Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether (a) she and (b) Ministers from her Department have met with insurance company Unum since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Details of ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK and can be found here(opens in a new tab).

There have been no meetings with Unum.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what guidance his Department has issued on ensuring that consumers receive compensation when (a) a business enters liquidation and (b) there is evidence to suggest that business has knowingly defrauded customers prior to liquidation.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

If a business enters formal insolvency, consumers can refer to the guidance on the UK government's website (Gov.UK) for information on recovering their money for undelivered goods or services. The guidance advises consumers to contact their card provider to request a refund or, alternatively, submit a claim to the insolvency office holder. If there is evidence of misconduct by the insolvent business, it should be reported to the insolvency office holder, who will investigate and if necessary take appropriate action.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse of the Bank of England's Quantitative Tightening programme (a) since July 2024 and (b) since its commencement in November 2022.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Since October 2022, HM Treasury has transferred £85.9bn to the Bank of England to cover losses arising from the Asset Purchase Facility, of which £25bn was transferred since July 2024. This covers losses incurred from net interest costs and the sale and redemption of bonds as the portfolio is unwound.

Data on these quarterly cash transfers between HM Treasury and the Bank of England are made publicly available by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in its monthly Public Sector Finances publication. The data are available at the following link under the ONS series ID MF7A in worksheet PSA9B:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/datasets/publicsectorfinancesappendixatables110

British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme

Tackling child poverty