theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Chris Ward:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the NHS of providing treatment for malnutrition to people over 65-years old in Sussex in the last (a) 12 months and (b) five years. \p Ashley Dalton: In the United Kingdom, the primary causes of malnutrition are clinical, rather than it solely being caused by poor or inadequate dietary intake. Most cases of clinical malnutrition will be secondary to another health condition which may impact on nutritional needs or impact on a person’s ability to eat and drink, rather than it solely being caused by poor or inadequate dietary intake. The term malnutrition is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to a poor diet or the low status of one or more nutrients, and although this may put someone at increased risk of malnutrition, this would not necessarily meet the criteria for a clinical diagnosis of malnutrition.

Although malnutrition prevalence data specific to Sussex is not available, population prevalence estimates that 5% of the adult population may have malnutrition, with a higher proportion of these amongst those who are admitted to hospital. Approximately one in three patients admitted to hospital or who are in care homes are malnourished or at risk of becoming so. The cost of malnutrition in England is estimated to be £19.6 billion per year.

Poverty across all age groups is associated with the increased likelihood of household level food insecurity. The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs’ UK Food Security Report 2024 found that 90% of UK households were food secure in the financial year ending 2023, and according to the report, food security tends to improve with age. While the report does not address the food security of pensioners as a distinct group, it provides insights into how food security varies with age, income, and disability status. In the financial year ending 2023, households headed by individuals aged 75 to 84 years old and 85 years old and over had the highest levels of food security, at 98% for both age groups. This suggests that, on average, pensioners may experience lower rates of food insecurity than the general population. Further information on the UK Food Security Report 2024 is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024/united-kingdom-food-security-report-2024-theme-4-food-security-at-household-level#healthy-diet
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Gregor Poynton:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much consequential funding the Scottish Government receives for Home Building Funds and the Land and Infrastructure Funds, broken down by spending type. \p Darren Jones: The Barnett formula applies to all increases or decreases to Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL). Whenever UK Government departmental budgets change, the Barnett formula is applied in the usual way, as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.

It is for the devolved governments to allocate their Barnett-based funding as they see fit, and they are accountable to the devolved legislatures for those decisions.

The published Block Grant Transparency document provides a detailed breakdown of how the block grants are calculated. The most recent report was published in July 2023: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/block-grant-transparency-july-2023
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to reduce the difference between the minimum wage and the State Pension. \p Darren Jones: The National Living Wage (NLW) and the National Minimum Wage (NMW) are the legal wage floors that employers must follow. The NLW rate is the minimum hourly wage for eligible workers aged 21 and over and the NMW is minimum hourly wage for eligible workers aged 18-20 years old. Each year the Low Pay Commission produces recommendations for the Government on the NLW/NMW rates that aim to protect the lowest paid earners in the economy.

The State Pension is the foundation of state support for older people. To ensure financial security in later life, individuals are expected to save for their retirement. The Government is committed to ensuring that older people are able to live with the dignity and respect they deserve, which is why it committed to Triple Lock the basic and new State Pension for the duration of this parliament and provides generous pensions tax relief to enable savings. Over the course of this Parliament, the yearly amount of the full new State Pension is currently forecast to go up by around £1,900, based on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s latest forecast.
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Ayoub Khan:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues, to help tackle child poverty in (a) Birmingham Perry Barr constituency and (b) the West Midlands. \p Darren Jones: Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. The Child Poverty Taskforce is developing the Government’s plan to bring about an enduring reduction in child poverty this Parliament, as part of a 10-year strategy for lasting change.

The Minister for Employment visited the West Midlands in January 2025 and heard from key local stakeholders about challenges facing the area and how they think poverty can be better tackled.

As a down payment on the child poverty strategy, the Government has already taken action at Autumn Budget 2024 which will benefit all constituencies. This action includes the Fair Repayment Rate which lowers the cap on deductions in Universal Credit to 15% of the standard allowance from April 2025. This will benefit 1.2m households by an average of £420 per year, including 700,000 of the poorest families with children benefiting as a result of this change. In addition, the Government will provide £1 billion (including Barnett impact) to extend the Household Support Fund in England and Discretionary Housing Payments in England and Wales in 2025-26. This will help individuals and families facing the greatest hardship, including supporting them with the cost of essentials such as food, energy and housing. This builds on the previous investment of £500 million (including Barnett impact) to extend the Household Support Fund to 31 March 2025.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many bank closures there were in 2024. \p Emma Reynolds: The Government does not hold bank branch closure data.

