Lauren Edwards MP: written questions
50 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Strategic Defence ReviewMinistry of DefenceTabled 21 May 2026AnsweredUIN 900123More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to implement the Strategic Defence Review.
Answer: Implementation of all 62 recommendations is moving forward at pace, and in the last year, we have made significant progress. To support warfighting readiness, we launched the Military Intelligence Services, Defence Counter-Intelligence Unit and the Defenc...
Answered 1 Jun 2026
Original Parliament recordCommunity Health Services: Rochester and StroodDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 908658More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to community-based healthcare in Rochester and Strood constituency.
Answer: This government has made clear that one of the essential shifts to get the NHS back on its feet is from hospital to community. Our ambitions for neighbourhood health are one key area to enable this essential shift. Neighbourhood Health will improve access...
Answered 14 Apr 2026
Original Parliament recordArmed Forces: HousingMinistry of DefenceTabled 23 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 123056More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department has made on delivering the Defence Housing Strategy; what the total planned investment is for upgrading military accommodation; and how many service homes are expected to benefit in R
Answer: We have begun the biggest transformation of Armed Forces housing in a generation. The Department is in the early stages of delivering the recommendations of the Defence Housing Strategy and we will publish our implementation plan in due course. The plan i...
Answered 26 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordBeer: CompetitionDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 5 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 908256More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to introduce a guest beer agreement in England.
Answer: My Honourable friend is a real champion of local breweries, especially Moot Brewery in Halling, which she visits regularly and knows produces excellent beer. The government fully recognises the importance of independent breweries and pubs, and we are comm...
Answered 12 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFinancial Ombudsman ServiceTreasuryTabled 5 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118413More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans her Department has to establish service standards to improve the effectiveness of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS); and pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2025 to Question 77954 on Financial Ombuds
Answer: The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) sets itself performance targets in its annual Plans and Budgets publication. Ensuring timely outcomes is one of the FOS’s main priorities for 2025-26, as outlined in its annual Plans and Budget publication on 1 April ...
Answered 12 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPre-school Education: CCTVDepartment for EducationTabled 21 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107602More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will give an update on her progress of appointment of an expert advisory group for the development of CCTV guidance for the early years sector.
Answer: The ‘Early years foundation stage’ statutory framework requires early years providers to have safeguarding policies that address the use of mobile phones, cameras, and other electronic devices with imaging and sharing capabilities. Decisions about install...
Answered 4 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordState Retirement Pensions: WomenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 19 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106804More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement UIN HCWS1044 on Pensions Update of 11 November 2025, what estimate his Department has made of the potential costs of delivering compensation in line with the Parl
Answer: As the Secretary of State set out on 11 November 2025, we are retaking the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on State Pension age. The process to retake the decision is underway and it is important that the government give...
Answered 22 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordState Retirement Pensions: WomenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 19 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106803More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement UIN HCWS1044 on Pensions Update of 11 November 2025, what information his Department holds on the reasons that the findings of the 2007 research report did not le
Answer: The Secretary of State announced in his oral statement of 11 November 2025 that we will retake the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on State Pension age. This was because findings from a 2007 report had not been drawn to ...
Answered 26 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordState Retirement Pensions: WomenDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 19 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106802More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of State Pension age changes on 1950s-born women living in Rochester and Strood constituency.
Answer: All women born since 6 April 1950 have been affected by changes to State Pension age. Estimates can be made with ONS 2022 Census Data of how many women born in the 1950s were resident in each constituency in that year.
Answered 26 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordConstruction: TrainingDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 2 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 102307More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure adequate workforce capability to deliver (i) infrastructure and (ii) construction projects, in the context of recent cuts announced by the Construction
Answer: On 23 March 2025, the Government announced a construction support package worth £625 million to address the shortage of skilled workers in the construction sector. This investment forms a key part of our broader strategy to advance national infrastructure...
Answered 12 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordNational Careers Service: StaffDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 16 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100532More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many professionally qualified Level 6 and 7 careers advisers the National Careers Service employs; and how this number will change under the planned new Jobs and Careers Service.
Answer: Accurate information on the number of level 6 and 7 qualified careers advisers employed by the National Careers Service is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. Following a Written Ministerial Statement made on 16th Se...
Answered 7 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordJobcentresDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 16 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100531More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how people will access professional careers advice within the new Jobs and Careers Service.
