Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of funding provided to Herefordshire Council to repair damage caused to roads by flooding.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department has announced a record £7.3 billion investment into highways maintenance over the next four years which will enable local authorities to invest in significantly improving the long-term condition of England’s road network, delivering faster, safer and more reliable journeys. As part of this investment, Herefordshire Council is eligible to receive over £114.7 million.

This financial year, the Department funded the UK Roads Leadership Group to deliver regional workshops for local highway authorities across the UK to share information about the increased risks to their networks from extreme weather. This is alongside the publication of Transport Hazard Summary documents last year, that provide introductory information to support the transport sector to manage natural hazards, including the risk of flooding.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of trends in the levels of risk caused by standing water on rural roads in poor repair.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The effects of standing water on rural roads, including safety risks for road users, are well known. Standing water can obscure defects, reduce skid resistance and contribute to loss of control, particularly on higher‑speed rural routes. It also accelerates the deterioration of road surfaces by weakening underlying structural layers and promoting pothole formation. National guidance on surface‑water management and sustainable drainage, such as the National Standards for Sustainable Drainage Systems and the Department’s Transport Hazard Summaries, highlight the importance of effective runoff control to prevent water accumulating on the highway and causing damage to infrastructure.

The Government has recently announced a record £7.3 billion over the next four years to maintain and improve local roads across the country, which will help local highway authorities manage their drainage infrastructure. Herefordshire County Council will be eligible to receive nearly £115 million of this funding over the next four years.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, how many rape cases have been awaiting a decision for more than 3 years broken down by Crown Prosecution Service region.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The CPS is committed to increasing the number of rape cases brought to court each year, and is working closely with other criminal justice partners to ensure that access to justice is not delayed.

The CPS continues to deliver the RASSO National Operating Model (NOM) developed in consultation with stakeholders to ensure a consistently high standard of decision making in rape cases. A key component of model is the offer of early advice (EA) to police to strengthen collaboration and help build the strongest cases from the outset by enabling police to seek advice from a prosecutor during the early stages of a case.

This change means that more cases are coming to the CPS earlier than before, impacting their data on timeliness. The enhanced EA offer was trialled first in the CPS pathfinder Areas London, West Midlands, South West and North East. The South East ran an EA pilot alongside these pathfinders.

The below table provides the number of rape-flagged cases awaiting a decision from the CPS that were first submitted to the CPS three or more years ago, by CPS Area as of the 25th of February 2026. These will include cases which are under further investigation by the police, and cases which have been subject to one or more legal reviews in the past but have not yet been subject to a final charging decision:

Whilst there are 46 cases which have not had a final legal decision after three or more years, there are no RASSO cases that have been awaiting a legal review for three or more years following initial submission or subsequent investigation by the police.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on the smooth functioning of the property market, of the Finance Bill's requirement for conveyancers submitting Stamp Duty Land Tax returns on behalf of clients to register as 'tax advisers'.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government has consulted extensively with stakeholders about plans to require the registration of tax advisers who interact with HMRC on behalf of their clients.

This includes the 2024 consultation ‘Raising standards in the tax advice market: strengthening the regulatory framework and improving registration’ and a technical consultation on draft legislation published in summer 2025.

HMRC will continue to work with the industry ahead of implementation and consider concerns raised by stakeholder groups, including conveyancers.

HMRC has released a tax information and impact note on GOV.UK. The note details how the measure is expected to affect businesses that provide professional tax services and interact with HMRC on behalf of their clients.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mandatory-tax-adviser-registration-with-hmrc/tax-advisers-to-register-with-hmrc-and-meet-minimum-standards

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when HMRC will publish the detailed guidance firms will need in order to comply with the Finance Bill's requirement for conveyancers submitting Stamp Duty Land Tax returns on behalf of clients to register as 'tax advisers'.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC has published guidance on GOV.UK to support tax advisers who are required to register with HMRC.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-and-when-you-need-to-register-as-a-tax-adviser-with-hmrc

Further guidance will be published before May 2026 and HMRC is working with key industry stakeholders to get the detail of this guidance right.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his expected timetable is for publication of the Future Homes Standard.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 108610 on 4 February 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the assessment of the number of estates impacted by the changes to Inheritance Tax on unused pension funds and death benefits (published in the relevant Policy Paper on 21 July 2025) took into consideration the increase in asset values over the coming years.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Most unused pension funds and death benefits payable from a pension will form part of a person’s estate for inheritance tax purposes from 6 April 2027. This removes distortions resulting from changes that have been made to pensions tax policy over the last decade, which have led to some pensions being openly used and marketed as a tax planning vehicle to transfer wealth, rather than as a way to fund retirement. These reforms also remove inconsistencies in the inheritance tax treatment of different types of pensions

The Government will continue to incentivise pension savings for their intended purpose of funding retirement, with ongoing tax reliefs on both contributions into pensions and on the growth of funds held within a pension scheme. Pensions continue to benefit from very significant tax benefits, with gross income tax and National Insurance contributions relief costing £78.2 billion in 2023-24. It is therefore crucial to ensure that tax reliefs on pensions are being used for their intended purpose – to encourage saving for retirement and later life – rather than for passing on wealth free of inheritance tax

