Every parliamentary written question tabled by Andrew Snowden this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1,101–1,120 of 2,662 · this parliament
Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with landlord and tenant organisations on abolishing Section 21 no-fault evictions.
My Department engaged with a range of landlord and tenant organisations during development of the Renters' Rights Act 2025 and looks forward to ongoing engagement with all stakeholders to ensure a smooth implementation of this transformative Act.
Communities and Local Government, how many Section 21 eviction notices were issued in each of the last five financial years, broken down by local authority.
My Department does not hold data on Section 21 evictions issued by landlords.
When the Armed Forces Commissioner is expected to be appointed; and when the Commissioner's office is expected to be fully operational.
We are in the process of recruiting an Armed Forces Commissioner . It is expected that a Commissioner will be appointed in early 2026, with plans for their office to be fully operational in April 2026. The role is subject to scrutiny in accordance with the principles of the Governance Code on Public Appointments and overseen by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. We remain committed to appointing the right person for this critical role, which is central to delivering a trusted and effective service for our people.
How many possession claims relating to Section 21 notices are currently awaiting court hearing; and what the average waiting time is for those hearings.
A Section 21 notice provides for an accelerated court process, usually without a hearing. However, if the application is not in order or the tenant challenges the claim a hearing may be scheduled.The Civil Procedure Rules stipulate that possession claims should be listed within 4 to 8 weeks of a claim being issued. The most recent published statistics, covering the period July to September 2025 show that the median time from claim to order is 7.6 weeks.The Government has set out its roadmap for implementing the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Private landlords will not be able to serve new Section 21 notices on their tenants on or after 1 May 2026.The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly data on possession claims at: Mortgage and landlord possession statistics: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK.
If she will set out which driving test centres will benefit from the help of military driving examiners under the partnership with the Ministry of Defence.
The measures the Secretary of State for Transport, announced on 12 November are designed to make the practical driving test booking process fairer, providing all learners with equal access to the booking system and ensuring that everyone pays the prescribed fee. The decision follows a call for evidence and a public consultation that many in the industry responded to. Further detail on the rationale will be provided in the consultation report which will be published in due course. The introduction of the 10-day cancellation period is intended to encourage responsible behaviour from learner drivers to consider their test readiness and to notify DVSA in good time if they are unable to attend.The number of learner drivers who fail to attend their driving test represents less than 3% of all tests taken which accounts for around 60,000 tests. With unprecedented demand for tests DVSA is doing all it can to further reduce unused test slots and encourage learners to inform them so that the test slot can be utilised. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) driving examiners that are supporting DVSA will be based at the driving test centre with the highest demand near their MoD base or home location.
What steps his Department is taking to improve (a) early detection and (b) surveillance of antibiotic-resistant infections.
The Unified Infection Dataset (UID) supports early detection of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through epidemiological outputs, infectious disease surveillance, outbreak response, and allied research with rich linked data. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has developed innovative analytical tools for large datasets via the UID and the Enterprise Data Analytics Platform (EDAP). AMR-related data continues to be ingested into the EDAP, including:national laboratory surveillance data from the UKHSA’s Second Generation Surveillance System;healthcare associated infections (HCAI) data from the UKHSA’s data capture system; andhealth equity data.The EDAP aims to deliver a strategic platform for data enrichment, data analytics, and data science for AMR and HCAI and will support streamlined and timely surveillance outputs to tackle AMR and improve public health.The UKHSA’s Porton AMR network leads on the discovery and development of novel antimicrobials, optimising antibiotic combinations, vaccines, and non-traditional therapies. The UKHSA is also working on advancing AMR typing and whole genome sequencing reference laboratory services and providing clinical advice to support NHS England front line services dealing with AMR associated infections.NHS England is streamlining diagnostic innovation through the cross-sector ‘Moving Forwards Infection Diagnostics’ events series. Engagement will inform an ‘infection diagnostics framework’ by 2027 and identify target product profiles for diagnostics needed in the National Health Service. A rapid review pipeline to identify optimal tests within the market and assess how existing diagnostics can be optimised is also being produced. These winter ‘Point of Care Testing’ pilots have been funded to further build the evidence base.
What assessment the DVSA has made of the regional impact of its proposed booking system changes.
The measures the Secretary of State for Transport, announced on 12 November are designed to make the practical driving test booking process fairer, providing all learners with equal access to the booking system and ensuring that everyone pays the prescribed fee. The decision follows a call for evidence and a public consultation that many in the industry responded to. Further detail on the rationale will be provided in the consultation report which will be published in due course. The introduction of the 10-day cancellation period is intended to encourage responsible behaviour from learner drivers to consider their test readiness and to notify DVSA in good time if they are unable to attend.The number of learner drivers who fail to attend their driving test represents less than 3% of all tests taken which accounts for around 60,000 tests. With unprecedented demand for tests DVSA is doing all it can to further reduce unused test slots and encourage learners to inform them so that the test slot can be utilised. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) driving examiners that are supporting DVSA will be based at the driving test centre with the highest demand near their MoD base or home location.
What data her Department holds on school attendance rates in Fylde constituency.
The department publishes figures from the school census on pupil absence in England. The latest data covers the autumn and spring terms of the 2024/25 academic year and is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england/2024-25-autumn-and-spring-term. Local authority data is available in the release. School level data is also available in this release and includes school identifiers that can be used to link the parliamentary constituency for the school using the ‘Get Information About Schools’ website: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/. This absence release has been available since 23 October 2025.
What estimate he has made of the potential number of historical child sexual abuse cases likely to be brought following the removal of the limitation period for such claims.