Guidance from the FCA sets out its expectation of firms when they are deciding to reduce their physical branches or the number of free-to-use ATMs. Firms are expected to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs, and put in place alternatives, where this is reasonable.

The Government is working closely with banks to roll out 350 banking hubs by the end of this Parliament. These will provide individuals and businesses up and down the country with critical cash and banking services. Over 100 are open so far.
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Lloyd Hatton:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people work in the large business directorate in HMRC. \p James Murray: As of 31 March 2024, HMRC’s Large Business Directorate had a total of 2422 full time equivalent staff working within the directorate which includes 169 Customer Compliance Managers.
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Ben Lake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans her Department has to support the Welsh road freight industry. \p James Murray: At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced continued support for people and businesses, by extending the temporary 5p fuel duty cut and cancelling the planned inflation increase for 2025-26. This maintains fuel duty rates at the levels set on 23 March 2022 for an additional 12 months, and represents a saving for drivers next year of overall around £3 billion. Vans will see an average saving of £126 and heavy goods vehicles will see an average saving of nearly £1,100.

The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events in the context of public finances.

It is for the Welsh Government to allocate funding in devolved policy areas, including to support the Welsh road freight industry; they are accountable to the Senedd for those decisions. The Welsh Government will receive funding through the Barnett formula for any changes to UK Government department budgets in the usual way. This is the normal operation of the funding arrangements as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.
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Max Wilkinson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of establishing a customs union with the EU on town centre businesses in Cheltenham. \p James Murray: No. The Government is working with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, such as the economy, energy, security and resilience. But we have been clear that there will be no return to the customs union.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what purposes the Government Actuary’s Department has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months. \p James Murray: The Government Actuary’s Department has made use of artificial intelligence in the last twelve months primarily by focusing on internal efficiencies and department wide communications and team meetings. Where appropriate the Government Actuary’s Department has also used AI to help provide more value to clients, for example by summarising responses to technical consultations. This is compliant with Central Digital and Data Office guidance.

The department continues to seek opportunities where the innovative use of artificial intelligence can drive efficiency and add value to clients within Government, whilst safeguarding public data and information.
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Jo Platt:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to tackle tax evasion in vape shops. \p James Murray: The Government recognises that sometimes businesses do not declare all of their income and thereby conceal their true earnings. We are committed to creating a level playing field for all, by ensuring that everyone pays the right amount of tax at the right time, to ensure trust and fairness in the tax system. Most taxpayers pay what they owe, but a small minority fail to register with HMRC or only declare a portion of their earnings. This small minority deprive our vital public services of funding, affect fair competition between businesses, and place unfair burdens on everyone else. It is vital these revenues are collected to fund our essential public services. Closing the tax gap and making sure that more of the tax that is owed is correctly paid, is one of the Government’s top priorities for HMRC.

HMRC is making it increasingly difficult for businesses to hide their earnings and have an extensive range of powers, including information gathering powers, that help build a picture of risk and identify those who are trying to abuse the system. HMRC’s approach to tax evasion aims to tackle current non-compliance and change future behaviours. These range from producing learning packages on tax obligations for schools, through to national campaigns and specialist task forces which incorporate intensive bursts of compliance activity in specific trade sectors and locations across the UK. HMRC undertakes a range of compliance activity, across every sector of the economy, to ensure that our customers are paying the correct amount of tax.
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will extend the 75% business rates relief for retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses after 2025. \p James Murray: To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including those on the high street, from 2026-27.

