Lewis Cocking MP: written questions
252 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Digital Technology: Older PeopleDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71675More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of digital exclusion on the quality of life for older people.
Answer: Those who cannot use digital technologies are likely to pay more for certain transactions, have worse health outcomes, and find it more difficult to manage their finance. That’s why tackling digital exclusion, which disproportionately impacts certain demo...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordBroadband: Older PeopleDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71674More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate he has made of the proportion of households with occupants over the age of 75 that do not have access to reliable broadband.
Answer: Ofcom, the independent regulator of telecommunications, estimates that there are 48,000 premises without access to decent broadband – i.e. at least 10Mbit/s download and 1Mbit/s upload speed - in the UK. We do not have sufficient data to estimate how many...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordBroadband: Rural AreasDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71673More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to ensure the availability of reliable broadband in rural areas to support access to essential services.
Answer: Through Project Gigabit, we are delivering future-proofed, gigabit-capable connections nationwide, to UK premises that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans, including to premises in rural areas.
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordBanking HubsTreasuryTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71672More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with LINK on the potential for widening the criteria for establishing additional banking hubs across the UK.
Answer: The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and high streets across the UK, and is committed to championing sufficient access for all as a priority. This is why the Government is working closely with industry to roll o...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordBank Services: InternetTreasuryTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71671More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support (a) older people and (b) people who are not digitally confident in accessing online banking services.
Answer: The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and high streets across the UK, and is committed to championing sufficient access for all as a priority. This is why the Government is working closely with industry to roll o...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMotorcycles: Driving TestsDepartment for TransportTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71670More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many holders of a compulsory basic training certificate do not complete a (a) moped and (b) motorcycle test within two years.
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) does not hold precise data on the proportion of riders who complete CBT and subsequently progress to a full motorcycle license within the two-year validity period of their CBT certificate. In the financial ye...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMotorcycles: Driving InstructionDepartment for TransportTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71669More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to enforce the requirement that riders of (a) motorcycles and (b) mopeds hold a valid compulsory basic training certificate.
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) does not hold precise data on the proportion of riders who complete CBT and subsequently progress to a full motorcycle license within the two-year validity period of their CBT certificate. In the financial ye...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMotor Vehicles: Seized ArticlesHome OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71668More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of The Removal, Storage and Disposal of Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Regulations 2023 on people who have had their vehicle stolen.
Answer: Following the introduction of The Removal, Storage and Disposal of Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Regulations 2023, there has been no assessment of the potential impact on those who have had their vehicle stolen. The Government’s role is limited to setting th...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordStoma AppliancesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71667More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of centrally coordinating stoma services.
Answer: Integrated care boards (ICBs) are legally responsible for commissioning the majority of health services, including stoma services, in accordance with their populations’ health needs. There are currently no plans for centrally coordinating stoma services a...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: Children and Young PeopleHome OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71666More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of asylum seekers on the safeguarding of children and young people.
Answer: All those who claim asylum undergo a series of security checks against immigration and police databases and are screened to identify individuals who may have been involved in criminality both in the UK and outside the UK or are of national security intere...
Answered 16 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71665More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the proximity of (a) schools and (b) other youth facilities is taken into account when procuring dispersal accommodation.
Answer: The Home Office does not publish detailed information on the location of asylum accommodation sites for safety and security reasons. Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation can be found within the Asy_D11 tab ...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: HousingHome OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71664More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of using dispersal accommodation for asylum seekers on the availability of housing for British citizens.
Answer: Under the Immigration Act of 1999, any government has a legal obligation to provide accommodation to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.The Home Office and its accommodation providers work closely with local authorities across the country to ...
Answered 9 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: Dental ServicesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71663More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much has been spent on providing dental care for asylum seekers in hotels in the last year.
Answer: The overall management of asylum seekers is a matter for the Home Office.The Department of Health and Social Care does not hold data on the expenditure on dental care provided to asylum seekers in hotels in the last year.
Answered 20 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: BroxbourneHome OfficeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71662More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many properties have been procured by (a) her Department and (b) contracted companies to serve as dispersal housing for asylum seekers in Broxbourne constituency.
