Mark Logan Portrait

Mark Logan

Conservative - Bolton North East

First elected: 12th December 2019


Victims and Prisoners Bill
14th Jun 2023 - 11th Jul 2023
Child Support (Enforcement) Bill
22nd Feb 2023 - 1st Mar 2023
Science and Technology Committee
2nd Mar 2020 - 17th May 2022
Science, Innovation and Technology Committee
2nd Mar 2020 - 17th May 2022
Building Safety Bill
9th Sep 2021 - 26th Oct 2021


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Mark Logan has voted in 829 divisions, and 3 times against the majority of their Party.

2 Sep 2020 - Recall of MPs (Change of Party Affiliation) - View Vote Context
Mark Logan voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 41 Conservative No votes vs 47 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 55 Noes - 52
27 Apr 2021 - Delegated Legislation - View Vote Context
Mark Logan voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 77 Conservative No votes vs 222 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 431 Noes - 89
14 Dec 2021 - Public Health - View Vote Context
Mark Logan voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 97 Conservative No votes vs 224 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 369 Noes - 126
View All Mark Logan Division Votes

Debates during the 2019 Parliament

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
Boris Johnson (Conservative)
(11 debate interactions)
Andrew Mitchell (Conservative)
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
(8 debate interactions)
Christopher Pincher (Independent)
(7 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Cabinet Office
(14 debate contributions)
Department for Education
(13 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
View all Mark Logan's debates

Bolton North East Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Petition Debates Contributed

We want the Government to repeal the Dangerous Dogs Act and replace it with legislation that focuses on early intervention to prevent dog bites and tackle dog-related issues regardless of breed or type, based solely on their behaviour.


I believe that the XL bully is a kind, beautiful natured breed that loves children and people in general, and are very loyal and loving pets.


Latest EDMs signed by Mark Logan

Mark Logan has not signed any Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Mark Logan, 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.


Mark Logan has not been granted any Urgent Questions

Mark Logan has not been granted any Adjournment Debates

Mark Logan has not introduced any legislation before Parliament


Latest 50 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
18th Oct 2023
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle violence against women and girls.

Equality Ministers work closely with colleagues across Government to tackle violence against women and girls.

The Minister for Women sits on the Ministerial Steering Group overseeing the delivery of the Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy and the Domestic Abuse Action Plan. This group met most recently on 18 October 2023 to assess progress, which includes;

  • Adding the issue of violence against women and girls to the revised Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR), meaning it is now set out as a national threat for forces to respond to alongside other threats such as terrorism, serious and organised crime, and child sexual abuse;

  • Investing £168 million through the Safer Streets and Safety of Women at Night funds to make our streets safer;

  • Launching a fund for VAWG ‘by and for’ services over two years to a total of up to £6 million, from 2023/24 – 2024/25. The fund is for services across England and Wales, supporting LGBT people, people with a disability, or ethnic minorities affected by VAWG;

  • Launching the ‘Enough’ behaviour change campaign in March 2022, which has reached millions of individuals across England and Wales.

As part of that cross government work the Equality Hub is supporting the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill. Parliament agreed the final version of the Bill on Friday 20 October and it will now receive Royal Assent, strengthing protections for employees against workplace sexual harassment.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Attorney General, what recent steps she has taken to support the prosecution of alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin has opened more than 100,000 files into alleged crimes which he intends to take through the Ukrainian courts.

I remain in regular contact with Prosecutor General Kostin. Alongside UK legal experts from inside and outside government, I am supporting the work of the Office of the Prosecutor General and the International Criminal Court to ensure allegations of war crimes are fully and fairly investigated, by independent, effective and robust legal mechanisms.

The UK is also a founding member of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group, alongside the US and the EU, which works in the region with Ukraine to coordinate and provide additional support to Ukraine’s domestic prosecutions. We have also ensured to provide training and advisory support to Ukrainian judges and prosecutors across the region.

The UK is committed to ensuring that those responsible for atrocities are held to account for their actions.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Attorney General, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Crown Prosecution Service is adequately resourced to prosecute hate crime against members of religious minority communities (a) on social media and (b) in community settings.

The Government is committed to delivering justice for victims of hate crimes committed in our communities and online, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) considers all cases referred by the police.

Considering the events unfolding in the Middle East, a package of measures has been put in place to provide ongoing support to the police. This includes updating existing guidance on protests and offering the use of prosecutors in command centres to advise in real time.

In the rolling year to March 2023, the CPS has prosecuted 380 religiously aggravated and 9,1234 racially aggravated hate crime offences, with a charge rate of 85% and 87% respectively. These include aggravated malicious communication offences.

Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
23rd Jan 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if her Department will open negotiations with the European Union on a no tariff charge for goods and imports.

