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 1,781–1,800 of 2,662 · this parliament
Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the level of demand for skilled carpenters in the housebuilding sector over the next five years.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 32067 on 3 March 2025.
Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the number of leaseholders currently paying ground rents above £250 per year.
The government is committed to addressing unregulated and unaffordable ground rents and we will do this in legislation. We will set out further details on our detailed plans for existing ground rents in due course. Data on ground rents is collected as part of the English Housing Survey and published in the leasehold experience fact sheet. The latest publication found that 77% of leaseholders currently pay a ground rent with an average ground rent of £304. This publication includes information on ground rents by region. High ground rents which escalate rapidly create affordability issues both directly through the increased cost leaseholders face by also by making it harder for leaseholders to mortgage or sell their properties. In a 2023 survey undertaken by Propertymark, a leading membership body for property agents, 78 per cent of their members reported that a leasehold property with an escalating ground rent will struggle to sell, even if priced correctly.
Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment she has made of the [potential impact of ground rents on the affordability of leasehold homes.
The government is committed to addressing unregulated and unaffordable ground rents and we will do this in legislation. We will set out further details on our detailed plans for existing ground rents in due course. Data on ground rents is collected as part of the English Housing Survey and published in the leasehold experience fact sheet. The latest publication found that 77% of leaseholders currently pay a ground rent with an average ground rent of £304. This publication includes information on ground rents by region. High ground rents which escalate rapidly create affordability issues both directly through the increased cost leaseholders face by also by making it harder for leaseholders to mortgage or sell their properties. In a 2023 survey undertaken by Propertymark, a leading membership body for property agents, 78 per cent of their members reported that a leasehold property with an escalating ground rent will struggle to sell, even if priced correctly.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the National Planning Policy Framework in delivering sustainable drainage.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 44742 on 22 April 2025.
Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to strengthen statutory requirements on developers to (a) deliver and (b) maintain sustainable drainage systems.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 44742 on 22 April 2025.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of a proposed international student fee levy on the ability of universities to support the NHS 10 Year Plan through health-related education and training.
The immigration white paper sets out a series of measures that will achieve a reduction in net migration, while maintaining the UK’s globally competitive offer to international students and making a significant contribution to growth by boosting our skills base.This includes the commitment to explore the introduction of a levy on higher education (HE) provider income from international students, with proceeds to be reinvested in the domestic HE and skills system. We will set out more details around the levy in the Autumn Budget.HE providers are independent from government and, as such, are responsible for making financial decisions that support their long-term sustainability.The government will set out its plans for HE reform soon, as part of the Post-16 Skills White Paper, and will work with the sector and the Office for Students to deliver the change that the country needs.
What recent discussions he has had with the Food Standards Agency on the regulation of imported protein (a) powders and (b) supplements.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is the lead department for food safety, including food supplements. Local authorities, and district councils in Northern Ireland, are the enforcers of food law in their respective local authority areas. The FSA produces advice and guidance for businesses, local authorities and consumers.While food supplements, including those that are imported, are not required to receive pre-market approval before being placed on the United Kingdom market, there is a legal duty on businesses to only place onto the market food that is safe. The FSA provides guidance for businesses to aid legal compliance and provides clarity to local authorities in the form of a toolkit to help support enforcement.The FSA also provides advice for consumers on the consumption of food supplements containing caffeine, and it is currently working on general food supplements advice aimed at helping consumers consume supplements safely.
Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help ensure that advertising of protein powders on social media is (a) accurate and (b) age-appropriate for young audiences.
The Advertising Standards Authority regulates advertising in the UK across traditional forms of media and online. The UK Code of Non-Broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing, by the Committee for Advertising Practice, requires marketing communications to be legal, decent, honest and truthful. It includes rules on advertising to children, and on food, food supplements, and associated health or nutrition claims.Under the Online Safety Act, platforms likely to be accessed by children must protect children from harmful and age-inappropriate content including eating disorder content and content which encourages self-administering of harmful substances.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of recycling infrastructure in handling textile waste from fast fashion.
