Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 March (HL15443), what steps they have taken in the past year to meet their legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation concerning work and pensions should be brought into force.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Policy teams within the Department for Work and Pensions are responsible for ensuring effective legislative practice within their area, including the management of uncommenced legislation, and considering when to bring forward commencement orders. Where needed, they work closely with lawyers and our central legislative strategy team. This work is undertaken alongside established postlegislative scrutiny processes.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 March (HL15443), what steps they have taken in the past year to meet their legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation concerning transport should be brought into force.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Policy teams within the department are responsible for ensuring effective delivery within their area, including the review of uncommenced legislation and considering when to bring forward commencement orders.

Where needed, they draw on the advice of government lawyers to support delivery. This is conducted alongside established post legislative scrutiny processes where appropriate.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government why the Vehicle Excise Duty payment screen on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's website prompts people to pay monthly without mentioning on that screen that annual payment would be cheaper; and what assessment they have made of whether this practice is compliant with consumer protection laws and regulations.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

When a vehicle is due to be taxed, the DVLA sends the registered keeper a reminder that includes information on payment options, including the amount due if the customer chooses to pay by direct debit. The DVLA’s online vehicle licensing service also includes a link to a table of vehicle excise duty rates which individuals can view before deciding on which payment option to use.

The table below shows the number of new and automatically renewed direct debit mandates for vehicle excise duty payments in 2025/26.

The DVLA keeps all services under review to ensure compliance with all relevant rules and regulations.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people in the most recent financial year for which data is available paid the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for Vehicle Excise Duty in monthly instalments; how many paid annually; and how much additional revenue was generated for the DVLA by the higher total charge for paying monthly.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

When a vehicle is due to be taxed, the DVLA sends the registered keeper a reminder that includes information on payment options, including the amount due if the customer chooses to pay by direct debit. The DVLA’s online vehicle licensing service also includes a link to a table of vehicle excise duty rates which individuals can view before deciding on which payment option to use.

The table below shows the number of new and automatically renewed direct debit mandates for vehicle excise duty payments in 2025/26.

The DVLA keeps all services under review to ensure compliance with all relevant rules and regulations.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 March (HL15443), what steps the Ministry of Defence has taken in the last year to meet its legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation that falls within its area of responsibility should be brought into force.

Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The department keeps legislation under review, considering operational readiness and wider priorities. Policy teams within the department are responsible for ensuring effective legislative practice within their area, including reviewing uncommenced legislation and bringing forward commencement regulations as required, drawing on expert legal advice to support their delivery.

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 March (HL15443), what steps the Northern Ireland Office has taken in the last year to meet its legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation that falls within its area of responsibility should be brought into force.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Northern Ireland Office regularly reviews the commencement of its legislation.

Responsibility resides with Northern Ireland Office policy teams to monitor the status of provisions, and to advise on the most appropriate timings for when they should be brought into force.

This is underpinned by established guidance on post-legislative scrutiny.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the 51st Report of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (HL Paper 263, Session 2024–26), published on 12 February, what progress they have made in bringing forward regulations under the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 to ensure that fees charged by the Marine Management Organisation fully recover the costs of processing harbour orders; and what is the timescale for any remaining steps that need to be taken.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

MMO and DfT are currently progressing a draft consultation and associated documents to consult with the sector in the summer 2026. In parallel stakeholder engagement will be undertaken and work will be completed to draft the appropriate regulation with a view to implementing a new structure during 2027.

Question to the Wales Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 March (HL15443), what steps the Wales Office has taken in the last year to meet its legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation that falls within its area of responsibility should be brought into force.

Answered by Lord Katz - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Wales Office works closely with other government departments to keep the status of uncommenced legislation falling within areas of its responsibility under review. Decisions on commencement are taken in the normal course of policy making.