The UK has a comprehensive zero-tariff, zero-quota Free Trade Agreement with the European Union that eliminates tariffs on UK imports from and exports to the European Union, subject to goods meeting the relevant rules of origin.

This Government is committed to the ensuring the smooth running of the agreement to the benefit of UK business and consumers, such as via the annual framework of Trade Specialised Committees. For example, on 21st December 2023 HMG announced an agreement with the EU to extend trade rules on electric vehicles saving manufacturers and consumers up to £4.3 billion in additional tariffs.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent progress her Department has made on connecting innovation ecosystems under the Japan-UK Strategic Economic Policy and Trade Dialogue; and if she will make a statement.

Supported by the Strategic Economic Policy and Trade Dialogue, there is significant work underway across a number of departments and agencies in the UK and Japan to connect our respective innovation ecosystems. This includes organising pitch events, business matching sessions, information exchanges and supporting delegations of innovative start-ups to visit our respective markets. We are also working with external partners. In June, my department announced a new contract awarded to Oxfordshire-based Intralink to run the new UK-Asia Pacific Tech Growth Programme as part of the UK’s Digital Trade Network (DTN). This will help UK tech companies and entrepreneurs to trade across Asia Pacific, with Japan a key market.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
19th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps her Department has taken to support trade with Japan.

Japan is one of the UK's closest trade and strategic partners. In 2021, we concluded the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the first major trade deal that the UK struck as an independent trading nation. We continue to work closely with businesses so they can fully utilise the benefits of this agreement.

We agreed The Hiroshima Accord in May 2023 with Japanese Prime Minister (PM) Kishida, setting the direction of our partnership for the next decade and beyond. During the PM's visit to Japan, leading Japanese businesses committed to invest almost £18 billion into the UK.

This summer, the UK also completed accession negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Transpacific Partnership (CPTPP), which will strengthen our trading relationship with Japan.

In September 2023, the Secretary of State held the first UK-Japan Economic, Business and Trade Dialogue in which UK Export Finance signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, which will support UK and Japanese exporters, including Small to Medium Enterprises (SME's).

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
6th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what progress her Department has made on developing economic relations with the Indo-Pacific region.

We are putting the UK at the centre of a network of modern relationships in the Indo-Pacific, including through the negotiation and implementation of Free Trade Agreements (such as the UK’s recent accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership). In addition to joining CPTPP, we are breaking down market access barriers for UK businesses which will help to increase exports from UK companies into the Indo-Pacific, and encouraging investment from the Indo-Pacific into the UK that will boost science and technology, clean energy and levelling up objectives. We also introduced the Developing Countries Trading Scheme to provide lower tariffs and simpler rules of origin requirements for exporting to the UK.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
6th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the impact of international trade on Bolton North East constituency.

The Department for Business and Trade doesn’t assess the impact international trade on individual member constituencies. Nationwide export support services are in place which can be adapted to meet local needs.

Across all constituencies, we support businesses to gain the confidence and expertise to export. The Export Support Service helps businesses to navigate all export services offered by the Department to open opportunities to succeed through global trade. The Export Academy is a major initiative to build market knowledge and export capability to boost businesses’ global trading capability, supporting the millions of jobs that rely on exporting. In addition, the International Trade Advisory service gives businesses one to one support to take advantage of new global opportunities.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a scheme to facilitate the installation of heat pumps in suitable homes with the cost structured as a long-term property linked loan as a means to promote the adoption of clean energy technologies.

Catalysing a market for green finance, which can help meet the costs of retrofit, is a Departmental priority. The Green Home Finance Accelerator is making £20m available to support the testing of innovative solutions. Twenty-six projects were awarded grants for initial development work. One, led by Leeds City Council, explored options for property linked finance. Twenty-three of these projects, including Leeds, recently applied to progress to pilot. Successful applicants will be announced shortly. Assessments of potential will be made once the pilots conclude.

Additionally, the Government has raised grants under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to £7,500 to support households to replace fossil fuel boilers with low-carbon air-source heat pumps.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
19th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the environmental horticulture, landscaping and arboriculture sector on net zero targets.

The Net Zero Strategy sets out the UK's ambition to reduce emissions from Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs sectors as part of an overall reduction across the economy of 77% by Carbon Budget 6. Nature-based solutions, like restoring peat and planting trees, are key to tackling climate change and averting its impacts. They deliver multiple benefits for climate, biodiversity and people, and can therefore play an important role in reaching net zero.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
6th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to increase domestic oil and gas production.

The Government supports new licensing rounds in the North Sea to slow the decline in production from what is a mature basin while supporting industry to reduce production emissions. As reaffirmed in the Powering Up Britain Energy Security Plan, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) launched the 33rd oil and gas exploration licensing round in October last year and is expected to award the first licences from this round later this year. The Government and the NSTA have announced a joint commitment to undertake future licensing rounds, subject to a climate compatibility test.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
16th Jan 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help ensure that theatres (a) outside London and (b) in Bolton North East constituency receive equitable funding from Arts Council England.

