Written questions

Mr Richard Holden

3,708 written questions tabled, most recent first.

15 May 2026 · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Countryside: Access

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to take legislative steps to improve access to nature.

14 May 2026 · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Controlled Burning

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the European Commission’s support for grazing and the controlled burning of vegetation as measures to red

14 May 2026 · Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Syria: Sanctions

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has had discussions with Inter Mediate on de-sanctioning the Syrian regime since 4 July 2024.

14 May 2026 · Attorney General

Former Ministers: Departmental Records

To ask the Solicitor General, what guidance she has issued to Departments on whether former Ministers should be consulted before internal Ministerial papers are shared with the courts.

14 May 2026 · Department of Health and Social Care

Childbirth: Databases

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the answer of 24 April 2026 to Question 107772 on Childbirth: Medical Records, which NHS trusts have recorded SNOMED CT codes (a) 125678001, (b) 699110007, (c) 1269487002, (d) 126

14 May 2026 · Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Drax Power Station

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether Ofgem has reviewed the Employment Tribunal case involving the Drax whistleblower; and whether Ofgem has assessed whether any matters raised in that case have implications for Drax’s c

14 May 2026 · Home Office

Immigration: Ukraine

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing time spent in the UK under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme and Ukraine Extension Scheme to count towards eligibility for indefinite

14 May 2026 · Department of Health and Social Care

Childbirth: Databases

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 24 April 2026 to Question 107772, whether his Department plans to make the recording of consanguinity and related information in the Maternity Services Dataset manda

14 May 2026 · Cabinet Office

Marriage: Relatives

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of marriages between uncle and niece legally contracted overseas by people now residing in England and Wales.

14 May 2026 · Cabinet Office

Collective Responsibility

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Ministers rip up consultation culture, published on 26 March 2026, whether any Cabinet decisions since July 2024 would have been sped up as a result of t

14 May 2026 · Cabinet Office

9 Downing Street: Media

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 21 February 2025 to Question 30828 on 9 Downing Street: Media, which scheduled transparency return will publish the OCS invoice; and on which date.

14 May 2026 · Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Email

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 4 April 2025 to Question 41645 on Cabinet Office: Email, what the automatic deletion policies are for non-Ministerial inboxes for officials in his Department where individual emai

14 May 2026 · Cabinet Office

Census

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to accept the UK Statistics Authority's recommendation that the Office for National Statistics deliver a census of England and Wales in 2031.

14 May 2026 · Cabinet Office

College for National Security

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the College for National Security Privacy Notice, published on 20 May 2025, whether individuals participating in the College for National Security's pilot courses are required to provide data r

14 May 2026 · Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Buildings

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate his Department has made of the scale of the maintenance backlog across central government property.

14 May 2026 · Cabinet Office

Permanent Secretaries: Recruitment

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Permanent Secretary and Second Permanent Secretary roles are (a) being advertised through open and fair competition, (b) have advertised but the recruitment is now closed and the appointment has not yet

14 May 2026 · Department for Transport

UK Emissions Trading Scheme

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the evidential basis was for not exempting large islands such as the Isle of Wight from the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.

14 May 2026 · Department for Transport

Railways: Cybersecurity

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to mitigate the risk of cyber-attacks affecting the rail sector.

14 May 2026 · Department for Transport

Railways: East of England

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 24 March 2026 to Question 118920, if she will develop new Outline Business Cases for the Haughley Junction upgrades.

13 May 2026 · Department for Transport

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's press release published on 25 March 2026 entitled £1 billion to cut costs for businesses, drive growth and clean up UK roads, how much of the £1 billion announced funding pack

13 May 2026 · Department for Education

Aviation: Training

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons the National Vocational Qualification for Pilots was removed in 1999 and what consideration has been made of introducing a new qualification that is not subject to VAT for pilot training.

13 May 2026 · Department for Transport

Driving Tests: Waiting Lists

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will provide, for each driving test centre in Great Britain, the car practical driving test waiting time in weeks in a) February 2026; b) March 2026; c) April 2026 and d) May 2026.

13 May 2026 · Department for Transport

Avanti West Coast: Internet

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 28 April 2026 to Question 128563 on Avanti West Coast: Internet, what timetable has been set for (a) the upgrade of onboard Wi-Fi systems across Avanti West Coast services and (b

13 May 2026 · Department for Transport

Aviation: Fuels

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing formal trigger mechanisms or objective thresholds for future slot alleviation measures relating to aviation fuel disruption.