Gideon Amos

In October 2023, system and process changes were implemented to rectify the pension position of those members impacted by the McCloud judgment, a legal ruling impacting approximately 420,000 Civil Service pension members. This had a significant impact on business as usual ‘retirement quotes’ and ‘finalisations’ as the new systems and processes went live and were embedded over the following months. This led to a dip in performance in providing retirement quotes and paying lump sum payments at retirement. The delay in lump sum payments for some members was up to 20 days; however, monthly retirement benefit payments were not affected and paid on time.

The Cabinet Office, as Scheme Manager, has worked closely with MyCSP to rectify this position and return to meeting contractual performance levels. This was achieved at the end of September last year. For the last six months, up to and including March this year, MyCSP is back to achieving over 99.7% of their service level agreements. We continue to monitor performance carefully and work to ensure that any complaints or errors are identified and addressed as quickly as possible.

The Government notes the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) decision of 30 October 2025. The CMA is the UK’s independent competition authority responsible for enforcing competition law, and the Government does not review its individual enforcement decisions. It is for the CMA to ensure compliance with binding commitments given to it and to assess their effectiveness. The Government has ensured the CMA has the tools and resources necessary to do so.

Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, has powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification. It is for Royal Mail, as an independent business, to determine the appropriate staffing levels it needs to meet its universal service obligation.

Additionally, the government recognises the importance of timely delivery of NHS letters. Royal Mail has introduced an NHS barcode to assist NHS units that continue to rely on post to communicate with patients.

The Department for Business and Trade has not made an assessment on creating a national mail order fraud database. Led by the Home Office, the Government will be setting out its approach to tackling all types of fraud in its upcoming Fraud Strategy.

Report Fraud is the new national reporting service for fraud and for cyber crime operated by City of London Police. They also take information reports on attempted frauds. Reports submitted to Report Fraud are considered by the service’s National Crime Analysis Service and evaluated to assess the information available which could assist an investigation.

CICs file accounts to Companies House in the same way as other companies. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 Impact Assessment assesses impacts of removing paper accounts filing. We are reviewing our proposed changes in filing requirements at Companies House, to ensure they strike the right balance between tackling economic crime and avoiding undue burden on business.

Identity verification is designed to be straightforward. Individuals can verify digitally through One Login, via an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, or in-person at the Post Office. Companies House contact centre is available for users requiring assistance.

The Grenfell Inquiry recommended that principal contractors wanting to work on higher-risk buildings should need a licence, which would be managed by the construction regulator. It also recommended that when applying for building control approval for these buildings, the principal contractor should include a personal undertaking from a company director or senior manager. We accept this and will work on creating a licensing system that works for the industry and the public.

We support stronger accountability and competence of principal contractors and are considering how to achieve this without creating unnecessary layers of regulation and barriers to the supply of new homes.

Support is currently available to help landlords improve their properties, including through the Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, and a zero-rate of VAT until March 2027 on energy saving measures. An eligibility tool is available at the government webpage ‘Find Ways to Save Energy in your Home’ (www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency), which provides tailored recommendations for home improvements to increase energy efficiency and clean heat.

More widely, we are continuing to explore longer term options to stimulate greater availability of private finance options. As part of the Warm Homes Plan, government will establish a Strategic Partnership with the green home finance sector, to help build and diversify the range of green financing options available from the broader market.

Landlords in the private rented sector are expected to comply with minimum energy efficiency standards by meeting EPC C against the Fabric Performance metric and then EPC C against either the Smart Readiness or Heating System metric.

The Home Energy Model: Energy Performance Certificate consultation sought views on how smart readiness should be defined, including the role of technologies such as solar photovoltaic systems, battery storage and smart meters.

The government is currently reviewing consultation responses and will publish its response later this year. An estimate of costs based on the policy proposals consulted on was set out in the PRS MEES impact assessment published on 16 January.

The most recent impact assessment was published on 21 January 2026, alongside the government response to the consultation on raising the minimum energy efficiency standard to EPC C by 2030 for privately rented homes.

The assessment outlines which exemptions have predominantly been registered on the PRS MEES Exemptions Register currently, and which of the existing and new exemptions are accounted for in the latest modelling. More information on this is available on GOV.UK.

The government's Home Energy Model: Energy Performance Certificate consultation closed in March. The consultation included questions on the proposed C rating requirements across the Fabric Performance, Heating System and Smart Readiness metrics, which will underpin minimum energy efficiency standards in the private rented sector from 2030.

We are currently reviewing consultation responses and will publish the Government Response later this year.

We are committed to supporting the training and upskilling of retrofit workers. Our £15 billion Warm Homes Plan, the biggest public investment in home upgrades in British history, will support up to 180,000 additional jobs in energy efficiency and clean heating by 2030.