His Majesty’s Government is deeply committed to supporting theatres across the whole country, including through public funding to organisations made via Arts Council England.

The arts are for everyone, and the Government has made it a priority to ensure that funding for the arts is fairly distributed across the country. Through Arts Council England’s 2023–26 National Portfolio, increased funding of £444.6 million per annum will fund a record 985 organisations in more parts of the country than ever before. This is an increase from £410 million per annum and 828 organisations under the previous portfolio. Of the 275 new organisations joining the funding portfolio, 214 are outside London.

Overall investment in theatre has also increased through this round of the Arts Council’s investment programme – both in terms of the number of organisations supported, and the volume of funding, which is now more than £110 million per annum, encompassing 194 organisations. The Octagon Theatre in Bolton receives annual funding of £625,359. In the last three years, theatres and theatre-focused projects in the Bolton North East constituency have received over £2.5 million of funding via Arts Council England.

Julia Lopez
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent protestors from disrupting sporting events.

We must protect the right to peaceful protest, but that does not give licence to a vocal minority to spoil events that millions of us enjoy.

The Home Secretary and the Culture Secretary have chaired productive discussions, with sports, police and government united against preventing further disruption of this kind. The Government has taken action to support the police in their efforts to prevent disruption at major sporting events, including giving them more powers through the Public Order Act 2023. This criminalised actions like ‘locking on’, allowing police to stop and search protesters for items like padlocks and superglue if they suspect they are setting out to cause disruption. We will continue to support sports organisations in their planning as necessary.

Stuart Andrew
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
3rd Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if the Government will take steps to ensure Channel 4’s current regional distribution of offices and headcount across Greater Manchester is maintained and that a potential expansion to Bolton is supported, in the event that Channel 4 is privatised.

Channel 4’s strengths in the regions and nations are to be celebrated and maintained into its future, and that is not at odds with private investment - Channel 4’s access to networks out of London is likely to be an attractive asset to nurture and develop for any potential buyer.

We have consulted on the best ownership model to support Channel 4 for years to come. Our public consultation ran for 10 weeks before closing on 14 September. We are carefully considering the views and evidence we have received to inform the government’s policy-making and final decision.

Julia Lopez
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
23rd Jan 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on removing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete from the school estate.

Our priority will always be to ensure the safety of pupils and staff, which is why we have taken a precautionary approach and asked schools to vacate spaces known to contain RAAC until mitigations are put in place.

To give a sense of the scale, there are around 22,000 schools and colleges in England, of which around 15,000 have at least one block constructed during the period in which RAAC may have been used. Due to the action we have taken to issue questionnaires, we now have responses from all schools and colleges with buildings from the era when RAAC was commonly used. All schools and colleges that advised us they suspected they may have RAAC have had a first survey to confirm if it is present.

The vast majority of schools and colleges surveyed to date have been found to have no RAAC. Where it is present, it may be limited to a single classroom. So far, these surveys have confirmed a very small proportion of schools and colleges – 231, or around 1% – have RAAC present.

In December 2023, we published an updated list of affected schools and colleges. Thanks to the hard work of school and college leaders the vast majority – 228, or 99% - were delivering full time face-to-face education for all pupils. At the time of publication, 3 schools had hybrid arrangements in place, all 3 are now in full-time face-to-face education for all pupils.

Each school and college has a dedicated caseworker to help implement individual mitigation plans and we have dedicated contracts to enable delivery of alternative accommodation including temporary classrooms, and structural supports where appropriate.

We will spend what it takes to resolve this problem as quickly as possible. All reasonable requests for additional help with revenue costs are being approved and we are funding further longer-term refurbishment or rebuilding projects to address the presence of RAAC in schools. Schools and colleagues will either be offered capital grants, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, including through School Rebuilding Programme.

Damian Hinds
Minister of State (Education)
19th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the proportion of male primary school teachers.

The Department wants to ensure that teaching is an attractive career choice for people from all backgrounds. This includes men looking to work in primary schools.

Alongside monitoring overall numbers of male teachers in the profession, our in-house teacher recruitment services, such as the Apply for Teaching Training service, generate real time data and insights into recruitment of male primary initial teacher training (ITT) candidates, along with the recruitment practices of schools and universities that offer ITT.

Whilst men make up a smaller proportion of the teaching workforce than women, since 2010 there has been an increase of over 6,500 male teachers in state funded nursery and primary schools, rising from 28,180 in 2010/11 to 34,818 in 2022/23. ​

​​Recruitment campaigns are targeted at audiences of students, recent graduates, and potential career changers, regardless of gender. The Department takes every effort to ensure that our advertising is fully reflective of this across the full range of marketing materials used. The Department is also working with our Teacher Vacancy Service to ensure online case studies encourage more male primary teachers into the profession, through sharing positive and encouraging stories from teachers.