While we do not hold any internal estimates on fast fashion waste volumes in the UK, industry partners provide some insight. WRAP estimates that the UK generated approximately 1.45 million tonnes of post-consumer textiles in 2022, which includes clothing, household linens and more. WRAP-Textiles-Market-Situation-Report-2024.pdf WRAP does not isolate a proportion of this as fast fashion. However, they note that low-quality textile goods are saturating secondary markets, with the average person in the UK throwing 35 items of unwanted textiles straight into the general waste each year, demonstrating the fast turnover of clothing. The price of our addiction to cheap fast fashion as pressure builds on UK second hand clothing market | WRAP - The Waste and Resources Action Programme Meanwhile, figures from BusinessWaste indicate that 300,000 tonnes of clothing waste enter household bins annually in the UK, with much of this likely being fast fashion. Fashion Waste Statistics & Facts | Textile & Clothing Waste Facts The department hasn't made any recent assessments on the effectiveness of recycling infrastructure, however we continue to monitor evidence. Within the Circular Economy Strategy, the Government is developing policy measures to improve circularity in the textiles sector.
Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of a levy on international student fees on UK university-led Research and Development capacity.
In the Immigration White Paper, the government committed to exploring a levy on international student fees. At this stage, no decisions have been taken on the size or implementation of any proposed levy by DfE. As such, DSIT has not made any formal assessment on the impact of university led R&D. If implemented, the levy would ensure that revenue from international students is more widely shared, and their contributions felt throughout our communities. We are committed to engaging the sector on the design of any potential levy and want to understand specific concerns providers have as early as possible.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of data corruption on judicial decisions made in (a) civil, (b) family and (c) tribunal courts following the HMCTS IT bug.
Given the important and sensitive work undertaken across the civil, family and tribunal jurisdictions, and the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) Tribunal in particular, it is entirely understandable that there will be concern at reports of an IT bug. It is important to reaffirm the Ministry of Justice’s commitment to a fair, open, and transparent justice system. Public trust in our courts is paramount, and any suggestion that this trust may have been compromised is taken extremely seriously.There is no evidence of any impact on case outcomes to date. However, actions are underway by HMCTS and the Ministry of Justice to ensure that the technical error has not resulted in adverse outcomes or materially influenced judicial decisions. Recognising the importance of the effective running of HMCTS’s digital case managements systems, a technical fix was applied as a priority within the relevant jurisdictions with the final fix applied in January 2025.In 2023, under the previous Government, HMCTS identified that a technical issue in the Civil, Family and Tribunals case management system was having an impact on some services because of the way that services were interacting with the Core Case Data (CCD) database. This technical issue had the potential to cause some documents and data fields to be hidden from view in certain cases across Civil, Family, and Tribunal jurisdictions.Following a risk-based assessment, HMCTS initially undertook targeted investigations, which have since been significantly expanded. In Tribunals, the area affected was SSCS cases. In recent weeks, HMCTS has carried out additional work which has continued to assure that the technical issue was indeed of very low incidence and confirmed that there is no evidence of any impact on case outcomes to date. Further assurance work is ongoing.In Civil and Family jurisdictions, no impact on judicial decisions has been identified to date. In Family Public Law, operational mitigations – such as local authorities supplying full bundles directly to the court – reduce the risk of missing documents on the CCD system affecting case outcomes.Due to the sensitivity of these matters, further re-assurance work is still under way. Any further steps will be determined and communicated to parties should this work identify any cases of concern.HMCTS follows established escalation protocols to ensure that technical issues are assessed and, where appropriate, disclosed to judges and legal professionals. In light of this episode, Ministers have asked that these processes are strengthened, including improvements to incident management and governance structures to update the risk assessment criteria on which HMCTS considers communication about technical problems to relevant affected partners or users, and strengthening the systematic handling of cross-cutting or architectural risks.HMCTS staff can raise concerns through internal whistleblowing channels, which are managed independently and in line with departmental policy. All concerns are investigated and escalated appropriately.The internal report referenced in media coverage was part of a whistleblowing investigation conducted in line with Ministry of Justice policies. In line with standard practice, we do not publish internal HR and whistleblowing reports. Likewise, it would not be appropriate to comment on questions about specific internal disciplinary investigations, other than to confirm that departmental policy and process are followed as required.There are no plans to pause court digitisation. While technical challenges are an inevitable part of digital transformation, they are investigated and triaged according to risk. We are continuing to digitise and improve our services to support swift access to justice.Over the span of the HMCTS Reform Programme there will have been many organisations involved in the development of the HMCTS case management systems, of which there are several. Major delivery partners are listed in Reform Programme documentation and procurement records, which are publicly available. The main suppliers which have worked on the development of the Civil, Family and Tribunals Platform (that includes Core Case Data) during the period of 2016 to present are:AtosCapgeminiCGICognizantMethodsPA ConsultingScrumconnectTransform UKSolirius ConsultingVersion 1This includes the provision of any services in the development of the case management system, such as: development, quality assurance testing, architecture, user-centred design, data architecture, delivery management amongst others.
