Every parliamentary written question tabled by Wendy Chamberlain this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 146 · this parliament
Pursuant to the answer of 18 May 2026 to Question 470 on Pedestrian Crossings: Design, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of adopting the Welsh Government's amendments to section 14 of the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2026.
Awaiting answer.
Whether his Department has undertaken modelling of the estimated cost of potential compensation schemes for women affected by changes to the State Pension age.
Awaiting answer.
Whether his Department has undertaken comparative analysis of previous Government compensation schemes when assessing options for financial redress for women affected by changes to the State Pension age.
Awaiting answer.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure the delivery of aid to Gaza.
Awaiting answer.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to secure the release of British Nationals detained by Israel as a result of their participation in the Global Sumud Flotilla.
Awaiting answer.
With reference to the Better Connected Strategy, published on 2 April 2026, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of consistency in zebra crossing design across the UK.
The national transport strategy, Better Connected, was published on 2 April, in which the Department committed to update the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions, the legislation for traffic signs and road markings. This will include changes including new, simpler zebra crossings that will make walking and wheeling easier, safer and more accessible. Currently, to ensure consistency of design, zebra crossings are prescribed in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 (TSRGD). This sets out they must consist of black and white stripes, yellow globes, a give-way line and white zig-zag markings. TSRGD applies to England, Scotland and Wales. Equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland (The Traffic Signs Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997, as amended) applies the same requirements for zebra crossings there. Implementation of zebra crossings is the responsibility of local traffic authorities. It is for them to ensure designs comply with regulatory requirements. The Department provides detailed good practice advice in Chapter 6 of the Traffic Signs Manual, available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-signs-manual. Traffic signing is a devolved matter with the Scottish and Welsh Government being able to bring forward amendments to TSRGD in respect of their road networks. There is a statutory requirement for the Scottish and Welsh governments to consult the Secretary of State when doing so. The Department engages regularly with its counterparts in Scotland and Wales on traffic management matters.
With reference to the Better Connected Strategy published on 2 April 2026, whether she has had discussions with (a) Transport Scotland and (b) the Welsh Government on zebra crossings at the junction between roads.
The national transport strategy, Better Connected, was published on 2 April, in which the Department committed to update the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions, the legislation for traffic signs and road markings. This will include changes including new, simpler zebra crossings that will make walking and wheeling easier, safer and more accessible. Currently, to ensure consistency of design, zebra crossings are prescribed in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 (TSRGD). This sets out they must consist of black and white stripes, yellow globes, a give-way line and white zig-zag markings. TSRGD applies to England, Scotland and Wales. Equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland (The Traffic Signs Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997, as amended) applies the same requirements for zebra crossings there. Implementation of zebra crossings is the responsibility of local traffic authorities. It is for them to ensure designs comply with regulatory requirements. The Department provides detailed good practice advice in Chapter 6 of the Traffic Signs Manual, available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-signs-manual. Traffic signing is a devolved matter with the Scottish and Welsh Government being able to bring forward amendments to TSRGD in respect of their road networks. There is a statutory requirement for the Scottish and Welsh governments to consult the Secretary of State when doing so. The Department engages regularly with its counterparts in Scotland and Wales on traffic management matters.
What her planned timetable is for publishing the (a) scope, (b) methodology, (c) sectoral coverage and (d) other details of the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
Awaiting answer.
What steps her Department is taking to align the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism with (a) the EU and (b) other international partners to (i) minimise trade frictions and (ii) administrative burdens for UK businesses.
Awaiting answer.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the differences between the UK and EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms on the competitiveness of UK industries.
Awaiting answer.
What recent assessment her Department has made of the risk of carbon leakage under the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, particularly in relation to imports from countries with high carbon intensity production.
Awaiting answer.
Pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2026 to Question 122806 on the Warm Homes Plan, what value of funding has been reallocated between projects under the Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund schemes due to identified or anticipated underspend in the 2025–26 financial year.
The Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund will support hundreds of thousands of homes to become warmer and cheaper to run throughout the course of this Parliament, as part of our £15 billion Warm Homes Plan. We maximise delivery throughout the course of the scheme to ensure that the budget for each year is fully utilised so households across England reap the full benefits of the schemes. This includes through reallocating funding where local authorities and housing associations indicate they won’t be able to spend their full budget for the year. We reallocated £2.5m within Warm Homes: Local Grant, and £7.59m within Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund projects respectively in the first year of delivery.
What steps his Department is taking to improve outcomes for invasive lobular breast cancer patients.
