Written Answers
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Cabinet Office
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2025 to Question 23666 on Cabinet Office: Media, which Ministers received that training.
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To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) away days and (b) leadership conferences for senior civil servants his Department organised between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024; and what the cost of these were.
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To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to Question 23666 on Cabinet Office: Media, tabled on 13 January 2025.
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To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much their Department spent on (a) media and (b) voice training for Ministers between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024.
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Department for Business and Trade
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the Fair Work Agency has the required resource to enforce (a) the minimum wage, (b) protection from harassment and (c) protection from gender discrimination at work for young women.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Person At Risk of Violence fee on victims of domestic violence; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making all personal details on the Individual…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much their Department spent on (a) media and (b) voice training for Ministers between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024.
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Department for Culture, Media and Sport
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of regulating the advertising of average upload speeds.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it her policy to support bids for (a) the 2029 World Athletic Championships and (b) other major athletics events in London; and if she will hold discussions with the organisers of the UK bid for the 2029 World Athletic…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support grassroots live music venues in London.
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Department for Education
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2024 to Question 15559, if she will set out what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a stepped repayment structure for Plan 2 student loans.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of linking differential fees to teaching standards on higher education institutions with higher than average rate of admission to students from the most financially disadvantaged backgrounds.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of differential university tuition fees based on the Teaching Excellence Framework on further education access for students from the most financially disadvantaged backgrounds.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that young people are able to develop creative skills.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding allocations for adult learning in the (a) 2025-26 and (b) 2026-27 financial years.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) training and (b) support local authorities will receive to ensure the Children Not In School register does not inadvertently disadvantage parents of children with special educational needs.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to extend funding for independent, non-profit, specialist advice for families involved with the (a) child welfare and (b) family justice systems beyond March 2025.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will ensure that the requirements of children in migrant households are included in the child poverty strategy.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available for students from low-income families.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to (a) reintroduce maintenance grants and (b) another scheme to support students from low income families with the cost of living.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a stepped repayment structure for student loan repayment plans.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of falling pupil rolls on school budgets.
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Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to protect leaseholders from paying for heat network remediation costs.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the (a) total and (b) per dwelling building remediation costs associated with the proposed Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to his Written Statement of 12 November 2024 on the UK’s 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution emissions reduction target under the Paris Agreement, HCWS206, what steps his Department is taking to assess the…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for (a) his policies and (b) the IPCC’s seventh assessment cycle of negotiations on the Global Stocktake at COP29 in Baku.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support provided by energy companies to customers with their energy bills.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to regulate communal heating systems.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to integrate the Government's Nationally Determined Contribution under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change with the…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to tackle climate change.
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Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support sustainable farming initiatives.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to hold a consultation on the Circular Economy Growth Plan.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including shared (a) walking and (b) cycling paths in the National River Walks.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2024 to Question 4786 on Per- and Polyfluorinated Alkyl Substances, what his planned timetable is for considering measures to restrict per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the outcomes of the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16).
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To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to implement the recommendations of the Fifth Report of the Committee of Public Accounts of 2023-24 on Government’s programme of waste reforms, HC333, published on 1 December 2023.
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Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of adopting new digital tools on public sector efficiency.
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Department for Transport
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had discussions with (a) the Mayor of London and (b) other mayors on improving access to cycles for people on low incomes.
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Department for Work and Pensions
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will ensure that consideration of (a) maternity pay and (b) pregnancy poverty are included in the work of the child poverty taskforce.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of mandatory reconsideration for assessing Personal Independent Payment decisions.
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Department of Health and Social Care
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce wait times for adult gender services.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the implementation of the 10 Year Health Plan will help tackle inequalities in the commissioning of hospice services.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Cancer Plan will include measures to ensure earlier diagnosis.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the (a) monitoring and (b) treatment of tuberculosis.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make clean air a public health priority.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of trends in the number of people who have accessed adult mental health services in the East London NHS Foundation Trust.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of mental health specialists in the East London NHS Foundation Trust.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to expand access to mental health services in primary schools.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of GPs in Stratford and Bow constituency.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on reducing deaths from stroke and heart disease by a quarter within ten years.