Answer: We are committed to continuing the delivery of high quality, impartial careers advice in the new Jobs and Careers Service through professionally qualified careers advisers and recognise that their expertise is essential to enabling the government’s missio...
Answered 7 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordHospitals: Special Educational NeedsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 3 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 87591More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2025 to Question 80707 on Hospitals: Special Educational Needs, if he will publish a breakdown by region of the over three million people who have completed the
Answer: Under the Health and Care Act 2022, all Care Quality Commission registered providers are required to ensure that their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism, appropriate to their role. The Government is rolling out its preferre...
Answered 11 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordBritish Nationals Abroad: DeathForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 22 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 906051More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to provide support to families whose relatives have died abroad in suspicious circumstances.
Answer: We recognise how heartbreaking it is for families in Britain when their loved ones die in suspicious circumstances overseas, and they are left desperate for support and for answers. When the worst happens, Foreign Office staff are available around the clo...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordHospices: ContractsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 15 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 82592More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that hospice contracts reflect (a) the cost of the services they provide and (b) the needs of their local populations.
Answer: Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service spec...
Answered 22 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordHospitals: Special Educational NeedsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80707More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what general training all hospital and general practice staff are expected to receive in order to understand the needs of neuro-divergent and autistic patients; and what plans he has to improve the
Answer: Under the Health and Care Act 2022, all Care Quality Commission registered providers are required to ensure their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism, appropriate to their role. This training will ensure staff can provide saf...
Answered 20 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordUnemployment: HealthDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71778More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the causes of economic inactivity related to poor health.
Answer: There were 2.8m people who were economically inactive with long-term sickness as their main reason in the UK in April to June 2025.1 This group accounts for 30.7% of the total inactive population and is the most common reason given for inactivity; this pe...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordOlder WorkersDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71777More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support older people to remain in work.
Answer: The Government knows that work helps everyone play active and fulfilling roles in society while building financial security for retirement. The Department is therefore committed to supporting older workers through a wide-ranging strategy that promotes inc...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMental Health: TrainingDepartment for EducationTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71776More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to extend mental health education in schools to (a) colleges and (b) post-16 institutions.
Answer: The department has made health education compulsory in all state-funded schools, helping pupils to make good decisions about their health and wellbeing and seek support when needed.While there is no national curriculum in post-16, the government encourage...
Answered 5 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMental Health: TrainingDepartment for EducationTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71775More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has any plans to reopen Senior Mental Health Lead training grants.
Answer: The government has committed to expand coverage of mental health support teams (MHSTs) to cover every school, and one of the functions of an MHST is to support mental health leads to introduce or develop a whole school or college approach in their setting...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordSmall Businesses: Mental HealthDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71774More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure SMEs can access (a) robust and (b) high-quality mental health training for staff.
Answer: To support health in the workplace, the landmark Employment Rights Bill will boost access to Statutory Sick Pay and make it more likely that flexible working requests are accepted. We have published our Plan for Small Businesses, which provides positive a...
Answered 3 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordBusiness: Health and SafetyDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71773More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to incentivise businesses to support the health of their workforce.
Answer: To support health in the workplace, the landmark Employment Rights Bill will boost access to Statutory Sick Pay and make it more likely that flexible working requests are accepted. We have published our Plan for Small Businesses, which provides positive a...
Answered 3 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordHealth and SafetyDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71772More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) transparency and (b) awareness of health support in workplaces.
Answer: To support health in the workplace, the landmark Employment Rights Bill will boost access to Statutory Sick Pay and make it more likely that flexible working requests are accepted. We have published our Plan for Small Businesses, which provides positive a...
Answered 3 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordChildren: Care HomesDepartment for EducationTabled 9 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 58484More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to implement recommendation 1 of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel national review into safeguarding children with disabilities and complex needs in residential settings, published
Answer: The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s recommendations for safeguarding children with disabilities and complex health needs in residential settings were set out in their phase 2 report published in April 2023. Recommendation 1 concerned the provis...
Answered 13 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordGrowth and Skills LevyDepartment for EducationTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52152More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the time taken to publish guidance on funding rules and criteria for the Growth and Skills Levy on the number of apprenticeship starts in the 2
Answer: The apprenticeship funding rules for the 2025/2026 academic year were published on 15 May 2025 on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-funding-rules-2025-to-2026.These include guidance for employers and providers on the gro...
Answered 20 May 2025
Original Parliament record
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