theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Mr Angus MacDonald:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with Chagossians living in the UK on self-determination for the people of the Chagos Islands. \p Stephen Doughty: The negotiations were between the UK and Mauritius with our priority being to secure the full operation of the base on Diego Garcia. However, we recognise the importance of the islands to Chagossians as well as the different views within the Chagossian community on their future.   We regularly engage with members of the Chagossian community on a range of issues and will continue to do so. Last month, the Foreign Secretary and I met with representatives of the Chagossian community, as part of the Foreign, Commonwealth, Development Office's ongoing engagement with Chagossians around the deal.
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James MacCleary:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Georgian counterpart on (a) human rights and (b) the independence of the media in Georgia. \p Stephen Doughty: On 15 May I raised my wide-ranging concerns about recent repressive legislation on civil society, media, and the opposition; restrictions on freedom of assembly and arbitrary arrests; and growing anti-Western rhetoric with high-level representatives of Georgian Dream. On 18 June I discussed my concerns about Georgian Dream's repressive legislation to restrict civil society, media, and opposition voices with Georgian 5th President Zourabichvili, and expressed my support for her work supporting democracy in Georgia. A free and fair media are crucial to any modern European state. On 26 June our Ambassador to Georgia raised concerns about attacks on civil society, media and non-governmental organisations with Georgian Dream Foreign Minister Botchorishvili. Following the recent sentencing to terms of imprisonment of opposition leaders, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office summoned the Georgian Chargé d'Affaires on 30 June, to make clear the UK's firm opposition to Georgia's increasingly harmful trajectory. We continue to keep the worsening situation under close review, and on 1 July I spoke with a number of European partners to discuss our collective concerns.
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Ruth Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies on freedom of religion or belief of reports of official interference in peaceful gatherings of the Baha’i community in Iran. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: Iran's abhorrent repression of Baha'is is unacceptable. We continue to take action in multilateral fora to spotlight abuses against Baha'is and hold Iran to account. On 18 March, at the Human Rights Council, the UK's Permanent Representative to the UN, said: "The past year has seen an escalation in the arrest and detention of Baha'i women as authorities seek to suppress their religious identity and autonomy as women". We were integral to the delivery of a new Iran human rights resolution, adopted by the Human Rights Council on 3 April, which renewed and expanded the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, which will investigate a broader range of abuses including against religious minorities, in an important step towards accountability. Our Ambassador to Iran continues to raise human rights directly with the Iranian Government.
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to the International Committee of the Red Cross on delivery of humanitarian supplies to Israeli hostages still held by Hamas. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The UK remains deeply concerned about Israeli hostages held by Hamas. We fully support the International Committee of the Red Cross's (ICRC) efforts to secure humanitarian access in line with international humanitarian law. The ICRC is the only humanitarian actor with the mandate and neutrality to carry out this role and it is vital they are granted access, as set out in the Geneva Conventions. The UK continues working with international partners to press for hostage release and improved humanitarian access.
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Rachael Maskell:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to engage with his Iranian counterparts on the status of the Jewish community in Iran; and what diplomatic steps he is taking to help ensure the protection of (a) religious freedoms and (b) civil rights for Jews and other religious minorities in Iran. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: Iran's human rights record continues to be of serious concern to the UK. Religious minorities, including the Jewish community, suffer discrimination in law and practice, including in access to education, employment, child adoption, political office and places of worship. The UK's Permanent Representative to the UN raised the continued systematic targeting and repression of religious minorities on the 18 March. We were integral to the delivery of a new Human Rights Council resolution on Iran on 3 April, which renewed and expanded the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran. This will investigate a broader range of abuses including against religious minorities, in an important step towards accountability. Our Ambassador to Iran and the Foreign Secretary continue to raise human rights directly with the Iranian Government.
