Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to improve decision making times at the Valuation Office Agency.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The VOA is meeting the majority of its performance targets. In the areas where it isn’t, it has robust service recovery plans in place. These include moving staff to where there is the greatest customer demand and upskilling its workforce in a wider range of casework, to ensure greater flexibility. It continues to prioritise any cases where a customer is facing financial hardship.
The VOA reports monthly on performance to the HMRC Executive Committee and Board. The decision to move the VOA’s functions into HMRC next year will strengthen direct accountability to ministers.
Integration is being carefully managed by a joint HMRC and VOA team, with detailed transition plans in place and appropriate oversight from my department.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the impact of leaving the EU single market on graduate employment opportunities.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government is committed to ensuring graduates have the skills and support needed to succeed in the modern economy, which is why the Industrial Strategy will provide an additional £1.2bn of investment in the skills system by 2028-29.
The Department for Work and Pensions has an established network of partnerships to enhance graduate employment opportunities. DWP are reforming Jobcentre Plus to create a new, more personalised employment support service across Great Britain to recognise that individuals - including graduates - have different needs.
However, the Department for Business and Trade has made no specific assessment of the impact of leaving the EU single market on graduate employment opportunities.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2025 to Question 90952 on Bathing Water (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2025, if she can outline the (a) local and (b) national stakeholders who she will engage with during the initial scoping work and set out a timeline for the initial scoping work .
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recognise that there have been changes in how and where people use bathing waters since the Bathing Water Regulations were introduced in 2013. That is why we are taking forward a programme of reforms to introduce the first overhaul of the rules governing the designation and monitoring of Bathing Waters since they were introduced. Reforms to the Bathing Water Regulations 2013 are part of a wider government effort to secure better outcomes for customers, investors and the environment, and restore trust and accountability through root and branch reform. Further detail on the Government’s plans for water reform will be set out through a White Paper and a new water reform bill, marking the most fundamental reset to our water system in a generation.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme will be reintroduced in Henley and Thame constituency.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Our priority currently is to provide gigabit-capable coverage to as many premises as possible in Henley and Thame constituency through our Project Gigabit contracts, rather than through other schemes.
Project Gigabit contracts give better certainty of delivery than voucher projects, and also involve lower administrative overhead for suppliers and communities as well as the government. Future delivery is therefore much more likely to be through contracts rather than voucher delivery in most areas.
We will continue to monitor progress and review the need for further support as delivery continues. If gaps in coverage are identified, further interventions, including reopening the voucher scheme, may be considered.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of SEND tribunal waiting times on the ability of families to hold local authorities to account for non-provision of SEND support.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The volume of appeals to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Tribunal means that some families face a year-long wait for a hearing, lengthening the time it takes for children and young people to get the support they need. We are working with the Ministry of Justice and His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service to ensure appeals are heard faster, including through the recruitment of 70 new judges, more cases being resolved ‘on paper’, hearings being held in school holidays, and the prioritisation of appeals for those who are moving between education phases.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Henley and Thame dated 10 October 2025 on the handling of the transitional protection remedy by teachers’ pensions.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I can confirm that a response to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Henley and Thame dated 10 October 2025 was sent on 8 December 2025.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the sufficiency of current driving instruction in equipping new drivers with the knowledge and practical skills required for safe motorway driving, including appropriate lane usage; and whether consideration has been given to requiring supervised motorway driving as part of initial learner training and assessment.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to promote voluntary motorway lessons with approved instructors after theory test success, ensuring that all drivers can gain appropriate experience in a structured, supportive environment. However, DVSA has no current plans to mandate that all learner drivers must undertake motorway driving prior to their driving test, for several key reasons.
Not all learners have convenient access to motorways, with many candidates living in rural or remote areas where the nearest motorway may be some distance away. Requiring all candidates to drive on a motorway would risk creating an unfair barrier to test readiness and accessibility.
While motorway driving is valuable, the practical driving test already includes a strong focus on high-speed driving environments. Dual carriageways, which can present even greater risk due to variable traffic flows, mixed vehicle types, and more frequent junctions, are included in test routes, wherever possible. They provide critical opportunities to assess a candidate’s ability to manage higher speeds and complex traffic situations.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is she taking to ensure there is adequate funding and checks at border security for veterinary and meat imports to protect the farming industry against importing issues like foot and mouth disease or African Swine Fever.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Border checks undertaken by competent authorities are an important element of the system designed to manage biosecurity risks.
The SPS controls at the border on EU goods implemented under the Border Target Operating Model provide assurance that the underlying systems of controls are working as intended. This includes import conditions, certification signed by veterinarian authorities in exporting countries, risk assessments, border checks, and other intelligence led controls.
Defra is working with the Home Office and Border Force and has provided significant funding for Dover Port Health Authority (DPHA) to ensure operations around detecting illegal meat imports are as effective as possible.
Defra has committed £3.1m for DPHA to work in partnership with Border Force in seizing meat smuggled via the Port of Dover in 2025/26, additional to over £9m of funding provided to date. Defra is considering the recommendations in the EFRA Committee’s report on meat smuggling.
For Defra’s full response to the EFRA committee report, please see here.
Defra publishes assessments of the risk of animal diseases entering Great Britain through trade in animal products here.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (a) what assessment has the Department made of the impact that delays in UK Visas and Immigration processing times are having on the ability of hospitality businesses to recruit seasonal and skilled workers, and (b) what steps she is taking to help reduce these delays to support employers during peak trading periods.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
UKVI are not currently experiencing any delays against our published service standards for either Seasonal or Skilled Workers.
These can be found at:
Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK
Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has she made of the potential impact of Farming in Protected Landscapes funded projects on children; and whether she will bring forward policy proposals to fund these projects beyond 2026.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since its launch in 2021, the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme has provided funding for nearly 11,000 farmers and land managers to work in partnership with National Parks and National Landscape bodies to deliver projects that benefit the countryside for climate, nature, people and place. The FiPL programme has engaged over 2,000 schools and delivered more than 8,000 school educational visits helping children to get involved and learn about nature.
The FiPL programme is due to end March 2026, and decisions on the future of the programme will be made as part of departmental business planning.