Every parliamentary written question tabled by Andrew Snowden this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1,021–1,040 of 2,133 · this parliament
What proportion of the increase in illegal working arrests involved people who had originally entered the UK on work visas.
The government takes illegal working very seriously, and we are determined to clamp down on the employment of individuals with no right to work in the UK.The specific information requested is not readily available from published statistics and could only be obtained for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Which countries have had access to UK visas restricted due to non-compliance with migrant return agreements; and what criteria were used in these decisions.
Visa penalties, as outlined in section 70 of Nationality and Borders Act 2022 (Nationality And Borders Act 2022), may be imposed on a country which, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, does not cooperate with the UK in relation to the return of its nationals who do not have a legal right to be in the UK.These provisions have not been used since their introduction in 2022. But we will use all levers available to ensure the removal of those with no right to remain in the UK, including visa penalties where necessary, and will do whatever it takes to secure the UK’s border.
If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the threshold for reopening cases under the exception to the double jeopardy rule introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
The Government recognises the fundamental importance of the rule against double jeopardy, as well as the need, in exceptional cases, to correct serious miscarriages of justice. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 permits a retrial only in cases involving the most serious offences, and only where new and compelling evidence becomes available. Such retrials require an application from the Director of Public Prosecutions and approval from the Court of Appeal, ensuring that any retrial serves the interests of justice. This framework is used very rarely and is designed to maintain an appropriate balance between the principles of finality and fairness. The Government keeps the law under review but has no current plans to lower or otherwise revise this high threshold.
How many foreign nationals have been refused entry to the UK on the basis of their support for proscribed terrorist groups since 2020.
The information requested is not centrally held and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Pursuant to the Answer of 11 September to Question 75385 on Greta Thunberg, whether public expressions of support for the proscribed terrorist group Palestine Action are considered relevant to an assessment under Part 9 of the Immigration Rules for refusal of entry to the UK.
A person does not need to have a criminal conviction to be refused admission on non-conducive grounds. Examples of where a person’s presence may be non-conducive to the public good include where the person is a threat to national security, including involvement in terrorism and membership of proscribed organisation, or where the person has engaged in extremism or other unacceptable behaviour, such as the glorification of terrorism.
Food and Rural Affairs, how the £500 million estimate of the value of pollination services to UK agriculture was calculated.
Bees and other pollinators play an essential role in our £100 billion food industry. The latest estimated value of insect pollination on UK crops fruit, vegetable and oil seed rape production is around £630 million per year. This estimate is based on increases in yield and market quality. It was produced through field and desk-based research undertaken by the University of Reading and other researchers, who estimated the potential deficits in crop yield and quality without (or with reduced) insect pollination services, and related this to market value.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the economic impact of pollinator decline on UK agriculture.
There have been no recent assessments of the economic impact of pollinator decline on UK agriculture. Abundant pollinators are an essential part of maintaining sustainable food production and we will provide farmers and land managers with the support they need to help restore nature, vital to safeguarding our long-term food security, support productivity and building resilience to climate change.
How many and what proportion of visa sponsor licence revocations were (a) subsequently overturned and (b) appealed successfully from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025.
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.The Home Office does publish data on the numbers of sponsor licences that are suspended and revoked each year and can be found under the Sponsorship Transparency Data heading at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK.
Representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2025 to Question on Table Office: Financing, if the Commission will make an assessment of the potential merits of temporarily increasing staffing levels in the Table Office during peak periods.
The tabling of questions is driven by demand from Members and it is therefore difficult to predict peak periods of activity. The Chamber and Participation Team keeps under review appropriate staffing levels for the procedural offices, taking account of Member demand and the fact that the House Administration is undertaking a Savings and Improvement Programme.
Representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2025 to Question 30400 on Table Office: Finance, if the Commission will review the staffing levels for the Table Office, in the context of the number of written questions published in this Session to date.
There are currently no plans to review staffing levels for the Table Office. The Chamber and Participation Team keeps under review appropriate staffing levels for the procedural offices, taking account of Member demand but mindful of the fact that the House Administration is undertaking a Savings and Improvement Programme.
How many visits by Ministers in his Department took place in constituencies represented by (a) Labour, (b) Conservative and (c) other hon. Members in the period between 4 July 2024 and 2 July 2025.
This information isn’t centrally held.
What steps he is taking to increase the availability of virtual GP appointments.
