Every parliamentary written question tabled by Cameron Thomas this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 121–140 of 392 · this parliament
Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 24 November 2025 to question 91566, on Fishing Vessels: Monitoring, what progress has been made on the volunteer early adopter phase for Remote Electronic Monitoring of fishing vessels.
In December 2025 Defra successfully completed the first Remote Electronic Monitoring early adopter project with a volunteer vessel from Fishery A, pelagic trawls over 24m. Defra is seeking volunteers for further fisheries.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the ongoing impact of large scale industrial bottom trawling on the small-scale inshore fishing fleet.
No assessment has been made of these impacts. However, the activities of all vessels fishing in our waters, including large scale industrial vessels, are monitored by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO). If it is considered that the activities of one sector are harming another, such as the small-scale inshore fleet, Defra can restrict those activities by using licence conditions and byelaws to introduce management measures. Last year, the MMO also consulted on prohibiting the use of bottom towed gear in 41 of England’s Marine Protected Areas for conservation purposes. Work on this issue is ongoing.
Food and Rural Affairs, when does her Department plan to announce the results of the Marine protected areas Stage 3 Consultation.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Ely and East Cambridgeshire on 13 November 2025, PQ 88509.
Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to tackle the Planning Inspectorate’s backlog of cases awaiting a site visit.
The government is committed to the efficient handling of planning casework, including ensuring that there is sufficient resourcing in the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) to support such activity. In 2025/26, funding increased for PINS’s Resource Delivery budget (to £97.9 million) and their Capital Budget (to £15 million). PINS’s Strategic Plan commits to eliminating all casework backlogs by 2027.
Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to increase the level of funding for the Planning Inspectorate.
The government is committed to the efficient handling of planning casework, including ensuring that there is sufficient resourcing in the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) to support such activity. In 2025/26, funding increased for PINS’s Resource Delivery budget (to £97.9 million) and their Capital Budget (to £15 million). PINS’s Strategic Plan commits to eliminating all casework backlogs by 2027.
Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Planning Inspectorate's recruitment of inspectors.
The government is committed to the efficient handling of planning casework, including ensuring that there is sufficient resourcing in the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) to support such activity. In 2025/26, funding increased for PINS’s Resource Delivery budget (to £97.9 million) and their Capital Budget (to £15 million). PINS’s Strategic Plan commits to eliminating all casework backlogs by 2027.
What assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the preliminary findings of the ELSA Study that screens children for Type 1 diabetes.
The Government is guided by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific advisory committee which makes its recommendations based on internationally recognised criteria and a rigorous evidence review and consultation process. It is only where the committee is confident that screening would provide more good than harm that a screening programme is recommended, as all medical interventions carry an inherent risk.The UK NSC is aware of the ELSA study and looks forward to receiving the results of this study when the trial is complete.
What steps his Department has taken to reduce the financial cost of blood ketone tests.
The Department is updating the NHS Drug Tariff Part IX, starting with the category of Point of Care Testing and Hypodermic Equipment, which includes blood ketone testing strips. The intention behind these updates is to ensure that the products listed on the NHS Drug Tariff, which can be prescribed in the National Health Service, are of good quality. It will also help to minimise unnecessary price discrepancies the NHS pays between similar items. These products are being renewed in 2026 and reflected in the updated Drug Tariff around October 2026.NHS England has published guidance for prescribers on the quality and cost-effectiveness of blood ketone meters and testing strips available in the NHS. The combined effect of these two steps is expected to reduce the financial cost of blood ketone tests
Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure stable, long-term funding for free community sports activities.