Ahead of these changes being made, the Government recognises that businesses will need support in 2025-26. As such, we have prevented the current RHL relief from ending in April 2025, extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business, and we have frozen the small business multiplier.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential cumulative impact of the 2026 business rates revaluation on the plans for a new surcharge on hereditaments with a Rateable Value above £500,000; and whether the £500,000 threshold will be uprated to reflect the changes to average Rateable Values following the 2026 revaluation. \p James Murray: The Government will confirm the rates for the new multipliers at Budget 2025, taking account of the outcomes of the 2026 revaluation as well as the broader economic and fiscal context.

Tax policy and legislation is not subject to the Better Regulation Framework Guidance which requires an Impact Assessment to accompany policy decisions. Nevertheless, when the new multipliers are set at Budget 2025 – to take effect in the 2026-27 billing year – HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to prevent money laundering by foreign nationals. \p Emma Reynolds: The Government is committed to tackling illicit finance and economic crime. We have appointed an Anti-Corruption Champion Baroness Hodge to support the government's agenda in tackling corruption at home and overseas.

HM Treasury has been working with partners across the public and private sector to update our National Risk Assessment for money laundering and terrorist financing and to deliver Economic Crime Plan 2, the government’s public-private strategy to combat economic crime and strengthen the UK system. This includes work on HM Treasury-owned actions to reform our Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Terrorist Financing supervisory regime, and to improve the effectiveness of the Money Laundering Regulations.

HM Treasury is responsible for the UK’s money laundering regulations which require that banks and other financial services companies apply enhanced customer due diligence and enhanced ongoing monitoring in any business relationships with a person established in high-risk jurisdictions as determined by the Financial Action Task Force or in relation to any relevant transaction where either of the parties to the transaction is established in a high-risk jurisdiction.

HM Treasury is also supporting the development of a new Anti-Corruption Strategy to be published in 2025 which will include measures that address the UK’s vulnerabilities to corruption and money laundering.
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Mike Amesbury:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of limiting the amount of money that the Bank of England can pay in interest to commercial banks. \p Emma Reynolds: The Bank of England has operational independence from the government to carry out its statutory responsibilities for monetary policy and financial stability. Monetary policy, including quantitative easing, is the responsibility of the independent Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England.

There are no plans to change the way reserves are remunerated at the Bank of England. The government continues to support the Bank to bring inflation in line with its target, including by managing the public finances responsibly.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the £110,000 cap threshold on retail, hospitality and leisure business rate relief under the multiplier regime will apply from April 2026. \p James Murray: To deliver our manifesto pledge, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties, including those on the high street, from 2026-27.

Whereas RHL relief currently limits that support to a cash cap of £110,000 per business, the government intends to have no such limit on the new multiplier in order to better ensure more widespread support for the high street.
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Mr Peter Bedford:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the Personal Allowance threshold from £12,570. \p James Murray: The previous Government made the decision to freeze the income tax Personal Allowance at its current level of £12,570 until April 2028. At our first Budget, we decided not to extend the freeze on personal tax thresholds meaning they will rise with inflation from April 2028
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Max Wilkinson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of establishing a customs union with the EU on the cyber security sector in Cheltenham. \p James Murray: No. The Government is working with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, such as the economy, energy, security and resilience. But we have been clear that there will be no return to the customs union.
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Bradley Thomas:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the merits of increasing the maximum level of deposit protection afforded by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. \p Emma Reynolds: Eligible deposits held by UK banks, building societies and credit unions that are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £85,000, with joint accounts protected up to £170,000. This limit is set by the PRA. The PRA is required to independently review the limit every five years, and its next review is due by the end of 2025. Any changes to the limit must be approved by the Treasury and the Government would carefully consider any changes proposed by the PRA.
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Bradley Thomas:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the merits of increasing the maximum Premium Bond holding deposit. \p Emma Reynolds: The Government keeps the Premium Bond investment limit under review, to ensure that the limit continues to reflect the interests of savers, taxpayers, and the wider financial sector.
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Mike Amesbury:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing tax allowance rates to £20,000. \p James Murray: The Government is committed to not raising taxes on working people, which is why we are not increasing the basic, higher, or additional rates of income tax, employee National Insurance contributions, or VAT.  The previous Government made the decision to freeze the income tax Personal Allowance at its current level of £12,570 until April 2028. The current Government is committed to keeping taxes for working people as low as possible while ensuring fiscal responsibility and so, at our first Budget, we decided not to extend the freeze on personal tax thresholds. As a result, they will rise with inflation from April 2028, meaning working people will keep more of their earnings.
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of fee-less community bank accounts being closed and replaced with fee-paying business accounts on (a) allotment societies and (b) other small voluntary organisations. \p Emma Reynolds: The provision of banking services is a commercial decision taken by the banking sector.