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Graeme Downie:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the economic impact of US Customs pre-clearance at Edinburgh Airport. \p Stephen Doughty: The Foreign Secretary has not had any discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on this topic. A decision to explore US pre-clearance is primarily a commercial decision for airport operators.
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Graeme Downie:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he last discussed the possibility of a US Customs pre-clearance at Edinburgh Airport with US counterparts. \p Stephen Doughty: A decision to explore US pre-clearance is primarily a commercial decision for airport operators. An outline commercial agreement between the airport operator and US authorities would be required before any formal discussions between the UK and US government could take place.
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Aphra Brandreth:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the marine protected area around the Chagos Archipelago since its establishment in 2010. \p Stephen Doughty: The British Indian Ocean Territory Administration has responsibility for the management and monitoring of its Marine Protected Area, which includes measures to tackle Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and the monitoring of marine biodiversity.
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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Article 1 of the proposed UK-Mauritius Treaty will place (a) the Chagos Archipelago and (b) Diego Garcia under the geographical scope of the Pelindaba Treaty. \p Stephen Doughty: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the reply to her question 57628.
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Priti Patel:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK/Mauritius Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago (CS Mauritius No.1/2025), what assessment he has made of the potential risk of Mauritius initiating legal challenges in relation to activities (a) at and (b) from Diego Garcia under the provisions of Article 4 and Article 7 of that Treaty. \p Stephen Doughty: The Treaty explicitly grants all rights and authorities that the United Kingdom requires for the long-term, secure and effective operation of the Base. The United Kingdom will ensure all operations on Diego Garcia comply with its obligations under applicable international law.
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Gavin Robinson:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with animal rights charities on phasing out the use of animal testing. \p Feryal Clark: The Government is committed to supporting non-animal alternatives and will publish a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption later this year. To facilitate this Minister Vallance hosted a roundtable on 14.05.25 with representatives from animal welfare organisations, and officials have worked with animal welfare charities throughout strategy development. Minister Vallance also met with the Chair of All-Party Parliamentary Group on phasing out animal experiments in medical research and representatives from Animal Free Research on 01.04.25, with representatives from Lush UK on 15.05.25, and with representatives from the RSCPA on 26.11.24.
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David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to ensure that the proportion of research and development funding spent by the UK Government in Wales aligns with the population share of Wales in the United Kingdom. \p Feryal Clark: This government is committed to supporting R&D excellence wherever it is found. UKRI has a specific objective to develop world-class places by supporting outstanding institutions, infrastructures, sectors and clusters across the UK. In 2023-24, UKRI invested £168 million in Wales, supporting activity from the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult in Newport, to the Agri-tech and Food Technology Launchpad in Mid and North Wales, to the Media Cymru project in Cardiff Capital Region. Looking ahead, we are working closely with the Welsh Government to earmark at least £30 million for region in Wales from the new Local Innovation Partnerships Fund.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when he plans to introduce the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. \p Feryal Clark: The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill was announced at the King’s Speech. It will be introduced in this session of Parliament, as soon as parliamentary time allows.
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to work with technology companies to co-develop (a) standards and (b) frameworks to help increase levels of trust in AI among (i) the public and (ii) businesses. \p Feryal Clark: The government recognises the importance of trust in AI systems. DSIT is building confidence in and driving adoption of AI by supporting a growing, competitive, and dynamic AI assurance ecosystem. AI assurance can help provide the basis for consumers to trust the products they buy will work as intended and for industry to confidently invest in new products and services.