If she will publish the internal HMCTS report leaked to the BBC regarding the case management software failures.
Given the important and sensitive work undertaken across the civil, family and tribunal jurisdictions, and the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) Tribunal in particular, it is entirely understandable that there will be concern at reports of an IT bug. It is important to reaffirm the Ministry of Justice’s commitment to a fair, open, and transparent justice system. Public trust in our courts is paramount, and any suggestion that this trust may have been compromised is taken extremely seriously.There is no evidence of any impact on case outcomes to date. However, actions are underway by HMCTS and the Ministry of Justice to ensure that the technical error has not resulted in adverse outcomes or materially influenced judicial decisions. Recognising the importance of the effective running of HMCTS’s digital case managements systems, a technical fix was applied as a priority within the relevant jurisdictions with the final fix applied in January 2025.In 2023, under the previous Government, HMCTS identified that a technical issue in the Civil, Family and Tribunals case management system was having an impact on some services because of the way that services were interacting with the Core Case Data (CCD) database. This technical issue had the potential to cause some documents and data fields to be hidden from view in certain cases across Civil, Family, and Tribunal jurisdictions.Following a risk-based assessment, HMCTS initially undertook targeted investigations, which have since been significantly expanded. In Tribunals, the area affected was SSCS cases. In recent weeks, HMCTS has carried out additional work which has continued to assure that the technical issue was indeed of very low incidence and confirmed that there is no evidence of any impact on case outcomes to date. Further assurance work is ongoing.In Civil and Family jurisdictions, no impact on judicial decisions has been identified to date. In Family Public Law, operational mitigations – such as local authorities supplying full bundles directly to the court – reduce the risk of missing documents on the CCD system affecting case outcomes.Due to the sensitivity of these matters, further re-assurance work is still under way. Any further steps will be determined and communicated to parties should this work identify any cases of concern.HMCTS follows established escalation protocols to ensure that technical issues are assessed and, where appropriate, disclosed to judges and legal professionals. In light of this episode, Ministers have asked that these processes are strengthened, including improvements to incident management and governance structures to update the risk assessment criteria on which HMCTS considers communication about technical problems to relevant affected partners or users, and strengthening the systematic handling of cross-cutting or architectural risks.HMCTS staff can raise concerns through internal whistleblowing channels, which are managed independently and in line with departmental policy. All concerns are investigated and escalated appropriately.The internal report referenced in media coverage was part of a whistleblowing investigation conducted in line with Ministry of Justice policies. In line with standard practice, we do not publish internal HR and whistleblowing reports. Likewise, it would not be appropriate to comment on questions about specific internal disciplinary investigations, other than to confirm that departmental policy and process are followed as required.There are no plans to pause court digitisation. While technical challenges are an inevitable part of digital transformation, they are investigated and triaged according to risk. We are continuing to digitise and improve our services to support swift access to justice.Over the span of the HMCTS Reform Programme there will have been many organisations involved in the development of the HMCTS case management systems, of which there are several. Major delivery partners are listed in Reform Programme documentation and procurement records, which are publicly available. The main suppliers which have worked on the development of the Civil, Family and Tribunals Platform (that includes Core Case Data) during the period of 2016 to present are:AtosCapgeminiCGICognizantMethodsPA ConsultingScrumconnectTransform UKSolirius ConsultingVersion 1This includes the provision of any services in the development of the case management system, such as: development, quality assurance testing, architecture, user-centred design, data architecture, delivery management amongst others.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department will consider supporting initiatives to commemorate the role of British farmers in maintaining food security during the Second World War.
In May, Defra relaunched the Women’s Land Army and Timber Corps Scheme, a civilian veteran service medal scheme recognising those women volunteers who took on roles traditionally done by the men away at war by cultivating crops used to help feed the nation. We recognise the vital role that farmers play putting food on our plates and caring for our countryside. The Government is committed to supporting British farmers by strengthening food security, increasing farm profitability, and protecting our environment for future generations.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to recognise the historic contribution of British farmers to the war effort through (a) public commemoration, (b) heritage funding and (c) other methods.
In May, Defra relaunched the Women’s Land Army and Timber Corps Scheme, a civilian veteran service medal scheme recognising those women volunteers who took on roles traditionally done by the men away at war by cultivating crops used to help feed the nation. We recognise the vital role that farmers play putting food on our plates and caring for our countryside. The Government is committed to supporting British farmers by strengthening food security, increasing farm profitability, and protecting our environment for future generations.
