theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Mr Mark Francois:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Q11 of the oral evidence given by Professor Philippe Sands to the International Relations and Defence Committee in the House of Lords on 11 June 2025, whether Annex 1, paragraph 2 of the UK-Mauritius Strategic Partnership Framework ensures that notification to Mauritius should be given (a) before or (b) after any armed attack on a third state directly emanating from the base on Diego Garcia; and whether they have undertaken any legal preparation for a potential challenge to this interpretation. \p Luke Pollard: It is standard practice for basing arrangements to include an agreement to inform a host nation about military action from their territory. As I have explained to the right hon. Gentleman before, Annex 1, paragraph 2 of the Chagos Archipelago treaty, once it has entered into force, will not require prior notification and will not require the UK to divulge sensitive information.
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Mr Mark Francois:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Article 4 of the UK-Mauritius Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Mauritius invoking international law on military activities on Diego Garcia. \p Luke Pollard: All UK overseas bases are operated in accordance with our obligations under international law. This includes Diego Garcia. Article 4 of the treaty reflects the existing UK position.
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Liam Conlon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to introduce mandatory early screening for dyslexia in (a) Beckenham and Penge constituency and (b) nationally. \p Catherine McKinnell: This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

The Core Content Framework and Early Career Framework, for trainee and Early Career Teachers (ECTs) respectively, cover the first three years or more at the start of a teacher’s career. They set out the core body of knowledge skills and behaviours that define great teaching, and from September 2025 will be superseded by the combined Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF), which sets out a minimum entitlement to training and must be used by providers of initial teacher training and those delivering training to ECTs to create their curricula. The ITTECF contains significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND.

We recognise that the early identification of need and support is critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND, including those with dyslexia, and measures have been introduced to support the effective teaching of reading. This includes the English Hubs programme, the publication of the reading framework and an updated list of high-quality systematic synthetic phonics programmes for schools.

To improve early identification, we have commissioned evidence reviews from University College London which will highlight what the best available evidence suggests are the most effective strategies to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs in mainstream schools.

Additionally, the ‘What Works in SEND’ research programme will research tools that schools can use to identify the needs of neurodivergent children. The research is expected to be completed by March 2026.
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John Whitby:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support rural primary schools with declining pupil numbers. \p Catherine McKinnell: The government recognises the challenges some schools are facing due to falling pupil rolls.

Local authorities hold the statutory place planning function, ensuring there are sufficient schools in their area to meet the needs of pupils. It is for local authorities, in collaboration with academy trusts and other local partners, to balance the supply and demand of school places, in line with changing demographics, as they have done for many years.

We expect local authorities and their partners to consider options for the utilisation of space, including repurposing space for early years, where primary schools can play a crucial role in the delivery of new places, and special educational needs and disabilities provision, as well as options for the reconfiguration or merging of provision where appropriate.

Local authorities may also set aside some of the ‘schools block’ funding of their Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) to support falling rolls. This is intended to support schools where planning data shows that the surplus places will be needed in future years. The department has allocated £176 million in Growth and Falling Rolls funding to local authorities in 2025/26 through the DSG. The responsibility for how Growth and Falling Rolls funding is allocated rests with the local authority.
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Sarah Hall:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps her Department has taken to help ensure that children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities continue to have reliable access to home-to-school transport. \p Catherine McKinnell: The department’s home-to-school travel policy aims to make sure no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Local authorities must arrange free home-to-school travel for eligible children. This includes children of compulsory school age who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of their special educational needs (SEN), disability or mobility problem.

We know that challenges in the wider SEN system are creating pressure on home-to-school travel. We have committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools so fewer children need to travel long distances to a school that can meet their needs. The Spending Review announcement on 11 June confirmed significant new funding to support special educational needs and disabilities reform and a White Paper with further details on plans will be published in the autumn. This will reduce the pressure on home-to-school travel over time leaving it better able to meet the needs of those that continue to need it.
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John Whitby:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of levels of school transport provision in remote rural areas. \p Catherine McKinnell: I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Derbyshire Dales to the answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54948.
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Gideon Amos:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of revising the requirement for a grade 4 in GCSE maths for entry into teacher training, in cases where applicants hold postgraduate qualifications in relevant subjects but did not achieve that grade in maths at school. \p Catherine McKinnell: The department is committed to protecting the quality of teachers and the profession’s status. The initial teacher training (ITT) criteria set out the requirements for all ITT courses leading to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). All accredited ITT providers must ensure that entrants to these courses have achieved a standard equivalent to a grade 4 in the GCSE examinations in English and mathematics (and science, for primary trainees).