The Department will continue to work with a range of stakeholders, including the public and businesses, as we deliver initiatives to support the AI assurance ecosystem. This includes further developing our AI Management Essentials framework for businesses as well as our roadmap to trusted third-party AI assurance, which will be published this summer.
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Vikki Slade:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help support small landowners in accessing (a) legal and (b) technical advice when negotiating agreements under the Electronic Communications Code. \p Chris Bryant: The Government is keen that negotiations for Electronic Communications Code agreements are developed as collaboratively as possible. We recognise the benefits of all parties having access to sufficient information and advice to support this.

We endorse the work of the National Connectivity Alliance, an alliance of telecommunications providers, infrastructure providers, landowners and their professional advisers who are brought together to collaborate on areas of mutual interest. Their activity includes a working group specifically aimed at developing guidance notes to provide education around issues in telecoms leases, with a view to assisting in the timely conclusion of wayleaves and code agreements for mobile sites.
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an international AI safety agency headquartered in the UK. \p Feryal Clark: AI is the technology driving the next global industrial revolution - creating the economic growth which is central to our Plan for Change. Through the AI opportunities action plan, we are cementing Britain's position as a world leader on AI.

The UK is committed to international cooperation on AI safety and security. The AI Security Institute is a central example of our leadership.

The Institute has one of the world's largest teams dedicated to AI security.

Technical talent is drawn from the best AI labs in the world, including: Anthropic, OpenAI and Google DeepMind. It is the first state-backed body of its kind, and its work sets the global gold standard for AI security.

It partners internationally, with the US, Canada and many others to develop best practices on secure AI development.
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Wera Hobhouse:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had recent discussions with YouTube on tackling extreme misogynistic content. \p Feryal Clark: The Online Safety Act gives online platforms new duties to put in place systems and processes to remove illegal content on their services, including extreme misogynistic content. Ofcom has a broad range of powers to assess and enforce compliance with the Act, including issuing fines to services that do not comply. Ensuring that women are safe online is a priority for this government, and we have committed to halving violence against women and girls in the next decade.
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Charlotte Nichols:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had discussions with Artificial Intelligence developers to ensure they do not introduce gender bias in their algorithms. \p Feryal Clark: It is crucial that AI systems are developed and deployed in a fair, inclusive and responsible way. That is why we have designated AI assurance as a key pillar of support for meeting the commitments made in government’s response to the AI Opportunities Action Plan.

As part of our work on AI assurance, we recently concluded our Fairness Innovation Challenge, which provided over £465,000 to fund the development of novel solutions to address bias and discrimination – including gender bias – in AI systems across four different sectors.

The Secretary of State and his department will continue to engage with AI developers on a range of matters related to model development and deployment.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve Departmental compliance with Open Government Partnership data requirements on property condition reporting. \p Georgia Gould: There are no specific data requirements under the UK’s membership of the international Open Government Partnership (OGP) relating to property condition reporting.

The Government Property Data Standard (GPDS), specified by the government’s functional lead for property, the Office of Government Property (OGP), within the Cabinet Office, does include a defined building condition metric. The Government Property Data Standard is mandated for use across all central government departments. The standard currently includes requirements for reporting on building condition metrics using a four-tier rating system.

Departments are expected to report against this standard as part of business-as-usual property data returns. Plans are underway to improve the quality of this data and work towards making condition data publicly available in due course.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many public sector contracts have been subject to fraud investigations in each year since 2019. \p Georgia Gould: Information pertaining to the amount of public sector contracts subject to fraud investigations is not held by the Cabinet Office. This information would be held by relevant law enforcement authorities, or specific government departments, that carried out investigation.

Tackling public sector fraud is a priority for this government. This government is taking strong action to reduce public sector fraud - ensuring that as much public money as possible goes to delivering vital public services.

That’s why the government introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill as part of the biggest fraud crackdown in a generation. The measures in the Bill will give us more tools to combat fraud, recover public money and allow the government to investigate fraud.

The Public Sector Fraud Authority is also driving forward the development of the counter fraud approach across government, working with departments and public bodies to reduce the impact of fraud and build expert counter fraud services.

