Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he will place a copy of the RFA's terms and conditions of service in the House of Commons Library.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) does not maintain a single Terms and Conditions of Service document. Instead, terms and conditions are set out in the RFA’s various ‘Statements of Particulars’, which vary widely according to role, rank or rate and employment category. As a result, there is no single document that could be placed in the House of Commons Library.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the role of social care services in enabling unpaid carers to remain in employment.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government recognises the vital contributions of unpaid carers. This is why we have established a Ministerial group to ensure a joined-up, cross-government approach to supporting unpaid carers.
A cross-government action plan on unpaid carers was published in July 2026, outlining the government’s commitments to supporting unpaid carers across health, social care, education, employment and the benefits system. This includes actions which will be taken forward by the Department for Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, including actions to support unpaid carers to remain in or return to employment.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for for Work and Pensions on supporting unpaid carers to remain in or return to employment.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The government recognises the vital contributions of unpaid carers. This is why we have established a Ministerial group to ensure a joined-up, cross-government approach to supporting unpaid carers.
A cross-government action plan on unpaid carers was published in July 2026, outlining the government’s commitments to supporting unpaid carers across health, social care, education, employment and the benefits system. This includes actions which will be taken forward by the Department for Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, including actions to support unpaid carers to remain in or return to employment.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether legislation will be required to give effect to the commitment that people whose only income is the basic or new state pension will not pay income tax over this Parliament.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In line with the commitment made at Budget 2025, pensioners whose incomes only just exceed the Personal Allowance will not have the administrative burden of paying small amounts of tax in this Parliament.
The Government will set out further detail at Budget 2026.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 5 August 2026 to Question HL2380, how many people over state pension age he estimates will be income taxpayers in 2027-28; and how many people he estimates will benefit from the commitment that people whose only income is the basic or new State Pension, without increments, will not pay income tax over this Parliament, in that year.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The vast majority of pensioners paid income tax under the last Conservative government. The OBR produces projections of the number of income taxpayers in future years.
In line with the commitment made at Budget 2025, pensioners whose incomes only just exceed the Personal Allowance will not have the administrative burden of paying small amounts of tax in this Parliament. The Government will set out more detail at Budget.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing measures to prevent pensioners with small amounts of income in addition to the state pension from facing a higher tax liability than those whose only income is the state pension.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Pensioners whose only income is the basic or new State Pension, without any increments, do not currently pay income tax. This is because the full new State Pension is below the tax-free Personal Allowance this year.
In line with the commitment made at Budget 2025, pensioners whose incomes only just exceed the Personal Allowance will not have the administrative burden of paying small amounts of tax in this Parliament.
More details will be set out at Budget 2026.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Ministry of Defence Police budget is in the (a) 2025-26 and (b) 2026-27 financial year; and whether he undertook a risk assessment before determining the budget for the next financial year.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
The Ministry of Defence Police budget for financial year 2025-26 was £192 million. Forecast expenditure for 2026-27 is £206 million.
Risk is an integral part of the Department's financial planning process. Forecast expenditure and budget allocation decisions are informed by assessments of affordability, historical performance, planned requirements, anticipated demand and other factors that may affect future financial performance.