Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to publish the immigration fees for an Irish citizen seeking to gain British Citizenship through the British Nationality (Irish Citizens) Act 2024.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The fee for an Irish citizen seeking to gain British Citizenship through the British Nationality (Irish Citizens) Act 2024 is currently under consideration and we will provide an update in due course.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the treatments available for brain tumours in west London.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has invested in new lifesaving and life-improving research, supporting those diagnosed and living with brain tumours. In September 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) announced new research funding opportunities for brain cancer research, spanning both adult and paediatric populations. This includes a national NIHR Brain Tumour Research Consortium, to ensure the most promising research opportunities are made available to adult and child patients.
The National Cancer Plan will include further details on how we will improve outcomes, including treatment options, for all cancer patients including those with brain tumours.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of people aged 66 and over who were in paid employment as of 1 January 2025.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 17th March is attached.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the level of rent for people living in houseboats with permanent moorings.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
There is limited data available on the number of houseboats and whether these are owner-occupied or rented. While houseboats with permanent moorings may be in the postcode address file and therefore eligible for inclusion in the English Housing Survey, these cannot be separated out for reporting purposes due to very low numbers. As a result, such an assessment cannot be made.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to increase the availability of assessments for ADHD in West London.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including assessments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
NHS England has established an ADHD taskforce which is working to bring together those with lived experience, experts from the National Health Service, education, charity, and justice sectors. The taskforce is working to get a better understanding of the challenges affecting those with ADHD, including timely and equitable access to services and support, with the final report expected in the summer of 2025.
In conjunction with the taskforce, NHS England has carried out detailed work to develop an ADHD data improvement plan to inform future service planning. NHS England has also conducted detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, capturing examples from ICBs who are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services. NHS England is using this information to support systems to tackle ADHD waiting lists and provide support to address people’s needs.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 33910, how many staff were employed at the Fraud team at the DVSA at the end of (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, (d) 2022 and (e) 2023.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The table below shows the number of people employed within the Counter Fraud & Investigation team at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency for the years ending 2019 to 2024.
Year-end | Headcount | Full Time Equivalent (FTE) |
Dec 2019 | 48 | 47.26 |
Dec 2020 | 48 | 46.47 |
Dec 2021 | 50 | 49.25 |
Dec 2022 | 48 | 47.25 |
Dec 2023 | 48 | 47.6 |
Dec 2024 | 65* | 59* |
*In 2024-25, the team dedicated to investigating fraud in the driver theory and practical test schemes was doubled as a result of additional funding provided by the Department for Transport.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of rights for residents living on houseboats in permanent moorings in the context of the (a) length and (b) security of their tenure.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No assessment has been made. Navigation authorities have responsibility for operational matters on their waterways, including setting the terms and conditions of the licences that they issue for the use of permanent moorings.
The length and security of tenure of houseboat owners will depend on the terms they agree with the mooring owner. The terms of the agreement issued by the mooring owner must comply with the unfair terms in consumer contracts requirements in the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Boat owners with residential moorings will also benefit from the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. This requires mooring owners to get a court order to evict boat owners who continue to moor after their license agreement has ended.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of people who live in residential houseboats in permanent moorings in (a) London and (b) England.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Department does not hold such information. Navigation authorities are responsible for operational matters on their waterways, including issuing licences for permanent moorings on their waterways. This does not necessarily involve recording the number of people living on a boat.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people worked at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, (d) 2022, (e) 2023 and (f) 2024.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are 65 people employed within the Counter Fraud & Investigations team at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). This team work directly on the investigation of fraud in various areas of DVSA’s work such as the car practical and theory test, commercial vehicles and MOT.
There are other teams within DVSA that are involved in its investigative and enforcement activities such as:
traffic examiners who stop vehicles at the roadside
market surveillance teams who investigate aftermarket goods
intelligence unit staff who process and investigate information we receive on fraudulent activity.
commercial vehicle team
DVSA actively encourage and remind all colleagues to report, via the appropriate channels, any suspected fraudulent activity they encounter.
The table below shows the number of car practical tests conducted (tests which have been passed or failed) in England per calendar year, for the years 2019 to 2024. Please note, for data on conducted tests in 2024, DVSA can currently only publish data up to the end of September 2024.
Year | Car Tests Conducted |
2019 | 1,625,579 |
2020 | 809,509 |
2021 | 1,113,735 |
2022 | 1,667,935 |
2023 | 1,831,588 |
2024 as of 30 September | 1,479,177 |
The table below shows the number of people employed at DVSA for the years 2019 to 2024.
Year End | Headcount | Full Time Equivalent (FTE) |
December 2019 | 4752 | 4472.26 |
December 2020 | 4733 | 4455.94 |
December 2021 | 4869 | 4597.43 |
December 2022 | 4911 | 4630.77 |
December 2023 | 4944 | 4629.97 |
December 2024 | 4881 | 4563.05 |
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving tests were taken in England in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, (d) 2022, (e) 2023 and (f) 2024.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are 65 people employed within the Counter Fraud & Investigations team at the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). This team work directly on the investigation of fraud in various areas of DVSA’s work such as the car practical and theory test, commercial vehicles and MOT.
There are other teams within DVSA that are involved in its investigative and enforcement activities such as:
traffic examiners who stop vehicles at the roadside
market surveillance teams who investigate aftermarket goods
intelligence unit staff who process and investigate information we receive on fraudulent activity.
commercial vehicle team
DVSA actively encourage and remind all colleagues to report, via the appropriate channels, any suspected fraudulent activity they encounter.
The table below shows the number of car practical tests conducted (tests which have been passed or failed) in England per calendar year, for the years 2019 to 2024. Please note, for data on conducted tests in 2024, DVSA can currently only publish data up to the end of September 2024.
Year | Car Tests Conducted |
2019 | 1,625,579 |
2020 | 809,509 |
2021 | 1,113,735 |
2022 | 1,667,935 |
2023 | 1,831,588 |
2024 as of 30 September | 1,479,177 |
The table below shows the number of people employed at DVSA for the years 2019 to 2024.
Year End | Headcount | Full Time Equivalent (FTE) |
December 2019 | 4752 | 4472.26 |
December 2020 | 4733 | 4455.94 |
December 2021 | 4869 | 4597.43 |
December 2022 | 4911 | 4630.77 |
December 2023 | 4944 | 4629.97 |
December 2024 | 4881 | 4563.05 |