The Department wants teaching to be an attractive and competitive profession. From September 2023, starting salaries will raise to at least £30,000 in all areas of the country. In fulfilling this manifesto commitment, the Department is ensuring that all teachers launch their career on a competitive starting salary.

19th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the attainment gap between pupils from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Closing the attainment gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils has been the focus of our education reforms since 2010. The attainment gap narrowed by 9% at secondary school level and by 13% at primary school level between 2011 and 2019.

For over a decade, the Department has consistently taken a range of steps to give priority support and deliver programmes that help disadvantaged pupils, including improving the quality of teaching and curriculum resources, strengthening the school system, and providing targeted support where needed. The Department knows that disadvantaged children have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, which has widened the gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils. The Department will continue to work to reduce this gap, as it previously has.

At a national level, the Department delivers several core policies to support disadvantaged pupils. This includes free school meals, which support around 2 million children, as well as the Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF), which is receiving £200 million in funding a year for the next two years, The Department also supports 2,700 breakfast clubs and family hubs.

The National Funding Formula (NFF) continues to distribute funding fairly based on schools’ and pupils’ needs and characteristics. In 2023/24, the Department has targeted a greater proportion of schools NFF funding towards deprived pupils than ever before. Over £4 billion (9.8%) of the formula has been allocated according to deprivation, while over £7 billion (17.4%), has been allocated to additional needs overall. As a result, schools with the highest levels of deprivation, on average, attract the largest per pupil funding increases. On top of this core funding, Pupil Premium funding rates have increased by 5% in the 2023/24 financial year to a total of almost £2.9 billion. This increase in funding is on top of £1 billion of recovery premium funding in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years, which was allocated to deliver evidence based approaches to support educational recovery for disadvantaged pupils, and over £300 million delivered in 2021/22.

The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) funds schools based on rates of disadvantage. Since the launch of the NTP in November 2020, more than £1 billion has been made available to support tutoring. From November 2020 to the 2023/24 academic year, nearly 4 million tutoring courses have been started (up to July 2023).

At a regional level, the Department has identified 55 Education Investment Areas (EIAs) with the lowest attainment outcomes. In these areas, the Department is providing £86 million for Trust Capacity funding, up to £150 million for Connect the Classroom, and extra funding for Levelling Up Premium retention payments to support schools with two or more Requires Improvement inspection reports.

24 EIAs have been identified as Priority EIAs. These areas face low attainment at Key Stage 2 and high levels of disadvantage. They therefore receive additional funding, including £42 million of Local Needs Funding, £86 million for Connect the Classroom and over £2 million for attendance mentoring pilots.

6th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce absence rates of pupils in secondary schools.

This Government understands how important school attendance is for pupils’ education, wellbeing, and life chances. The Department’s approach to tackling attendance is a support-first strategy.

​The Department published stronger expectations of schools, trusts, governing bodies and Local Authorities in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance. Schools are now expected to publish an attendance policy, appoint an attendance champion, and use data to identify and then support pupils at risk of becoming persistently absent. The Department deployed 10 expert attendance advisers to work with 155 Local Authorities and trusts to review practices, develop plans to improve and meet expectations set out in the guidance. To help identify children at risk of persistent absence and to enable early intervention, the Department established a timelier flow of pupil level attendance data through the daily attendance data collection. The ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.

​The launch of the £2.32 million attendance mentor pilot aims to deliver intensive one-to-one support to a group of persistently and severely absent pupils from year 6 through to year 11. The findings from this pilot should enable schools, trusts, and Local Authorities to address persistent and severe absence more effectively. The Department recently launched new attendance hubs with ten lead schools sharing their effective practice on attendance with up to 600 partner schools, reaching hundreds of thousands of pupils. This is alongside intensive support to children in need through Virtual Schools Heads.

​The Secretary of State and I co-chair the ‘Attendance Action Alliance’ of national system leaders to work to remove barriers to attendance and reduce absence through pledges. This is in addition to the £5 billion that has been made available for education recovery, helping pupils to recover from the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding includes up to £1.5 billion on tutoring and nearly £2 billion of direct funding to schools so they can deliver evidence-based interventions based on pupil needs.

23rd May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether Ukrainian diplomas and other education credentials are recognised (a) in the UK and (b) by UK employers.

The UK and Ukraine are both signatories to the Lisbon Recognition Convention. The UK is also a signatory to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation Global Recognition Convention, which will soon come into force. The terms of these Conventions oblige the UK to recognise higher education qualifications and qualifications giving access to higher education unless they are substantially different from the UK equivalents.

The UK European Network for Information (ENIC) service provides advice on the comparability of international qualifications at all levels of education with those of the UK, on behalf of Government. The service maintains an extensive database of international qualifications and education systems, including for Ukraine, and are fully prepared to deal with Ukrainian and other refugees’ qualifications.

Organisations and individuals can apply for Statements of Comparability through the standard UK ENIC portal. Within the portal, there is provision for individuals to be able to identify as refugees, meaning more flexibility is given for document submissions. Many organisations, including education institutions and employers, also subscribe to the UK ENIC service and use its database when assessing applications.


Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with his Japanese counterpart on increasing cooperation between the UK and Japanese (a) railway, (b) automotive and (c) other transport sectors.

The Honourable Member will note that the Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt. Hon. Mark Harper has had a number of discussions this year on increasing co-operation with our international partners on a range of transport related matters. In June this year, he travelled to Japan to attend the G7 Transport Ministers Meeting alongside the transport ministers or representative of the Minister for each of the G7 countries. Whilst there, he took the opportunity to meet with the Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to discuss the challenges that both transport sector in both Japan and the UK. He also met representatives of Japanese companies investing in the UK to discuss the challenges that face the UK transport sector as we plan to improve transport for users, meet our environmental targets and support the PM’s priorities including to grow the economy. Those meetings with a range of transport companies across the rail, automotive, and maritime sectors also discussed closer trading links and cooperation. Officials at the Department for Transport continue to work closely with Japanese officials in order to share knowledge on key transport issues and increase co-operation between the two countries.

Huw Merriman
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase the number of air traffic controllers.

The recruitment of air traffic controllers is a commercial matter for the private businesses that operate air traffic control services.

However, the Department is working with industry and other Government Departments, as part of the Generation Aviation programme, to support medium and long term recruitment.

This work includes the promotion of air traffic controller careers, and co-operation with industry and the Department for Education to review current apprenticeship standards so as to encourage greater uptake.

19th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to increase the number of public electric vehicle charge points in Bolton.

The Government is supporting local authorities in England through its £381 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has been allocated £16,158,000 of capital funding and £1,440,000 of capability funding through the LEVI Fund, to transform the availability of charging infrastructure across the area, including Bolton.

Since 2017, local authorities across the UK have also been able to apply to the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS). Over 190 local authorities have been awarded grants through ORCS, which will see more than 18,000 chargepoints installed. To date, GMCA and Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council have not applied for ORCS funding.

14th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the number of public transport services operating between Greater Manchester and Bolton.

Regarding train services, this was reviewed as part of the work of the Manchester Taskforce, which concluded that increasing the train lengths to meet capacity was the priority, rather than adding more services, as this would provide an improvement in operational performance. This was implemented as part of the timetable change in December 2022. The successful implementation of this timetable, which has significantly reduced delays within Manchester, is the first phase in the Manchester Taskforce programme. Last month this government announced a further £72m infrastructure package around Manchester Victoria to make train journeys for passengers more reliable in Greater Manchester. In addition, Network Rail are also electrifying the route between Wigan North-Western station and Lostock Junction near Bolton in a £78 million upgrade. Electrifying the route will complement the electrified line between Preston, Bolton and Manchester which was completed in 2019, and the project provides train operators with more operational flexibility to deploy trains to the Wigan and Bolton areas.

With regard to local transport services, the Government has invested over £3.5 billion in buses and light rail since March 2020, including our recently announced package of up to £300 million to protect and improve bus services long-term. The Government believes that Local Transport Authorities, working closely with operators, are best placed to determine the shape and structure of their local transport network to deliver high quality services for passengers.

Huw Merriman
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
29th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish a response to the consultation on Licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures.

We are currently analysing the responses to our consultation and will publish our response in the new year.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what digital health collaboration is in place between the UK and (a) India, (b) Japan and (c) Israel as of 13 October 2023.

The Department has been working with India during its G20 presidency this year, to achieve resilient, equitable and sustainable Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for all through digital health, one of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The Department has also been working with Japan during its G7 presidency this year, to ensure United Kingdom digital health priorities are appropriately reflected within this year’s Health Track and to explore how innovation, including digital, can help overcome some of our most pressing health challenges such as ageing populations and rising comorbidities.

In November 2021, the UK and Israel signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order to deepen and expand cooperation across mutual priorities, including Cyber, Health, Science and Technology. Israel and the UK committed to leveraging their combined research and innovation strengths to address mutual challenges, in areas such as, the COVID-19 pandemic, the future effectiveness and streamlining of health systems, and the life sciences.

19th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle youth vaping.

We have regulations in place to discourage underage vaping. The law protects children through restricting sales of vapes to people aged 18 years old and over, limiting nicotine content, refill bottle and tank sizes, labelling requirements and through advertising restrictions.

