Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department provides to people aged 25 to 30 who are unemployed but do not fall within the NEET category.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department for Work and Pensions offers a range of employment support that those aged 25-30 can benefit from. This includes financial support through the Flexible Support Fund to help with interviews or starting work, and tailored, flexible support through Jobcentre Plus. Alongside targeted job-search support, Work Coaches offer personalised advice to help individuals secure roles which reflect their skills, qualifications and prior experience.
Where appropriate, Work Coaches identify skill gaps and signpost jobseekers to relevant training and provision, such as Skills Bootcamps, apprenticeships, sector-based work academy programmes, and free courses for jobs, as well as essential English, maths and digital skills.
For those who have been on Universal Credit for 6 months or more, the Restart Scheme provides 12 months of more intensive support, including bespoke action plans.
Alongside this, we are developing tailored support for those with health conditions and disabilities through our Pathways to Work, backed by £1 billion a year of new funding by the end of the decade.
We are also delivering 11 Economic Inactivity Trailblazers, led by Mayoral Strategic Authorities and the Welsh Government, which are testing local approaches to support people who are hardest to reach to move towards work.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the financial impact on UK small and medium-sized enterprises of defending civil litigation (a) brought and (b) contested in UK courts by (i) individuals and (ii) entities that are (A) subject to and (B) under investigation for UK financial sanctions.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Lord Justice Jackson’s Review of Civil Litigation Costs considered the cost of defending civil claims, and aimed to rebalance the risk between claimants and defendants in order to promote access to justice at proportionate cost. The final report can be found here. The report led to significant reforms, including ending the recoverability of Conditional Fee Agreement success fees and After The Event insurance premiums, and the introduction of Fixed Recoverable Costs (FRCs) in certain civil cases. Between October 2025 and January 2026, the Government held an initial stocktake of FRCs. The responses to this will help inform the upcoming post-implementation review of the FRC regime, which will consider how that specific reform is operating in practice.
More recently, the Civil Justice Council (CJC) carried out a thorough and wide-ranging review of litigation funding which considered concerns about the cost and burden of litigation for defendants. The CJC’s full report can be found here and its interim report and public consultation can be found here. Alongside the public consultation, the CJC established both a core Working Group and Consultation Group to ensure a wide range of perspectives informed the development of its recommendations.
The Government is confident the CJC and Lord Justice Jackson have suitably reviewed litigation funding and civil costs. As such, we have not made our own formal assessment of the impact of defending civil litigation on small and medium-sized enterprises.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the full-time equivalent staffing headcount of Border Force was at (a) the Port of Dover, (b) Eurotunnel Folkestone and (c) Eurostar St Pancras International in each year since 2024.
Answered by Mike Tapp
Border Force operates a flexible resourcing model, regularly assessing operational needs and deploying staff dynamically in response to passenger volumes and security requirements. Maintaining the security and efficiency of the UK border remains a top priority, and we continue to allocate resources accordingly to ensure the smooth flow of passengers and goods.
For security reasons, Border Force do not give out figures of how many operational staff are working at a given time or on a specific operational deployment, nor does Border Force publish information on operational activities. Doing so would publicise operational practices which could be used to assist in the evasion of customs controls and compromise Border security.
Keeping our borders secure remains our top priority. We have robust plans in place to minimise any delays, and will deploy suitable resource to meet critical demand and support the flow of passengers and goods through our border.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of mechanisms available to support UK small and medium-sized enterprises in recovering outstanding commercial debts from overseas entities that are subject to UK sanctions.
Answered by Rachel Blake
The Government keeps the implementation and effectiveness of its sanctions regimes under review, including through cross-government work on sanctions implementation and enforcement, and regular engagement with industry. The recent review of the Sanctions (EU Exit) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026 made targeted changes to the licensing provisions which enables the satisfaction of pre-existing legal and commercial obligations. This supported a more tailored domestic approach by responding directly to the needs of UK businesses.Businesses can check whether a person or entity is subject to UK sanctions by consulting the UK Sanctions List. FCDO - UK Sanctions List Search - GOV.UK
Where recovery of a commercial debt involves an overseas person or entity subject to UK sanctions, businesses must ensure that any action taken complies with UK sanctions law. In some circumstances, businesses may require a licence from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, where financial sanctions are engaged, or from the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation where trade sanctions activity falls within its remit.