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, including children and young people, have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.The Government provides the majority of support for community sport through Sport England, our Arm’s Length Body for grassroots sport, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery Funding. Sport England’s work focuses on increasing participation in grassroots sport, including providing more opportunities for children and young people from all backgrounds to be active.As examples of the support they provide, Sport England’s online resource, Buddle, offers free online guidance to support sports clubs offering sport and physical activity opportunities for everyone, including children and young people. They also encourage the sport sector to prioritise young people's perspectives through their free online Youth Voice Innovation Storybook.Sport England also use campaigns to encourage young people to get active.The Studio You partnership for PE teachers is powered by their This Girl Can campaign and funded by The National Lottery, and is a digital exercise platform for teenage girls across England, which teaches a variety of non-competitive activities to ensure no girl is left behind in PE. The Play Their Way campaign for sports coaches empowers coaches to adopt a child-first approach to coaching so children and young people have the best experience possible when developing their interest in sport.
What steps his Department is taking to streamline the transition between regular and reserve service.
As part of a wider programme to enable a more flexible workforce we are examining our policies and regulations to make transition between all parts of the Armed Forces as seamless as possible. The first step in this is a measure in the Armed Forces Bill 2026 that will enable service people to transfer between the Regular Force and the Volunteer Reserve without having to leave and rejoin.
What steps his Department is taking to streamline the recruitment process for the armed forces.
The Government is focused upon improving Armed Forces recruitment, modernising and refining our policies and processes to attract the best possible talent. We have delivered this through policies which have included a 35% pay increase for new recruits; one of the largest pay increases in the last 20 years for existing personnel; scrapping over 100 outdated medical policies; the creation of novel entry pathways such as the military Direct-Entry Cyber and ZigZag Careers pathways as well as the recently announced Armed Forces Foundation Scheme (‘Gap Year’); and delivering the ambition to make a conditional offer of employment to candidates within 10 days, and a provisional training start date within 30 days. These activities and their impacts will inform the development of the Armed Forces Recruiting Service (AFRS) which is being implemented to further improve the speed with which highly motivated and capable people can join our Armed Forces. The AFRS contract with Serco commenced on 1 April 2025 and will fully unify recruitment by October 2027, replacing the separate schemes that are currently run by the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Airforce. AFRS will create a streamlined, single-entry point to attract diverse talent and modernise recruitment - making it faster, simpler, and more accessible. It will deliver a single digital system to support candidates and recruiters. It will utilise military personnel and civilian staff to support candidates through the recruitment process. This contract is vital for building a capable, motivated future force ready to meet evolving global challenges.
Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure children, especially from lower-income families, have access to regular, free community sports activities.
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, including children and young people, have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities.The Government provides the majority of support for community sport through Sport England, our Arm’s Length Body for grassroots sport, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery Funding. Sport England’s work focuses on increasing participation in grassroots sport, including providing more opportunities for children and young people from all backgrounds to be active.As examples of the support they provide, Sport England’s online resource, Buddle, offers free online guidance to support sports clubs offering sport and physical activity opportunities for everyone, including children and young people. They also encourage the sport sector to prioritise young people's perspectives through their free online Youth Voice Innovation Storybook.Sport England also use campaigns to encourage young people to get active.The Studio You partnership for PE teachers is powered by their This Girl Can campaign and funded by The National Lottery, and is a digital exercise platform for teenage girls across England, which teaches a variety of non-competitive activities to ensure no girl is left behind in PE. The Play Their Way campaign for sports coaches empowers coaches to adopt a child-first approach to coaching so children and young people have the best experience possible when developing their interest in sport.
What steps he is taking to ensure the reliability of issued kit.
The appropriate reliability requirement for items of defence equipment is identified during the early stages of a project. During the stages prior to introduction to service the supplier provides evidence via the Reliability Case that the item will meet the agreed reliability needs of the user. In accordance with Public Procurement Regulations, contracts placed with suppliers to deliver equipment to our Armed Forces must be proactively managed to ensure such items are delivered on time, on budget and to the standard expected for our Armed Forces. Delivery Teams within the Ministry of Defence monitor the performance of contractors against the terms and conditions of a contract through the use of Progress Reports and/or Progress Meetings. Furthermore, the Department monitors the quality management systems within major suppliers to provide assurance that defence equipment is delivered to the required standard.