In October 2022, we published new content on the potential risks of vaping for young people on the FRANK and Better Health websites and we have provided input to educational resources produced by partners including the PSHE Association. We have recently added new resources for schools on the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities’ (OHID) Schools Zone online platform to support schools in educating children about vapes.

Earlier this year, OHID launched a call for evidence to identify opportunities to reduce the number of children accessing and using vape products. The call for evidence has now closed and we will respond shortly.

18th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to provide additional funding for Bolton Hospice; and what steps his Department is taking to support hospice services in (a) Bolton and (b) surrounding areas.

Integrated care boards are responsible for determining the level of National Health Service-funded palliative and end of life care, including hospice care, locally. They are responsible for ensuring that the services they commission meet the needs of their local population.

Currently, nine hospice facilities are supported by funding from NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board: Bury Hospice; Dr Kershaw's Hospice; Bolton Hospice; Springhill Hospice; St Ann's Hospice; Tameside and Glossop Hospice Limited (Willow Wood); Wigan and Leigh Hospice; Francis House Family Trust (Children’s); and Derian House (Children’s, located outside the Greater Manchester area).

Whilst all of these provide inpatient end of life care, several also offer Hospice at Home and other community palliative care services.

The commissioning and funding of these arrangements are a legacy from Clinical Commissioning Groups, however, NHS Greater Manchester, as a statutory organisation, now has the opportunity to review commissioning and funding arrangements to meet the needs of the population, working across our Integrated Care Partnership.

Helen Whately
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
6th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to mark the 75th anniversary of the NHS; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of technology on secondary healthcare at Royal Bolton Hospital.

The Department marked the 75th Anniversary of the National Health Service over the course of June and July, working closely with NHS England. The Department and NHS England made a number of flagship announcements, including the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan; a new national targeted lung cancer screening programme; the Government’s Mandate to NHS England; an additional one million health checks to tackle cardiovascular disease through the new NHS Digital Health Checks; and a £21 million fund for NHS trusts to bid and procure artificial intelligence diagnostic imaging tools.

In December 2022, Bolton NHS Foundation Trust published their Digital Strategy for 2022-2025, which sets out their ambition to become a 'Digital Trust' via four objectives, digital integration, digital care, digital workforce and digital infrastructure. The Strategy sets out the proposed changes to the local health and social care system and benefits to patients, the workforce and system. In 2022/23, the Department provided Royal Bolton £1.29 million to “digitise the frontline” by improving access to electronic patient record data across the NHS. £18 million has also been provided for the development of a Community Diagnostic Centre to support the creation of a digitally enabled estate.

8th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to make nintendanib available on the NHS for patients suffering from pulmonary fibrosis.

Nintedanib is routinely available to eligible National Health Service patients according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance, which recommends nintendanib for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis for patients with a Forced Vital Capacity of between 50 to 80% predicted.

NICE is currently reviewing its recommendations on the use of nintedanib for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in those with a forced vital capacity above 80% predicted and currently expects to publish final guidance in March 2023.

8th Nov 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve early diagnoses of pulmonary fibrosis.

The NHS Long Term Plan includes ambitions to increase early and accurate diagnosis of respiratory conditions. To deliver this commitment, NHS England has established 13 respiratory clinical networks. The National Health Service has been asked to restore spirometry checks to pre-pandemic levels in 2022/23, supported by the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’.

Helen Whately
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
5th Sep 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the new licensing scheme for practitioners who operate in England for non-surgical cosmetic procedures will be announced.

Officials are currently exploring how a future licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England might be implemented, and a potential timetable for its introduction. The scope and details of any future licensing scheme would be set out in secondary legislation and subject to stakeholder engagement and public consultation.

18th Dec 2023
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether the Government is taking steps to assess the level of compliance with international humanitarian law of Israel’s recent actions in Gaza.

Israel has endured the worst terrorist attack in its history at the hands of Hamas. We support Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas, but it must comply with International Humanitarian Law (IHL). We keep under continuous review whether they are abiding by their obligations. We continue to call for IHL to be respected and civilians to be protected.

Andrew Mitchell
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to progress Israel-Saudi Arabia normalisation talks.

The UK continues to support diplomatic efforts to normalise relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The UK is a firm supporter of Israel's normalisation agreements, including the Abraham Accords. We continue to encourage close regional cooperation in order to tackle regional challenges and we encourage those countries with whom Israel does not yet have diplomatic relations to recognise the economic, cultural and security benefits of cooperation with Israel.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to (a) establish and (b) help ensure the safety of UK nationals in Israel.

