Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of Discord when considering the proposed social media restrictions for young people; and whether she has considered including Discord within the scope of those restrictions as a social media platform.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
We plan to use the same model for social media restrictions as Australia. Their approach includes user-to-user platforms that allow users to post material, alongside algorithms, with a set of exemptions.
We will set out the final detail in regulations this year. We are going further than Australia by introducing world-leading restrictions on stranger communications to stop strangers discovering and communicating with children, including on gaming platforms.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reclassification of certain offences to summary only on reducing the backlog in the Crown Courts.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Part 1 of the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts considered the potential impact of reclassifying certain triable either way offences as summary only offences. Sir Brian Leveson’s analysis indicated that reclassification, together with restricting the right to elect for a Crown Court trial, would reduce demand on the Crown Court, but would not be sufficient to address the scale of the backlog.
Reclassification also raises significant operational concerns, including impacts on law enforcement powers. Sir Brian recognised that the Government may wish to go further to achieve the savings needed for our criminal courts to continue functioning and, as a result, the Government decided to proceed with reforms to remove the right to elect for a Crown Court trial for all triable either way offences, and to introduce a power to increase magistrates’ court sentencing powers.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, What recent progress he has made on the implementation of £34 million for criminal advocates.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We have been working to ensure that the up to £34 million per year investment in criminal legal aid advocate fees delivers the greatest possible impact and lasting benefit. It will support the long-term sustainability of the advocate profession while aligning with broader criminal justice reforms.
We intend to launch a consultation shortly, setting out our proposals for this investment. On 3 July 2026, we laid a statutory instrument to invest £3.5 million of this funding in preparatory fees, ensuring that investment reaches the criminal Bar as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure court proceedings are not delayed by the late arrival of prisoners.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are taking a cross-system approach to improving the timely delivery of prisoners to court. Lord Timpson and I have established a Prisoner Delivery Oversight Board, bringing together senior leaders from across the Criminal Justice System to monitor performance, identify the causes of delays and drive operational improvements.
The Board receives regular performance information and is overseeing joint work between His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, Police, and Prisoner Escort and Custody Services suppliers to improve end-to-end prisoner delivery processes. This includes detailed operational reviews to better understand the causes of delays and identify opportunities to improve performance.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions her Department have had on the scope, conduct or progress of its review of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act with the Law Commission.
Answered by Rachel Blake
The government is keen to ensure that the law governing co-operatives and community benefit societies is clear and supports their growth. That is why we are funding the Law Commission’s independent review of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.
The Law Commission review is considering ways to update and modernise the legislation for co-operatives and community benefit societies - including charitable community benefit societies - ensuring that it fits the nature and needs of these societies as well as ensuring that regulation is proportionate and effective.
HM Treasury is the sponsoring department for the review and maintains an ongoing dialogue with the Law Commission on its progress, while respecting the Commission's independence.
The Law Commission expects to publish their report and a draft bill later in 2026. Once published, the government will then carefully consider its recommendations to understand whether reform of the legislation is needed to ensure these businesses are supported to grow and succeed into the future.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of properties placed in Family Protection Trusts.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The Treasury has not made any estimate of the number of properties placed in Family Protection Trusts.
Since 1 September 2022 most types of UK express trusts have been required to register with HMRC through the Trust Registration Service (TRS). However, this service does not distinguish between Family Protection Trusts and other types of trusts, and only partial information on property holdings is recorded on TRS. As such, it is not possible to use the information held on TRS to estimate the number of properties placed in Family Protection Trusts.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether they will require their department and agencies to offer payroll deductions to all employees to enable them to join a credit union.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Cabinet Office and its agencies do not offer payroll deductions to staff in order to join a credit union.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government will require No 10 to offer payroll deductions to all its employees to enable them to join a credit union.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Cabinet Office and its agencies do not offer payroll deductions to staff in order to join a credit union.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
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 adequacy of the availability of information to (a) patients and (b) family members of deceased patients about making a formal complaint in the event of (i) injury and (ii) death following medical treatment.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed
There are a wide range of sources of information for patients and family members about making a complaint about any aspect of National Health Service care, treatment, or services.
Under the Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009, NHS organisations must make information available on their arrangements for handling complaints, and those arrangements should ensure complainants receive assistance to enable them to understand the complaints procedure.
Patient Advice and Liaison Services is a free, confidential service, available in most NHS hospitals, that provides information, advice, and support to resolve issues affecting NHS patients, including how to make a formal complaint. Other sources of independent advocacy are available to support those thinking about making a complaint about NHS services, including the Independent Complaints Advocacy Service, which local authorities have a legal duty to provide.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of encouraging education employers to promote membership of a credit union to teachers and non-teaching staff.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government is a strong supporter of the mutual sector, including credit unions. The department is not the employer of any school staff, and it would therefore be inappropriate to encourage or recommend membership to specific financial products or institutions.