The 2024 Autumn Budget and 2025 Spring Statement also announced the most significant package of measures to tackle fraud and error in recent history. The 2025 Spending Review highlighted that Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts these measures to deliver £9.6 billion in savings by 2030.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the total cost of external consultants across Government was in each year since 2019. \p Georgia Gould: Individual Central Government departments publish expenditure on external consultants in their annual reports and accounts. The Government is committed to stopping all non-essential expenditure on consultants, and reducing the reliance on contingent labour.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any procurement contracts over £1 million were awarded without competitive tender in the last two years. \p Georgia Gould: Details of central government contracts above £12,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder (https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder). Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023 above £12,000 inc VAT are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service (https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Search). The details published online include whether each contract was let through competitive tendering.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many external consultancy projects have (a) overrun or (b) failed to deliver expected outcomes in each year since 2020. \p Georgia Gould: From 2022, there have been no consultancy contracts, awarded by the Cabinet Office, that were subject to formal performance action or contract termination due to poor performance. Any informal concerns about the delivery of contract objectives would be managed by contract managers and data is not held on this centrally.

Prior to 2022, individual Cabinet Office Business Units were responsible for contract management and central records for this period are therefore not available.

The Government is committed to stopping all non-essential expenditure on consultants, and reducing the reliance on contingent labour.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average daily rate of pay is for consultants working across Whitehall Departments. \p Georgia Gould: This information is not held by the Cabinet Office.

Pay for consultants is managed by each department individually, as they are accountable for their own consultancy pay details. Average rates may differ due to the type of consultancy and commercial structure around individual customer contracts. The Government is committed to stopping all non-essential expenditure on consultants, and reducing the reliance on contingent labour.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many working days have been lost to stress-related illness in the civil service in each of the past five years. \p Georgia Gould: Management Information on Average Working Days Lost due to mental ill-health, which includes stress-related illness, is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of civil servants work from home for more than 80% of their contracted hours. \p Georgia Gould: This information is not held centrally. Decisions on terms and conditions of employment, including flexible working arrangements, are made by the employing department. Heads of departments have agreed that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service.

Data on Civil Service Headquarters (HQ) occupancy is collected and published quarterly on GOV.UK for all HQ buildings of Whitehall Departments, Office for Scotland, Office for Wales and Northern Ireland Office. Data for the latest period for which data is available can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-hq-occupancy-data
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants have been dismissed for (a) incompetence and (b) misconduct in each year since 2015. \p Georgia Gould: Departments have delegated responsibility for decisions relating to dismissal of an employee.

Civil Service statistics on the composition of the Civil Service workforce, including data on those leaving the Civil Service due to dismissals, are available on GOV.UK.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of civil servants have been subject to formal performance management in the last three years. \p Georgia Gould: Departments have delegated responsibility for managing poor performance.
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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether there is a Crown Commercial Service communications and marketing framework which covers branded goods. \p Georgia Gould: In April, the government announced that spending taxpayer money on new unnecessary branded merchandise will be banned and will only be permitted when essential for delivering the government’s agenda, for example, in overseas trade and diplomacy, to promote growth. Government departments can continue to use existing branded merchandise.

Branded goods are presently available through the Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS) Campaign Solutions 2 Framework (RM6125), which was established under the previous administration in September 2021.

CCS is in the process of establishing a new framework, RM6364 Media and Creative Services, which will replace Campaign Solutions 2. The new framework will not cover branded goods.
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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Airbus A321-253NX with registration G-OATW is still used for official travel. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The Airbus A321-253NX with registration G-OATW is not used by the Cabinet Office for official travel.

Since assuming the registration G-OATW in October 2023, the aircraft has been chartered under various contracts with other government departments, to support their official business.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has undertaken a cross-Government security risk assessment of sensitive data contracts awarded to Palantir Technologies Inc. \p Georgia Gould: It is long-standing policy that the Government does not disclose the specifics of its security arrangements, including with suppliers.

The UK takes national security extremely seriously and has taken robust action to ensure the security of sensitive government data. As set out in the recent National Procurement Policy Statement, the Government mitigates supply chain and national security risks by ensuring appropriate data and security controls are in place. All contracting authorities are encouraged to follow the Government Security Group’s guidance on Tackling Security Risk in Government Supply Chains, which details best practices for procurement, commercial, and security practitioners when selecting and onboarding suppliers.