The entry requirements aim to ensure that entrants to ITT have demonstrated their achievement of a minimum standard of educational attainment, and for primary trainees that they demonstrate an acceptable level of subject knowledge in the core subjects of the national curriculum.

It is the standard, not the certificate, that matters. Applicants who are otherwise suitable but have not successfully achieved a GCSE grade 4 may be given an opportunity to show that they can meet the required standard either by taking an equivalence test or by offering other evidence of attainment, which should demonstrate a similar level and breadth. It is for accredited ITT providers to decide whether an applicant’s qualification is of a standard equivalent to GCSE grade 4.
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Mr James Frith:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of children withdrawn from mainstream education due to allergy-related safety concerns in schools in the last five years. \p Catherine McKinnell: The department does not hold this data.
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Aphra Brandreth:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that the updated school food standards (a) reflect current nutritional science and (b) address trends in (i) childhood obesity and (ii) food related ill health. \p Stephen Morgan: I refer the hon. Member for Chester South and Eddisbury to the answer of 24 June 2025 to Question 58507.
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Steve Darling:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to answer Question 58706, tabled on 10 June 2025. \p Stephen Morgan: The response to Written Parliamentary Question 58706 was published on 20 June 2025.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to develop guidance for educational institutions (a) using and (b) procuring AI systems. \p Stephen Morgan: To accompany the Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy paper, the department has published online materials to help educators use AI safely and effectively, developed in partnership with Chiltern Learning Trust and the Chartered College of Teaching. The materials are a toolkit for all educators, outlining the basic information that everyone working with young people should know about using AI safely, with some potential use cases, to help leaders address the risks and opportunities of AI, and how to consider AI as part of a wider digital strategy.

To help educational institutions procure safe and effective education technology (EdTech), the department wants to incentivise more evidence generation from EdTech companies by setting product quality standards and piloting how to assess products through the EdTech Evidence Board.

To ensure the safety of our children, the department announced the AI Product Safety Expectations in Education framework for technology companies, which sets out technical safeguards including prioritising child-centred design and enhanced filtering of harmful content.

The department will test an approach to quality assurance by engaging experts, such as company and sector representatives, data scientists, regulators, charities, academics and expert teachers, to assess edtech product evidence against set criteria and give judgements which could be made available to the sector.
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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of legacy PFI contracts where BSSL contractors are failing to carry out repairs and maintenance on schools in (a) Bridlington and The Wolds and (b) throughout the UK; and if she will publish the full PFI contract terms and survey information for the affected schools. \p Stephen Morgan: The department is not familiar with ‘BSSL’ however we assume this is the name of the private finance initiative (PFI) contractor on the Bridlington Group Schools Project. The PFI contractor for the Bridlington Group Schools Project contract will be a special purpose vehicle which will likely hold just one contract. We do not hold the details of the Bridlington Group Schools contract as this contract was entered into by the local authority. East Riding of Yorkshire Council will be able to assist further with this enquiry.
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Dame Harriett Baldwin:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding has been allocated to Holiday Activities and Food Programme in each of the last three financial years; and how much funding has been allocated in each financial year of the 2025 Spending Review period. \p Stephen Morgan: The government is committed to the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme to ensure children who are eligible for free school meals can access enriching activities and healthy meals.

The department has invested £205 million per year for 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 in free holiday club places for children from low-income families through the HAF programme.

We are currently working through the outcomes of the Spending Review, and we will share further information in relation to the future of the HAF programme in due course.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of using non-deterministic AI in (a) marking, (b) admissions and (c) behaviour prediction on (i) schools and (ii) universities. \p Stephen Morgan: The department aims to use evidence-based technology to reduce the time teachers spend marking, planning and form filling so their drive, energy and passion is fully focused on delivering change for children. The department provided £2 million funding to support Oak National Academy to develop artificial intelligence (AI) tools for teachers. Oak has launched an AI assistant called Aila that helps teachers create personalised lesson plans and resources in minutes, saving them hours each week.

In August 2024, the department announced the Education Content Store, a joint pilot with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, aiming to make the underpinning content and data that are needed for great AI tools available to developers. In parallel, the department has launched innovation funding to encourage developers to make use of the content store and stimulate the market to create high-quality marking and feedback tools.

