Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of expensing intellectual property transactions.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The UK’s Intangible Fixed Asset (IFA) regime offers generous and internationally competitive relief for acquired intangible assets like trademarks and licences. In addition, UK businesses can benefit from the biggest tax treaty network in the OECD – which make the UK an attractive jurisdiction for holding IFAs.

The government committed to maintain the regime’s current competitive approach in the Corporation Tax Roadmap.

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 (a) increase the capacity of and (b) reduce delays in medical examiner services.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024. Medical examiner offices are staffed at a trust level and arrangements at each office should reflect local health priorities and the needs of communities. NHS England has published guidance which outlines principles for medical examiner offices and advice on how to provide flexible and sustainable cover during busy periods

Early data since the introduction of the reforms indicated the median time taken to register a death appeared to have risen by one day, from seven days to eight days prior to Christmas. This figure is for all deaths, as it includes those certified by a doctor and those investigated by a coroner. The average time taken to register increased further over the Christmas weeks, but this was expected given increases are observed during this period every year; the average has subsequently decreased.

The median time taken to register a death varies depending on the type of certification. Deaths certified by a doctor, that comprise approximately 80% of deaths registered each week, have typically had a median time to registration of seven days, though there can be variation at a local level. It is important to note that the medical examiner system was active on a non-statutory basis before the introduction of the statutory system on 9 September 2024, and this makes direct ‘before’ and ‘after’ comparisons challenging to draw conclusions from.

Ensuring the system is appropriately resourced and works for all those who interact with it is crucial, and something the Department will continue to monitor with NHS England.

Banking hubs

Israeli Defence Force attacks on humanitarian workers

Humanitarian response to the Myanmar earthquake

Ensuring stability for Ukrainian refugees in the UK

Access to football pitches for women and girls

Community pharmacies

Found: Baldwin (Conservative; West Worcestershire) Rachel Blake (Labour; Cities of London and Westminster) Chris Coghlan

Found: Q41 Chris Coghlan: Thank you, Mr Lewis.

Found: Baldwin (Conservative; West Worcestershire) Rachel Blake (Labour; Cities of London and Westminster) Chris Coghlan

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Meg Hillier (Chair); Harriett Baldwin; Rachel Blake; Chris Coghlan

Found: Shanker and Laurence Turner be Members of the Transport Committee Resolved, That Bobby Dean and Chris Coghlan

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Meg Hillier (Chair); Dame Harriett Baldwin; Rachel Blake; Chris Coghlan

Found: Tessa Munt Dr Roz Savage Tom Morrison Mr Alistair Carmichael Zöe Franklin Adrian Ramsay Chris Coghlan