Answer: The Home Office does not publish detailed information on the location of asylum accommodation sites for safety and security reasons. Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation can be found within the Asy_D11 tab ...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordPolitical PartiesSpeaker's Committee on the Electoral CommissionTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71661More
Question: To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2025 to Question 65798 on Companies: Political Parties, whether the Electoral Commission has issue
Answer: Electoral law does not dictate the legal structure of a party. Parties can be registered with a range of structures, including unincorporated associations, limited or unlimited companies.If a party includes company arrangements, the Commission expects thi...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordBusiness Premises: RentsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71660More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what public consultation her Department has undertaken in relation to the proposed prohibition of upward-only rent reviews for commercial leases in the English Devolution and Com
Answer: No formal public consultation was undertaken prior to the announcement of the policy. However, upwards only rent reviews are an issue of a longstanding concern that artificially inflated rents make it harder for businesses to access commercial property. T...
Answered 5 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordBaroness Gray of TottenhamCabinet OfficeTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69875More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Special adviser data releases: numbers and costs, July 2025, published on 17 July 2025, how much was Sue Gray’s salary.
Answer: The Annual Report for Special Advisers releases salary information for individuals in post as at 31 March 2025. We do not release salary details outside of this publication.
Answered 2 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordBaroness Gray of TottenhamCabinet OfficeTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69874More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's publication entitled Special adviser data releases: numbers and costs, July 2025, published on 17 July 2025, how much of severance costs in 2024-25 related to the severance pay
Answer: In line with the Model Contract for Special Advisers which is published online and details the circumstances in which severance is payable, Baroness Gray was not eligible for a severance payment, therefore no such payment was made.
Answered 2 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordBusiness RatesTreasuryTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69873More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate has been made of the number of (a) retail, (b) hospitality and (c) leisure hereditaments ineligible for the retail, hospitality and leisure business rate relief under the £110,000 cap per business.
Answer: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief has been extended year-by-year by previous Governments since the pandemic – creating uncertainty for businesses and an unsustainable fiscal pressure for the Government. Without any Government intervention, the ...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordProperty and Wealth: TaxationTreasuryTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69872More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of (a) wealth taxes and (b) taxes on high-value residential property.
Answer: The Government is committed to making sure the wealthiest in our society pay their fair share of tax. That is why the Chancellor announced a series of reforms at Autumn Budget 2024 to help fix the public finances in as fair a way as possible. These and o...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordCombined Authorities: ElectionsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69871More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which (a) existing and (b) new combined mayoral elections will take place in May (i) 2026 and (ii) 2027.
Answer: The government announced on 17 July that we are taking forward all six places on the Devolution Priority Programme and establishing mayoral strategic authorities via secondary legislation. Subject to the consent of local councils, legislation will be brou...
Answered 1 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordElections: ReformMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69870More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she consulted the Parliamentary Parties Panel on the policy paper entitled Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections, published on 17
Answer: The government has worked closely with its partners in local and devolved government, with the electoral sector, with education providers and civil society, and with citizens themselves in the development of the strategy for modern and secure elections. W...
Answered 3 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordRentsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69869More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the ban on upward-only rent reviews on (a) pension funds and (b) property investments owned by councils.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 68122 on 24 July 2025.
Answered 3 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordHospitality Industry: Business RatesTreasuryTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69868More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) pubs, (b) hotels and (c) restaurants in England have a Rateable Value over £500,000.
Answer: The Valuation Office Agency published this information, as at 31 March 2025, in its latest 'Non-domestic rating: stock of properties' release here: Non-domestic rating: stock of properties, 2025 - GOV.UK
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordEstate Agents: RegulationMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 22 Jul 2025AnsweredUIN 69867More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help tackle conditional selling by estate agents.
Answer: It is unacceptable for estate agents to withhold offers from sellers because the potential buyer declines to use their additional services. Where there is evidence of such practices, agents can face sanctions including a ban.The government is committed to...
Answered 3 Sept 2025
Original Parliament record
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