Measuring the scale and nature of child sexual abuse is difficult because it is usually hidden from view. Victims often feel unable to report their experiences and adults are not always able to recognise that abuse is taking place. As a result, there is no data available to represent the full scale of the issue. We therefore do not know how many people are currently experiencing, or have experienced, child sexual abuse or how many potential victims and survivors may be impacted by these changes.However, the Government recognises, as was reinforced by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, that it might take years and in many cases decades for the victims and survivors of child sexual abuse to come forward and feel ready to disclose their trauma. That is why we accepted the critical issue the Inquiry sought to remedy in calling for reform of limitation law to overcome some of the barriers to justice that are faced by victims and survivors.
What recent estimate he has made of waiting times for orthopaedic footwear through NHS Surgical Appliances Departments.
No recent estimate of waiting times for orthopaedic footwear through National Health Service Surgical Appliances Departments has been made.Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning the majority of health and care services, including podiatry services, in England. ICBs arrange healthcare services to meet the needs of their local population within the available resources, and to reduce inequalities in access to, and outcomes from, healthcare services.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on democratic accountability of abolishing Police and Crime Commissioners.
The Government is committed to transferring police governance functions to mayors, or to Policing and Crime Boards consisting of locally elected leaders where it is not possible to do so by 2028.Moving police governance functions to locally elected leaders will bring better outcomes for the public and policing. They sit across a range of different public services and budgets and are better positioned to promote collaboration across services and drive a holistic approach to crime prevention.Policing and Crime Boards will have a democratic mandate as they will be made up of locally elected leaders.
What recent assessment she has made of the prevalence of racially or religiously aggravated abuse of emergency workers within private dwellings.
Following the feedback we have received from police stakeholders, clauses 107 to 109 of the Crime and Policing Bill introduces two new offences aimed at protecting emergency workers with from abuse in a private welling. This will include racially or religiously aggravated abuse towards an emergency worker.This measure seeks to ensure the full protection of the law follows emergency workers wherever their duties take them, including behind closed doors.
How many officers dismissed from the National Crime Agency have subsequently joined police forces in the UK since 2017.
Recruitment is managed locally by individual police forces, following national guidelines and the application, assessment, and selection framework set by the College of Policing.The police barred list came into force on 15 December 2017 and contains the details of any police officer, special constable or member of police staff who has been dismissed from policing from misconduct or performance. Inclusion on the barred list is automatic at the point of dismissal and acts as a bar to joining police forces and other policing bodies.The Government is strengthening this position and protecting wider law enforcement through the Crime and Policing Bill, with new barred lists for the National Crime Agency, as well as for the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, British Transport Police and Ministry of Defence Police. This legislation will ensure that those dismissed from the NCA are prevented from re-entering policing.
What consultation has taken place with (a) Police and Crime Commissioners and (b) police staff associations on the establishment of the proposed National Centre of Policing.
The Home Office has been working with policing partners on police reform, including through the Joint Police Reform Team.This has included engagement with local police chiefs, police and crime commissioners and staff associations. We will publish the White Paper later this year.
What steps she is taking to ensure that victims of coerced internal concealment receive appropriate support and safeguarding.
The Government is introducing a new criminal offence of coerced internal concealment in the Crime and Policing Bill, recognising the serious physical and psychological harm that this form of criminal exploitation can cause.The new offence will be accompanied by statutory guidance for law enforcement and non-statutory guidance aimed at frontline practitioners to aid their understanding and improve the identification and safeguarding of victims of coerced internal concealment.In addition, through the County Lines Programme, we are targeting exploitative drug dealing gangs behind the trade. Between July 2024 and June 2025, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 2,300 deal lines closed, 6,200 arrests (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,100 deal line holders), and 600 knives seized.County Lines Programme partners have also referred over 3,200 children and vulnerable people to safeguarding services and provided specialist one-to-one support through Catch22’s county lines service to more than 500 children and young people.
What recent assessment she has made of the prevalence of organised begging networks operating in England.
The Government has introduced targeted measures in the Crime and Policing Bill to replace the powers in the outdated Vagrancy Act 1824 to ensure police have the powers they need to keep communities safe, including a new criminal offence of facilitating begging for gain.This is intended to address organised begging, which is often facilitated by criminal gangs, and exploits vulnerable individuals.This offence makes it unlawful for anyone to organise others to beg, for example, by driving people to places for them to beg. It will allow the police to tackle the organised crime gangs that use this exploitative technique to obtain cash for illicit activity. Recording these crimes will also allow us to develop an improved picture of prevalence of this activity across the country.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the US government shutdown on (a) sanctions coordination, (b) security cooperation and (c) other joint UK–US foreign policy initiatives.
We remain in constant contact with our US counterparts on a range of joint foreign policy initiatives and priorities.
Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) UEFA and (b) FIFA on the participation of Israel in international football.
The Secretary of State has not had such discussions with UEFA and FIFA. The government fully respects the independence and autonomy of sports organisations. Decisions on participation in international sports events are a matter for the relevant international sport federations and their national representatives.
How many child benefit claims have been suspended from claimants as a result of data-sharing between HMRC and the Home Office in Fylde constituency since September 2025.
It is not possible to provide the information requested for the Fylde constituency since September 2025. This is because HMRC do not hold the information at a constituency level.
Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure compliance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments, published on 16 December 2016.
My department remains absolutely committed to the highest standards for all public appointments campaigns; DCMS is responsible for over 400 public appointment roles and has handled 80 appointments so far this year. The Department has recently reviewed all DCMS public appointments processes and systems in order to ensure that they are as robust as possible. This included confirming compliance with the revised Governance Code of Public Appointments published on 30 October 2025.