In response to feedback from community account holders about difficulties in securing and maintaining suitable current accounts, UK Finance launched a website in July 2024, including guidance and an Account Finder tool, to help voluntary sector organisations locate an appropriate account for their needs. UK Finance also signpost where free banking services can be accessed.

In developing these resources, UK Finance worked with charitable organisations, members, and regulators, with the aim of improving how community accounts are opened and run.
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Ayoub Khan:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of economic inequality on (a) Gross Domestic Product and (b) GDP growth. \p Emma Reynolds: While income and wealth are not always directly correlated, distributional analysis shows that Government decisions at Autumn Budget 2024 and Spending Review 2025, Phase 1 are progressive and benefit households in the lowest income deciles the most, on average as a percentage of income in 2025-26.

The Government is committed to making sure the wealthiest in our society pay their fair share of tax. That is why the Chancellor announced a series of reforms at Autumn Budget 2024 to help fix the public finances in as fair a way as possible. The increases in tax are concentrated on the highest income households. Overall, on average, all but the richest 10% of households will benefit from policy decisions in 2025-26.
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Liz Jarvis:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she will undertake a review of the effectiveness of the off-payroll working rules. \p James Murray: The Government keeps all tax policy and legislation under review as part of the Budget process.

HMRC published both external research and internal analysis looking at the impacts of the reform to the off-payroll working rules in the private and voluntary sectors, introduced in April 2021.

HMRC will continue to provide support and guidance to individuals and businesses operating the rules and will continue to look for opportunities to improve the way these rules work in practice.
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Bradley Thomas:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to increase the minimum threshold at which the Expensive Car Supplement is levied on vehicle excise duty. \p James Murray: The Expensive Car Supplement is an additional VED charge for new cars with a list price of £40,000 or more, which is payable in year 2 – 6 of a car’s lifecycle.

As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the government recognises the disproportionate impact of the current VED Expensive Car Supplement threshold for those purchasing zero emission cars and will consider raising the threshold for zero emission cars only at a future fiscal event, to make it easier to buy electric cars.
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Dr Scott Arthur:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of scrapping Multiple Dwellings Relief on housing supply. \p James Murray: The previous Government announced the abolition of Multiple Dwellings Relief following an external evaluation which found no strong evidence the relief was meeting its original objectives of supporting investment in the private rented sector. In addition, and as highlighted in the November 2021 consultation on reforms to MDR, the relief was subject to high levels of abuse.

Larger investors who purchase six or more properties in a single

transaction can still continue to benefit from the non-residential rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax. The Government will continue to engage with stakeholders in the build to rent sector to understand any concerns.

On housing more broadly, the Government has committed to delivering 1.5 million new homes and is reforming the National Planning Policy Framework to get Britain building, including by reintroducing mandatory housing targets.
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Ben Lake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to extend full expensing to leased vehicles to support the road haulage industry in Wales. \p James Murray: The UK has one of the most generous and competitive capital allowances regimes in the world and is the only major economy with permanent full expensing.

The government recognises the case to extend full expensing to leasing and will explore making this change when fiscal conditions allow.
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Lloyd Hatton:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to HMRC's document entitled Measuring tax gaps 2024 edition: tax gap estimates for 2022 to 2023, updated on 20 June 2024, if she will take steps to widen the scope of the published offshore tax gap statistics. \p James Murray: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is assessing the feasibility of extending the published estimate of the tax gap arising from undisclosed foreign income, including engaging with academics.