We also encourage organisations to adhere to the National Cyber Security Centre and the National Protective Security Authority’s supply chain security guidance when selecting technology suppliers, which outlines the required security standards and procurement considerations.

The National Security Unit for Procurement (NSUP) has been established to support Ministers in assessing suppliers on national security grounds in line with the Procurement Act 2023. NSUP works closely with government departments to oversee implementation of these measures and enhance supplier security assessments across the procurement process.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to Question 62086 on King Charles III: Artworks, whether (a) the BBC and (b) Channel 4 took up the offer from the Cabinet Office of a free portrait of the King to place in their offices. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: As eligible public institutions, both the BBC and Channel 4 placed orders for Official Portraits of His Majesty The King while the Government scheme was operational, for the purposes of display in their buildings.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the written ministerial statement of 19 June 2025, HCWS718, on House of Lords Appointments, whether the Prime Minister has a numerical target for the number of peerages that he will invite from HOLAC in each year of this Parliament. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: As set out in the Prime Minister’s recent statement, the Prime Minister will continue to invite nominations from the House of Lords Appointments Commission for individuals to sit as Crossbench peers. Future appointments will be announced in the usual way.

The number of nominations that HOLAC can make is a matter for the Prime Minister.
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Chris McDonald:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to his oral contribution of 26 February 2025, Official Report, column 765 and the judgment in R v Adams (Appellant) (Northern Ireland) [2020] UKSC 19, what steps he is taking to address the issue of interim custody orders that were not signed by his predecessor. \p Hilary Benn: The main issue here is the application of the Carltona principle in the context of ICOs. The previous Government’s attempt to address this following the 2020 Supreme Court judgment in Adams has been found by the Northern Ireland courts to be unlawful and we need to find a better way of reaffirming this principle.

The Government will therefore legislate to address this issue in forthcoming primary legislation.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking with local authorities to ensure (a) early and (b) consistent identification of dyslexia in primary schools in (i) Fylde constituency and (ii) Lancashire. \p Catherine McKinnell: We recognise that the early identification of need and support is critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (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.

The English Hubs programme is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on supporting children making the slowest progress in reading. As part of the continuous professional development provided by the English Hubs, the Reading Ambition for All programme has been launched to improve outcomes for children who need additional support with reading, including those with SEND.​ Fylde's nearest English Hub is St John Vianney English Hub.
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Liz Jarvis:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of holiday clubs for parents of children with disabilities. \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. More than £200 million has been allocated to the programme for 2025/26.

Local authorities and their providers have flexibility about how they deliver HAF provision to best serve the needs of children and families in their area. The department encourages all local authorities to have a rich mix of provision catering for children with different interests and of different ages. There is flexibility in how the programme can be delivered to children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or additional needs.

When assessing the requirements of children with SEND or additional needs, local authorities should ensure that the provision they fund through the HAF programme is fully compliant with the Equality Act 2010. This will include making sure that they, and the providers they work with, put in place any reasonable adjustments which are required to ensure that children with a disability are not subject to discrimination.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that guidance and resources for School Attendance Support Teams includes young carers. \p Stephen Morgan: The department wants to ensure that young carers have the best life chances by supporting them in their education. We recognise that absence from school is almost always a symptom of wider needs and barriers that a family are facing and is often also the best early indication of need in a family that may not be in contact with other services.

The department’s expectations of local authorities and schools, as set out in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance, were made statutory on 19 August 2024 and include specific reference to young carers. The ‘support first’ ethos of the attendance guidance is that pupils and families, including young carers, should receive holistic, whole-family support to help them overcome the barriers to attendance they are facing. This includes holding regular meetings with the families of pupils who the school, and/or local authority, consider to be vulnerable to discuss attendance and engagement at school. Schools are expected to recognise that absence is a symptom and that improving pupil’s attendance is part of supporting the pupil’s overall welfare. This ethos is reflected in resources provided to schools on school attendance, and our Attendance Toolkit for Schools includes reference to supporting young carers in its self-assessment tool.

The guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.

The toolkit can be accessed via: https://attendancetoolkit.blob.core.windows.net/toolkit-doc/Attendance%20toolkit%20for%20schools.pdf.

The department also publishes daily attendance data fortnightly and will continue to monitor the quality of data on young carers that is collected via the school register for consideration to include in the daily data collection in the future.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-01)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-01 conversation_287

Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Leader of the House, whether she plans to implement the recommendations of the Third Report of Session 2024-25 of the Standards Committee, Register of Interests of Members' Staff, published on 12 June 2025, HC 943. \p Lucy Powell: I have responded to the Committee on Standards, welcoming its report (HC 943) and confirming that the relevant motion will be brought forward in due course for the approval of the House.
wrans/answers2025-01-28 conversation_1
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-28 conversation_1

Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of extending the Financial Conduct Authority's regulatory perimeter so that it can tackle (a) poor and (b) misleading debt advice delivered by insolvency practitioners and IVA firms. \p Emma Reynolds: The Government recognises the importance of individuals receiving accurate and reliable information when they are considering an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA). When administered well, IVAs provide a debt solution to people who aren’t eligible for a Debt Relief Order, or who want an alternative to bankruptcy. However, if an IVA is unsuitable, it can leave people in debt for longer and result in further financial difficulty. Oversight of Insolvency Practitioners, who administer IVAs, is provided through standards applied by one of three Recognised Professional Bodies and overseen by the Insolvency Service.

The Insolvency Service is taking action to address concerns about the debt solutions market and expects to see swift action from volume IVA firms to eliminate poor practice. To support this, the Insolvency Service are also working with the sector to publish a new simplified IVA Protocol and key facts document to help consumers understand what they are signing up for. New guidance is also being published for Insolvency Practitioners on their control of cases. This is further to the 2023 publication of a new Standard for Insolvency Practitioners (SIP 3.1), making clear their responsibility to ensure consumers have received an explanation of all potential debt relief solutions so that they can make an informed judgement. The Insolvency Service continues to work to address poor practices through its ongoing review of the personal insolvency framework and continued collaboration with other regulators.

Debt advice providers, and debt packager firms which may refer individuals to IVA providers and other debt solutions, are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In 2023, the FCA banned referral fees for debt packager firms to remove incentives to recommend debt solutions which may not be in the consumer’s best interest.

The ongoing collaboration between the FCA, the Insolvency Service, and other stakeholders reflects a concerted effort to enhance consumer protection in the debt advice and insolvency sectors. The Government will continue to monitor the effectiveness of existing regulatory frameworks.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-28 conversation_2

Mr Mark Francois:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an impact assessment of the potential financial implications of (a) the direct costs of negotiations, (b) the potential costs of implementing any resulting agreement and (c) other costs of negotiations with Mauritius on the Chagos islands. \p Darren Jones: The direct costs of negotiation are owned and monitored by the FCDO and MOD, and have all been met from within their budgets. Policy impact assessments are similarly owned by the FCDO and MOD. Any financial obligations arising from the finalised agreement will be managed responsibly within the government’s fiscal framework, including through the upcoming Spending Review.
wrans/answers2025-01-28 conversation_3
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-28 conversation_3

Mike Wood:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she discussed China’s participation in the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme with the Chinese government during her visit to China. \p Emma Reynolds: As the government’s Security Minister has confirmed in Parliament, work is under way to identify which foreign powers will be placed on the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme enhanced tier.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-28 conversation_4

Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Oral Statement of 14 January 2025 on UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue, Official Report, columns 172-173, whether she raised the matter of Taiwan with her Chinese counterpart during her recent visit to the People's Republic of China. \p Emma Reynolds: The UK Government continues to raise Taiwan with international partners, including China. The Foreign Secretary raised the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait with the Chinese Vice-President in Autumn last year.
wrans/answers2025-01-28 conversation_5
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-28 conversation_5

Danny Beales:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the upper limit of house prices for which the Lifetime Individual Savings Account can be used without incurring a penalty. \p Emma Reynolds: Data from the latest UK House Price Index shows that while the average price paid by first-time buyers has increased, it is still below the LISA property price cap in all regions of the UK except for London, where the average price paid is affected by boroughs with very high property values.

