Every parliamentary written question tabled by Richard Tice this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 181 · this parliament
For what reason the Minister for Child Maintenance has declined requests to meet with STOPSuicides UK.
The minister regularly meets with key stakeholders and undertakes extensive engagement via correspondence with organisations who have an interest in the Child Maintenance Service, including with STOPSuicide UK and will continue to do so.
If he will undertake a review of eligibility criteria for non-emergency patient transport services; and if he will make it his policy to expand eligibility to include transport of patients receiving haemodialysis to dialysis or transplant assessment and follow-up appointments when those services are not commissioned locally.
Non-Emergency Patient Transport Schemes (NEPTS) often provide funded transport where a medical condition means that a patient would struggle to safely attend their treatment independently. NEPTS can be provided by ambulance trusts or other providers depending on local arrangements.In May 2022, NHS England set out eligibility criteria, which includes disability criteria, available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/B1244-nepts-eligibility-criteria.pdfNHS England has worked closely with a range of kidney patient groups, renal professionals, integrated care boards (ICBs), and other stakeholders to develop a dialysis transport support framework which has been made directly available to ICBs. The 2022 updates to the eligibility criteria included where patients are travelling to or returning from in-centre haemodialysis, in which case specialist transport, non-specialist transport, or upfront/reimbursement costs for private travel will be made available.NEPTS in England is an operational matter for the National Health Service, and how the NEPTS guidance is implemented at a local level is determined by ICBs and their partners, including local ambulance trusts. There are no current plans to update the eligibility criteria further.
What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services eligibility criteria on access to transplant services for patients with chronic kidney disease required to travel outside local Integrated Care Board areas.
Non-Emergency Patient Transport Schemes (NEPTS) often provide funded transport where a medical condition means that a patient would struggle to safely attend their treatment independently. NEPTS can be provided by ambulance trusts or other providers depending on local arrangements.In May 2022, NHS England set out eligibility criteria, which includes disability criteria, available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/B1244-nepts-eligibility-criteria.pdfNHS England has worked closely with a range of kidney patient groups, renal professionals, integrated care boards (ICBs), and other stakeholders to develop a dialysis transport support framework which has been made directly available to ICBs. The 2022 updates to the eligibility criteria included where patients are travelling to or returning from in-centre haemodialysis, in which case specialist transport, non-specialist transport, or upfront/reimbursement costs for private travel will be made available.NEPTS in England is an operational matter for the National Health Service, and how the NEPTS guidance is implemented at a local level is determined by ICBs and their partners, including local ambulance trusts. There are no current plans to update the eligibility criteria further.
What steps his Department is taking to support households reliant on heating oil in rural areas; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to heating oil prices on households in Boston and Skegness constituency.
We understand that heating oil pricing is a significant issue for households. The Secretary of State and The Minister for Energy have been closely engaging with their counterparts across Government on heating oil prices, including with the Treasury and Devolved Governments. These discussions have been focussed on UK-wide prices of heating oil. The Secretary of State has written to the industry reminding heating oil distributors of their commitments under the UKIFDA Code of Practice, including the need for fair, transparent and justifiable pricing. Ministers have also spoken with the Competition and Markets Authority, who announced on 11 March they are probing further on two main issues consumers have raised with them on heating oil prices following complaints they have received. They will not hesitate to take action where there is evidence of breaches of consumer protections. We will keep reviewing whether any further support or action may be needed to protect consumers.
Whether, whether his Department considers the extent to which a bidder’s business is based in the United Kingdom, and the proportion of its workforce that is employed in the United Kingdom as factors in the evaluation and award process for public procurement contracts..
Contracts awarded under the Procurement Act 2023 which are considered to be below threshold (where the total value of a contract for goods and services is less than £135,018 including VAT) can already be reserved to UK-based suppliers, or suppliers based in specific regions. The Government is determined to ensure the £400 billion of public money spent on public procurement annually delivers economic growth and supports British businesses. Last year we consulted on a range of procurement reforms and will publish our response imminently. When considering whether to reserve contracts to UK-based suppliers the Cabinet Office will take into account the current market for the goods/services being bought, and undertake supplier due diligence.
