payees in total or any of the subsets asked for in the series of questions. HMRC only publishes total National Insurance Contributions receipts across all cla...
Answered 17 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordNational Insurance ContributionsTreasuryTabled 9 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18812More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) men and (b) women paid Class Two National Insurance contributions in each of the last five years by income decile.
Answer: HMRC does not routinely publish estimates of the number of Class 2 or Class 4 National Insurance payees in total or any of the subsets asked for in the series of questions. HMRC only publishes total National Insurance Contributions receipts across all cla...
Answered 17 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordNational Insurance ContributionsTreasuryTabled 9 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18811More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) men and (b) women paid Class Four National Insurance contributions in each of the last five years in each (i) nation and (ii) region.
Answer: HMRC does not routinely publish estimates of the number of Class 2 or Class 4 National Insurance payees in total or any of the subsets asked for in the series of questions. HMRC only publishes total National Insurance Contributions receipts across all cla...
Answered 17 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
Published records only — not a full account of an MP’s work. How we work →