Universities are independent and autonomous bodies responsible for decisions such as admissions, course content, teaching and assessment. They are responsible for designing and implementing their own policies and approaches to the use of AI as well as for taking steps to detect and prevent any form of academic misconduct by students including the misuse of AI, as set out in the Office for Students’ regulatory framework.
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Dr Beccy Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how revised school food standards will align with (a) wider Government strategies on health and (b) the 10-Year Plan for Health. \p Stephen Morgan: The government is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever and it is important that schools follow the latest nutritional guidance. We are working with experts on revising the School Food Standards, to ensure they support on strategies around health. The current School Food Standards already state one or more portions of vegetables as an accompaniment and one or more portions of fruit must be provided every day and at least three different fruits and three different vegetables each week.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 58330 on Poverty: Children, how the (a) rollout of free breakfast clubs and (b) extension of free school meals will be (i) implemented and (ii) monitored in (A) rural and (B) coastal constituencies. \p Stephen Morgan: This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. In order to test and learn about how best to support schools in implementing new free universal breakfast clubs, we have selected over 750 early adopter schools who began delivering from the start of the 2025 summer term, ahead of national roll out to all schools with primary-aged children.

Schools have been selected to ensure a representative sample, to ensure the early adopter scheme learns from a variety of schools in a range of locations, including schools in rural and costal constituencies.​

By taking this approach, we will be able to gain insights into any challenges and barriers schools may face, in order to develop solutions ahead of breakfast clubs national roll out.

We have now announced that we are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. It will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.

Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.
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Cameron Thomas:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve the transition from play-based to formal learning. \p Stephen Morgan: Children’s earliest years are crucial to their health, development and life chances. The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must follow to ensure every child has the best start in life and is prepared for school. Practitioners should carefully organise enabling environments and cultures for high-quality play to support children’s learning and development. In the summer term of the academic year in which children turn five, children are assessed against the EYFS Profile, which seeks to measure children’s level of development and support their successful transitions into year 1.

The department has launched an independent, expert-led Curriculum and Assessment Review to ensure a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum. The Review is addressing the curriculum and assessment system from ages 5 to 19, ensuring that children build on their crucial learning and development in the early years. The interim report expresses an ambition for the curriculum to ensure effective transitions, and progression through each key stage of education. However, covering ages 0-5, the EYFS is outside of the Review’s scope. The wider work of the department will consider these areas.
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Max Wilkinson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Children Not In School registers at helping to prevent abuse of home-schooled children. \p Stephen Morgan: I refer the hon. Member for Cheltenham to the answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 57754.
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Andrew Gwynne:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 56745 on Free School Meals, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of per-pupil funding for free school meals in providing food that meets nutritional guidelines approved by her Department. \p Stephen Morgan: This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. It will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.

The new entitlement will be fully funded. The department has set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multi-year spending review period to cover the additional meal costs. This is new money as opposed to funding within existing school budgets. This will support schools to deliver nutritious and high-quality meals which meet the school food standards to over half a million additional pupils.

Schools fund benefits-related free school meals from core funding, at a rate set by the national funding formula at £495 per eligible pupil for the academic year 2025/26. The current meal rate for universal infant free school meals and further education free meals is increasing to £2.61 for 2025/26. As with all programmes, we will continue to keep funding for free school meals under review.
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Ben Goldsborough:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the proportion of funding for commercial early years providers that comes from voluntary contributions. \p Stephen Morgan: As the entitlements are expanded, it is vitally important that they remain accessible and affordable for families.

Providers can ask parents to pay for consumables. However, in line with a recent High Court judgment, charges must not be mandatory or a condition of accessing a funded place.

The department publishes data on the proportion of income providers get from parent-paid fees, entitlement funding and other income in our annual provider finances report. The most recent report is for 2023 and is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/673b14b8fc572967fe66a92e/Providers__finances_Evidence_from_the_2023_Survey_of_Childcare_and_Early_Years_Providers.pdf.
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Andrew Gwynne:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many eligible children are not claiming free school meals for the latest period for which data is available; and what steps she is taking to increase free school meals uptake amongst eligible children. \p Stephen Morgan: All children in households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals (FSM) from September 2026. This unprecedented step will put around £500 back into families’ pockets each year and lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty, breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling the scar of child poverty across our country.