HMRC is determined to address offshore tax non-compliance. At Autumn Budget 2024, the government published a supplementary document outlining HMRC’s approach to addressing offshore tax non-compliance, as part of the government’s wider efforts to close the tax gap: Tackling offshore tax non-compliance - GOV.UK.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 5.91 of the Autumn Budget 2024, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the reclassification of double cab pick-ups with a payload of one tonne or more as cars for tax purposes on farmers from April 2025. \p James Murray: Following recent case law, Double Cab Pick Ups must be treated as cars, rather than goods vehicles, for certain tax purposes, based on their primary suitability. The government will not legislate to treat DCPUs as goods vehicles as this would depart from the broader principles underpinning the Court of Appeal’s judgement, and be a significant tax break worth hundreds of millions per year.

As per paragraph 5.91, this will not affect the capital allowances treatment of anyone who already owns a DCPU; anyone who purchases a DCPU before April 2025 will still benefit from the previous tax treatment. For Benefit in Kind, anyone who has accessed a DCPU as a company car before April 2025 will not be impacted until the sooner of disposal of the vehicle, April 2029 or when their lease expires; and employers that have purchased, leased, or ordered a DCPU before 6 April 2025 will also be able to benefit from the previous treatment, until the earlier of disposal, April 2029, or when the lease expires.

There are alternatives available to farmers, which provide the same off-road and haulage capabilities and are still treated as goods vehicles, such as single cab pick-ups and 4 x 4 vans.
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Abtisam Mohamed:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of phasing out the exemption on customs duties that is allowed for parcels under £135. \p James Murray: The Government recognises that the increasing popularity of overseas retailers and use of the customs duty relief for imports valued below £135 has caused concern for some stakeholders.

The purpose of the customs duty relief is to prevent disproportionate burdens on low-value trade, aiming to balance reducing burdens for consumers and businesses purchasing goods from overseas with the interests of UK businesses. VAT is charged on these goods at the same rate as it would be for domestic goods. We keep these issues under review.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has taken steps to support farmers who have diversified into holiday accommodations to mitigate the potential financial impact of changes to the Furnished Holiday Lettings tax regime. \p James Murray: The Government will abolish the Furnished Holiday Lets (FHL) tax regime from April 2025. This will equalises the tax treatment of FHL and non-FHL landlords’ income and gains, making the tax system fairer.

Tax reliefs will still be available to landlords, including farmers, who provide furnished holiday letting services, including mortgage interest relief at 20 per cent and relief for the replacement of domestic items. These reliefs will be at the same level as those available to landlords who provide long-term residential lets.

Individual landlords can also benefit from the income tax Personal Allowance, which is the amount of income that can be earned before income tax is paid (£12,570 in 2024-25).
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Max Wilkinson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of establishing a customs union with the EU on retail prices of consumer goods. \p James Murray: No. The Government is working with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, such as the economy, energy, security and resilience. But we have been clear that there will be no return to the customs union.
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Bradley Thomas:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of linking vehicle excise duty to vehicle weight. \p James Murray: Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), sometimes known as 'road tax' or ‘car tax’, is a tax on vehicles used or kept on public roads. Different rates apply to cars, vans, and motorcycles, and the rate for each vehicle is calculated according to a range of factors, such as its date of first registration, weight, or CO2 emissions.

Specifically for cars, from 1 April 2017, a reformed VED system was introduced for new cars. Under the reformed VED system, new cars pay a variable first year rate according to the emissions of the vehicle, and zero emission models currently pay nothing.

As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, from 1 April 2025, the VED first year rates are changing to further support the take-up of electric vehicles. The changes announced will freeze the lowest rate for zero emission cars at £10 until 2029-30, and introduce higher rates for higher emitting hybrid and petrol/diesel cars. These changes will only affect those purchasing a new car from 1 April 2025.

The government has no current plans to change the VED treatment for cars to be based on weight. The government keeps all taxes under review and any changes are announced at fiscal events.
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Steve Darling:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to regulate cryptocurrency exchanges to prevent their use in financial crime. \p Emma Reynolds: Cryptoassets, specifically cryptoasset exchange providers and custodian wallet providers have been regulated under the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Regulations 2017 (MLRs) since January 2020.