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Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will hold discussions with Iranian authorities on reports of discrimination against the Baha’i community.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support mass atrocity prevention in Sudan.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure (a) atrocity prevention capabilities and (b) civilian protection expertise are used during the UK’s response to events in El Fasher, Darfur.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to provide additional support for an urgent scale-up of cholera response in Sudan.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2025 to Question 60276 on Development Aid, when he expects to complete the resource allocation process.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to improve its capabilities to negotiate humanitarian access to conflict areas.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the reduction in Official Development Assistance, whether her Department plans to maintain its full pledge to the 21st replenishment of the International Development Association.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2025 to Question 52505 on Sri Lanka: War Crimes, for what reason his Department provided legal representation to the freedom of information tribunal against the application for Major…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help improve access for humanitarian (a) workers and (b) supplies into Sudan.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's news story entitled UK Chair statement: Ministerial Roundtable on Sudan, published on 20 February 2025, whether he plans to convene a follow-up meeting.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on whether former SAS soldiers working in private mercenary companies had any involvement in the committing of war crimes during the Sri Lankan civil war.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with the Soft Power Council on the role of science and research in supporting the UK's diplomatic efforts; and whether the contribution of the science and research sector will be included…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on alleged reports of (a) gender-based and (b) conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts about (a) the role the UK will play in restarting Syria’s political process and (b) a timeline for political transition that enables free…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with the Leader of the House on bringing forward legislative proposals to ratify the Global Ocean Treaty.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will support an independent investigation into shots fired at UN peacekeepers by Israeli forces.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on a decision regarding the most vulnerable Tamil refugees and migrants in the British Indian Territory of Diego Garcia.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of imposing Magnitsky-style sanctions against people in Sri Lanka accused of war crimes.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Bangladesh on the (a) student protests and (b) potential restoration of (i) internet and (ii) mobile services in that country.
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Home Office
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that accommodation for housing asylum seekers (a) meets adequate minimum standards and (b) protects residents against (i) mistreatment, (ii) exploitation, (iii) sexual abuse and (iv) other abuse.
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To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the White Paper entitled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, published on 12 May 2025, when she plans to publish further information on how changes to the five-year settlement pathway will affect people already in…
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To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her planned timetable is for providing eVisas to (a) people on leave extended by section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 and (b) others; and when that rollout will be completed.
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To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people on leave extended by section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 have been provided e-Visas.
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To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle upskirting.
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To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the number of incidences of upskirting.
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To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the (a) quality, (b) suitability and (c) adequacy of the nutrition of food provided to (i) babies and (ii) children in contingency asylum accommodation.
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To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to set national standards on stalking perpetrator programmes.
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To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much their Department spent on (a) media and (b) voice training for Ministers between 4 July 2022 and 4 July 2024.
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To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with representatives of the mobile phone industry on (a) using technology to prevent stolen phones from being re-used and (b) the adequacy of security on banking phone apps.
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To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her immigration policies of the Royal College of Psychiatrists report entitled Protecting the mental health of people seeking sanctuary in the UK's evolving legislative landscape,…
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To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support young trans people impacted by hate crime.
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To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of neighbourhood policing levels in East London.
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Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025, whether the Disabled Facilities Grant will be available to disabled residents required to pay for changes to living circumstances…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will update the Decent Homes Standard for social housing to ensure that kitchens over 20 years old are renewed by social landlords.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that families in all forms of temporary accommodation have access to adequate cooking facilities.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of (a) regulations and (b) enforcement mechanisms to hold landlords accountable for non-compliance with housing standards in the student sector.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of new social homes built across London; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for affordable housing in London.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to incentivise private developers to build more (a) social and (b) affordable homes.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle hidden homelessness.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of introducing a legal right for (a) tenants and (b) residents to trigger an audit of service charges where bills are disputed.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of establishing an independent body to regulate service charges for residents of all tenures.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support shared owners affected by (a) building remediation works and (b) increasing service charges.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the regulatory standards for housing associations.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to take steps to improve the regulation of under-performing housing associations.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 22 February 2024 on Local Government Stewardship Update, HCWS280, what progress has been made on the Best Value Inspection of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets; and…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will request an update from the Regulator for Social Housing on progress it has made on (a) its investigation into the collective complaint against Clarion House Group submitted by Stratford and Bow constituents in…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the letter from the then Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to the Chief Executive of Clarion Housing Group of November 2022, regarding maladministration notices and the…
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To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the letter from the then Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to the Chief Executive of Clarion Housing Group of November 2022, regarding maladministration notices and the…
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Women and Equalities
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) resources and (b) legal powers available to the Equality and Human Rights Commission in the context of the introduction of mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting requirements…
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To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to help tackle the ethnicity pay gap.
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To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to help (a) end discrimination against LGBT+ people and (b) ensure that LGBT+ hate crime is investigated.
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