Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will publish an impact assessment on the decision to close the UK Space Agency.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK Space Agency is not closing – it is being brought together with DSIT's Space Directorate to create a more efficient, integrated approach to delivering our space ambitions. This change, part of our Plan for Change to cut red tape and make Whitehall more agile, will reduce duplication and strengthen ministerial oversight.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the number of houses on brownfield land rejected for planning permission since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department publishes the number of planning applications for dwellings granted and refused per quarter by local authority in the PS2 open data file in our quarterly planning application statistics release. It can be found on gov.uk here. The number of applications on brownfield land is not collected.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an estimate of the number of homes on brownfield land granted planning permission since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department publishes the number of planning applications for dwellings granted and refused per quarter by local authority in the PS2 open data file in our quarterly planning application statistics release. It can be found on gov.uk here. The number of applications on brownfield land is not collected.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 55254 on Public Bodies: Reviews, how many civil servants are involved in the review by grade.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
As of 31st October 2025, the Cabinet Office maintains 1 Deputy Director, 1 Grade 7 and 1 HEO to staff the ALB Review. Information on departmental staffing levels for the ALB Review is not held centrally.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of Ministerial severance packages between 1 September and 8 September 2025.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Departments are responsible for making salary and loss of office payments to their Ministers. This information would only be held by individual departments.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of people whose visa expired since 4 July 2025 who have not (a) renewed their visa and (b) left the UK; and how many and what proportion of those people have been detained for overstaying their visa.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Removals of those with no right to be here have risen significantly under this government, with over 35,000 people removed - 13% more than the same period 12 months prior. Of the total returns since 5 July 2024, 10,191 were asylum related returns. This is an increase of 28% compared to the same period 12 months prior.
The Home Office only detains individuals when there is a realistic prospect of removal within a reasonable timeframe. As set out in legislation, an individual becomes liable to removal from the UK if "the person requires leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom but does not have it". The Home Office does not routinely categorise immigration offenders by the manner in which they became irregular, and a breakdown of those who have been detained after overstaying a visa could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2025 to Question 54458, with reference to the press release entitled Six pubs a week shutting their doors for good, published on 17 February 2025, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the estimated rate of pub closures on the attractiveness of tourism in the UK.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government recognises the vital role of pubs and hospitality businesses in both local communities and the attractiveness of the UK as a visitor destination. While DCMS has not made a formal assessment, we continue working with other Government departments to ensure that targeted support is provided for the sector.
The Government is creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century. We plan to introduce permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000. We have also reduced alcohol duty on qualifying draught beer products, saving the sector over £85 million annually.
The Government is also working to reduce barriers to growth for businesses, including those in the hospitality sector by streamlining the licensing system. For example, in April, we launched the Licensing Taskforce to guide reforms. As part of the Small Business Strategy launched at the end of July, a new National Licensing Policy Framework will simplify outdated rules making it easier and more affordable to open and run hospitality venues.
We’ve introduced a Hospitality Support Scheme and, in rural areas, £440,000 is being invested to help pubs diversify as community hubs, creating jobs and enhancing the visitor offer - helping to sustain a vibrant hospitality sector that supports the UK’s tourism appeal.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish a regional tourism strategy for the east-west rail corridor.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
East West Rail (EWR) will improve connectivity and drive economic growth, enabling people to travel easily and sustainably to the wide variety of existing and proposed tourist destinations along the route. The improved connectivity that EWR will provide, including its key interchanges with the UK’s major railway lines, will bring visitor attractions in Oxford, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Bedford and Cambridge within easier reach for people living both in and outside the region.
The relevant local authorities, Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) and the EWR Company will work together, engaging with relevant stakeholders (including residents, businesses and cultural institutions), to ensure that opportunities for tourism are considered and developed through the project. Opportunities would then be captured in the relevant Destination Management Plans and Growth Plans for the regions concerned.
The Government is committed to supporting the sector through the forthcoming Visitor Economy Growth Plan. This will set out a long term plan to increase visitor numbers to the UK and ensure more of these visitors reach our unique regional destinations, of which improved connectivity is a key driver.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the 10-Year Health Plan, what safeguards will be put in place to prevent hostile actors from accessing genomic data held by the NHS.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All organisations that have access to National Health Service patient data and systems must use the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) to provide assurance on an annual basis that they are practising good data security and that personal information is handled correctly. In September 2025, we introduced the Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) to aligned DSPTs in order to raise DSPT requirements for genomics organisations as suggested by the Department. The CAF is the National Cyber Security Centre’s framework and focuses on outcomes and principles to guide good decision-making, and the CAF-aligned DSPT return is supported by an independent audit to the mandated framework.
National cyber teams are tackling the changing cyber risk head-on through their ambitious Cyber Improvement Programme, expanding protection and services to better protect the health and care system, backed up with over £338 million of investment since 2017.
Patients who are offered whole genome sequencing through the NHS can consent to having their genomic data stored in the National Genomic Research Library (NGRL) which is run by Genomics England. Data stored in the NGRL is de-identified and access to it is carefully controlled, including through an independent Access Review Committee, which ensures that only approved individuals from approved institutions have access to the data. Approved researchers can only access the data within a Secure Research Environment for health research purposes and are not allowed to extract data from the library.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to formally recognise Taiwan.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 19 December 2024 to Question 19224.