Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the trends in the level of the proportion of standard continuing healthcare applications assessed as eligible in comparison to fast-track applications.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs), with oversight from NHS England, are responsible for operational delivery of NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC).
Fast Track CHC supports individuals with a rapidly deteriorating condition who may be entering a terminal phase by putting a care package in place quickly. Eligibility is established through completing a Fast Track Pathway Tool (FTPT), with clear reasons why the individual fulfils the criteria evidenced. ICBs must accept a properly completed FTPT as sufficient to establish eligibility for CHC.
Standard CHC supports those with high ongoing needs and is assessed through a two-stage assessment process beginning with screening via a Checklist. The Checklist criteria is set deliberately low to ensure that anyone who may be eligible for Standard CHC is fully assessed for eligibility through the completion of a Decision Support Tool.
Due to the different eligibility criteria used in the assessment processes, it is not appropriate to directly compare the proportion of individuals assessed as eligible for Fast Track and Standard CHC. The latest published data on CHC eligibility is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/nhs-chc-fnc/
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to attend the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in April and May 2026.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided by the Minister of State for Defence in the House of Lords, Lord Coaker, on 10 December 2025, Official Report, vol. 851, cols. 235-238. We will confirm details of representation at the conference in the usual way in due course.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending permitted development rights to listed buildings for the installation of green technologies.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Nationally set permitted development rights enable the installation of renewable energy equipment on or within the curtilage of buildings.
Certain rights do not apply within the curtilage of a listed building as proposals for development in such areas can be better considered through a planning application so any potential impacts can be considered on a case-by-case basis.
We continue to keep permitted development rights under review.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether informal notes were taken of the meeting at Palantir HQ that was attended by Peter Mandelson, the Prime Minister, the chief executive of Palantir and the Head of Palantir Technologies UK and that took place on 27 February 2025.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The visit was part of the Prime Minister's trip to Washington. During this visit the Prime Minister listened to a short presentation about Palantir’s work, followed by a tour of the premises and an introduction to members of staff.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s recent announcement that Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme applicants will be able to apply up to 90 days before their current UPE permission expires, when she plans to confirm the start date for the new 90 day period.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The 90 day application window will come into effect through a change to the Immigration Rules this spring.
The Home Office has stated that updates on the implementation of the new 90‑day period will be published on the official guidance page. The most up‑to‑date information is located here: Applying to the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme - GOV.UK
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help increase humanitarian access for INGOs operating in Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made by the Foreign Secretary on 5 February following her recent visit to the Chad-Sudan border.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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.
Asked by: Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
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