Will Stone MP: written questions
81 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Unmanned Air Systems: ProcurementMinistry of DefenceTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 47859More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help ensure improved (a) interoperability and (b) coordination between drone systems procured by his Department.
Answer: Uncrewed systems are changing the character of warfare. The pace of military and civilian uncrewed technology evolution means our traditional approaches to acquisition, regulation and operation need to adapt. Learning lessons from the conflict in Ukraine ...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament recordPersonal Independence Payment: VeteransDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 45969More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to update Personal Independence Payment application forms to ask whether applicants are veterans; and if she will meet the hon. Member for Swindon North to discuss the poten
Answer: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claim forms do not ask for an individual’s occupation, past or present as it is legally immaterial to the decision to award benefit or not. PIP is based on the daily living and mobility needs arising from a long-term he...
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordDangerous DogsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 31 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42883More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will undertake an impact assessment on the XL Bully ban.
Answer: Defra is continuing to engage closely with the Police, local authorities, and rescue and rehoming organisations to monitor the impacts of the XL Bully dog ban. These measures are vital to protect the public and we expect all XL Bully owners to comply with...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPets: Animal HousingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 31 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42880More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will introduce a mandatory regulated size requirement for gerbil and hamster cages.
Answer: The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the LAIA Regulations) set strict animal welfare standards that commercial sellers of pets, such as gerbils and hamsters, must adhere to. The accompanying statutory ...
Answered 7 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPanattoni: Swindon NorthDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 26 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 41596More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will consider Panettoni Park in Swindon North constituency for Government funding for jobs in science and technology.
Answer: The Government is supporting local leaders to unlock their regions’ innovation potential. This includes Innovation Accelerator pilots, with innovation clusters sharing £100 million; the Launchpad programme, with 11 sites each receiving up to £7.5 million ...
Answered 3 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordHares: Animal WelfareDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 26 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 41590More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to protect brown hares in England and Wales from being shot for sport during their breeding season.
Answer: This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only, with the potential for relevant policy to extend and apply to Wales. While the Government has no immediate plan to introduce a close season for hares in England, th...
Answered 1 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordYoung People: Swindon NorthDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 41587More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support young people into (a) employment, (b) education and (c) training in Swindon North constituency.
Answer: As part of the Great Britain Working plan, we are launching a Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship, or help to find work. The Youth Guarantee will build...
Answered 2 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordAlcoholic Drinks: Minimum Unit PricesHome OfficeTabled 10 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36818More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received on the potential merits of Minimum Unit Pricing in England; and whether she plans to introduce the policy in England this Parliament.
Answer: Under our Health Mission, this government is committed to prioritising public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives.We are continuing to work closely across government to better understand what can be done to address the driver...
Answered 18 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordAlcoholic Drinks: MisuseDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 36817More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to review the Department’s approach to tackling alcohol harm; and whether he will consider introducing an alcohol strategy in this Parliament.
Answer: Under our Health Mission, the Government is committed to prioritising preventative public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives. The Department will continue to work across Government to better understand how we can best reduce...
Answered 17 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCare Homes: Employers' ContributionsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 12 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 31176More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an exemption from the increase in employer's National Insurance contributions for care homes in which more than half of residen
Answer: The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional employer National Insurance costs only. This does not include support for the private sector, including private sector firms contracted by central or loca...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordLandlords: FinesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 31170More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions she has had with local authorities on improving the collection of fines issued to rogue landlords; and if she will bring forward legislative proposals to
Answer: My Department engages regularly with local authorities and other stakeholders on how enforcement against rogue landlords in the private rented sector might be strengthened. Local authorities have a range of tools they can use to support the collection of ...
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCare Homes: Employers' ContributionsTreasuryTabled 12 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 31167More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an exemption from the increase in employer's National Insurance contributions for care homes where more than half of residents are funded by the
Answer: The Government will provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional employer National Insurance costs only. This does not include support for the private sector, including private sector firms contracted by central or loca...
Answered 24 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordAsylum: SyriaHome OfficeTabled 12 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 31155More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing asylum applications from people from Syria.
