The Westminster lensArchive · Written questions · 191 tabled · 191 answered

Written questions by Brickell.

Every parliamentary written question tabled by Phil Brickell this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.

Department:All (191)Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (31)Home Office (29)Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (26)Department of Health and Social Care (24)Treasury (20)Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (15)Department for Business and Trade (9)Department for Education (7)Cabinet Office (6)Ministry of Justice (6)Department for Transport (6)Attorney General (5)

Showing 19 of 9 · Department for Business and Trade

9 Jun 2026·Department for Business and Trade·Answered
Asked

When his Department plans to start its review of whistleblowing policy.

Reply

The government has announced its intention to launch its whistleblowing consultation in the summer but has not yet decided on an exact publication date. Details will be published on GOV.UK in due course.

9 Jun 2026·Department for Business and Trade·Answered
Asked

What the estimated timeframe is of his Department's review of whistleblowing policy.

Reply

The government has announced its intention to launch its whistleblowing consultation in the summer but has not yet decided on an exact publication date. Details will be published on GOV.UK in due course.

17 Dec 2025·Department for Business and Trade·Answered
Asked

What assurances his Department can provide that NHS letters will continue to be prioritised for delivery by the Royal Mail over Christmas period.

Reply

The government recognises the importance of timely delivery of NHS letters. Royal Mail has introduced an NHS barcode to assist NHS units that continue to rely on post to communicate with patients. In addition, NHS England and NHS Providers have produced guidance for NHS organisations, including a case study, to increase awareness and uptake of the variety of Royal Mail services for the timely delivery of letters.

8 Apr 2025·Department for Business and Trade·Answered
Asked

What recent estimate his Department has made of the proportion of goods labelled as originating from within Israel’s pre-1967 borders which actually originate from Israeli settlements.

Reply

HMRC are responsible for the conduct of origin verification checks on imported goods. Where there are doubts about the declared origin of goods, HMRC will undertake checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure fiscal compliance. Data on imports from Israel is available on www.uktradeinfo.com/trade-data.

27 Mar 2025·Department for Business and Trade·Answered
Asked

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the ability of newly formed companies to access finance.

Reply

The Government works with the British Business Bank to improve the access to finance landscape for smaller businesses. An example of the Bank’s interventions is the Start Up Loans programme which provides personal loans to start up a new business or develop an existing early-stage business. The programme also offers pre-application support and post-loan mentoring advice. Programme evaluation in December 2024 found just over two-thirds of the finance provided by Start Up Loans would not have been provided by mainstream providers. In addition, a call for evidence has been launched by the Department on small business access to finance, seeking views on how far existing policies meet business needs, and where we may be able to go further.

13 Feb 2025·Department for Business and Trade·Answered
Asked

If he will take steps to update whistleblowing laws.

Reply

The Government is updating whistleblowing laws through the Employment Rights Bill which will strengthen the protections for whistleblowers, by making it explicit that sexual harassment can be the basis for a protected disclosure.

12 Dec 2024·Department for Business and Trade·Answered
Asked

How much the late filing penalties from companies failing to file their annual accounts within the deadline were in each financial year between 2018-19 and 2023-24.

Reply

Official statistics on the value of collected late filing penalties are published in the annual report of Companies House. We have excerpted and reproduced the relevant figures for companies failing to file their annual accounts within the deadline below:...

6 Nov 2024·Department for Business and Trade·Answered
Asked

What his planned timetable is for the review of the whistleblowing framework.

Reply

The Employment Rights Bill delivers on the government's commitment to strengthening protections for whistleblowers, by updating protections for women who report sexual harassment at work. The Government is keen to work with organisations and individuals w...

6 Nov 2024·Department for Business and Trade·Answered
Asked

If he will expand the list of prescribed people for whistleblowing to include (a) job applicants, (b) trustees, (c) independent contractors and (d) trade union representatives.

Reply

The whistleblowing framework enables workers to seek redress if they are dismissed or suffer detriment because they have made a ‘protected disclosure’. The standard employment law definition of worker has been extended to provide whistleblowing protection...

Sources
SourceUK Parliament Members API
MethodQuestion and answer text as published. Question preamble (“To ask the…”) trimmed for readability; answers shown in full.