Lobular breast cancer impacts many lives. According to Cancer Research UK, lobular is the second most common breast cancer in the UK.We are backing world-leading AI trials to improve diagnostic capacity and early detection. On 4 February 2025, the Department of Health and Social Care announced that nearly 700,000 women across the country will take part in a world-leading Early Detection using Information Technology in Health, or EDITH, trial backed by £11 million of government support via National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NHS in England will also monitor the emerging evidence from the Breast Risk Adaptive Imaging for Density, or BRAID, trial, which aims to determine whether additional imaging with one of several types of scans, is helpful in diagnosing breast cancer in women with dense breast tissue. This will target screening programmes at women who are at greater risk of cancer.The Medical Research Council (MRC) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) are committed to continuing to support the development of fundable research proposals and help drive a stronger collective understanding of the biology behind lobular breast cancer, as well as effective treatment and management of this disease. In order to further stimulate research in this area, the NIHR launched a highlight notice in late 2025, encouraging applications across its research programmes and training.Under our National Cancer Plan for England, we will take action to raise awareness locally, improve pathways and offer better treatments to ensure more patients survive and live well with cancer than ever before, including for lobular breast cancer.
Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the use of animal testing in sepsis research.
On 11th November 2025 the government published “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods” which outlines the steps we will take to achieve this. (Replacing animals in science strategy - GOV.UK) Sepsis is a complex and multifaceted condition, and its study presents significant scientific challenges. We will consider sepsis during the development of our areas of research interest list to determine the best path forward for new model development that drives scientific innovation, supports improved therapy development, and reduces reliance on animals.
Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 19 March to question 120937, if she will respond to the original question as it relates to the fishing industry.
Defra is actively monitoring the impact of diesel price changes on the fishing sector. The Government has raised industry concerns about red diesel prices, including price transparency, with the Competition and Markets Authority and we are committed to ensuring that this market functions fairly. The fishing sector can continue to access Marine Voyages Relief reducing the cost of their fuel by allowing them to partially claim back fuel duty.
What estimate his Department has made of the level of underspend, or projected underspend, in the first year of the Warm Homes Local Grant and Warm Homes Social Fund; how many local authorities have submitted expenditure data to date; and whether the Department has modelled the full-year underspend based on these partial returns.
The Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG) and the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (WH:SHF) schemes began delivery in April 2025. Both schemes were oversubscribed demonstrating the high ambition of local authorities and social housing providers. We continue to see strong demand in both schemes. To maximise delivery, where potential underspend has been identified it has been reallocated to high performing projects to ensure that grant funding is used by the end of the financial year. Across both schemes, the final in-year spend can only be confirmed following robust financial management assessments. Financial reporting for the schemes will be available as part of DESNZ’s published annual accounts.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of reports that recent criminal regulations introduced by the Taliban impose harsher punishments on women and minority groups; and what representations the UK Government has made to international partners regarding the protection of the rights and safety of women and girls.
I refer the Hon Member to the statement issued by the Foreign Secretary on this matter on 26 February, where she said: "I am appalled by continuing restrictions imposed on women and girls in Afghanistan. The Taliban's new criminal procedure code legitimises domestic violence and targets women and minorities. These oppressive measures must be rescinded. The rights of all Afghans must be protected." The UK is working closely with international partners on the issue, including through our chairmanship of the G7+ group of countries, and engagement through the UN and the Human Rights Council.
How many Chevening Scholars who have claimed asylum in each year between 2021 and 2025 broken down by home country.
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of people claiming asylum where the latest leave held prior to claim was a study visa is published in table Asy_D01a of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions datasets’. The number of student entry clearance visas issued is published in table Vis_D02 of the 'Entry clearance visas datasets'.The requested information on asylum claims from Chevening scholars is not available from published statistics.Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.
What steps he is taking to provide support to the fishing industry with changing diesel prices.
Fuel markets are governed by competition and consumer protection law, overseen by the Competition Market Authority (CMA). The Government and the CMA are closely monitoring petrol and diesel prices in light of instability in the Middle East, and the Chancellor and Secretary of State recently met with fuel retailers to set out a clear message: drivers must get a fair deal at the pump. We are also engaging regularly with refiners, importers and distributors to ensure any emerging risks are identified and managed promptly. The UK benefits from strong and diverse security of energy supplies, and there are no issues with fuel supply. This government has also introduced the Fuel Finder scheme, which will increase price transparency so drivers can compare prices to find the best deal and incentivise greater competition.
Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of diesel price levels on the sustainability of the fishing industry.
Defra is actively monitoring the impact of diesel price changes on our fishing sector. The Government has raised industry concerns about red diesel prices, including price transparency, with the Competition and Markets Authority and we are committed to ensuring that this market functions fairly.