The MLRs require UK cryptoasset firms to register with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) who act as a supervisory body to ensure firms have appropriate systems in place to prevent money laundering. The FCA also oversees financial promotions for cryptoassets, ensuring these adhere to regulations and are not misleading.

The Government has confirmed that it will proceed with creating a financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets in the UK. Under this regime cryptoasset exchanges will be brought under broader FCA supervision, and subject to market abuse requirements.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-18)

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Lloyd Hatton:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether professional body supervisors will share risk assessments of Trusts and Corporate Service Providers with Companies House for (a) assessing and (b) granting authorised Corporate Service Provider status, in the context of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. \p Emma Reynolds: The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Regulations 2017 require Professional Body Supervisors (PBSs) to identify and assess the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing in their supervised populations.

An integrated reporting mechanism established by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) provides the basis for PBSs and Companies House to exchange relevant information, including risk assessments for use in their review of Authorised Corporate Service Provider (‘ACSP’) applications.

In 2024 the Treasury consulted on amendments to the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Regulations to further improve the information sharing and cooperation mechanisms between Companies House and Professional Body Supervisors.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-18)

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Adam Thompson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she is taking steps to implement the recommendations of the Financial Regulators Complaints Commission report on BetIndex Limited, published on 16 September 2024. \p Emma Reynolds: The government recognises the significant impact the collapse of BetIndex Ltd had on former customers.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has responded to the Financial Regulators Complaints Commissioner’s report on BetIndex Ltd, noting that it has already implemented a number of changes that address the Commissioner’s recommendations.

HM Treasury continues to engage with the FCA on issues relating to the FCA’s regulatory perimeter, including sports spread betting.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-18)

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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of levels of workplace sickness on productivity. \p Alison McGovern: The Department has not assessed the potential impact of levels of workplace sickness on productivity.

The Department published an estimate of the overall cost to the economy due to sickness absence in 2016 Work, Health and Disability Green Paper. The analyses do not estimate the impact of health on productivity at work but considers the economic output lost as a result of sickness absence. This found that lost output due to sickness absence cost the economy between £15 billion to £20 billion.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-18)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 28401 on Translation Services, what the spend was on interpretation for people contacting his Department excluding (a) British Sign Language and (b) all native languages in 2024. \p Andrew Western: The spend on interpretation for people contacting her department excluding (a) British Sign Language and (b) all native languages in 2024 was £6,345,260.60

For clarity and transparency of spend:

Spoken Face to Face interpretation in 2024 = £393,690.08

For additional information

Total British Sign Language Interpreting costs Face to Face = £1,505,061.80

Total Additional costs for native UK language interpretation (e.g., Welsh or UK dialect) = £14.40
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-18)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2025 to Question 21056 on DWP: Political Impartiality, whether her Department holds information on a disciplinary investigation into party political campaigning by officials in her  Department during the Rochdale by-election in February and March 2024. \p Andrew Western: As explained in the Answer of 9 January 2025, details of disciplinary investigations are maintained locally. Investigations and informal sanctions are not centrally recorded.

We have been made aware of specific allegations made in relation to employee actions during the Rochdale by-election in February and March 2024, and stated at the time that these would be investigated. The DWP will not comment further on matters pertaining to individual members of staff.

Given the way information is recorded, it is not possible to confirm all investigations that may have taken place or be on-going relating to this, or any by-election, without contacting all line managers to confirm locally held information.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-18)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total cost of Universal Credit benefits accessed by refugees was in 2024. \p Andrew Western: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. The Department is exploring the feasibility of developing suitable official statistics related to the immigration status of non-UK / Irish Universal Credit customers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-18)

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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the recent State Pension increase. \p Torsten Bell: Ensuring a decent foundation State Pension for pensioners is a priority for this Government. That is why we have set out our commitment to the Triple Lock throughout this Parliament. As a result, spending on people’s State Pensions is forecast to rise by over £31 billion.

