Gareth Thomas

This is not a matter that the Commission has discussed with the National Audit Office.

The NAO does not currently operate any payroll deduction arrangements for credit unions, nor does it have any active schemes or mechanisms in place that facilitate credit union deductions from employees’ salaries.

House of Commons and Joint Department staff, including those working for the Restoration and Renewal (R&R) Client Team, already have access to payroll deductions to enable them to join a credit union, operated through London Mutual Credit Union. Full details are available in the staff handbook.

The R&R Delivery Authority is a company limited by guarantee established pursuant to the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019, and under the Act, it may appoint employees on such terms and conditions, including as to remuneration and allowances, as it may determine. The Delivery Authority does not offer the ability to participate in a credit union. The Delivery Authority regularly engages with colleagues to seek their views, and the ability to participate in a credit union is not something in which staff have expressed interest.

House of Commons and Joint Department staff already have access to payroll deductions to enable them to join a credit union, operated through London Mutual Credit Union. Full details are available in the staff handbook.

The National Church Institutions, in partnership with the Churches Mutual Credit Union, provide a facility for those on the central Church of England payroll to save or repay loans via payroll deduction. Currently, approximately 400 clergy and National Church Institutions' employees use this system.

The Minister for Women and Equalities departments and agencies do not offer payroll deductions to staff in order to join a credit union.

Departments are required to publish quarterly, the latest of which was released on 16 December 2025. You are referred to Public sector employment - Office for National Statistics for the information you have requested which states that 11,720 people are employed across all the Law Officers Departments.

The AGO or its sponsored departments do not offer payroll deduction facility to employees to enable them to join a credit union.

For teachers, the geographical areas covered by the different teacher pay ranges were defined some years ago to reflect a practical approach to compensate teachers working in London.

The School Teachers’ Review Body has not recommended any changes to London pay ranges in recent years; however, the Department is currently considering what additional flexibilities should be built into the statutory pay and conditions framework as a result of our commitment on changes to pay and conditions through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, and we will keep this matter under review.

For police officers, there’s London Weighting and London Allowance. There’s not an inner and outer London rate – it’s the same across all of London.

London Weighting and London Allowance were last reviewed by the Police Remuneration Review Body in the 2025/26 pay round.

Decisions on pay, including London weighting, are delegated to individual departments for grades below the Senior Civil Service (SCS); departmental policies on London weighting are not collected centrally. The SCS pay framework is managed centrally and only operates a national pay range.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 8th January is attached.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 10th October is attached.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 10th October is attached.

The British Business Bank has no plans to accept deposits and is not authorised to do so. This would require an application to the Prudential Regulation Authority, which regulates deposit-taking institutions.

Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) play a vital role in providing affordable credit to underserved consumers and businesses. While it is the case that CDFIs are less prevalent in some areas, they have the potential to serve every part of the UK. The government and British Business Bank are collaborating with Responsible Finance and others on the UK Community Finance Partnership Taskforce, an initiative to grow the CDFI sector substantially over the next 5-10 years.

The Department for Business and Trade does not provide centrally administered grant funding, specifically for the development of commercial and business skills for SMEs.

Help to Grow: Management (HTG:M) is a UK-wide leadership and management programme for SME leaders. The programme is 90% government‑subsidised, with a participant contribution of £750.

Responsibility for business skills funding is devolved to local government, with commercial and business skills courses delivered through Growth Hubs funded directly through Mayoral Combined Authorities and local councils.

Businesses are encouraged to use the business.gov.uk website to identify relevant local support, including skills and business development funding in their area.

The DBT Longitudinal Small Business Survey[1] reports that 45 percent of SME employers offer training to their employees. The Department does not hold specific information on dedicated budgets for training.

[1] Small Business Survey 2024: businesses with employees - GOV.UK

The Department for Business and Trade offer a variety of financial support to employees. This includes season ticket loans, bicycle advances, rental deposits, house purchase advances (for those relocating and meeting departmental eligibility criteria) and salary advances. In addition, employees can access support for debt management or financial wellbeing through the Employee Assistance Programme.

There are no plans to introduce payroll deductions for Credit Union purposes. The Department for Business and Trade is not able to advise on behalf of other agencies.

Our department is helping businesses take advantage of trade deals through engagement, guidance, and practical support. Events to promote understanding of FTAs have been held in all parts of the UK this year, including during International Trade Week.

Guides to ensure business have clear advice on taking advantage of FTAs have been published on recent FTAs, and are being prepared for the UK-India FTA. SMEs can also access support on FTAs through the new Business Growth Service.

The Government’s Plan for Small Businesses strengthens the business environment, improves finance access, creates growth opportunities, and boosts SME competitiveness across the UK.

The Department does not currently offer payroll deductions for Credit Unions, and there are no immediate plans to introduce this facility.

At this time, the Department does not administer payroll deductions for Credit Unions, and there are no proposals to introduce such a service.

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ofcom about online safety matters. For example, in October, the Secretary of State wrote to Ofcom requesting an update on its implementation of the Online Safety Act, including work to ensure platforms tackle antisemitic and hateful content and abuse.

Ofcom’s reply outlined the main themes of its work in tackling antisemitism and other forms of hate speech and abuse. This includes driving compliance through the Online Safety Act’s regulatory framework, building on its codes of practice, working with civil society to build its evidence base and targeted working with platforms during crises.

The DCMS employee benefits package is directly shaped by employee demand. At present, joining a credit union is not included in our provision as we haven’t seen a significant appetite or interest. There is no requirement for DCMS to provide a facility for payroll deductions for employees who wish to join a credit union.

DCMS does not have, nor will have, the facility to offer payroll deductions for employees who wish to join a credit union.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, including older people, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities to stay fit and healthy.

We understand sport helps encourage people to be active and support all grassroots activity to promote this message, and help people participate in sporting activity.

All national governing bodies and UK broadcasters are operationally and editorially independent of the Government. Consequently, we do not plan to have discussions with them regarding their commissioning plans in relation to encouraging those aged over 60 to participate in sporting activity.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, including older people, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities to stay fit and healthy.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through DCMS’s Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Their ten-year Uniting the Movement strategy reinforces their commitment to increasing participation in sport and physical activity for those from under-represented groups, including older people. Sport England has also ensured that each of its programmes impact directly on those with long-term health conditions, including older people, with initiatives like the 'We are Undefeatable' campaign.

The Government is committed to making the UK the best place in the world to produce video games. We recognise the high growth potential of the sector, and are committed to improving its access to finance.

This is why, as part of the Creative Industries Sector Plan, we have committed £30 million over the next three years for the Games Growth Package, which includes a significant expansion of the UK Games Fund which will continue to provide grants to early-stage studios across the UK to develop prototypes and new intellectual property, and run development programmes for new graduates.

The tax reliefs offered to video games companies continue to make the UK one of the best places in the world to make video games. Our Video Games Expenditure Credit ensures that this highly skilled and innovative industry is able to thrive and the government will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure its continued effectiveness.

Also outlined in the Creative Industries Sector Plan was a significant increase in support from the British Business Bank (BBB) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The BBB is committing an additional £4 billion of Industrial Strategy Growth Capital to support investment and growth in the eight priority Industrial Strategy sectors, including the creative industries, while UKRI will lead efforts to significantly increase public funding for the creative sectors, including support for commercialisation and tech adoption.