Giving children access to a nutritious meal during the school day also leads to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes. This will enable children to get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life. That is why this government is taking action to make it quicker and easier for both families and local authorities to get children signed up for FSM. Improvements we are making to the process for checking eligibility for meals will make it simpler than ever to receive this entitlement.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has made an assessment of trends in the level of violence against women in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the rest of Europe. \p Fleur Anderson: Violence against women and girls is a national emergency and last year seven women were killed in Northern Ireland. Through my ongoing engagement with organisations working to support victims and survivors and tackle this societal issue, it is clear that there are additional challenges unique to the Northern Ireland context. I welcome the Northern Ireland Executive’s Strategic Framework to End Violence Against Women and Girls that places the overall emphasis on prevention, tackling the root causes, and stopping the violence before it starts.
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Mark Garnier:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking with the Financial Conduct Authority to help ensure that digital sovereign instruments issued by the Digital Securities Sandbox are fully interoperable with existing (a) financial infrastructure and (b) secondary markets. \p Emma Reynolds: The Government is taking forward its digital gilt instrument (DIGIT) pilot which will be issued onto a digital securities platform within the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS). With this pilot, the Government is seeking to explore how distributed ledger technology (DLT) can be applied across the lifecycle of the debt issuance process and catalyse the development of DLT in UK financial markets.

In April the government issued a market engagement notice, to understand both the current landscape of services available or in development in the UK and what potential investors want to see from a DIGIT issuance. This included questions aimed at understanding how important both secondary market trading and interoperability with existing market infrastructure were for the sector. The department is currently analysing responses ahead of launching an invitation to tender in the coming months.

The department is working closely with regulators, including the FCA, to ensure that DIGIT is successful in meeting its objective to catalyse the growth and adoption of DLT in UK financial markets.
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Sir Gavin Williamson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of awarding the Trader Support Service contract to Fujitsu on the reputation of that service. \p James Murray: We follow government procurement rules. All of our contract opportunities are publicly available through Contracts Finder and/or Find-a-Tender Service and are available to any economic operator that is able to meet the requirements of the procurement in compliance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 or The Procurement Regulations 2024, as applicable. Under the applicable legislation, there are no legal grounds that prevent Fujitsu from expressing its interest in this procurement. It is not appropriate to comment on any potential outcomes of a live public procurement.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure insurers (a) settle claims and (b) proceed litigation as (i) quickly and (ii) cheaply as possible. \p Emma Reynolds: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the independent body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry, and sets the conduct standards required of insurance firms. Under FCA rules, insurers must handle claims fairly and promptly.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the progress of (a) NFU Mutual and (b) other insurance providers in implementing the recommendations of the Financial Conduct Authority outlined in its Dear CEOs letter dated 22 January 2021. \p Emma Reynolds: The Supreme Court published its final judgment in the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Business Interruption Insurance test case on 15 January 2021. At the time of the judgment, the FCA set out its expectation that insurers should communicate to all impacted policyholders what the judgment meant for their claim and should move quickly to resolve claims as determined by the judgment.

It is important to note that the FCA court case did not cover all potential issues with business interruption policies but aimed to provide certainty to as many policyholders as possible.

Under FCA rules, insurers must treat customers fairly. For example, the FCA’s rules require insurers to handle claims fairly and promptly; provide reasonable guidance to help a policyholder make a claim, and appropriate information on its progress; not reject a claim unreasonably; and settle claims promptly once settlement terms are agreed. The FCA has robust powers to take action against firms that do not comply with its rules.
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information her Department holds on the number of tobacco products bought in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024. \p James Murray: The table below states the estimated tobacco clearances for the calendar years 2023 and 2024:

Year

Cigarette Sticks

Non-cigarette Tobacco Products

2023

17,045 million

6,497 thousand kg

2024

13,965 million

5,210 thousand kg

The totals above are composed of clearances from cigarettes, cigars, hand-rolling tobacco (HRT), other smoking tobacco (also known as pipe tobacco), chewing tobacco, herbal smoking products, and tobacco for heating (TfH).
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Valuation Office Agency is taking to tackle delays in processing council tax valuation challenges. \p James Murray: The VOA is working as quickly as possible to clear cases, and moving staff to where there is the greatest customer demand. The VOA is focusing on the oldest cases first, and where customers are facing financial hardship.  The VOA is replacing IT systems with modern cloud-based platforms that will deliver significant efficiencies. It is also upskilling its workforce to ensure there is flexibility in managing a wide range of cases and improving its digital services to make it easier for customers to self-serve.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with (a) the payment systems regulator and (b) representatives of the payments industry on the adequacy of interchange fee caps. \p Emma Reynolds: Government ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations. Details of ministerial meetings are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-giftsand-overseas-travel

Domestic interchange fees are capped at 0.2% for consumer debit cards and 0.3% for consumer credit cards. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is responsible for enforcing these caps. The PSR is independent of Government. However, the government continues to engage with them on their important work, including card fees.

