Every parliamentary written question tabled by Edward Argar this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 21–40 of 83 · this parliament
What the total budget was for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board in (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-2025 and (c) 2025-6 financial years.
Integrated care board revenue allocations are available here:https://www.england.nhs.uk/allocations/The total revenue allocations for consecutive years are not comparable as the scope of services covered changes. For instance, some specialised services were delegated for the first time in 2025/26.
What assessment he has made of the equitability of National Grid's transition from the purchase of wayleaves to the purchase of easements with one-off payments for hosting grid infrastructure.
The government encourages voluntary agreements between electricity network developers and landowners as they can support enduring relationships. The government has not carried out an assessment of the equitability of paying landowners regularly under a wayleave versus a one-off easement payment and it is up to the parties involved in the agreement to assess whether the terms are equitable.
What assessment she has made of the potential merits of Ofsted making a separate judgment on SEN provision in schools on its published inspection report.
This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for Melton and Syston and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
What proportion of correspondence from hon. Members to her Department was responded to within the required period in each month between July 2024 and August 2025.
Since July 2024, Treasury ministers have received over 13,000 pieces of correspondence from Members.Officials and Private Offices are working hard to clear outstanding cases as quickly as possible.Correspondence performance data is published within HM Treasury’s Annual Report and Accounts.
How many children had a education, health and care plan in Leicestershire as of July 2025.
The latest figures on education, health and care plans as of January 2025, including assessments, waiting times, and school settings, are available in the ‘Education, health and care plans’ publication. The full dataset can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2025.
How many and what proportion of children with an education, health and care plan are in a mainstream setting in Leicestershire.
The latest figures on education, health and care plans as of January 2025, including assessments, waiting times, and school settings, are available in the ‘Education, health and care plans’ publication. The full dataset can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2025.
How many and what proportion of pupils were receiving SEN support at school in Leicestershire in July 2025.
The number and proportion of pupils receiving special educational needs support at schools in Leicestershire can be viewed in the table here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/5819b943-986a-45eb-62a4-08ddf03ad3ce.The figures are from the January 2025 school census publication here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england/2024-25.
How many children were waiting for an education, health and care plan to be issued in Leicestershire as of July 2025.
The latest figures on education, health and care plans as of January 2025, including assessments, waiting times, and school settings, are available in the ‘Education, health and care plans’ publication. The full dataset can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2025.
How many children had been waiting more than 20 weeks for a education, health and care plan in Leicestershire as of July 2025.
The latest figures on education, health and care plans as of January 2025, including assessments, waiting times, and school settings, are available in the ‘Education, health and care plans’ publication. The full dataset can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2025.
What proportion of (a) named day (b) ordinary written questions were answered by her Department within the required timescale in (i) January, (ii) February, (iii) March, (iv) April, (v) May, (vi) June, (vii) July and (viii) August 2025.
Data on response times to written questions is held by the House and published by the Procedure Committee at the end of each session.
What the open caseload was for the Crown Court in England and Wales at the start of each month since June 2024.
The Crown Court outstanding caseload remains one of the biggest challenges facing the Criminal Justice System. The caseload has risen substantially over recent years due to the pandemic and a substantial increase in the number of cases coming to court. The latest published data shows that the outstanding caseload stood at 76,957 at the end of March 2025.For this financial year (25/26), this Government is funding a record allocation of Crown Court sitting days to deliver swifter justice for victims – 110,000 sitting days next year, 4,000 higher than the last Government funded. We also funded 108,500 sitting days in the Crown Court in the last financial year - the highest level in almost 10 years (since FY15/16).However, the scale of the challenge is beyond what increasing sitting days can achieve. That is why the Government asked Sir Brian Leveson to chair an Independent Review of Criminal Courts, to propose once-in-a-generation reform that will improve timeliness in the courts and deliver swifter justice for victims. The first part of the Review now been published. We will carefully consider Sir Brian’s proposals before setting out the Government’s full response in the autumn.The number of open Crown Court cases at the end of each quarter is published in Table_C1 of the Criminal Court Statistics quarterly release: Criminal court statistics Q1 2025. Data have been published up to the end of March 2025.A monthly breakdown, as requested from June 2024 to March 2025 is provided below. We extract data for the end of the month rather than the start of each month, so we have provided month end figures in the table below.MonthOpen Crown Court caseload at the end of the monthMay 202470,133June 202470,978July 202471,419August 202472,853September 202473,118October 202473,641November 202474,121December 202474,592January 202575,299February 202575,905March 202576,957
With reference to the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 25 February 2025, Official Report, col. 631, (a) on what date the inquiry commenced, (b) on what date it concluded and (c) when its findings will be made public.
