Oral Answers to Questions

David Mundell Excerpts

Thursday 15th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question, and for being such a sterling champion of the amazing grassroots organisations in her constituency, some of which I had the privilege of meeting when I visited. We recognise the need to protect the smallest charities in particular; that is why we more than doubled the employment allowance, meaning that more than half of charities with national insurance contributions liabilities will either gain or see no change in 2025-26. We are looking at how we can use the national youth strategy to pilot a new way of working, to make sure the action we take to support young people is genuinely driven by those amazing organisations at a local level in communities, which will help them to become much more sustainable and to do more.

[David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) (Con)]

To obtain funding, most small organisations require a bank account. Is the Secretary of State aware that many organisations are struggling to get a bank account? Some banks do not offer those services to small and voluntary organisations, or a huge amount of bureaucracy needs to be entered into in order to get an account. Will the Secretary of State speak with her colleagues in the Treasury to get to the bottom of why it is so difficult for small and voluntary organisations to get a bank account?

[Lisa Nandy]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman very much for his question, and I will certainly make sure that I and the Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley South (Stephanie Peacock), take that matter up with colleagues in the Treasury to resolve it.