Every parliamentary written question tabled by Ben Lake this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 319 · this parliament
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to secure the release of Dr Abu Safiya and other medical staff from Israeli prisons, following the findings by UN Special Rapporteurs on 7 July 2026 that their detention is arbitrary.
Awaiting answer.
Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2026 to Question 2218 Seeds: Imports, what measures is the government taking to safeguard domestic agriculture and horticulture from the risk of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and invasive species from imported into the UK via seeds sourced from online marketplaces.
Awaiting answer.
How many applications for a grant of probate were submitted in a) English and b) Welsh in each year since 2021.
Awaiting answer.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's revised volunteer model for Coastguard Rescue Officers on the level of maritime and coastal search and rescue provision along the Ceredigion Preseli coastline.
Awaiting answer.
Innovation and Technology, Technology what discussions she has had with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and DNOs on ensuring rapid restoration of power to telecommunications sites during major inc
Awaiting answer.
Innovation and Technology, what analysis her Department has conducted on the potential benefits and impacts of redirecting a portion of Annual Licence Fee revenues towards resilience-enhancing measures.
Awaiting answer.
Innovation and Technology, whether she has had discussions with HM Treasury on alternative uses of spectrum-related revenues to support national connectivity and resilience objectives.
Awaiting answer.
Whether the UK National Screening Committee plans to build use of Stockholm3 into its screening model.
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) has committed to examine any significant peer reviewed evidence that is relevant to its recommendation on prostate cancer screening, including reviewing evidence on biomarkers such as Stockholm3.When new peer r...
What recent assessment has she made of the potential merits of reducing VAT to 10% for hospitality businesses in Wales.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption. It is a reserved tax and applies across the UK, with the 20 per cent standard rate applying to most goods and services. Reduced rates of VAT come at a significant cost to the Exchequer and reduce the revenue availa...
Pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2025 to Question 51908, whether she has made an estimate of (a) the cash-flow to the Exchequer of withdrawing postponed VAT accounting for imports, including the interest foregone on
Postponed VAT accounting provides significant support for businesses, helping to manage cash flow and facilitate imports. HMRC undertakes regular operational work to ensure compliance with the rules around postponed VAT accounting. The VAT gap has reduced...
If she will commission the Office for Budget Responsibility to undertake an independent assessment of the fiscal impact of (a) withdrawing postponed VAT accounting for imports and (b) requiring payment of import VAT
Postponed VAT accounting provides significant support for businesses, helping to manage cash flow and facilitate imports. HMRC undertakes regular operational work to ensure compliance with the rules around postponed VAT accounting. The VAT gap has reduced...
What steps he is taking to reduce the time taken to issue a grant of probate.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service has invested in more staff in 2026, alongside system and process improvements and a programme of upskilling to improve the processing time for applications and in order to ensure the outstanding caseload does not increase...
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking with international partners to help secure the release of Hannah Schafer.
I refer the Hon Member to my statement to the House on 21 May, and to the answer provided on 1 June in response to Question 2817.
Innovation and Technology, what proportion of mobile phone mast sites servicing rural areas have alternative power generation or a battery back-up that can be accessed during an unplanned power outage.
Government does not hold this level of detailed information. Mobile network operators have legal obligations to put in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure the resilience of their networks and services. This is overseen by the independen...
What was the average duration of an unplanned power outage in each Distribution Network Operator area in each of the last five years.
The UK has a highly resilient energy network, and industry works to continuously minimise the risk and impacts of unplanned outages. All DNOs are regulated by the independent regulator, Ofgem, and must report their performance against annual targets to Of...
How many unplanned power outages occurred in each of the last five years.
The UK has a highly resilient energy network, and industry works to continuously minimise the risk and impacts of unplanned outages. All DNOs are regulated by the independent regulator, Ofgem, and must report their performance against annual targets to Of...
When the consultation on the Marriage Act 1949 reforms will be launched.
The Government has announced its intention to reform weddings law when parliamentary time allows.The reforms reflect a commitment to making marriage law fairer, simpler, and more modern, whilst also protecting the solemnity and dignity of marriage. The cu...
Whether he has considered inviting French forces to participate in Arctic cold-weather training at Camp Viking in Norway under the framework of the Lancaster House Treaties.
The UK, France and other Allies already engage in cold weather training together in Norway through exercise COLD RESPONSE.
Whether he has considered extending the Lancaster House Treaties to include a formal mechanism for Franco-British cooperation on Arctic and High North security.
NATO provides the formal mechanism for Franco-British cooperation on Arctic and High North security. The UK and France work closely together on NATO's Arctic Sentry mission which is a critical and proportionate step to bolster security in the Arctic and H...
Innovation and Technology, with reference to the answer of 28 April 2026 to question 128431, whether her Department verifies claims by major communication providers that no existing PSTN customers will be left wi
Landlines are not being removed. The technology underpinning the landline network, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), is being upgraded to digital Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).As per the response to Question 128431 on 28 April, I can rei...