Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2025 to Question 90566, on Fraud: Disclosure of Information, whether she plans to publish the names of banks and other organisations that fail to prevent fraud or fail to reimburse victims of fraud.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
We work closely with the financial sector to disrupt fraud at its source and prevent financial exploitation. As part of the Strategy, the Government will work with industry to develop new metrics to better measure fraud origination, harm and outcomes. This will improve transparency and accountability across the ecosystem and ensure metrics focus on reducing the level and impact of fraud.
Data has also shown that banks are increasingly compensating victims following the introduction of mandatory reimbursement through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023. In the first year of the Authorised Push Payment (APP) reimbursement scheme (from 7th October 2024), 88% of eligible losses were reimbursed, with £173 million returned to victims (APP scams reimbursement dashboard for Q3 2025 | Payment Systems Regulator).
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) published their third APP scams performance report in February, covering 2024 before the mandatory reimbursement requirement. The report show the sending fraud rates and reimbursement rates of the 14 biggest banks in the UK, putting a spotlight on firms that are the highest receivers of fraud: 2024 APP scam performance data – before the reimbursement requirement was implemented.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what work her Department has undertaken to date on the development of the Fraud Strategy; and what the planned timeline is for its completion and publication.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The ‘Fraud Strategy 2026-2029: Disrupting crime, supporting economic resilience and delivering justice’ was published on Monday 9 March 2026 and is available on gov.uk at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fraud-strategy-2026-to-2029
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason her Department is not considering providing financial support to homeowners for the treatment or removal of Japanese knotweed; and what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of current guidance available to homeowners for managing this species.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The treatment or removal of Japanese knotweed is the responsibility of the homeowner and Defra has no plans to offer financial support.
Defra has not reviewed its current guidance, as no new evidence has emerged that would make a further review necessary. Existing guidance on preventing spread and treatment — most recently updated in February 2026 — remains in place.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of providing financial support to homeowners for the treatment or removal of Japanese knotweed; and what consideration her Department has given to the environmental impact of this species.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The treatment or removal of Japanese knotweed is the responsibility of the homeowner and Defra has no plans to offer financial support.
Defra has not reviewed its current guidance, as no new evidence has emerged that would make a further review necessary. Existing guidance on preventing spread and treatment — most recently updated in February 2026 — remains in place.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant UIN 87565 what steps his Department is taking to address the challenges it has identified in the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for young people in supported accommodation, and whether a timetable has been set for considering potential reforms.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As confirmed at Autumn Budget, we will be introducing new earned income disregards for those in receipt of Housing Benefit and live in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation. This will help smooth the transition between the Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, and reduce the financial cliff edge for individuals in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation as they move into work or increase their hours.
This will require legislative changes and be accompanied by IT changes made to local authority IT systems. In preparation for this, we have already begun engagement with stakeholders to ensure that the implementation meets the needs of those affected. This is accompanied by clear communications to support local authorities, housing providers and third sector organisations to ensure that eligible customers are aware of and able to utilise this change.
The new disregards will be in place from Autumn 2026.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made, in consultation with the Health and Safety Executive, of the potential impact of the Construction Industry Training Board levy on health and safety outcomes in the construction sector; what consideration his Department has given to the potential impact of the Construction Industry Training Board levy on the profitability of construction firms; and what factors have informed the decision not to undertake an assessment of those impacts following the transfer of responsibility for the Board on 16 September 2025.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Meeting the skills needs of the construction workforce is vital to delivering the Government’s Plan for Change and the Industrial Strategy. An independent review of the Industry Training Boards (ITBs) was carried out by Mark Farmer in 2023, which considered their role and impact. This review highlighted the ITBs’ important role in developing industry skills, raising competency and improving productivity. It also identified a strong case for reform to ensure the ITBs are equipped to meet the workforce challenges facing the construction and engineering construction sectors.
The Department for Work and Pensions is considering reforms to the ITBs in line with the recommendations of this review. This includes launching a consultation on 23 March 2026 seeking views on a proposal to bring together the Construction Industry Training Board and the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board together in a single body, to enhance their impact and efficiency in meeting employers’ skills needs.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to Answer of 25 November 2025 to Question 94124, on Electronic Travel Authorisations: Conferences and Trade Promotion, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of the Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme specifically on European business representatives seeking to attend trade events and conferences in the UK.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 25 November 2025 to Question UIN 94124.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessments has the department made of the potential benefits of extending the meningitis B vaccination programme to teenagers.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Meningococcal disease is an uncommon but serious disease caused by meningococcal bacteria. The MenACWY vaccine offers good protection against several strains of meningococcal disease and is routinely offered to teenagers in school years 9 and 10. However, it does not protect against all strains. Other strains, such as Meningitis B (MenB), can circulate among young adults. From 2015, the MenB vaccine has been available on the National Health Service as part of routine childhood immunisations, but most students would not be vaccinated.
Decisions on vaccination programmes follow independent expert advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI does not currently recommend a routine MenB booster vaccination for adolescents and young adults, however the JCVI routinely reviews new evidence as it emerges and my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will ask them to reexamine eligibility for meningitis vaccines.
The importance of raising awareness in parents, teenagers and other adults about the signs and symptoms of meningitis remains key. There are a range of resources developed by the UK Health Security Agency, co-branded with the National Health Service, that set out these key messages and their importance, such as the teenage guide to immunisation.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to help support businesses experiencing financial stress that are awaiting a non‑domestic rates revaluation; and what the average time frame is for rates revaluations on non-domestic rates.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Every three years the Valuation Office Agency carries out a revaluation of non-domestic properties. The 2026 revaluation is due to come into effect on 1 April 2026, based on values from 1 April 2024.
In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the Government introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion, to protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase. The Government is introducing new permanently lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties. These new multipliers are worth nearly £1 billion per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties.