Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions she has had with National Savings and Investments on the provision of Help to Save services by credit unions.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has not undertaken any recent engagement with National Savings and Investments on this issue.
HMRC Officials are continuing to take forward work on Help to Save reform, including engagement with a range of financial institutions, such as credit unions. This engagement is focused on exploring options for the future delivery approach of the scheme.
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, if he will publish the criteria being used to determine where new a) neighbourhood care centres and b) urgent treatment centres are being located in London.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
At the Autumn Budget, we announced our commitment to deliver 250 Neighbourhood Health Centres (NHCs) through the NHS Neighbourhood Rebuild Programme. This will deliver NHCs through a mixture of refurbishments to expand and improve sites over the next three years and new-build sites opening in the medium term. The first 120 NHCs are due to be operational by 2030 and will be delivered through public private partnerships and public capital.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning, which includes planning, securing, and monitoring, general practice services within their health systems through delegated responsibility from NHS England. Both ICBs and Local Health Systems will be responsible for determining the most appropriate locations for NHCs. As they are best placed to make such decisions, ICBs also consider how best to provide urgent care, including Urgent Treatment Centres, to ensure patient demand is effectively met.
Nationwide coverage will take time, but we will start in the areas of greatest need where healthy life expectancy is lowest, including rural towns and communities with higher deprivation levels, delivering healthcare closer to home for those that need it the most.
Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, published in June 2025, set out the steps we are taking to ensure that patients will receive better, faster, and more appropriate emergency care this winter, backed by a total of nearly £450 million of funding. This includes the expansion of co-located Urgent Treatment Centres to allow for the effective streaming of patients, helping to reduce waiting times and overcrowding.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to take steps to help increase access to finance to establish housing cooperatives. .
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Housing co-operatives are an important part of the community-led housing sector which delivers a wide range of benefits including strengthening community participation in local decision-making, engendering community cohesion, achieving high quality design and strengthening the co-operative economy.
My Department is undertaking a research project to identify the most effective way of enabling community-led housing groups, including those seeking to establish housing co-operatives, to access affordable finance at all stages of the development process and over the long term. The outputs of that research are expected in the Spring.
In March, we announced a £20m 10-year social finance investment to provide capital finance for community-led housing, which is expected to directly support the construction of more than 2,500 new homes over the next decade. These housebuilding projects will be led by communities to specifically address local needs in their area.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December strengthened support for community-led housing, including through changes to the size limit on community-led exception sites and a broadening of the definition of organisations able to deliver community-led housing.
The new Social and Affordable Homes Programme seeks to support an increase in the delivery of community-led and rural housing. The flexibility in grant rates provided for under the new programme will help community-led schemes achieve viability and help the sector grow towards its full potential.
The government is also considering opportunities to legislate to establish a legal framework for a co-operative housing tenure, which would help formalise the rights and responsibilities of both co-operatives and their tenants, and make co-operative housing a more attractive option.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to devolve powers to the Mayor of London to adjust taxation rates in London.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
While the Government keeps the tax system under review, the Government has no plans to extend the Mayor’s powers to adjust tax rates in London.
However, the Government is empowering Mayors to introduce a visitor levy on short-term overnight accommodation in their region, to drive economic growth including through support for the local visitor economy. The Government has published a consultation, running until 18 February, so that the public, businesses, and local government can shape the design of the power to introduce a levy that will be devolved to local leaders. Local leaders will decide whether to introduce a levy and how the revenue raised will be used to drive growth in their region.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Report Fraud in responding to cases raised by hon. Members; and if she will have discussions with Report Fraud on its performance in relation to such cases.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Report Fraud replaced Action Fraud in December 2025. The new service provides improved reporting tools, enhanced victim support, and stronger analytical capability, helping to deliver a more coordinated and effective police response to fraud.
As part of this transition, significant improvements are being made to performance oversight. Better management information will be available to track and monitor service performance, including the handling of cases raised by hon. Members. A new performance dashboard will support both the City of London Police and the Home Office in monitoring outcomes and identifying emerging fraud threats through reporting data.
The Home Office regularly reviews the performance of Report Fraud with the City of London Police and will continue to engage with them to ensure the service is delivering improved outcomes for victims and strengthening the national response to fraud.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what further steps will she take to help tackle illegal money lenders.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government funds specialist Illegal Money Lending Teams (IMLTs) operating across the UK to tackle the crimes of illegal money lenders. These teams investigate and prosecute illegal lenders while providing crucial support to victims. To learn more about the work of the IMLTs, visit the Stop Loan Sharks website: https://www.stoploansharks.co.uk/.
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 has had with (a) Monzo, (b) Metro Bank, (c) Revolut and (d) Marks and Spencer bank about their use of the cash handling services provided by the Post Office.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of access to cash and banking services for individuals and businesses, including those who may be in vulnerable groups or require assistance and is supportive of industry initiatives that improve access to these vital services.
Treasury Ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at the link below.
The Post Office plays a key role in supporting access to banking services. Under the Banking Framework, a commercial agreement between the Post Office and 30 banking firms , personal and business customers can withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance, pay bills and cash cheques at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK. The specific services provided under the Framework are subject to commercial negotiations between individual banks and the Post Office, and the Government has no role in deciding what these arrangements are.
On 21 January, the Government held joint discussions between the Post Office and the banking sector to explore where continued collaboration, on a commercial and voluntary basis, would allow all parties to better meet the needs of individuals and businesses.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has discussed with representatives of Heathrow Airport extending the number of boroughs that benefit from Heathrow Community Trust.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No discussions have taken place with representatives of Heathrow Airport regarding extending the number of boroughs that benefit from the Heathrow Community Trust. The Trust is an independent grant‑making charity with its own governance and established criteria for determining its geographical focus. Any decisions about altering its scope are matters for the Trust and its board, rather than for ministers.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many British citizens were murdered in overseas countries in each of the last five years by country .
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since 2021 we have supported bereaved families in approximately 250 cases of the murder or manslaughter of British nationals abroad. To protect the privacy of the bereaved, we do not publish country‑level figures where fewer than five cases are recorded. Fifteen countries recorded more than five such cases since 2021: Pakistan, Spain, the United States, South Africa, Israel, Australia, Jamaica, France, Thailand, Kenya, New Zealand, Mexico, Turkey, Barbados, and Trinidad & Tobago. All other countries recorded fewer than five cases individually over that time period.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many prosecutions have there been for illegal lending in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Illegal money lenders, commonly known as loan sharks, are dangerous criminals who inflict serious harm on their victims. The Government funds specialist Illegal Money Lending Teams (IMLTs) operating across the UK to tackle their crimes. These teams investigate and prosecute illegal lenders while providing crucial support to victims. Details of the teams’ work and case studies are available at the Stop Loan Sharks website: https://www.stoploansharks.co.uk/.