The PSR has recently conducted a market review into cross-border interchange fees, fees charged when an EEA issued card is used at a UK merchant. It published its final report in December 2024 and is now considering its next steps.

The Government recently announced its intentions to consolidate the PSR and its functions primarily within the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The PSR continues to be an independent regulator with full access to its statutory powers in the interim. There will be no immediate changes to its functions and its work will continue, including its important role in regulating card fees.
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Sir Gavin Williamson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 57631 on Horizon IT System: Compensation, whether the Government has formally invited Fujitsu to re-bid for the Trader Support Service. \p James Murray: All of our contract opportunities are publicly available through Contracts Finder and/or Find-a-Tender Service and are available to any economic operator that is able to meet the requirements of the procurement in compliance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 or The Procurement Regulations 2024, as applicable.
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Sir Gavin Williamson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Trader Support Service being delivered by a contractor involved in the Horizon scandal on UK trade operations. \p James Murray: The Trader Support Services contract was procured in compliance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Existing service delivery is managed robustly by contract management teams in compliance with this legislation and to ensure that the requirements of UK traders are met under the Windsor Framework.
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UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-24 conversation_262

Cameron Thomas:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to support the (a) hospitality and (b) pub sector in rural areas. \p James Murray: On 4 April 2025, the Government announced the Licensing Policy Taskforce, which is currently working intensely with the industry to ensure licensing conditions for businesses within the sector – such as pubs, restaurants, and music venues – are proportional. The Taskforce is sharing its findings with the Government and aims to update publicly by the summer.

Delivering on our manifesto pledge, we will introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, with rateable values below £500,000, from 2026-27. In the meantime, we have prevented RHL relief from ending in April 2025 by extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and frozen the small business multiplier.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor also announced a duty cut on qualifying draught products – approximately 60% of the alcoholic drinks sold in pubs. This represents an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year. This reduction increased the relief available on draught products to 13.9%.

The hospitality sector is predominately made up of smaller businesses. The Government has protected the smallest businesses from the impact of the increase to employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, which means that 865,000 employers will pay no employer NICs at all next year. More than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package and eligible employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no employer NICs.

The Government has funded a wide range of community assets, including pubs, through the Community Ownership Fund. On 23 December 2024, this Government announced the outcome of Round 4 of the Community Ownership Fund, the largest ever round to date. The Government also provides 100 per cent business rates relief for properties that are based in eligible rural areas with populations below 3,000. To be eligible, the business must be the only public house and have a rateable value of up to £12,500.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-24 conversation_263

Wendy Morton:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing government-backed insurance guarantees or reinsurance schemes to enable private insurers to underwrite commercial activity in Ukraine. \p Emma Reynolds: As referred to in the previous PQ regarding risk mitigation in the insurance industry, the UK Government has played a leading role in developing solutions that have helped to reopen and rebuild insurance markets in Ukraine. The UK provided a £20 million contribution to the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) to extend the level of political risk and violence insurance it can provide to investors with projects in Ukraine. Additionally, the UK has also provided £5m to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to develop a complementary initiative that will make war related loss and damage cover available to firms already based in Ukraine.

While no formal assessment of the merits has been conducted, introducing government-backed insurance guarantees or reinsurance schemes could facilitate private insurers’ entry into commercial activities. Such initiatives would help identify regulatory barriers that limit market participation and enhance engagement among local businesses, financial institutions, and project sponsors.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-24 conversation_264

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance she has issued to local authorities on Anti-Money Laundering checks in relation to (a) working with and (b) loaning funds to developers. \p Emma Reynolds: Guidance for local authorities on investments is available here: Guidance_on_local_government_investments.pdf

It is for local authorities to determine their own capital strategies as they are best placed to understand local needs and are accountable to the local electorate. In doing so, local authorities have a duty to comply with the Prudential Framework and must have regard to statutory guidance to ensure plans are prudent, affordable, and sustainable.