Answer: Following the fall of the Assad regime, the Home Office has withdrawn the Country Policy Information Notes and Guidance relating to Syria, and has temporarily paused all asylum interviews and decisions from Syrian nationals.We keep all country guidance re...
Answered 26 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordPrivate Rented Housing: DatabasesMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 31148More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to prevent duplication between the planned landlord database and local licensing schemes to reduce inefficiencies.
Answer: The Private Rented Sector Database will operate alongside selective licensing to drive improvement in standards in the private rented sector, not as a replacement for these schemes.We will continue to review the use of selective licensing as we implement ...
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: AccountabilityMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 31147More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mandatory annual reporting by councils on enforcement activity to ensure transparency and accountability.
Answer: The Department recognises the importance of good quality data on enforcement in the Private Rented Sector to support good decision making at both national and local level, and the monitoring and evaluation of Renters’ Rights Bill implementation.The Bill p...
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordEnvironmental HealthMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 31146More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a new national post of Chief Environmental Health Officer to provide leadership on enforcement.
Answer: The government has no plans to create a new post of National Chief Environmental Health Officer.
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPrivate Rented HousingMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 31145More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the resources local authority enforcement teams (a) currently have and (b) will need to implement the Renters’ Rights Bill.
Answer: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 32068 on 5 March 2025.
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPrivate Rented Housing: SafetyMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 12 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 31144More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the reason that only 7% of Housing, Health and Safety Ratings System (HHSRS) inspections led to an Improvement Notice being served.
Answer: The government is committed to making sure homes are safe, decent and warm.Local housing authorities have powers to take a proactive approach to enforcement against unacceptable conditions in rented housing.Improvement notices are just one of the types of...
Answered 24 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Media: ChildrenDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 12 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 31119More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) requiring social media accounts to be linked to a form of ID and (b) preventing people with certain convictions from interac
Answer: The Online Safety Act gives online platforms new duties to protect users from illegal content and safeguard children.The Act stipulates that where there is a risk to children from the most harmful types of content (‘primary priority content), in-scope ser...
Answered 28 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordGreyhounds: Animal WelfareDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 12 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 31114More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the number of greyhounds that have been killed at racetracks since 2023.
Answer: The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) has published data for injuries, retirements and euthanasia of greyhounds from GBGB affiliated tracks and trainers each year since 2018. This data is published online at https://www.gbgb.org.uk/welfare-care/inju...
Answered 24 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordLarge Goods Vehicle Drivers: Skills BootcampsDepartment for EducationTabled 7 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 29924More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) progress she has made and (b) steps she plans to take with the Secretary of State for Transport on the HGV skills bootcamp programme.
Answer: Skills Bootcamps are an important offer in the skills landscape, supporting the development of crucial skills such as HGV driving.Published statistics show that across the 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial years, there were 10,545 starts on HGV Skills Bootcam...
Answered 17 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordNHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire: HCRG Care GroupDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 28 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26893More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of whether the Bath, Swindon, and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board's decision to award a contract to HCRG Care Group for community-based care (a) includes social value
Answer: Following a procurement process, HCRG Care Group will lead an innovative partnership with the National Health Service, local authorities, and voluntary sector groups, and will take responsibility for community services from 1 April 2025, under a contract ...
Answered 11 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordSteroid Drugs: DeathCabinet OfficeTabled 13 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20049More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many death certificates mentioning steroids were issued in each of the last five years.
Answer: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 13th December is attached.
Answered 24 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordFurther Education: PayDepartment for EducationTabled 26 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16363More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the 5.5% pay award for teachers in academized sixth forms to non-academized colleges.
Answer: Unlike 16-19 academies, sixth form colleges are part of the statutory further education (FE) sector. The department does not set or recommend pay in FE providers, which have the freedom to make their own arrangements in line with their local circumstances...
Answered 4 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordGreyhounds: Animal WelfareDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 26 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16331More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies of trends in the number of greyhounds that have died at racetracks since 2023.
Answer: The Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) has published data for injuries, retirements and euthanasia of greyhounds from GBGB affiliated tracks and trainers each year since 2018. This data is published online at https://www.gbgb.org.uk/welfare-care/inju...
Answered 2 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
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