Every parliamentary written question tabled by Steve Darling this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 581–600 of 629 · this parliament
What steps he plans to take through the criminal justice system to reduce levels of violence against women.
This Government was elected with the unprecedented ambition to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade, which is an integral part of the wider mission to take back our streets and raise confidence in the police and criminal justice syste...
What steps her Department plans to take to (a) protect and (b) support vulnerable people in relation to the new Fraud, Error and Debt Bill.
Safeguarding vulnerable claimants is always a priority. All the powers included in the Fraud, Error and Debt Bill will include strong safeguards to ensure they are only used appropriately and proportionately – including new oversight and reporting mechani...
What steps she is taking to ensure that her Department's assessors are aware of the symptoms of mesh injury.
The Personal Independence Payment and Work Capability Assessments are functional assessments that consider the impact of a person’s disability or health condition, rather than the condition itself. They have been developed considering the needs of people ...
What plans he has to (a) stop the import of oil products refined from Russian-origin crude oil and (b) require proof of origin for such products entering the UK market.
The UK has worked closely with international partners to constrain Russian oil revenues while maintaining energy market security. The Government does not speculate on future sanctions measures as to do so could reduce their impact. We continue to monitor ...
What steps she is taking to ensure UK insurers and other maritime service providers verify compliance with the oil price cap for shipping contracts involving vessels potentially linked to Russia’s shadow fleet.
HM Treasury’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) supports industry in complying with the Oil Price Cap. On 16 February 2024, OFSI issued updated industry guidance (UK Maritime Services Ban and Oil Price Cap Industry Guidance). OFSI also c...
If he will establish a Cystic Fibrosis task force within his Department to (a) investigate and (b) address supply chain vulnerabilities and ensure the supply of essential medicines.
While there are no plans to establish a cystic fibrosis task force, the Department has been working with suppliers to address current supply issues with Creon, which is an essential medicine for patients with cystic fibrosis. Supply issues with Creon are ...
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to enhance targeted sanctions against vessels in Russia's shadow fleet; and whether he plans to align his Department's vessel designations
Since gaining the power to 'specify' individual vessels in May 2024, the UK has sanctioned 25 tankers transporting Russian oil as part of Putin's shadow fleet; a higher number than that undertaken by partners over the same period. This has disrupted Russi...
Whether she plans to introduce mandatory insurance cover and compliance with IMO heavy fuel standards for oil tankers entering UK territorial waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone.
The government has implemented, and enforces, a range of mandatory environmental measures related to the use and carriage of oil, including heavy fuel oil, by sea. International standards are primarily set out in the International Convention for the Preve...
How many Access to Work scheme applications are outstanding (a) nationally and (b) by regional.
The information requested about Access to Work applications that are outstanding by region is not readily available as it is a national service and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. As of 7th October 2024, there were around 55,500 applicati...
If he will take steps to introduce national screening for prostate cancer by level of risk.
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises ministers and the National Health Service on all aspects of population and targeted screening. Screening for prostate cancer is currently not recommended in the United Kingdom. This is because of the in...
If she will make it her policy to review the inclusion of military compensation as income in the means test for Pension Credit.
There are no plans to change the way in which military compensation such as War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) awards affect Pension Credit. When calculating a Pension Credit award, the first £10 of any War Pension payments or AFCS a...
If he will make an estimate of the number of veterans who were in receipt of the (a) War Disablement Pension, (b) Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, (c) Service Invaliding Pension and (d) Service Attributable Pens
As at 30 June 2024, the latest date for when data is available, 78,469 veterans were in receipt of a disablement pension under the War Pension Scheme (WPS) and 4,798 veterans were in receipt of a Guaranteed Income Payment (GIP) following an injury/illness...
What steps her Department is taking to help increase financial inclusion of people with learning disabilities.
Ensuring all individuals have access to the appropriate financial services and products they need is a key priority for Government and is vital to supporting people’s financial resilience and wellbeing. It is also an essential part of achieving inclusive ...
Food and Rural Affairs, what the cost is of culling badgers in Devon since the beginning of the cull.
Badger culls are industry led and the cost of delivering them has been met by participants. The additional costs to Defra have related to licensing, monitoring and policing for public safety. Badger control costs are published annually on GOV.UK and are a...
If she will make it her policy to strengthen her Department's compliance with the Armed Forces Covenant.
The Department takes its responsibilities under the Armed Forces Covenant very seriously and is proud to continue to provide vital and significant support services for veterans which recognises their particular needs and circumstances. For DWP, strengthen...
What steps her Department is taking to ensure access to cash for disabled people through the roll-out of shared-banking hubs in local communities.
Access to financial services is key to ensuring all people, including those who are disabled and require in-person services, can participate fully in the economy and in society. This is why the Government is committed to protecting access to cash withdraw...
Food and Rural Affairs, how many badgers have been killed under the current cull regime in Devon.
The numbers of badgers removed during culling operations are published annually on GOV.UK. The number of badgers removed cannot be broken down by county as licensed cull areas often overlap multiple counties. However, for licences granted which are predom...
Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that investment in social rented housing will be prioritised for communities with (a) lower levels of social rented housing stock and (b) high levels of need.
The Government is committed to the greatest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation. We intend to ensure that we are supporting the delivery of the right kinds of affordable homes to meet local need.The bid scoring mechanism of the Affordable Homes Programme actively targets areas of acute housing need by generating greater value for money for social landlords and central Government, and we strongly encourage bids from these areas.We are committed to setting out details of future Government investment in social and affordable housing at the forthcoming Spending Review.
Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps to reduce the cost of export health certificates for fish.
The cost of Export Health Certificates (EHCs) for fish are set at a commercial rate by private certifiers or, where appropriate by certifiers in local authorities who operate on a cost recovery basis. We will tackle barriers by seeking to negotiate a veterinary / Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement with the European Union to prevent unnecessary border checks and costs for traders.
Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to promote British seafood (a) domestically and (b) abroad.
This Government will tirelessly promote high-quality seafood from all parts of the United Kingdom, both at home and abroad. As part of the UK Seafood Fund DEFRA and its partners in the Department for Business and Trade and in Seafish have delivered the Seafood Exports Package. Since 2022 the Package has invested £1m over 3 years to support UK businesses to attend international seafood trade shows, take part in trade missions, and leverage help from in-market specialists in key target markets to connect with buyers. The Package is now in its final year, and any future extensions of this work will be considered as part of the Spending Review.