Property developers are in scope of the Money Laundering Regulations if they act as estate agents (i.e. they sell their properties through a separate legal entity) or provide relevant financial services and products. Guidance on how such firms should comply with the Regulations is published online by Anti-Money Laundering supervisors, including His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and the Financial Conduct Authority. The HMRC guidance on estate agents can be found here: Estate and letting agency business guidance for money laundering supervision - GOV.UK
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-24 conversation_265

Sarah Gibson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what data her Department holds on the number of UK-based firms registered with the Financial Conduct Authority to provide cryptoasset services. \p Emma Reynolds: Since January 2020, certain cryptoasset firms have been required to register with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the UK’s Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Regulations (MLRs). To date, 51 cryptoasset firms have been registered with the FCA under the MLRs and there are 49 firms with current registration.

On 29 April, HM Treasury published draft legislation for a comprehensive financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets that will protect consumers while supporting growth by giving industry the certainty it needs to invest in the UK. The Government is seeking to bring forward final legislation before the end of the year.

The FCA is operationally independent from Government and is a self-financing organisation funded via a levy on financial services firms. Any costs incurred under the forthcoming cryptoasset regulatory regime will therefore be recovered by the FCA through authorisation fees and the annual levy.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-24 conversation_266

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to increase the purchase limit for properties outside of London when using a Help to Buy ISA. \p Emma Reynolds: This Government is committed to helping first time buyers own their own home, and will do this by building 1.5 million more homes.

The Government keeps savings policy under review, any changes to savings policy would be made at a relevant fiscal event.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-24 conversation_267

Sarah Hall:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of financial losses to consumers caused by cryptocurrency-related scams; and what steps she is taking to improve (a) prevention, (b) enforcement and (c) consumer protection for those scams. \p Emma Reynolds: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s most recent consumer research publication provides indications of the levels of cryptoasset related fraud in the UK. This research is available online at: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/research-notes/cryptoasset-consumer-research-2024-wave-5.pdf

The Government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and is developing a new and expanded fraud strategy to further protect the public and businesses from this appalling crime.

Relevant cryptoasset firms are already subject to UK financial promotions requirements, and required to register with the FCA for money laundering supervision.

Building on this, the Government is introducing a comprehensive financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets this year. The new regime will provide further protections for UK consumers, by requiring firms offering them services to be authorised and regulated by the FCA.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-24 conversation_268

Helen Maguire:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a cross-sector taskforce led by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury to (a) assess the barriers people with cancer face when seeking travel insurance and (b) make recommendations on improving (i) transparency and (ii) access in the insurance market. \p Emma Reynolds: Treasury Ministers and officials regularly engage with a variety of stakeholders, including other departments and representatives of the insurance industry, on a range of issues. The Government recognises the important role of insurance products, including travel insurance, in building the financial resilience of consumers and protecting them when things go wrong.

Insurers make commercial decisions about the terms on which they will offer cover following an assessment of the relevant risks. For example, a history of serious illness such as cancer, may increase the likelihood or severity of a claim, which in turn affects the premium an insurer decides to charge or whether they offer cover at all.

However, the Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules. The FCA is the independent body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry. The FCA requires firms to ensure their products offer fair value (i.e. if the price a consumer pays for a product or service is reasonable compared to the overall benefits they can expect to receive).

In addition, since April 2021, the FCA has required firms offering travel insurance to signpost consumers to a directory of specialist providers if they are declined cover, offered cover with an exclusion, or charged a significantly higher premium based on their pre-existing medical conditions.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-24 conversation_269

Lee Anderson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made with the Office for National Statistics of the potential impact of tobacco excise duty on the level of the Consumer Prices Index in (a) October 2024 and (b) June 2025. \p James Murray: The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) are responsible for estimating the impact of Government policies on inflation. The OBR did not include an assessment on the contribution of tobacco excise duty to inflation in either the October 2024 or March 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-24)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-24 conversation_270

Luke Murphy:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the consultation entitled Boiler Upgrade Scheme and certification requirements for clean heat schemes, published on 30 April 2025, whether her Department plans to update the list of Energy Saving Materials to include heat batteries for space heating. \p James Murray: This Government is committed to improving the quality and sustainability of our housing stock. This will be vital to making the UK more energy resilient and meeting our 2050 Net Zero commitment.

Between 30 April and 11 June 2025, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) consulted on changes to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and proposals to mandate the Microgeneration Certification Scheme as the sole certification scheme for all DESNZ clean heat schemes. DESNZ will respond to the consultation in due course.

Installations of qualifying energy-saving materials (ESMs) in residential accommodation and buildings used solely for a charitable purpose benefit from a temporary VAT zero rate until March 2027, after which they will revert to the reduced rate of VAT at five per cent. This support – worth over £1 billion – will aid households and charities in improving the energy efficiency of their buildings.