David Johnston Portrait

David Johnston

Conservative - Former Member for Wantage

First elected: 12th December 2019

Left House: 30th May 2024 (Dissolution)


David Johnston is not a member of any APPGs
6 Former APPG memberships
AEA Technology Pensions, Chalk Streams, Community Energy, Football Club, Foreign Affairs, Social Mobility
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
31st Aug 2023 - 5th Jul 2024
Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill
19th Jul 2023 - 4th Sep 2023
Social Housing (Regulation) Bill [HL]
23rd Nov 2022 - 27th Nov 2022
Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill
16th Nov 2022 - 23rd Nov 2022
Pension Dashboards (Prohibition of Indemnification) Bill
19th Oct 2022 - 26th Oct 2022
Backbench Business Committee
1st Mar 2021 - 15th Mar 2022
Skills and Post-16 Education [HL] Bill
24th Nov 2021 - 7th Dec 2021
Education (Careers Guidance in Schools) Bill
21st Oct 2021 - 27th Oct 2021
Education Committee
2nd Mar 2020 - 19th Oct 2021
Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill
6th Sep 2021 - 6th Sep 2021
Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill
21st Jul 2021 - 6th Sep 2021


Division Voting information

David Johnston has voted in 968 divisions, and 2 times against the majority of their Party.

17 Jun 2020 - Health and Personal Social Services - View Vote Context
David Johnston voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 104 Conservative Aye votes vs 124 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 253 Noes - 136
6 Jun 2023 - Committee on Standards - View Vote Context
David Johnston voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 28 Conservative Aye votes vs 32 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 185 Noes - 40
View All David Johnston Division Votes

All Debates

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Jacob Rees-Mogg (Conservative)
(23 debate interactions)
Boris Johnson (Conservative)
(10 debate interactions)
Oliver Dowden (Conservative)
Shadow Deputy Prime Minister
(10 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Department for Education
(216 debate contributions)
Cabinet Office
(30 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
Trade Bill 2019-21
(3,658 words contributed)
Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021
(3,608 words contributed)
View All Legislation Debates
View all David Johnston's debates

Latest EDMs signed by David Johnston

David Johnston has not signed any Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by David Johnston, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


David Johnston has not been granted any Urgent Questions

2 Adjournment Debates led by David Johnston

Thursday 18th May 2023
Tuesday 10th November 2020

4 Bills introduced by David Johnston


A Bill to enable electricity generators to become local electricity suppliers; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 40%

Last Event - 2nd Reading
Friday 24th March 2023

A Bill to make provision to enable the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to investigate advice and information given by the Secretary of State and the Government Actuary relating to transfers of pensions from the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority pension schemes to the AEA Technology pension scheme; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 40%

Last Event - 2nd Reading
Friday 6th May 2022

A Bill to enable electricity generators to become local electricity suppliers; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 40%

Last Event - 2nd Reading
Friday 6th May 2022

A Bill to require the Secretary of State to establish an export guarantee scheme for small generators of low carbon electricity; to set a tariff, based on market rates, for the sale of electricity under the export guarantee scheme; to make provision to enable small generators of low carbon electricity to sell electricity directly to local people; to place certain duties on the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading
Wednesday 29th March 2023

Latest 9 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
1 Other Department Questions
19th Jan 2022
What priorities he has for his COP26 Presidency year.

Throughout the UK’s Presidency year, we will work with Egypt as the incoming Presidency, and all countries, to deliver on the agreed outcomes in the Glasgow Climate Pact and keep 1.5 in reach.

In doing so we will continue to champion science, especially the IPCC and its major reports in 2022, and the urgency of action on emissions reductions, adaptation, finance to support developing nations and loss and damage.

Lord Sharma
COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
5th Nov 2020
What assessment she has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) effectiveness of the digital capability of the CPS during the covid-19 outbreak.