The safety of all British nationals continues to be our utmost priority and we urge everyone to continue to follow our travel advice which is kept under continual review. We are working around the clock to support British Nationals wishing to leave and remain committed to assisting their safe passage out of the country. The government has facilitated a number of commercial flights from Tel Aviv to the UK to help British nationals wanting to leave Israel. The Royal Air Force was also instrumental in evacuating British nationals from Israel. British nationals who want to leave Gaza and can do so safely are advised to check the status of the Rafah crossing into Egypt. We are advising all British nationals currently in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including Gaza, to register your presence with the FCDO.

https://www.register.service.csd.fcdo.gov.uk/israel-20231009/tell-the-uk-government-youre-in-israel-or-the-occupied-palestinian-territories

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) raise awareness of and (b) commemorate the Holodomor in the UK, in the context of the war in Ukraine.

The Holodomor was a horrific, man-made disaster. The UK remembers this event annually, as the Prime Minister did by lighting a candle at the Holodomor memorial in Kyiv in November 2022. Our officials in Ukraine regularly attend similar commemoration events. The UK is committed to holding to account those responsible for committing atrocities in Ukraine, by supporting the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to ensure allegations of war crimes are fully and fairly investigated by independent and robust legal mechanisms. Since the start of the invasion we have provided £2 million in additional contributions to the ICC.

Leo Docherty
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the level of uranium enrichment achieved by Iran.

On 4 September 2023, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iran continues to accumulate enriched uranium at 5%, 20% and 60%. Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), Iran is permitted to enrich uranium up to 3.67%. Iran possesses almost three IAEA 'significant quantities' of high enriched uranium (HEU), which is almost three times the amount of HEU from which the IAEA cannot exclude the possibility of a nuclear device being manufactured. There is no credible civilian justification for Iran producing HEU. Iran's nuclear activities threaten international peace and security and undermine the global non-proliferation system. We remain determined that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
19th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has held recent discussions with his Japanese counterpart on the discharge of treated water from the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear site.

On 18 September, the Foreign Secretary discussed the treated water discharge with Japan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Yoko Kamikawa, at the UN General Assembly in New York. The Foreign Secretary reiterated the UK's full support for Japan's actions, confirmed the UK's confidence in the science underpinning the treated water discharge and the UK's full satisfaction with the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) judgements regarding monitoring and safety of the discharge.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
19th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he had with the Albanian Prime Minister on (a) Ukraine, (b) serious and organised crime and (c) illegal migration while attending the UN General Assembly.

The Foreign Secretary met Albanian Prime Minister Rama on 19 September in New York. They recognised the strength of the current UK-Albania partnership and the progress we have made on shared priorities. This includes migration, with over 3,500 immigration offenders having been returned to Albania since our Joint Communique was signed in December, and a 90 per cent reduction in the numbers of Albanians arriving illegally. The Foreign Secretary welcomed Albania's leadership on European and international security issues through NATO and the UN Security Council, including in support of Ukraine.

Leo Docherty
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
19th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) French and (b) German counterparts on Iran’s decision to withdraw the designation of several IAEA inspectors.

As stated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Iran's decision to withdraw accreditation from several experienced IAEA inspectors, including experts with unique knowledge of uranium enrichment technology, affects in a direct and severe way the ability of the IAEA to effectively conduct its inspections in Iran. This action highlights Iran's increasing lack of cooperation with the IAEA - this cooperation is vital to provide assurances that Iran's nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful. France, Germany and the United Kingdom continue to stand in strong support of the IAEA and the international safeguards verification regime. In a joint statement published on 18 September 2023 by the UK, France, Germany and the United States we set out that Iran must immediately reverse these inspector de-designations and fully cooperate with the IAEA to enable them to provide assurances that Iran's nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful.

David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
13th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the free transit of ships carrying Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports.

We strongly condemn Russia's decision to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and call on Russia to re-join immediately. We also strongly condemn Russia's egregious attacks on Ukraine's ports. Ukraine has the right to export its goods through international waters. Russia's actions are clearly intended to prevent Ukraine doing so. The United Kingdom is working with Ukraine and other partners to enable Ukraine to continue exporting its grain via all routes, including overland through Europe.

Leo Docherty
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
13th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Japanese counterpart on reviving the Black Sea grain initiative.

We are committed to ensuring Ukraine is able to export its grain. At the G20 Summit on 8-9 September, the Prime Minister engaged partners, including Japan, to ensure a unified message condemning Russia's attacks on grain infrastructure. We are working with Japan as G7 President to shape the international response.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
6th Jul 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has taken recent steps to strengthen (a) security, (b) cultural and (c) trade relations with South Korea through (i) the British Council LINK programme and (ii) other means.