It is for businesses to ensure compliance with UK financial sanctions and manage their sanctions risk appropriately, including when seeking to recover outstanding commercial debts.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2026 to Question 15179, what estimate her Department has made of the number of British citizens who have used ports of entry at (a) the Port of Dover, (b) Eurotunnel Folkestone, and (c) St Pancras International in each year since 2024.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Home Office does not hold information on the number of British citizens who have used specific ports of entry at (a) the Port of Dover, (b) Eurotunnel Folkestone, and (c) St Pancras International in the form requested.
No government department routinely records the exact mode of transport used by British citizens entering the UK. Obtaining the specific information requested would require the collation and verification of data from multiple systems and could therefore only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
For context, Home Office data show that there were approximately 73.3 million arrivals of British citizens to the UK in 2024, 77.5 million arrivals in 2025 and 14.4 million arrivals in the period January to March 2026.
The government has been engaging at ministerial and official level with Port of Dover and its operators, Eurotunnel, and Eurostar at St Pancras to mitigate the impact of EES.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with representatives of (a) Eurotunnel Folkestone, (b) Eurostar at St Pancras International and (c) the Port of Dover regarding the (i) installation and (ii) operation of Entry/Exit System (EES) registration kiosks since the full implementation of the EES.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Home Office does not hold information on the number of British citizens who have used specific ports of entry at (a) the Port of Dover, (b) Eurotunnel Folkestone, and (c) St Pancras International in the form requested.
No government department routinely records the exact mode of transport used by British citizens entering the UK. Obtaining the specific information requested would require the collation and verification of data from multiple systems and could therefore only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
For context, Home Office data show that there were approximately 73.3 million arrivals of British citizens to the UK in 2024, 77.5 million arrivals in 2025 and 14.4 million arrivals in the period January to March 2026.
The government has been engaging at ministerial and official level with Port of Dover and its operators, Eurotunnel, and Eurostar at St Pancras to mitigate the impact of EES.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance her Department provides to UK businesses seeking to verify whether a non-domestic commercial debtor is subject to UK financial sanctions.
Answered by Rachel Blake
Businesses can check whether a person or entity is subject to UK financial sanctions by consulting the UK Sanctions List: FCDO - UK Sanctions List Search - GOV.UK.
Further guidance, including on the territorial scope of UK financial sanctions and circumstances in which a UK nexus may arise, is available in OFSI's published guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-sanctions-general-guidance/uk-financial-sanctions-general-guidance#overview-of-financial-sanctions
The Government keeps the implementation and effectiveness of its sanctions’ regimes under review. The recent review of the Sanctions (EU Exit) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026 made targeted changes to the licensing provisions which enables the satisfaction of pre-existing legal and commercial obligations. This supported a more tailored domestic approach by responding directly to the needs of UK businesses.
It is for businesses to ensure compliance with UK financial sanctions and manage their sanctions risk appropriately.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what government guidance is available to UK professional drivers who believe their EU Entry/Exit System record does not accurately show that they have exited the Schengen area.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Entry/Exit System (EES) is an EU scheme, and its implementation is a matter for the EU and its member states.
Where a traveller believes their EES record may not have been recorded correctly, the official EES website provides contact details for data protection authorities in participating countries. Official EES guidance also states that travellers have the right to request access to their personal data held within EES and, where appropriate, to request that inaccurate data is corrected or deleted.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential risk that incomplete EU Entry/Exit System exit records could wrongly count UK-based professional HGV drivers as remaining in the Schengen area after they have returned to the UK.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) is an EU-operated border management system designed to strengthen border security and record the entry and exit of third-country nationals to and from the Schengen area.
Responsibility for the collection, accuracy and management of EES data rests with the European Union and its member states.
Travellers who believe their EES data is inaccurate can seek correction through the procedures established by the EU and participating member states.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on GDP of reducing average business-to-business payment times by one day.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has not made a separate assessment of the GDP impact of reducing average business-to-business payment times by one day. Late payments are estimated to cost the UK economy almost £11 billion each year. The Commercial Payments Bill is designed to improve payment practices, strengthen cashflow for small businesses and to reduce their time spent chasing late invoices. It supports productivity, supply chain resilience and growth across the wider economy.