Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support libraries.
Answered by Vicky Foxcroft - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
Through the Libraries Improvement Fund, DCMS is dedicating up to £27.5 million to the sector across this Parliament.
Libraries are a local service. Local authorities in England will have access to £78 billion in Core Spending Power under the final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2026/27, representing a 6.1% increase from 2025/26.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for the Home Department to help tackle non-consensual filming of women.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Women and girls must be able to go about their daily lives, free from abuse – in all its forms.
The filming of anyone, including women, without their consent, can be illegal. We have strengthened the law, including through the recent Crime and Policing Act.
Government continues to support police in identifying and disrupting predatory behaviour, while also holding the tech industry to account, encouraging safety by design.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to modernise the court estate.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Historic underfunding has resulted in challenges across the HMCTS estate, with an estimated £1.3bn maintenance backlog. In 2026/27, £287m of capital funding will be invested in the HMCTS estate. This investment represents a significant increase on previous years, delivering estate improvements, digital upgrades and capital projects across the court estate.
In 2026/27 alone, we are working to deliver a substantial programme of improvement work, including over 40 roof replacement projects, 30 boiler and heating upgrades, 19 cooling and ventilation improvements, and over 50 security enhancement projects, helping to modernise our estate and build resilience.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to safeguard people cut off during power outages when the traditional landline network switches to digital in January 2027.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for everyone. Over 96% of customers have already been migrated.
In November 2024 and March 2026, the Government secured additional safeguards from the telecoms industry. These include the provision of free battery back-ups for vulnerable customers, including telecare users, to ensure access to emergency services for at least one hour in a power outage. Many communication providers have gone further, providing battery back-ups with 4-7 hours of battery life. The upgraded digital infrastructure, which uses more fibre lines, is more resilient than the ageing PSTN.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department have taken to enable Parish and Town Councils to reimburse childcare and dependant care costs for councillors.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has previously reviewed available evidence.
Our full response on the matter can be found here.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will consult on a national regulatory framework for pavement parking.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In 2020, the Department for Transport consulted on measures to tackle pavement parking in England outside London. The Government published its response on 8 January 2026.
Powers have since been introduced through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 to enable local transport authorities to opt in to a prohibition on pavement parking in their areas, while allowing for exemptions where appropriate. We plan to bring forward the necessary regulations no earlier than late 2027.
The Government will engage with relevant stakeholders on the detail of those regulations but does not plan to undertake a further public consultation on this issue.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when her Department will consult on a national licensing scheme for micromobility.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We intend to publish the planned public consultation on regulations and guidance required to implement the licensing regime for dockless shared-cycle schemes before Christmas Recess.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what percentage of climate finance goes to smallholder farmers.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Sustainable land-use, agriculture and food systems offer critical levers to tackle the climate and nature crisis. The UK is prioritising action through our global policy work and International Climate Finance (ICF) programming to scale technologies and innovation, mobilise investment, support national policy reforms and support farmer advocacy and engagement, to build climate-resilient, nature-positive agriculture and food systems. However, the Government's ICF management information does not capture the amount or percentage of expenditure reaching smallholder farmers.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his department has have made of the effectiveness of the NHS Business Services Authority in processing NHS pension applications.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department regularly meets with the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) to discuss performance levels. These discussions include the processing times for National Health Service pension applications.
The NHSBSA aims to make the first payment for a new pension within 30 calendar days of the retirement date or the date when all information necessary to process the claim is received from the member and employer.
The NHSBSA is processing a high volume of claims. In May 2026, 97% of new pension claims were paid within the 30-day timeframe. For the remaining claims, payments took an average of 14 additional days beyond the 30-day timeframe. Up-to-date information on processing times is available on the NHSBSA website, at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/current-processing-times-nhs-pensions
Where a payment is likely to take longer than 30 days, to minimise the risk of financial hardship, the NHSBSA contacts members who have queried the progress of their claim to offer expedited payment. They also prioritise the processing of claims involving vulnerable members and those experiencing ill health. A member whose first pension payment is delayed beyond the 30-day timeframe will automatically receive interest on the overdue amount.
The Department is supporting the NHSBSA to take all steps necessary to increase performance so that applications can be processed within the 30-day target. To address the delays, the NHSBSA is re-allocating resources, improving their service planning, and recruiting and training new staff.
The Department is working with the NHSBSA to ensure that plans for providing McCloud remedy statements to affected scheme members take account of and protect the delivery of normal pension service operations, which continue to run in parallel to remedy activities.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support retiring NHS staff whose pensions are not processed within the target processing time.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department regularly meets with the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) to discuss performance levels. These discussions include the processing times for National Health Service pension applications.
The NHSBSA aims to make the first payment for a new pension within 30 calendar days of the retirement date or the date when all information necessary to process the claim is received from the member and employer.
The NHSBSA is processing a high volume of claims. In May 2026, 97% of new pension claims were paid within the 30-day timeframe. For the remaining claims, payments took an average of 14 additional days beyond the 30-day timeframe. Up-to-date information on processing times is available on the NHSBSA website, at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/current-processing-times-nhs-pensions
Where a payment is likely to take longer than 30 days, to minimise the risk of financial hardship, the NHSBSA contacts members who have queried the progress of their claim to offer expedited payment. They also prioritise the processing of claims involving vulnerable members and those experiencing ill health. A member whose first pension payment is delayed beyond the 30-day timeframe will automatically receive interest on the overdue amount.
The Department is supporting the NHSBSA to take all steps necessary to increase performance so that applications can be processed within the 30-day target. To address the delays, the NHSBSA is re-allocating resources, improving their service planning, and recruiting and training new staff.
The Department is working with the NHSBSA to ensure that plans for providing McCloud remedy statements to affected scheme members take account of and protect the delivery of normal pension service operations, which continue to run in parallel to remedy activities.