Through our commitment to the Triple Lock, from April the basic and new State Pensions will increase by 4.1%. This means that over 12 million pensioners will benefit from an increase of up to £470 to their State Pension from April this year. That’s up to £275 more than if pensions had been uprated in line with inflation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-18)

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Mr Peter Bedford:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners were in poverty in Mid Leicestershire in each of the last five years. \p Torsten Bell: Statistics on the number of pensioners living in relative and absolute poverty are not available at a constituency level.

Statistics on the number of pensioners living in relative and absolute poverty are published annually in the Households Below Average Income statistics: Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2023 - GOV.UK. These statistics include regional breakdowns.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-18)

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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of unpaid carers over the State Pension age that have an entitlement to but are not claiming (a) a Carer Addition and (b) Pension Credit. \p Torsten Bell: Estimated numbers of unpaid carers are provided by survey data such as the Family Resources survey. The sample size for unpaid carers over State Pension Age is too small to estimate the number that have an entitlement but are not claiming Carer’s Addition and Pension Credit, and therefore the department does not hold this information.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-18)

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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of simplifying the application process for unpaid carers claiming Pension Credit. \p Torsten Bell: The Government appreciates the vital contribution made by carers every day in providing significant care and continuity of support to family and friends. We recognise the challenges they face and we are determined to provide unpaid carers with the help and support they need and deserve.

Pensioners who are entitled to Carer's Allowance – or in Scotland, Carer Support Payment – can also qualify for the additional amount for carers in their Pension Credit award in recognition of their caring responsibilities. The overlapping benefit rules generally mean that Carer’s Allowance at the full rate cannot normally be paid with the State Pension. However, where Carer’s Allowance cannot be paid or is not paid in full, the person will keep underlying entitlement to the benefit, which still gives access to the additional amount for carers in Pension Credit of £45.60 a week.

Unpaid carers go through the same claim process as any other claimant for Pension Credit. However, where they haven’t already claimed Carer’s Allowance, there is a requirement for them to make a claim for it. This is because it is a legal requirement for entitlement to Carer’s Allowance to be established before the additional amount for carers can form part of the Pension Credit award.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-18)

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Mary Kelly Foy:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support women born in the 1950s affected by State Pension age changes in City of Durham constituency. \p Torsten Bell: We are committed to supporting pensioners – with millions set to see their yearly basic State Pension rise by around £1,500, or their new State Pension rise by around £1,900, over this parliament, through our commitment to the Triple Lock.

Pension Credit provides vital financial support for pensioners, including women. It tops up state and private pensions to a guaranteed weekly minimum - the Standard Minimum Guarantee, which, for single pensioners, is set to increase from £218.15 to £227.10 in April 2025.

In order to maximise take-up, we have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit campaign because we want all eligible pensioners to claim what they are entitled to.

The Government offers further direct financial help to low-income pensioners through the Warm Home Discount – and the Department for Work and Pensions provides Cold Weather Payments (in England & Wales), and discretionary support through the Household Support Fund in England to support those most in need.

For those people who are unable to work but who are not yet eligible for pensioner benefits because of their age, financial support is available through the welfare system.
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Mr Paul Foster:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of women impacted by the maladministration of pension communications as highlighted by the WASPI campaign in South Ribble constituency. \p Torsten Bell: ONS population estimates suggest that in 2021 there were 6,495 females born in the 1950s resident in the South Ribble constituency, who are impacted by the equalisation of the State Pension age.

We do not know how many of these women were impacted by maladministration in the communication of state pension age changes.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-18)

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Mrs Elsie Blundell:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for recipients of Personal Independence Payment to speak to an advisor over the telephone. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Prior to January 2025, wait times on the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) enquiry lines were stable and consistent.

We have seen some disruption impacting the PIP telephony service during January 2025, due to technical issues, and whilst customers calling the new claims enquiry line will have seen calls continue to be answered in an average time of 5 minutes, call wait times on the general PIP enquiry line increased to just over 36 minutes.

To address the issue, which has also resulted in a high volume of repeat calls, additional resource has been deployed to the PIP general enquiry line, and we are now starting to see some recovery. Wait times last week had reduced to an average of 28 minutes, and we expect this to improve further over the next couple of weeks.