Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the specialist provision packages in the SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First consultation on children with complex needs reliant on statutory Education Other Than in School provision.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s consultation, “SEND reform: putting children and young people first”, proposes the introduction of Specialist Provision Packages for all children and young people with complex needs, including those children and young people whose needs are currently met through Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) packages of support.
After a 12-week consultation period, including over 200 engagement events, meetings and roundtables, the department’s consultation has now closed. We are carefully reviewing and taking into account all responses submitted to the consultation and continuing to engage widely on our proposals.
As part of that continued engagement, we intend to publish a consultation on the use of EOTAS provision in the coming weeks. It is crucial that we get support for EOTAS children and young people right, particularly given their often complex needs. This consultation will seek views to ensure we meet those specific needs, and that these children and young people benefit from the inclusive education we want for all.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department holds data on how many times in 2025 the provisions of the Payment Services (Amendment) Regulations 2024 were used; and what estimate she has made of the (a) number and (b) value of attempted authorised push payment frauds that were interrupted as a result.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Payment Services (Amendment) Regulations 2024 allows payment service providers to delay the execution of certain payment transactions by an additional 72 hours where there are reasonable grounds to suspect fraud or dishonesty, and where more time is needed to contact the customer. Use of these provisions is a matter for payment service providers and considered on a case-by-case basis.
Under these Regulations, the FCA is the responsible regulator. HMT regularly discusses with the FCA the effectiveness of policy, including measures to tackle fraud and ensure the framework in place supports both strong consumer protection and the efficient functioning of the UK’s payments ecosystem, but does not collect data on it.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of use of The Payment Services (Amendment) Regulations 2024.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Payment Services (Amendment) Regulations 2024 allows payment service providers to delay the execution of certain payment transactions by an additional 72 hours where there are reasonable grounds to suspect fraud or dishonesty, and where more time is needed to contact the customer. Use of these provisions is a matter for payment service providers and considered on a case-by-case basis.
Under these Regulations, the FCA is the responsible regulator. HMT regularly discusses with the FCA the effectiveness of policy, including measures to tackle fraud and ensure the framework in place supports both strong consumer protection and the efficient functioning of the UK’s payments ecosystem, but does not collect data on it.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the average time for SMEs to receive a decision on bank loan applications.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The department does not currently collect information on trends in the average time for SMEs to receive a decision on bank loan applications. Last year, the Government’s call for evidence on small business access to finance found that the shift to digital banking has brought increased convenience and efficiency for businesses who often find these services simpler to navigate, meaning they can progress their applications at a faster pace. However, the time taken to receive a decision will vary depending on each institution’s internal processes and the specific details of the credit application.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take further steps to reform the data collection methodology in order to (a) increase the accuracy and (b) reduce the statistical range in reporting the prevalence of (i) 25% extra time, (ii) use of a computer and (c) other access arrangements in (A) GCSE and (B) A Level entries.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked Ofqual’s Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham CBE, to write directly to the hon. Member for East Hampshire. A copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of trends in levels of fraud.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Secretary of State for Defence
Fraud accounts for 46% of reported crime in England and Wales in 2025. Around 1 in 13 adults (3.8 million people) were victims of fraud in 2025. Fraud cost the UK economy at least £14.4 billion for both businesses and individuals in 2023–2024. In March 2026, the Fraud Strategy was launched, which sets out how the government will combat fraud against individuals and businesses over the period 2026 to 2029.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her department has concluded its review into the Energy Saving Materials Framework; and when a decision is expected regarding the extension of its current sunset clause of March 2027.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
This Government is committed to improving the quality and sustainability of our housing stock, through improvements such as low carbon heating, insulation, solar panels and batteries. This will be vital to making the UK more energy resilient and meeting our 2050 Net Zero commitment.
Installations of qualifying energy-saving materials (ESMs) in residential accommodation and buildings used solely for a charitable purpose benefit from a temporary VAT zero rate until March 2027, after which they will revert to the reduced rate of VAT at five per cent.
In 2023, the Government ran a call for evidence on areas of reform that could help the relief meet its intended objectives more effectively, including the inclusion of additional technologies. The outcome can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/vat-energy-saving-materials-relief-improving-energy-efficiency-and-reducing-carbon-emissions/outcome/summary-of-responses
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to CityFibre's press release entitled CityFibre and BDUK agree changes to Project Gigabit rollout following increase in commercial build, published on 26 May 2026, what the net change in Government spending on full fibre connectivity is expected to be for (a) East Hampshire constituency, (b) Hampshire and (c) England as a result of the re-scope of Project Gigabit.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The change to the Project Gigabit contract with CityFibre for Hampshire will result in a reduction of 26,150 premises from the scope of the contract, of which approximately 3,450 are within the East Hampshire constituency. There will be a reduction of approximately £56.1 million in government funding through this contract as a result. Across all of CityFibre’s contracts within England the reduction in government funding will be approximately £420.6 million which will be redeployed into other Project Gigabit projects.
Many of the premises that have been removed from the scope of the CityFibre contracts will now gain gigabit coverage through commercially funded delivery without the need for public subsidy.
For the remaining premises which have been removed from CityFibre’s contracts and are not within the scope of suppliers’ commercial plans, Building Digital UK (BDUK) is working to put in place alternative coverage solutions as soon as possible through Project Gigabit. A market engagement consultation for suppliers was published on 1 June to confirm supplier interest in relation to the premises that still need coverage in the affected areas.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides on the applicability of Normal Way of Working as a criterion for use of a computer for (a) GCSE and (b) A Level, for pupils who do not have a related physical disability or learning difficulty.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department does not issue guidance on access arrangements for GCSE, AS or A level examinations. Guidance for access arrangements is set by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), which is the membership organisation for the eight largest awarding bodies.
JCQ’s Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments guidance sets out that centres can provide a word processor, with the spelling and grammar check and predictive text switched off, to a candidate where it is their normal way of working within the centre, unless an awarding body’s specification says otherwise.
The guidance makes clear that access arrangements are intended to meet an individual candidate’s needs, and must not be granted solely on the basis of preference or familiarity.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure SEND practitioners receive training on the impact of Armed Forces life on children with additional needs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As part of the consultation on the government’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, I recently attended a roundtable hosted by the Armed Forces Community All-Party Parliamentary Group. I met representatives from armed forces families and the charities that support them to hear first-hand about the challenges they face.
The department recognises that Armed Forces life may present particular challenges for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Our proposed SEND reforms aim to end the postcode lottery and improve quality of support for service children with SEND. For example, through new National Inclusion Standards, a nationally consistent set of Specialist Provision Packages and digital individual support and education, health and care plans.
We are also investing in improved training and recently announced a training package, backed by £200 million of new funding, to ensure every teacher, educator, teaching assistant and leader across early years, schools and post-16 settings can be trained to support those with SEND.
Schools receive targeted funding through the Service pupil premium, with over £26 million allocated in 2026/27. The rate increased to £360 per eligible pupil in 2026. Schools can use this funding flexibly to provide additional SEND training for staff.
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