The CPS successfully enabled almost its entire workforce to move to remote working at the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak, without business interruption. Working with partners, the CPS has helped the criminal justice system to continue to function throughout the pandemic.

The CPS Inspectorate published a report on the performance of the CPS at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak. It commended the organisation’s digital capability and strategic planning and its foresight in upgrading its digital capabilities.

22nd Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allocating funding to the development of space based solar power.

A report which includes some of those potential merits is available on the Government website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/space-based-solar-power-de-risking-the-pathway-to-net-zero.

15th Dec 2020
What steps his Department is taking to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

My Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution will turbo-charge our path to net zero with £12 billion of government investment. Yesterday, we published our ambitious Energy White Paper, and will publish further plans to decarbonise key sectors of the economy ahead of COP26, including our Net Zero Strategy.

24th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of adding a box for a second parent or guardian on the School Admission Application Form.

The School Admissions Code currently prohibits requiring both parents to sign the Common Application Form when they are applying for a school place for their child. This makes the process easier for families where it may not be possible for two parents to sign the form and ensures that a child is not discriminated against because they only have one parent. It also ensures that a child's family situation is not unlawfully considered in the application process.

In cases where parents are separated and both parents are involved in their child’s upbringing, parents will need to agree between themselves on the school they wish their child to attend and on which parent will sign the application form.

22nd Jun 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of including agriculture in the national curriculum.

The National Curriculum already includes topics related to agriculture such as food production, the environment, and types of land use in subjects such as geography, design and technology and science.

In the geography curriculum schools must teach pupils to describe and understand key aspects of human geography, including types of settlement and land use, economic activity including trade links, and the distribution of natural resources including energy, food, minerals and water. This is built upon in secondary schools where pupils are taught to understand how human and physical processes interact to influence and change landscapes, environments and the climate.

In science, pupils are taught to explore the requirements of plants for life and growth and how they vary from plant to plant. Guidance advises schools to support their teaching through the use the local environment throughout the year to observe how plants grow. Pupils should be introduced to the requirements of plants for germination, growth and survival, as well as the processes of reproduction and growth in plants.

The design and technology curriculum states that as part of their work with food, pupils should be taught to understand where food comes from, understand seasonality and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed.

The National Curriculum is a framework setting out the content of what the Department expects schools to cover in each subject and teachers have the flexibility and freedom to determine how they deliver the content in the way that best meets the needs of their pupils. If teachers wish, they can choose to cover particular topics in greater depth, for example food and farming.

14th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of care home residents with dementia but without a psychosis diagnosis have been prescribed anti-psychotic drugs in the last 12 months.

This information is not held in the format requested. The number of people living with dementia but without a diagnosis of psychosis who have been prescribed antipsychotic medication in the last six weeks was 31,451 at the end of February 2023.

Helen Whately
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
18th May 2021
What steps his Department is taking to support victims of domestic abuse.

Domestic abuse is a top priority across Government, and we are determined to transform the response to this abhorrent crime.

We passed our landmark Domestic Abuse Bill on 29 April and our forthcoming Victims’ Bill will further transform victims’ experience of the criminal justice system and we have provided unprecedented funding for domestic abuse since the pandemic began, including £51m boost for specialist support services to support victims through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

8th Dec 2020
What steps his Department is taking to introduce problem-solving courts.

Problem-solving courts, which strengthen the judicial involvement in the oversight of sentences being served in the community, will provide a way to closely manage and rehabilitate those offenders who are frequently both prolific and vulnerable. The MoJ are committed to piloting Problem Solving Courts in up to five locations in the Sentencing White Paper, published 16 September. We will be taking forward the necessary legislative provisions to enable these pilots when Parliamentary time allows.

Pilots, based on international best-practice, will focus on offenders with substance misuse issues, domestic violence offences and female offenders.

The Court Service and Probation Service are closely involved in the design of the pilots, taking into consideration operational resources and the location of the necessary treatment services.

Chris Philp
Shadow Home Secretary