We are expanding capacity in general practice (GP) which will help deliver more virtual and face-to-face appointments to patients.In October 2024, we invested £82 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme to support the recruitment of an additional 2,000 GPs into primary care networks across England, helping to increase appointment availability and improve care for thousands of patients. We have invested an additional £1.1 billion in GPs to reinforce the front door of the National Health Service. This is the biggest increase in over a decade, and we are pleased that the General Practitioners Committee England is supportive of the contract changes. Additionally, the new £102 million Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund will create additional clinical space within over 1,000 practices across England in order to deliver 8.3 million more appointments each year.As a result of these efforts, eight million more appointments have been delivered this year compared to last.
What discussions she has as part of the motor insurance taskforce with representatives of the credit hire and mobility sector on its role in providing replacement vehicles to motorists post-accident.
Ministers and officials have discussions with a range of stakeholders concerning motor insurance matters. The government’s Motor Insurance Taskforce, led by the Department for Transport and HM Treasury, is engaging with a range of interested stakeholders, including the Credit Hire Organisation. The Taskforce plans to publish its final report in the autumn.
With reference to the letter of 10 January 2025 from the then-Economic Secretary to the Treasury to Anthony Hughes of the Credit Hire Organisation, when her Department plans to meet representatives of the credit hire industry to discuss the Motor Insurance Taskforce.
The government’s Motor Insurance Taskforce, led by the Department for Transport and HM Treasury, is engaging with a range of interested stakeholders, including the Credit Hire Organisation. The taskforce plans to publish its final report in the autumn.
What steps her Department is taking to ensure that credit hire providers serving vulnerable road users are represented in ongoing motor insurance policy discussions.
Ministers and officials have discussions with a range of stakeholders concerning motor insurance matters. The government’s Motor Insurance Taskforce, led by the Department for Transport and HM Treasury, is engaging with a range of interested stakeholders, including the Credit Hire Organisation. The Taskforce plans to publish its final report in the autumn.
Whether the cross-Government Motor Insurance Taskforce is maintaining a formal record of stakeholder engagement; and whether the Credit Hire Organisation was consulted.
The government’s Motor Insurance Taskforce, led by the Department for Transport and HM Treasury, is engaging with a range of interested stakeholders, including the Credit Hire Organisation. The taskforce plans to publish its final report in the autumn.
What steps her Department is taking to ensure that representatives of the credit hire and mobility sector are consulted before the Motor Insurance Taskforce concludes its work.
Ministers and officials have discussions with a range of stakeholders concerning motor insurance matters. The government’s Motor Insurance Taskforce, led by the Department for Transport and HM Treasury, is engaging with a range of interested stakeholders, including the Credit Hire Organisation. The Taskforce plans to publish its final report in the autumn.
What responsibilities remain on liquidators of housing developers for resolving (a) legal title and (b) infrastructure issues impacting homeowners.
A liquidators’ statutory functions when winding up a company are to secure and realise any assets, distribute any funds generated to those entitled to them and generally act in the interests of the company’s creditors. In carrying out their statutory functions, liquidators are also obliged to have regard to their regulatory standards and code of ethics. This may extend to resolving legal title and infrastructure issues affecting homeowners if doing so is in creditors’ interests.
Food and Rural Affairs, how frequently drinking water is tested for compliance with (a) microbiological and (b) chemical safety standards.
The sampling frequency for drinking water is set out in Schedule 3 of The Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016 including which parameters are sampled at which point in the system, with some variation depending on factors such as treatment chemicals used, population served, etc. There is also a requirement to monitor for anything else which may present a risk to health. The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) ensures that these requirements are met by companies, and may on occasion increase the sampling frequency if a specific risk is under investigation. The DWI published a report on 26 February 2025 recommending revisions to some parameters listed in the drinking water regulations. The report is the output of work by an advisory group of specialists both UK and internationally. Defra and the DWI will work together to consider potential regulatory updates to England’s drinking water quality legislation based on the recommendations.
Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of public drinking water supplies met national quality standards in the most recent reporting year.
The Government is committed to ensuring a high level of protection for human health and the environment. Public drinking water compliance with the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016 has been consistently high for a number of years, with a rate of 99.97% in 2024. This compares to compliance rates of between 98-98.5% in the early 1990s. The DWI’s annual report on the quality of publicly supplied drinking water provides water companies, and also the public, with a picture of overall drinking water quality in England.