The Government keeps all aspects of savings tax policy under review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-28 conversation_6

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her economic policies at attracting people to list shares in London. \p Emma Reynolds: The UK has recently attracted several high-profile listings from firms taking advantage of our reforms to make it easier to raise capital and fund growth on UK markets.

This includes IPOs from high-growth UK firms such as Raspberry Pi and Applied Nutrition, as well as listings from prominent international firms such as Canal+ and CK Infrastructure.

More broadly, in 2024 more capital was raised on UK equity markets than the next three European exchanges combined.
wrans/answers2025-01-28 conversation_7
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-28 conversation_7

Nick Timothy:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to simplify the process for requesting a credit freeze from consumer credit reporting companies. \p Emma Reynolds: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently conducted a study on the credit information market — the Credit Information Market Study — to understand how this market operates and assess whether it is working effectively for consumers and lenders.

In December 2023, the FCA published the final report for this study, proposing twelve remedies to improve the market. One of the remedies recommends that credit reference agencies (CRAs) streamline the process for consumers to add ‘credit freeze’ markers to their credit reports and ensure these markers are automatically registered across all CRAs. The FCA and industry are jointly establishing a new Credit Reporting Governance Body, which will be responsible for overseeing the sharing of credit information and implementing this recommendation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-28 conversation_8

Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she next plans to review the overseas scale rates. \p James Murray: As with all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps flat rates expenses, including Overseas Scale Rates, under review. Any decisions on future changes in this area will be taken in the context of the wider public finances.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-28 conversation_9

James McMurdock:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department plans to take to support people to (a) build financial resilience and (b) manage debt. \p Emma Reynolds: The Government is committed to helping people build their financial resilience.

At Autumn Budget 2024, we announced an extension to the Help to Save Scheme which aims to bolster the financial resilience of low-income households by providing a 50% bonus on savings up to £50 per month. From April 2025, the scheme will also be made available to all Universal Credit (UC) claimants in work, not just those earning over a certain amount. This will ensure that Help to Save reaches many more households who need it while the Government explores delivery options for the future of the scheme.

We also introduced a new Fair Repayment Rate to cap deductions on Universal Credit to 15% (previously 25%) of the standard allowance, meaning that individuals will keep more of their Universal Credit payment each month. This will provide a direct cash boost to 1.2 million households on Universal Credit by £420 a year on average.

To support those in problem debt, the Government offers a variety of debt advice services through the Money and Pensions Service. These national and community-based services help individuals in England manage their debts. The Government also provides funding for debt advice services in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland which are delivered by the Devolved Governments.

Additionally, the Government continues to support the ‘Breathing Space’ scheme. The aim of this scheme is to encourage earlier access to debt advice and enable people in problem debt to get their finances back on track. As of December 2024, over 280,000 people in problem debt have benefited from Breathing Space protections.

Going forward, we are also developing a Financial Inclusion Strategy to ensure consumers have access to the affordable and appropriate products they need to support their financial resilience.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-28 conversation_10

Chris Coghlan:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she plans to take to reduce gilt rates. \p Emma Reynolds: The government issues debt to the market, and the price of government debt is determined by the market.

The government does not comment on specific financial market movements. Gilt yields are determined by a wide range of international and domestic factors, and it is normal for the yields of gilts to fluctuate when there are wider movements in the global financial markets.