The UK and the Republic of Korea are close friends. We are both free and open societies with vibrant democracies and a shared commitment to upholding global security, democratic principles and the rule of law. Our bilateral framework spans political, economic, military and scientific fields. We have strengthened international collaboration and knowledge sharing through the British Council LINK programme, connecting mid-career Korean civil servants to the UK public sector. I [Minister for the Indo-Pacific] visited South Korea in May to celebrate 140 years of diplomatic relations and further our dialogue on development and economic security. The UK will continue building upon our close relationship with the Republic of Korea and deepen our cooperation on trade and security challenges.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
31st Mar 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the humanitarian situation in Tigray; and what steps her Department is taking to assist the people of Tigray.

The humanitarian situation in Ethiopia, from north to south, is grave and is worsening. More than 400,000 people are experiencing catastrophic famine-like conditions in Tigray and this year nearly 30 million people throughout the country will require life-saving aid. In northern regions conflict has affected more than 9 million people - including 5.2 million people in Tigray, where humanitarian access is negligible. As I [Minister Ford] expressed in my statement of 1 April, the arrival of a humanitarian convoy in Tigrayan-controlled areas on that day was a welcome development, but we now need to see sustained humanitarian access.

Since the start of the conflict in November 2020 the UK has allocated more than £75 million in humanitarian assistance for Northern Ethiopia. This includes £15.6 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) for its food and nutrition operations in northern Ethiopia. This helped WFP reach more than 885,000 people with food assistance and approximately 219,000 people with nutrition support. We welcome the cessation of hostilities announced by the Ethiopian Government and agreed by Tigrayan authorities on 25 March. All parties to the conflict must now facilitate urgent humanitarian relief, especially to communities in Tigray who have not had food aid for months.

30th Nov 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will meet with the hon. Member for Bolton North East as Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Afghanistan to discuss issues relating to that country and the Afghan diaspora in the UK.

The Minister of State for South Asia would be pleased to meet with the Hon. Member for Bolton North East as part of his ongoing engagement on matters relating to Afghanistan.

James Cleverly
Home Secretary
14th Jul 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the diplomatic and security situation around the Siverskyi Donets River in the Luhansk region of Ukraine following allegations of repeated shelling attacks by Russian forces; and what steps his Department is taking to ease tensions in that region.

While the UK has received no specific reporting on this alleged incident, we remain very concerned by the overall upward trajectory in the number of ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine. We call on the sides to uphold the ceasefire.

The UK remains one of the largest contributors to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission, which monitors and reports on the security situation in Ukraine. We fully support the Minsk agreements to deliver a peaceful resolution to the conflict in full respect of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the work of the Trilateral Contact Group and the Normandy Four in this regard. As outlined in the G7 Foreign Ministers' statement on 18 March, we call on Russia to play its part to end the conflict by immediately ceasing its support for the armed formations it backs and fulfilling its obligations under the Minsk agreements.

17th Jun 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the diplomatic and security situation of (a) Ukraine and (b) Russia; and what steps his Department is taking to work with (i) NATO and (ii) western Governments to maintain oversight of the situation in those countries.

The UK is one of Ukraine's few international partners offering a full range of military, security, economic, political and governance support. We operate at the heart of the international community's engagement in support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, which includes shaping international sanctions against Russia; deepening NATO's partnership with Ukraine; and leading efforts in the UN and OSCE to hold Russia to account for its destabilising behaviour.

The Integrated Review makes clear that Russia's actions pose an acute and direct threat to the national security of UK and its allies. The Russian State's record of unprovoked, reckless and destabilising activity is a stain on Russia's reputation, damages its international standing and undermines the Russian Government's claims to be a responsible global actor. The UK takes the threat from the Russian State extremely seriously and will respond and call out Russian aggression wherever it occurs.

The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have held recent discussions with their Ukrainian counterparts, on 14 June and 2 April respectively. We maintain functional channels of engagement with the Russian Government. The FS spoke with Russian FM Lavrov on 17 June. As fellow Permanent Members of the UN Security Council and other multilateral organisations, we will continue to engage with the Russian Government on matters of international peace, security and to address global challenges facing the world today, including climate change, biodiversity loss and the Coronavirus pandemic. The Prime Minister attended the NATO Summit on 14 June where NATO leaders discussed Russia and issued a communiqué, affirming NATO support for Ukraine and its commitment to continue to respond to the deteriorating security environment by enhancing NATO's deterrence and defence posture, including by a forward presence in the eastern part of the Alliance. The Prime Minister also hosted the G7 Leaders' Summit on 11-13 June, where leaders called on Russia to stop its destabilising behaviour and malign activities, which followed G7 Foreign Minister statements regarding Ukraine on 18 March and 12 April.

23rd Jan 2024
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of barriers to opening bank accounts in the UK faced by Japanese companies on the ability of those companies to expand in the UK.

I refer the honourable Member to the answer I gave to PQ UIN 9958 given on 23 January.

Bim Afolami
Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)