Written Questions

Firearms: Licensing

To ask the Solicitor General, how many A.) prosecutions B.) convictions have been made since 2006 under Section 26(2) of the Firearms Act 1968 in relation to individuals purchasing firearms or ammunition with a false certificate.

Data Centres: Job Creation

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the number of permanent jobs created by large-scale data centre developments once operational.

Horizon Europe

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, further to the policy paper entitled Specialised Committee on Participation in Union Programmes Minutes: 15 December 2025, published on 29 June 2026, what are the barriers to UK partici

Blood: Contamination

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding he has allocated to compensate those infected and affected by contaminated blood.

Specialised Committee on Participation in Union Programmes

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the policy paper entitled Specialised Committee on Participation in Union Programmes Minutes: 15 December 2025, published on 29 June 2026, who are the (a) EU and (b) UK co-chairs of the SCPUP.

Electronic Messaging: Government Departments

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the news story entitled Independent Review of the Use of Non-corporate Communications Channels in Government, of 2 July 2026, whether the review will consult His Majesty's Official Opposition.

Civil Servants: Career Development

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the answer of 17 March 2026 to Question 118533 on Civil Servants: Career Development, whether internal practices on temporary promotions has been amended in light of the 2019 tribunal decision.

Civil Servants: Trade Unions

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria he uses to distinguish permissible trade union political campaigning by civil servants holding union office from prohibited party-political activity under the Civil Service Code.

Special Advisers: Workplace Pensions

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent steps he has taken to remind special advisers of (a) their right to transfer a pension into the Civil Service Pension Scheme in the first 12 months of Civil Service tenure and (b) that they will lose

Lord Mandelson

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether (a) Cabinet Office Ministers and (b) the Prime Minister were consulted on and approved the exit payment to Lord Mandelson.

Hospitality Industry and Tourism: Working Hours

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of taking account of recurring seasonal fluctuations in demand in the tourism and hospitality sectors when developing regulations on guar

Hospitality Industry and Tourism: Working Hours

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if the Department will publish an assessment of the potential impact of the guaranteed-hours provisions in the Employment Rights Act 2025 on (a) seasonal recruitment and (b) employment opportunities fo

Equipment: Northern Ireland

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what provisions will the Government make in the context of the Supply of Machinery (Safety) (Amendment etc.) and the EU Machinery Regulation (Enforcement etc. in Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026 for

Schools: Air Conditioning

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department holds data on the number of schools with air conditioning installed in each local authority.

Import Controls: Northern Ireland

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 117628 on Import Controls, whether construction is complete; how much money her Department has spent to date; and whether any

Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, under the universal service obligation what requirement does Royal Mail have to report and monitor the delivery of second class post.

Working Hours

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how the Government plans to help ensure that guaranteed-hours offers calculated by reference to hours worked during a seasonal peak do not require employers to provide the same hours during periods of

Drax Group

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 7 July 2026 to Question 14370 on Drax Group, if she will confirm that no Minister or special adviser have had communication of any kind with the Financial Conduct Authority on its investiga

Drax Group

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she asked (a) her officials and (b) officials in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to establish whether communications had taken place between Ministers or special advisers and the Financial Co

Drax Group

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Treasury has been informed whether the Financial Conduct Authority’s investigation into Drax Group plc included consideration of the company’s public statement of 6 October 2022 concerning biomass sourcin

Drax Group

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Treasury has been informed that the Financial Conduct Authority requested and obtained unfettered access to unredacted versions of (a) the December 2022 and February 2023 KPMG reports, (b) the February 20

Schools: Air Conditioning

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support schools to install air conditioning systems.

Visas: Skilled Workers

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to provide full grandfathering or full transitional protection for Skilled Worker visa holders and their dependants who were already granted leave before any earned settl

Visas: Families

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consideration she has given to the introduction of a service standard for family visa applications.

Employment: Disability

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2026 to Question 12047 on Employment: Disability, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of employment advisors in (a) NHS Talking Therapies, (b) Connect to Wo