Every parliamentary written question tabled by Catherine Fookes this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 60 · this parliament
What recent steps her Department has taken to reduce car driving test wait times at (a) Monmouth test centre, (b) Abergavenny test centre and (c) test centres in South Wales.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has been strengthening the booking system further through major booking reforms (from March–June 2026) to protect access for genuine learners and reduce abuse. It is still too early to draw definitive conclus...
What recent steps her Department has taken to reduce wait times for medical driving licences.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has seen sustained growth in the volume and complexity of driving licence applications where a medical condition must be investigated before a licence can be issued. The length of time taken to deal with an a...
What steps she is taking to help tackle financial abuse.
The VAWG strategy and the Financial Inclusion Strategy set out ambitious commitments to tackle this issue of financial abuse.We are working with the financial sector to make sure that coerced debt, credit ratings, Child Maintenance Service payments, and j...
What actions it is taking to promote engagement between the HSE and the heritage sector in relation to the proposed changes to the Control of Lead at Work Regulations.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is currently consulting on proposed changes to the Control of Lead at Work Regulations (CLAW) 2002 to enable the potential impact to be fully assessed. HSE have been engaging with the heritage sector about possible ch...
What assessment he has made of the potential impacts of proposed changes to the Control of Lead at Work Regulations on women working in heritage and conservation.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is currently consulting on proposed changes to the Control of Lead at Work Regulations (CLAW) 2002 to enable the potential impact, including any specific impacts the proposals may have on women, to be fully assessed. ...
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase price transparency in the milk supply chain.
The Government recognises the importance of greater transparency in the milk supply chain to support a fair and sustainable dairy sector. The Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations, which fully came into force in July 2025, requires that all dairy co...
What steps he is taking to help people who have been victims of a) scams by rogue builders and b) poor workmanship by rogue builders.
This Government is working to ensure we have a high-quality and professional construction industry, with consumer protection at the heart of this. TrustMark, sponsored by the Department and licenced by the Government, is the Government Endorsed Quality Sc...
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to maximise the effectiveness of the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator.
The Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA) has been appointed to oversee and enforce the Fair Dealing Regulations for the Milk and Pig Sectors, providing a route for raising issues and complaints where parties believe the rules have not been followe...
What steps she is taking to tackle the normalisation of violence as part of sex among young people.
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.We have published updated guidance for relationships, sex and health education for teaching from September 2026, which includes a focus on developing skills for hea...
What steps he is taking to help protect consumers who require LPG for home heating from global price instability.
Households that rely on LPG may be eligible for support through the Crisis and Resilience Fund. Guidance issued to local authorities makes clear that crisis payments may be used to assist with energy costs associated with any fuel used for domestic heatin...
What steps he is taking to ensure consumers are adequately protected from rogue builders.
This Government is working to ensure we have a high-quality and professional construction industry, with consumer protection at the heart of this. TrustMark, sponsored by the Department and licenced by the Government, is the Government Endorsed Quality Scheme that covers work a consumer chooses to have carried out in or around their home. In addition, the Building Safety Act 2022 has introduced competence requirements for both individuals and businesses working in the built environment.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to prevent biodiversity loss associated with deforestation globally.
We remain steadfast in working with partners to deliver our shared commitment to halt and reverse deforestation and forest degradation by 2030 while supporting sustainable development. We recognise the urgency of taking action to ensure that UK consumption of forest risk commodities is not driving deforestation. The Government is currently considering its approach to addressing the impact of the use of forest risk commodities in our supply chains and will set out its approach in due course.
Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure households without access to reliable broadband or mobile signal will be able to make calls following the digital switchover.
The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration of the copper based Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for everyone across the UK In November 2024, the Government secured safeguards from the telecoms industry. These include the provision of free battery back-ups for vulnerable and landline dependent (including those without mobile signal) customers to ensure access to emergency services for at least one hour in a power outage. Many communication providers have gone further, providing battery back-ups of 4-7 hours.In March 2026, the Government and industry agreed a new Fixed Telecoms Charter to extend these safeguards to all future fixed telecoms modernisation programmes.In order to function correctly, VoIP requires a minimum connection speed of just 0.5 megabytes per second. It is possible to order a VoIP landline without purchasing a broadband connection.
What steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for the issuing of medical driving licences.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) aims to process all applications as quickly as possible. In the interests of road safety, the DVLA must be satisfied that the required medical standards are met before a licence is issued. Some medical cases take longer because the DVLA often needs information from third parties, such as doctors or other healthcare professionals, before it can make a licensing decision. The DVLA has seen sustained growth in the volume and complexity of medical licence applications, increasing waiting times for some customers. To improve its services, the DVLA has introduced a new casework system, and launched a new medical services portal so the majority of customers can now apply online through the DVLA driver and vehicle account. These enhancements alongside the recruitment of additional staff to deal with these applications and answer telephone calls, will deliver real improvements in services and turnaround times for customers.
What steps he is taking to ensure rural households have access to adequate smart meter network coverage.
The Data Communications Company (DCC) is the organisation responsible for the smart metering network in Great Britain, and is obligated to provide smart meter network connectivity to at least 99.25% of premises across GB. The Government is working closely with the DCC to ensure that smart meter connectivity can be extended to the small minority of unserved properties in all regions, including rural areas, as soon as reasonably possible. One such solution, currently being rolled out, is Virtual WAN (VWAN) which involves using customers’ broadband connection, (with consent), to carry smart metering communications.
What recent steps her Department has taken to help tackle the use of cash intensive businesses for money laundering.
The Government is committed to tackling the use of cash intensive businesses for money laundering.As part of the Economic Crime Plan 2 commitment, the Government has worked with the National Crime Agency, The Financial Conduct Authority and UK Finance to develop a set of economic crime priorities, which include cash-based money laundering. This will ensure that public and private sectors allocate resources to where they can have the most impact on a threat. The Government has also committed to recruit 475 new roles by March 2026 to help clamp down on money laundering- increasing prevention, detection and disrupting illegal activity.In the 2025 Autumn Budget, the Government allocated £10 million per year for three years to tackle high street illegality. This funding includes the creation of the High Streets Illegality Taskforce, enhancements to Trading Standards capabilities and support for at least 45 additional law enforcement officers. Hosted by the Home Office, the cross-government Taskforce will develop a strategic long-term policy response to money laundering and associated illegality on UK high streets, including other forms of economic crime, tax evasion, and illegal working, and tackling the systemic vulnerabilities that criminals exploit.More broadly, we expect to publish a new Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery (AMLAR) strategy in the 2026. Developed jointly with HMT and in partnership with the private sector, the strategy will set a clear direction for strengthening the UK’s approach to tackling money laundering and boosting asset recovery.
What steps she is taking to reduce car driving test wait times at (a) Monmouth test centre, (b) Abergavenny test centre and (c) test centres in South Wales.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times. The agency is intensifying its efforts to reduce waiting times, including in Wales, and improve access to driving tests that will break down barriers to opportunity as part of the government’s Plan for Change. DVSA is continuing with recruitment campaigns across the country to provide as many tests as possible. A full-time driving examiner can be expected to add approximately 1,200 tests per year to the booking system. Following a recent recruitment campaign, one new entrant driving examiner has recently started in Monmouth and is currently undertaking training. Eight new entrant driving examiners are scheduled to start training in May and June. Following successful completion of training, one will be joining Abergavenny test centre, two for Merthyr Tydfil, two for Newport, two for Swansea and one will be joining Llanelli test centre. A further eight offers of employment have been made, which are still in pre-employment checks, for Cardiff, Newport, Bridgend, Swansea, Llanelli and Carmarthen test centre.
What steps he is taking to improve the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service.
Child Maintenance payments keep around 120,000 children out of poverty each year.The Government intends to replace Direct Pay with a more effective Collect and Pay model, as soon as parliamentary time allows, tackling non‑compliance and ensuring maintenance reaches children. Fees for compliant parents will be reduced, while stronger enforcement will target non‑payers. The Government is also reviewing the outdated calculation formula to ensure fairness and better outcomes for children.
What steps he is taking to help ensure newly qualified paramedics can access appropriate NHS job opportunities.
Decisions on the employment of newly qualified paramedics are a matter for individual National Health Service trusts which manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are working closely with NHS England, employers, and educators to improve transition into the workforce.
If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of appointing a UK Maternity Commissioner.
There are no current plans to appoint a Maternity Commissioner. The Government has commissioned an independent National Investigation into maternity and neonatal care, chaired by Baroness Amos, which is expected to make recommendations this spring. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will chair the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce to address the recommendations and develop a new national action plan to drive improvements across maternity and neonatal care.