The investigation remains ongoing. I am unable to comment further on the progress or specifics of an ongoing investigation.
How many full time equivalent staff were employed by NHS England on 1 April 2025.
The number of full-time equivalent staff employed by NHS England as of 1 March 2025 was 14,957.12.
What proportion of (a) named day questions and (b) ordinary written questions were responded to by his Department within the required timescale in (i) January 2025, (ii) February 2025, (iii) March 2025 and (iv) April 2025.
The Department takes its obligations to parliamentary accountability seriously, including the answering of written parliamentary questions. We continue to receive the highest number of written questions of any Government department in Whitehall.The following tables show the information requested as recorded internally within the Department:Named Day:MonthProportion answered within required timescaleJanuary 202576.7%February 202547.3%March 202549.6%April 202574.4% Ordinary Written:MonthProportion answered within required timescaleJanuary 202586.4%February 202562.6%March 202563.1%April 202576.3%
With reference to the Urgent Question on the NHS and Care Volunteer Responders service on 19 May 2025, what estimate he has made of when the new national programme will be in operation.
Volunteers continue to support health and care in hospitals, ambulance services, and communities. The new NHS Volunteer recruitment portal is due to fully launch later this year. Prospective volunteers can already access the portal via the volunteer pages of the National Health Service’s website to search for nearby volunteering opportunities and contacts in local NHS organisations.Although the NHS and Care Volunteer Responders contractual arrangement is ending, volunteers will be signposted to other available opportunities across the sector. The new NHS Volunteer recruitment portal will help to ensure that the active pool of volunteers registered with the Volunteer Responders programme can continue to support the NHS.
With reference to her oral contribution of 4 November 2024, Official Report, col. 46, (a) on what date the leak inquiry commenced, (b) on what date the inquiry concluded and (c) when its findings will be made public.
The investigation remains ongoing, and all reasonable lines of inquiry will be pursued.
With reference to the Answers of 4 April 2025 to Questions (a) 41903, (b) 41902 and (c) 41906, how many full time equivalent staff are employed in NHSE transformation team; and how many full time equivalent staff it will employ when fully staffed.
Ministers and senior Department officials are working with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to determine the leadership, structure, and requirements needed to support the creation of a new centre for health and care.We will ensure the right expertise and experience is brought together to deliver this transformation, including people with leadership experience of other major change programmes and mergers.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of planning control and enforcement in preventing (i) vibration and (ii) damage to neighbouring properties during construction works.
The Department has not undertaken such an assessment. Planning conditions can be used to mitigate the adverse effects of a development, such as vibration, where they meet the tests set out in the National Planning Policy Framework. It is for local planning authorities to consider whether it is appropriate to attach conditions to the grant of planning permission and to take any subsequent enforcement action where there is a breach of planning control on a case-by-case basis.
From what date Baroness Casey is contracted to start work on the social care commission.
Baroness Casey of Blackstock will start work on her independent commission into adult social care later this month, April 2025. Baroness Casey of Blackstock and her team are currently in the process of setting up the Independent Commission, ahead of its formal launch.
How many full time equivalent staff were employed by NHS England as of 1 March 2025.
The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff employed by NHS England as of 1 March 2025 was 14,957.12 FTE.