What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of resources to support schools to reach net zero.
I refer the hon. Member for Tewkesbury to the answer of 16 January 2026 to Question 104584.
What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of a joint procurement plan for the nations making up the Coalition of the Willing.
Alongside France, the UK is jointly leading the Coalition of the Willing to support Ukraine's long-term security. The Coalition remains focused on increasing pressure on Russia, sustaining the flow of military assistance to Ukraine, and tightening economic restrictions to degrade Putin's war machine and help create the conditions for a just peace.No decisions have been made on a joint procurement plan under the Coalition of the Willing.
What steps she is taking to improve environmental education in schools.
The current national curriculum includes topics relating to ecosystems, soil health, and climate adaptation within the context of UK food security, and they can also be studied at GCSE and A level.Work is now underway to deliver a new curriculum and assessment system that is ambitious for every child, rich in knowledge and strong on skills. Programmes of study for each curriculum subject will be refreshed in line with the Curriculum and Assessment Review’s recommendations, and we are working towards a revised national curriculum being published in spring 2027, for first teaching in 2028.There will be opportunity to provide views on the new curriculum content when the department conducts a public consultation on the draft programmes of study in summer 2026.The department already has a range of vocational qualifications that provide training in green skills including apprenticeships, T levels, Skills Bootcamps and higher technical qualifications.
What steps his Department has taken to improve diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes in children.
The Early Surveillance for Autoimmune diabetes (ELSA) study is currently screening children across the United Kingdom to identify those at risk of developing type 1 diabetes. More information is available at the following link: https://www.elsadiabetes.nhs.uk/ The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is developing guidance on the use of Teplizumab for delaying the onset of stage 3 type 1 diabetes in people aged eight years and over with stage 2 type 1 diabetes. Further information is available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ta10981 In addition, a RightCare toolkit has been published by NHS England which sets out what good quality diabetes care looks like for children and young adults and includes guidance on timely and accurate diagnosis. The toolkit is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/children-and-young-people-diabetes-toolkit/
What steps his Department is taking to support the development of experimental treatments for Type 1 diabetes.
The Early Surveillance for Autoimmune diabetes (ELSA) study is currently screening children across the United Kingdom to identify those at risk of developing type 1 diabetes. More information is available at the following link: https://www.elsadiabetes.nhs.uk/ The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is developing guidance on the use of Teplizumab for delaying the onset of stage 3 type 1 diabetes in people aged eight years and over with stage 2 type 1 diabetes. Further information is available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ta10981 In addition, a RightCare toolkit has been published by NHS England which sets out what good quality diabetes care looks like for children and young adults and includes guidance on timely and accurate diagnosis. The toolkit is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/children-and-young-people-diabetes-toolkit/
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for his Department of the report by Resilience & Reconstruction entitled Disinformation, UK Democracy, and Attitudes toward Ukraine & Russia in the UK, published on 14 January 2026.
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 21 January in response to Question 105450.
What steps she is taking to help tackle gaps in public knowledge on the origins of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Improved media literacy builds resilience to misinformation and disinformation and fosters critical thinking. The government is improving media literacy through coordinated cross-government work, including funding innovative community-based interventions and launching an awareness campaign to build digital resilience and critical thinking skills online. The Online Safety Act updated Ofcom’s statutory duty to promote media literacy. This includes raising the awareness and understanding of misinformation and harmful content, especially where it affects vulnerable groups. The government’s independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, published on 5 November 2025, emphasised the value of secure knowledge, the process of questioning and critical enquiry and weighing up evidence across information and sources. The government’s response to the review committed to strengthening media literacy content in the curriculum to ensure vital applied knowledge and skills in media and digital literacy are embedded into the revised curriculum, that subject-specific disciplinary skills including critical thinking and problem solving are clearly articulated in the refreshed programmes of study.