Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring card payment providers to proactively offer small business customers the lowest rates for which they are eligible.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of customers of financial services firms, including payment firms, receiving good outcomes.
A market review by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) found that the supply of card-acquiring services, which allow businesses to accept card payments, did not work well for small and medium-sized merchants and large merchants with annual card turnover up to £50 million.
In response, the PSR introduced new rules to improve outcomes for small businesses. These include personalised summary boxes containing key price and non-price information; online quotation tools; and messages prompting businesses to shop around or switch. It also introduced an 18-month maximum duration for point-of-sale terminal lease and rental contracts, followed by rolling monthly contracts. These measures are intended to help businesses compare offers and reduce barriers to switching.
Furthermore, the PSR has also recently introduced a set of requirements on the information that Mastercard and Visa must supply to card acquirers when setting certain fee levels that may be passed down to small businesses. This should help reduce unnecessary operational costs, support more accurate billing and pricing to small businesses, and help card acquirers and small businesses make better-informed choices about optional services and behavioural fees.
The Financial Conduct Authority’s Consumer Duty also requires firms to act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers. The FCA has confirmed that the Duty applies to card acquirers serving micro-enterprises and charities with annual income below £1 million. The FCA expects firms to give customers the information they need, at the right time and in a way they can understand.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Rural Payments Agency is taking to clear outstanding quarterly rural payments to farmers; and what the average delay in making those payments has been in the last 12 months.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The vast majority of eligible quarterly Sustainable Farming Incentive payments have been made. As of 7 October 2026, RPA has made 98% of eligible SFI23 & SFI24 payments and continues to resolve outstanding cases as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will set out in statutory guidance the respective responsibilities of local authorities and the police for tackling obstructive pavement parking where no parking restriction is in place.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Alongside the commencement of the new civil parking enforcement powers for unnecessary obstruction of the pavement, the Department for Transport will publish statutory guidance on civil enforcement for local authorities. Existing police powers will remain unchanged.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will consider expanding the list of sports approved for Physical Education examinations where a sport has (a) an established governing body and (b) established participation among young people.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The current approved Physical Examinations Activity List is based on the activity’s suitability for assessment against nationally applied criteria, rather than the existence of a governing body alone.
We have outlined our commitment to revisit the activity list following the Curriculum and Assessment Review undertaken last year. We will ensure that the list is inclusive to all children and that any amendments to the activity list maintains the standard of the qualification.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration she has given to recognising pilot gig rowing within the list of sports approved for assessment in Physical Education examinations.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The current approved Physical Examinations Activity List is based on the activity’s suitability for assessment against nationally applied criteria, rather than the existence of a governing body alone.
We have outlined our commitment to revisit the activity list following the Curriculum and Assessment Review undertaken last year. We will ensure that the list is inclusive to all children and that any amendments to the activity list maintains the standard of the qualification.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the suitability of pilot gig rowing for assessment under the rowing category in GCSE Physical Education examinations.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The current approved Physical Examinations Activity List is based on the activity’s suitability for assessment against nationally applied criteria, rather than the existence of a governing body alone.
We have outlined our commitment to revisit the activity list following the Curriculum and Assessment Review undertaken last year. We will ensure that the list is inclusive to all children and that any amendments to the activity list maintains the standard of the qualification.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the consultation entitled 'Exploring the role of alternative clean heating solutions' which closed on 10 February 2026, when her Department plans to publish its (a) conclusions and (b) recommendations.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The consultation 'Exploring the role of alternative clean heating solutions' sought evidence on the costs and barriers to uptake of low carbon heating technologies that could be used to decarbonise heat in the small number of properties that may not be suitable for heat pumps and heat networks. We are now considering the evidence received from responses and the Government will publish its response in due course.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department considered the potential merits of including a screening for bluetongue virus at abattoirs within the National Disease Surveillance scheme.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is considering bluetongue monitoring enhancements for next season. Currently, official Veterinarians monitor for notifiable diseases including bluetongue at antemortem inspections across GB abattoirs. If notifiable disease is suspected APHA are contacted and reporting and appropriate testing procedures are followed. This data feeds into APHA disease scanning and the wider surveillance scheme.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to driving licence renewals on medical grounds, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that drivers who must renew annually are notified of timescales ahead of deadlines to avoid interruptions to their entitlement to drive.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
So far in 2026/27, the average number of working days to make a licensing decision in medical cases is 62.3 working days.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) sends reminders for vocational licences and ten-year photocard licence renewals 56 days before the licence is due to expire. For those renewing their licence at the age of 70 and those renewing a short-period medical licence, reminders are sent 90 days before the licence is due to expire.
The DVLA is currently experiencing an increase in both the volume and complexity of driving licence applications from people with one or more medical conditions. Unfortunately, this has led to longer waiting times for some customers. Applications that require medical investigation can often take longer to process, as they depend on the nature of the condition(s) involved and whether further information is required from third parties, such as doctors or other healthcare professionals, before a licensing decision can be made.
To keep up with growing customer demand and to offer a better service, the DVLA is updating its driver’s medical function and has launched a new casework system which will deliver significant improvements to drivers with medical conditions. The DVLA has also launched a new digital medical services portal which supports applications relating to around 1,600 medical conditions. Further enhancements for customers applying for a provisional licence and those renewing at the age of 70 or over were made recently.
The DVLA will write to the driver or applicant to advise them of any action taken on their case, for example where medical information is required from the driver or their healthcare professional. As part of a project, the DVLA has recently begun trialling text messaging to drivers who have consented to receiving updates by that method.
These enhancements, alongside the recruitment of additional staff to deal with applications will deliver real improvements in services and turnaround times for customers.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to driving licence renewals on medical grounds, what the current average waiting time is from submission of an application to the return of a licence.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
So far in 2026/27, the average number of working days to make a licensing decision in medical cases is 62.3 working days.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) sends reminders for vocational licences and ten-year photocard licence renewals 56 days before the licence is due to expire. For those renewing their licence at the age of 70 and those renewing a short-period medical licence, reminders are sent 90 days before the licence is due to expire.
The DVLA is currently experiencing an increase in both the volume and complexity of driving licence applications from people with one or more medical conditions. Unfortunately, this has led to longer waiting times for some customers. Applications that require medical investigation can often take longer to process, as they depend on the nature of the condition(s) involved and whether further information is required from third parties, such as doctors or other healthcare professionals, before a licensing decision can be made.
To keep up with growing customer demand and to offer a better service, the DVLA is updating its driver’s medical function and has launched a new casework system which will deliver significant improvements to drivers with medical conditions. The DVLA has also launched a new digital medical services portal which supports applications relating to around 1,600 medical conditions. Further enhancements for customers applying for a provisional licence and those renewing at the age of 70 or over were made recently.
The DVLA will write to the driver or applicant to advise them of any action taken on their case, for example where medical information is required from the driver or their healthcare professional. As part of a project, the DVLA has recently begun trialling text messaging to drivers who have consented to receiving updates by that method.
These enhancements, alongside the recruitment of additional staff to deal with applications will deliver real improvements in services and turnaround times for customers.