What the average wait time is for an NHS ambulance response to a Category 1 emergency in (a) Boston and Skegness constituency and (b) the UK.
The Boston and Skegness constituency is served by the East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EMAS). The latest National Health Service figures show that in December 2025, the average Category 1 response time in EMAS was nine minutes 12 seconds. This compares to the national average of seven minutes 59 seconds.Through our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan for 2025/26, we are taking action to improve ambulance response times across England, including in Lincolnshire. The plan commits to reducing average response times for Category 2 incidents to 30 minutes this year. Supported by almost £450 million of capital investment, we are expanding same-day and urgent care capacity, delivering 500 new ambulances, and enhancing the speed and quality of care for the most seriously ill and injured patients. We are also tackling unacceptable ambulance handover delays by introducing a maximum 45-minute standard, supporting ambulances to be released more quickly and get back on the road to treat patients.
How many UK households have experienced power cuts in the last five years due to insufficient renewable energy supply.
No UK households have experienced power cuts in the last five years due to insufficient renewable electricity generation. Great Britain has a highly resilient electricity system with diverse supplies, and the system operator has the tools required to balance supply and demand across a wide range of scenarios. Where power cuts have occurred, these have resulted from factors such as severe weather or local network faults, rather than generation adequacy.
With reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Care during the Adjournment debate on 20 March 2025, Official Report, column 610, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that all patients are offered face-to-face appointments when one is requested (a) in Boston and Skegness constituency and (b) England; how many face-to-face GP appointments have there been in each of the last 12 months; and how these figures compare with pre-COVID-19 levels.
We recognise the significant value of face-to-face appointments. That is why the Government has guaranteed a face-to-face appointment for all those who want one, both nationally and in Boston and Skegness. We have invested an extra £1.1 billion into primary care, recruited an extra 2,500 general practitioners (GPs), resulting in 6.5 million more GP appointments delivered to patients, than in the previous year. Our continued investment is designed to enhance access to all GP appointments, irrespective of their mode, enabling patients to choose either face-to-face or remote consultations in line with their preferences and clinical needs. The National Health Service is clear that GPs must provide face-to-face appointments, alongside remote consultations, and patients’ input into consultation type should be sought and their preferences for face-to-face care respected unless there are good clinical reasons to the contrary. Face-to-face GP appointments in Boston and Skegness are up 7.5% since before COVID-19, rising from 569,000 in 2019 to 612,000 in 2025. Nationally, face-to-face GP appointments dropped by 1.3%, from 241 million in 2019 to 238.6 million in 2025.
Whether the Government has considered proposals to require all new cars to be fitted with clearly visible window‑breaking tools and seatbelt cutters above each window, and whether it plans to make such safety equipment a mandatory requirement for vehicle manufacturers.
The Department for Transport has commissioned research to look into whether an emergency exit tool could be added to the list of recommended emergency equipment that is contained in Rule 97 of the Highway Code.
What financial liabilities relating to Lindsey Oil Refinery decommissioning fall to the taxpayer, as opposed to the buyer of the site.
The insolvency process at Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery is led by the court-appointed Official Receiver, who must act in accordance with his statutory duties and independently of government. The government will continue to support and fund the Official Receiver until a sale has been completed. After a thorough process to identify a buyer for the site, the Official Receiver determined Phillips 66 is the most credible bidder which can provide a viable future for this site. The sale is expected to complete in the first half of 2026. As I set out in DESNZ Orals on 6 January 2025, the government is not responsible for the decommissioning liabilities, these will be for Phillips 66 as part of the sale.
How many migrants who arrived illegally have been given legal aid funded from the public purse in the last five years; and what the cost is of that legal aid.
The requested information is not centrally held. Where proceedings are before a court or tribunal in England or Wales, legal aid is available to individuals who qualify for services irrespective of their immigration status or method of entry into England and Wales. Method of entry to England or Wales is not relevant to eligibility for legal aid under the current rules.Generally, applications for legal aid will be subject to an assessment of the merits of the case and the financial circumstances of the applicant.
How many immigration cases have been delayed due to legal challenges under the Human Rights Act in the past five years.
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
What the projected cost is of achieving net zero by 2050, including costs to government, business and households.
Net zero is the economic and industrial opportunity of the 21st century. Since July 2024, over £60bn of private investment has been announced in our clean energy industries. The independent CCC estimates net costs of the transition to be on average the equivalent of 0.2% of UK GDP per year, and this doesn't account for the wider growth benefits. The OBR's ‘Fiscal risks and sustainability report’ (2025) makes clear, meeting climate targets will cost less than failing to deal with climate change. Only by investing in the transition now can we reduce costs in future.
How many onshore wind turbines have been constructed in the UK in each of the last five years; and how much funding his Department has provided for onshore wind.
This information is available via the Renewable Energy Planning Database.
Communities and Local Government, how many foreign nationals have been granted social housing in each of the last five years.
My Department’s annual Social Housing Lettings in England statistical series includes data on the number of the new social housing lettings in England each year to households by the self-reported nationality of the lead tenant. It can be found on gov.uk here. Data from 2006/07 to 2024/25 can be found in table 3e in the Social Housing Lettings in England, tenants summary tables: April 2024 to March 2025, which can be found here.
What the estimated total cost to households is of replacing gas boilers with heat pumps.
The cost to a household of replacing a gas boiler with a heat pump will depend on take-up of the available Government support, the size of the heat pump unit required and any ancillary works such as replacing radiators. Data on voucher redemptions under the BUS is available at: BUS monthly scheme update | Ofgem Other support schemes are available for low-income households and social housing, and for eligible homes a heat pump installation may be supported at no cost to the household.
What the annual cost to the NHS is of providing healthcare to illegal migrants.
The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England do not hold the information requested. The overall management of asylum seekers is a matter for the Home Office.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of awarding the Teachers’ Pension Scheme administration contract to Tata Consultancy Services on national security, service standards and domestic employment; and whether UK-based providers were invited to bid for this contract.
The procurement to appoint a new administrator of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme was conducted under the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), which aims to ensure an open, transparent and fair competition. During the procurement exercise several UK companies participated in the formal process. This procurement followed the standard due diligence checks and the standard departmental governance procedures. These checks did not highlight any concerns in relation to national security.As part of the assessment process the potential bidders were required to contractually commit to the mandatory requirements to meet all necessary IT security standards. Domestic employment was not a part of the evaluation criteria for potential providers. The evaluation criteria did assess a potential provider’s capability to meet the required service standards.
What assessment her Department has made of the (a) transparency and (b) independence of the process used by the Office for National Statistics to revise historic employment data; and what discussions she has had with the Office for National Statistics on the revisions made since July 2024.
The ONS is an independent organisation and is accountable to the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) board and the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) for the transparency and independence of its statistics. The Government trusts economic statistics produced by the ONS. The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) is responsible for ensuring that official statistics meet the standards set out in the Code of Practice, including the requirements set out in the Code’s Standards for Official Statistics that:- ‘Producers must lead responsibly and make impartial decisions about statistics, under the direction and authority of the Chief Statistician/Head of Profession for Statistics- ‘Producers must release statistics in a transparent way.’- Producers must be ‘open about quality’ and must ‘prominently explain the quality of the statistics’. The OSR continues periodically to review labour market statistics from the Labour Force Survey against the Code of Practice for Statistics. Their most recent report, published in February 2025, highlighted ONS’s efforts to ensure transparency. Revisions to the Labour Force Survey employment data since July 2024, such as those relating to the reweighting of the survey in December 2024, have been communicated by the ONS publicly. The ONS continues to advise caution when interpreting changes in the Labour Force Survey over the past two years due to the effects of methodological changes. The Treasury is engaged with the ONS’ processes on data quality monitoring, with engagement at every level.
For what reason HMP Dartmoor remains closed in the context of the shortage of prison spaces.
Following the temporary closure of HMP Dartmoor in August 2024, after detection of elevated levels of radon gas, we have been working with specialist radon experts to investigate and assess options to allow us to reopen the prison safely.The decision on reopening will be made based on the viability of the site, the effectiveness of works to reduce levels of radon, and value for money. We need to be satisfied that reopening the prison is justified in the light of a range of considerations, including compliance with legislative requirements, operational viability, and the cost of mitigation measures.