Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made a recent estimate of the number of divorce hearings that have had to be (a) adjourned and (b) rescheduled as a result of delays in receiving cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) statements from (i) teachers and (ii) civil service pension administrators.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government does not hold data regarding the number of financial remedy hearings that have been adjourned as a result of delays in receiving cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) statements from teachers and civil service pension administrators.

As part of its 2024 scoping report on financial remedies, the Law Commission considered whether there was scope for reform in relation to the treatment of pensions on the division of assets on divorce. This Spring, the Government will be consulting on the challenges raised by the Law Commission in its report.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March to Question 115912 on Department for Work and Pensions: Telephone Services, how many claimants have been put into housing arrears as a result of being migrated from ESA to Universal Credit.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department does not hold the requested data. When someone transitions from Housing Benefit their first payment of Universal Credit will be made 5 weeks later. To help bridge this gap, an additional payment of two week’s Housing Benefit is made, resulting in a customer receiving two weeks more Housing Benefit than if they had not moved. The Department is committed to supporting customers moving from Employment and Support Allowance to Universal Credit and aims to make this transition as smooth as possible. To help achieve this, Transitional Protection has been designed to prevent customers from experiencing a cliff-edge in their benefit entitlement and is applied to customers who would otherwise have a lower entitlement on Universal Credit than they previously received on their legacy benefits.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to enable local authorities to retain district and borough boundaries for the purpose of social housing allocation following the establishment of new unitary organisations.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Local authorities have discretion within the existing allocations framework to design allocation schemes that reflect local housing needs and priorities, including how stock is managed within a new unitary area.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued on whether the BNO partners and dependents can apply for ILR with the main applicant before they become eligible, in circumstances where BNO partners and dependents have later BNO visa expiration dates than the main BNO status holder.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The published guidance for BN(O) visa holders and their family members wishing to settle in the UK is published at: British National (Overseas) visa: Settle in the UK - GOV.UK.

The relevant guidance for caseworkers is available at: Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (BNO) route: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued on whether BNO partners and dependents can apply for ILR before the main BNO status holder becomes eligible, in circumstances where BNO partners and dependents have earlier BNO visa expiration dates than the main BNO status holder in their family.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The published guidance for BN(O) visa holders and their family members wishing to settle in the UK is published at: British National (Overseas) visa: Settle in the UK - GOV.UK.

The relevant guidance for caseworkers is available at: Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (BNO) route: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of guaranteeing access to free banking services for small charitable groups at (a) Post Office branches and (b) banking hubs.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Charities and community groups make a valuable contribution across the country, and it is important that they can access suitable banking services in person and online.

Decisions about the provision of banking services, and associated fees, are primarily commercial matters for banks who must meet strict financial crime and customer due diligence obligations. Charities and community groups often have more complex account structures (for example, multiple trustees), making their banking needs more expensive and operationally demanding, which may explain the fees applied.

It is important for charities to shop around to ensure they pick the most appropriate banking product for their needs. UK Finance worked closely with the charity sector and Government to produce an ‘Account Finder’ tool designed exclusively for charities and voluntary organisations so they can browse providers and accounts easily, including their charges.

The Government understands the importance of banking services to communities and is committed to supporting the financial services industry’s roll-out of 350 banking hubs by the end of this Parliament. Over 270 hubs have been announced so far, and more than 225 are already open.

Banking hubs provide personal and business customers with access to everyday counter services, including cash withdrawals and deposits, balance enquiries and bill payments. They also contain dedicated rooms where all customers can see community bankers from their own bank to carry out other banking services as they would in a traditional bank branch.

The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance, and pay bills at over 10,000 of Post Office branches across the UK. Fees for these services remain a commercial decision for the bank providing the account.

Windermere