Estates will continue to benefit from the normal nil-rate bands, reliefs, and exemptions available. For example, the nil-rate bands mean an estate can pass on up to £1 million with no inheritance tax liability and the general rules mean any transfers, including the payment of death benefits, to a spouse or civil partner are fully exempt from inheritance tax. More than 90 per cent of UK estates will continue to have no inheritance tax liability in 2030-31 following these changes and the reforms will only affect a minority of those with inheritable pension wealth

As is standard practice, the costing and the assessment of the number of estates expected to be impacted by the reforms take account of the forecasts for changes in asset values. For example, pension wealth is grown over time using the equity prices determinant from the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) economic forecast. The OBR published detailed information on 30 January 2025 and this is available at https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/IHT-on-pensions-supplementary-release-Jan-2025.pdf.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential risk that changes to Inheritance Tax on unused pension funds and death benefits could discourage private savings for pensions.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Most unused pension funds and death benefits payable from a pension will form part of a person’s estate for inheritance tax purposes from 6 April 2027. This removes distortions resulting from changes that have been made to pensions tax policy over the last decade, which have led to some pensions being openly used and marketed as a tax planning vehicle to transfer wealth, rather than as a way to fund retirement. These reforms also remove inconsistencies in the inheritance tax treatment of different types of pensions

The Government will continue to incentivise pension savings for their intended purpose of funding retirement, with ongoing tax reliefs on both contributions into pensions and on the growth of funds held within a pension scheme. Pensions continue to benefit from very significant tax benefits, with gross income tax and National Insurance contributions relief costing £78.2 billion in 2023-24. It is therefore crucial to ensure that tax reliefs on pensions are being used for their intended purpose – to encourage saving for retirement and later life – rather than for passing on wealth free of inheritance tax

Estates will continue to benefit from the normal nil-rate bands, reliefs, and exemptions available. For example, the nil-rate bands mean an estate can pass on up to £1 million with no inheritance tax liability and the general rules mean any transfers, including the payment of death benefits, to a spouse or civil partner are fully exempt from inheritance tax. More than 90 per cent of UK estates will continue to have no inheritance tax liability in 2030-31 following these changes and the reforms will only affect a minority of those with inheritable pension wealth

As is standard practice, the costing and the assessment of the number of estates expected to be impacted by the reforms take account of the forecasts for changes in asset values. For example, pension wealth is grown over time using the equity prices determinant from the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) economic forecast. The OBR published detailed information on 30 January 2025 and this is available at https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/IHT-on-pensions-supplementary-release-Jan-2025.pdf.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Finance Bill's requirement for conveyancers submitting Stamp Duty Land Tax returns on behalf of clients to register as 'tax advisers' on costs for consumers.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government has consulted extensively with stakeholders about plans to require the registration of tax advisers who interact with HMRC on behalf of their clients.

This includes the 2024 consultation ‘Raising standards in the tax advice market: strengthening the regulatory framework and improving registration’ and a technical consultation on draft legislation published in summer 2025.

HMRC will continue to work with the industry ahead of implementation and consider concerns raised by stakeholder groups, including conveyancers.

HMRC has released a tax information and impact note on GOV.UK. The note details how the measure is expected to affect businesses that provide professional tax services and interact with HMRC on behalf of their clients.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mandatory-tax-adviser-registration-with-hmrc/tax-advisers-to-register-with-hmrc-and-meet-minimum-standards

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consideration has been given to the potential risk that the Finance Bill's requirement for conveyancers submitting Stamp Duty Land Tax returns on behalf of clients to register as 'tax advisers' may mislead consumers to assume their conveyancer or solicitor is providing full tax advice, which they are not authorised to give.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Guidance on whether you need to register as a tax adviser is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-and-when-you-need-to-register-as-a-tax-adviser-with-hmrc

Energy price cap

Closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan

Payment of employment tribunal awards

Delay Repay scheme

UNESCO World Heritage status for chalk streams in England

New United Nations Convention on the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals

30th anniversary of the Dunblane Primary School tragedy

Royal Mail delivery standards

Industrial relations at Carlisle Support Services

Reforming National Parks and National Landscapes

Fipronil and Imidacloprid Pesticides

World Hearing Day 2026

Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr

Conduct of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Palantir and the NHS

Dual nationals and new UK entry documentation requirements

Funding for fire and rescue services

High street bank closures

NHS access to medical cannabis for children with drug-resistant epilepsy

Surveillance and political intimidation of journalists

Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund 2026-27

World Book Day 2026

Curlew populations

Edinburgh mural marking the deaths of protestors in Iran

National No Smoking Day

International Women's Day 2026 and women’s inclusion in placemaking

Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules (No. 2)

Trade union de-recognition at GB Railfreight

King's Guard's ceremonial bearskin caps

NHS dentistry

Cancer care in Gaza

Assassination of Yanar Mohammed, women's rights campaigner

Eating disorder services

Temporary accommodation and its impact on neurodivergent children

Football ticket prices (No. 2)

Use of catapults against wildlife

Marie Curie Great Daffodil Appeal 2026

Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month (No. 2)

Covid Day of Reflection 2026

Cardiac risk in the young

National Keep Britain Tidy Campaign

New US sanctions on Cuba

Rosebank oil field

Billionaire wealth

Escalation of conflict with Iran