Whether her Department has issued guidance to schools on consulting a child’s (a) EHCP and (b) SEND coordinators before they are referred to Prevent.
The department publishes non-statutory Prevent duty: safeguarding learners vulnerable to radicalisation non-statutory guidance to support education settings and designated safeguarding leads (DSL) to comply with the Prevent duty and make Prevent referrals. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-prevent-duty-safeguarding-learners-vulnerable-to-radicalisation.In most circumstances, the DSL has responsibility to make Prevent referrals. Where relevant, DSLs are expected to work with special educational needs co-ordinators when deciding whether to make a referral, and to liaise relevant agencies so that children’s needs are considered holistically.Departmental guidance includes a school’s risk assessment framework to support Prevent referral decisions. The framework is clear that contextual and environmental factors should be considered.The department publishes comprehensive advice resources on our Educate Against Hate website, and to further to support teachers in protecting children from extremism and radicalisation, we also have a team of regional co-ordinators who work directly with education institutions in England.
What recent assessment her Department has made of the (a) condition and (b) efficiency of radiator-based heating systems in schools.
Responsible bodies (the relevant local authority, academy trust or voluntary-aided body) are responsible for the condition and efficiency of heating systems in their schools.The department assesses the condition of the school estate through its Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme, which includes an assessment of the condition of heating systems. This is shared with responsible bodies and schools. This programme does not include an assessment of the efficiency of radiator-based heating systems. Further information on the current Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme and a report of the key findings of Condition Data Collection 1 (CDC1), can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-data-collection-2-cdc2-programme#access-cdc2-reports. The full school-level data from CDC1 can be found here: https://depositedpapers.parliament.uk/depositedpaper/2285521/details.The department also publishes non-statutory guidance on heating system selection as well as life cycle and maintenance in Building Bulletin 101: Guidelines on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality in schools, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings.
What mental health support is available to young people after receiving exam results.
There are a range of support options available to young people after receiving their exam results, including advice from their school or college in the first instance.Students can also get exam results advice through the National Careers Service, or speak to a professional adviser on next steps and the range of alternative options available.YoungMinds have a range of resources available to support young people’s mental health around the results period, including a parent helpline and dedicated guidance for students who may feel disappointed with their exam results. There is also a list of further mental health resources for young people, parents and carers, and education staff in Ofqual’s student guide for 2025, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofqual-student-guide-to-exams-and-assessments-in-2025.
Whether she is taking steps to ensure the Highway Code is taught in schools.
The revised relationships, sex and health education guidance was published on 15 July and includes a new personal safety section. Curriculum content includes how to identify risk and manage personal safety in increasingly independent situations, including around roads, railways, including level crossings, and water.The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, chaired by Becky Francis CBE.The Review aims to ensure a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work. The Review Group published its Interim Report in March 2025 here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6821d69eced319d02c9060e3/Curriculum_and_Assessment_Review_interim_report.pdf.The group will publish its final report with recommendations this autumn.
What guidance her Department has issued to schools and educational settings on responding to terrorist attack threats.
This government is committed to ensuring that children, young people, and adult learners are safe from terrorist incidents and attacks.The department publishes comprehensive counter-terrorism guidance for those working in education settings. This is part of a series of resources that have been developed in collaboration with the National Counter-Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) and sector partners. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-security-and-preparedness-for-education-settings.The guidance is aimed at all those working in settings who have responsibilities for emergency responses, site security, communication and leadership. It is also for all those working across education settings, including non-teaching staff, who have responsibility for keeping learners safe and to help develop good preparedness and response plans.The guidance provides detailed advice on emergency planning, embedding a security culture in the setting, response options, working with local partners, and case studies.
What discussions his Department has had with mobile network operators on the (a) resilience and (b) reliability of mobile infrastructure to deliver emergency alerts during (i) power outages and (ii) network congestion.
The Emergency Alerts capability is reliant on mobile network operators’ infrastructure to issue alerts. Under the Communications Act 2003 and Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021, UK communications providers have a statutory requirement to take appropriate and proportionate steps to identify risks to their resilience, reduce those risks, prepare for compromises and mitigate and remedy them when they do occur. These requirements are overseen by Ofcom. The Department has regular discussions with the UK’s mobile network operators and works in partnership with communications providers to ensure that their networks remain secure, resilient, and accessible, including during emergencies.