Every parliamentary written question tabled by Esther McVey this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 181–200 of 369 · this parliament
Pursuant to his oral contribution on 10 July 2025 in response to a Question from the hon. Member for Tatton, Official Report, column 1112, how much money has been saved as a result of the implementation of the Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure guidance, published on 14 May 2024.
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The CS Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure guidance remains in place.
With reference to page 94 of his Department's policy paper entitled Fit for the future: 10 year health plan for England, published in July 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of transferring the hosting arrangement for the Patient Safety Commissioner to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on the level of independence of that post.
Dr Dash’s review of patient safety across the health and care landscape was published in July 2025. The review sets out a broad aim to streamline, simplify, and consolidate functions across the patient safety landscape. Dr Dash made nine recommendations which the Government has accepted in full and fed into the 10-Year Health Plan.The review specifically recommends that the patient safety commissioner is hosted by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. The office of the patient safety commissioner remains accountable to the Department, as it is now.The Patient Safety Commissioner will play an important role in holding the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency to account for its work on patient safety and in ensuring that patient safety and the voice of patients remains a core priority in the agency’s work.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's proposals for a Remote Betting & Gaming Duty on (a) levels of investment in the UK, (b) consumer costs and (c) levels of illegal gambling.
The Government is consulting on proposals to simplify the current gambling tax system by merging the three current taxes that cover remote (including online) gambling into one. The Government welcomes views from stakeholders, as part of the consultation process. No final policy decisions have been made. If any changes are made to gambling duties at a future Budget following the consultation, they will be accompanied by a Tax Information and Impact Note which will set out the expected impacts, including to individuals, businesses and the wider economy. DCMS works closely with the Gambling Commission to ensure that illegal gambling, in all its forms, is addressed. The Crime and Policing Bill, introduced in Parliament on 25 February 2025, will grant the Gambling Commission with powers to move quickly and effectively to take down illegal gambling websites.
How many people claiming asylum had a criminal record before entering the UK in the most recent period for which data is available.
All asylum claimants are subject to mandatory security checks to confirm their identity and to link it to their biometric details for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks. For further information regarding security checks during the asylum screening process, please see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-screening-and-routing/asylum-screening-and-routing-accessible.
Whether her Department shares information with local police forces on the criminal records of asylum seekers placed in their area.
The Home Office communicates regularly with local police forces, and with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, to assess the operational implications of housing asylum seekers in different areas and regions around the country, and will always do what is necessary to protect the safety and security of each local community affected.
How many and what proportion of asylum seekers have had their DNA taken on arrival in the UK.
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave her on 9 July to Question 63301. The current procedures are the same as those that were in place under the previous government.
What steps her Department has taken to ascertain previous offences of people claiming asylum in the UK.
All asylum claimants are subject to mandatory security checks to confirm their identity and to link it to their biometric details for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks. For further information regarding security checks during the asylum screening process, please see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-screening-and-routing/asylum-screening-and-routing-accessible.
Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the UK Health Security Agency news announcement of 21 May 2025, how much he has spent on testing mosquitoes through the Vector-Borne Real-time Arbovirus Detection and Response programme; and what the Ct value was for the PCR tests which located fragments of the West Nile virus in two mosquitoes.
The Vector-Borne RADAR (Real-time Arbovirus Detection and Response) programme is a three-year funded collaborative grant worth £1.15 million which is 80% funded by Defra / UK Research & Innovation, and 20% by each of the collaborative organisations, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the British Trust for Ornithology, the Institute of Zoology and the UK Health Security Agency. Approximately 50,000 mosquitoes across 6,000 pools in 2023 and 2024 combined have been screened from across southern and eastern England. The programme retrospectively screened 2,000 Aedes vexans mosquitoes that were trapped in Gamston, Nottinghamshire in July 2023. These were split into 200 pools of 10 mosquitoes and screened using three separate rt-PCRs. Two pools were positive for West Nile virus (WNV) RNA (Ct values 30.7 -33.4 across all three PCRs). More significantly, the positive RNA extracts were also submitted for GridION sequencing (an Oxford Nanopore based system). One pool amplified a 402bp region of the WNV genome, with a read depth of c500 reads which generated a consensus sequence showing a conserved section of the WNV genome and clusters with WNV lineage 1a sequences from Europe, the Middle East and North America.
Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2025 to Question 58982 on Information Commissioner's Office: Wilmslow, what steps his Department took to find alternative office space for the Information Commissioner's Office in Wilmslow.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) decision to relocate was approved by the Cabinet Office with no formal role for my department. The ICO conducted an extensive search and reviewed a range of locations, including remaining within Wilmslow.
Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2025 to Question 58982 on Information Commissioner's Office: Wilmslow, if he will publish the Information Commissioner’s Office's commercial analysis of the locations it considered.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) decision to relocate was approved by the Cabinet Office with no formal role for DSIT. Any request for further information about this project, including any plans to publish their commercial analysis, should be addressed directly to the ICO.
Pursuant to the Answer of 19 June 2025 to Question 58984 on Information Commissioner's Office: Wilmslow, what (a) consultations and (b) impact assessments his Department carried out before approving the decision to relocate the Information Commissioner's Office.
The Office of Government Property was satisfied that the relocation to the proposed new offices better suited the requirements of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) based on the information provided and our engagement with the Government Property Agency. It also understood that the ICO had undertaken the relevant external consultation and impact assessments needed to assess the relocation options.
Media and Sport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Game changer for the nation, published on 19 June 2025, whether the investment in grassroots sports facilities will fund the development of covered tennis courts in (a) Tatton constituency and (b) in areas which lack indoor facilities across the UK.
The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the nation following the Spending Review. We will now work closely with sporting bodies - including the Lawn Tennis Association - and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans. The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England provides long term investment to the LTA, which receives up to £10.2 million for 5 years from 2022 to invest in tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.
When he plans to publish the report on packaging changes to Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, as discussed at the Commission on Human Medicines Antidepressant Risk Minimisation Expert Working Group on 1 May.
A public assessment report will be published by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) after the completion of the review. The advice of the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) will be sought after the next meeting of the Antidepressant Risk Minimisation Expert Working Group (EWG) in July 2025.The public assessment report will contain the minutes of all EWG meetings and the CHM’s advice on any regulatory action required. It is anticipated that the public assessment report will be published by the MHRA in Autumn 2025.
Media and Sport, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Game changer for the nation, published on 19 June 2025, how much of the £900 million investment in major sporting events and grassroots sport will be spent on tennis.
The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the nation following the Spending Review. We will now work closely with sporting bodies - including the Lawn Tennis Association - and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans. The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England provides long term investment to the LTA, which receives up to £10.2 million for 5 years from 2022 to invest in tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.
Media and Sport, what funding her Department plans to provide for tennis during the Spending Review period.
The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the nation following the Spending Review. We will now work closely with sporting bodies - including the Lawn Tennis Association - and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans. The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England provides long term investment to the LTA, which receives up to £10.2 million for 5 years from 2022 to invest in tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.
Pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 58584 on Undocumented Migrants: Biometrics, what the limited exceptions are where biometric data may not be collected at the time of encounter from immigrants arriving in the UK illegally.
This would include for example, children under five, who are only required to provide facial photographs, or people who are physically unable to provide biometric information at the time of their arrival because of medical emergencies. In such cases, the requirement to provide biometric information is deferred until the individual is able to comply.
Whether her Department collects the DNA of people who arrive illegally in the UK.
The Home Office currently collects biometric data of small boat arrivals in the form of facial images and fingerprints, but keeps the nature of such checks under regular review.
Who his Department consulted at Cheshire East Council before approving the decision to move the Information Commissioner's Office from Wilmslow to Manchester.
Cabinet Office approval for this property transaction comes under National Property Controls in the Office of Government Property. The value threshold meant that approval was taken at official level. The decision to move was made by the Information Commissioner’s Office, itself, on analysis based upon HM Treasury’s Green Book principles. The move will lead to a reduction of office space and the overall rent payable. National Property Controls were satisfied by the property rationale for the move to the proposed building. It would be a matter for ICO to decide on what wider consultation on the relocation was appropriate.
If he will publish the dates of the consultation period with pharmaceutical companies, as agreed at the Commission on Human Medicines Antidepressant Risk Minimisation Expert Working Group meeting on 1 May.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will seek the advice of the independent Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) on the final recommendations of the Antidepressant Risk Minimisation Expert Working Group, following the next meeting in July 2025.If the CHM advises the MHRA to request changes to the antidepressant product information, the MHRA will write to all of the pharmaceutical companies affected in accordance with standard timelines and procedures for requesting variations to product information.
What steps he is taking to help tackle battlefield antimicrobial resistance.
Defence Medical Services (DMS) has several mature policies and capabilities in place designed to mitigate the risk of Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the deployed space, from antimicrobial policy and stewardship to infection prevention and control strategies. DMS is developing an AMR strategy to ensure Defence can manage the current threat and respond to future risks, including balancing the needs of the wounded with the threat of resistance. DMS is at the forefront internationally in capturing data on AMR from the conflict in Ukraine, with active collaborations with Ukrainian colleagues which have resulted in a number of academic publications on AMR and conflict. AMR tools and resources have been developed to help healthcare professionals to improve infection prevention and control practices, and to help improve prescribing. Best practice can reduce the use of antimicrobials and reduce the risk of resistance developing.