In April, we announced plans to train up to 18,000 skilled workers to install heat pumps, fit solar panels, install insulation, and work on heat networks, through extending the Heat Training Grant, launching the Warm Homes Skills Programme, and updating the apprenticeship framework.

We also recently established the Warm Homes Plan Workforce Taskforce, co-led by DESNZ and the Trades Union Congress, which will meet regularly with the specific aim of facilitating the transition, creation, and growth of a workforce which meets the evolving demand generated by the Warm Homes Plan.

People may lawfully use smart glasses and similar recording technologies in public spaces, in line with rights to freedom of expression as set out in Human Rights law. However, individuals who record other people in public places without their consent to cause alarm or distress or for the purposes of sexual gratification may be guilty of criminal offences such as harassment, stalking or voyeurism. Sharing intimate images on the internet without the consent of the individual is also a criminal offence.

Once images captured on smart glasses are uploaded to the internet, online services are obliged to consider requests from individuals under the UK GDPR to remove them. Platforms also have duties to remove illegal material under the Online Safety Act. We do not wish to prevent law-abiding citizens from using the glasses for private or domestic purposes where this does not pose harm to other people. We will continue to monitor this issue.

Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in all its forms, including online, is a priority for this Government. That is why, in December, we published the cross-government VAWG Strategy.

Within the Strategy, we commit to working across departments to explore what more we can do to encourage safety‑by‑design in smart and connected technologies. This work aims to better protect victims and survivors, and to prevent perpetrators from misusing these technologies to facilitate abuse.

The Online Safety Act has delivered a robust set of legal duties, taking some of the boldest steps in the world. Enforcement for non-compliance is severe.

Ofcom’s guidance on violence against women and girls goes beyond this, setting a new and ambitious standard for women and girls’ online safety with simple and practical measures that tech firms can adopt.

Last year, Airband took the decision to descope approximately 28,000 premises from its Superfast contracts with Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS), some of which are now expected to be connected via the commercial markets.

The remaining descoped premises were made available for other suppliers to submit voucher project proposals under the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme. A number of projects have been approved and are already in build, with more projects currently under review.

The remaining premises are being considered for inclusion in the Project Gigabit contract with Openreach. We currently expect to finalise the amended scope of the Openreach contract in early 2026. Building Digital UK (BDUK) will continue to publish data highlighting premises included in its plans and will work closely with the supplier to ensure updates are shared with local communities as the Project Gigabit contract progresses.

Building Digital UK (BDUK) is in regular contact with Airband and Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) in relation to the finalisation of the remaining contracts under the earlier Superfast Broadband Programme. Airband and CDS will publish the latest timeframes for build across the Taunton and Wellington constituency, with the overall contracts expected to be completed in full by Autumn 2027.

CDS is responsible for delivering these contracts and any queries about specific delivery areas and timescales should be directed to CDS.

Despite over a decade of investment via the PE and sport premium, less than half of all children meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 active minutes a day. Inequalities persist, particularly for girls and pupils from disadvantaged and black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

We are investing over £1 bIllion for PE and School Sport over the next three years funding a new approach which will combine both a universal offer to all primary and secondary schools, plus targeted support for those schools and pupils who will benefit from it the most. New Partnerships will strengthen links between schools and local clubs, to deliver high quality PE for every child and remove barriers to participation for less active children. Provision will be informed by baseline and ongoing needs assessments led by a national delivery partner.

To support schools with the transition to this new approach, the government has committed to a £100 million transitional Premium payment for the 2026/27 academic year. In response to longstanding calls from schools, we are also investing almost £200 million in capital funding to go towards improving school sporting facilities.

Despite over a decade of investment via the PE and sport premium, less than half of all children meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 active minutes a day. Inequalities persist, particularly for girls and pupils from disadvantaged and black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

We are investing over £1 bIllion for PE and School Sport over the next three years funding a new approach which will combine both a universal offer to all primary and secondary schools, plus targeted support for those schools and pupils who will benefit from it the most. New Partnerships will strengthen links between schools and local clubs, to deliver high quality PE for every child and remove barriers to participation for less active children. Provision will be informed by baseline and ongoing needs assessments led by a national delivery partner.

To support schools with the transition to this new approach, the government has committed to a £100 million transitional Premium payment for the 2026/27 academic year. In response to longstanding calls from schools, we are also investing almost £200 million in capital funding to go towards improving school sporting facilities.

Despite over a decade of investment via the PE and sport premium, less than half of all children meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 active minutes a day. Inequalities persist, particularly for girls and pupils from disadvantaged and black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

We are investing over £1 bIllion for PE and School Sport over the next three years funding a new approach which will combine both a universal offer to all primary and secondary schools, plus targeted support for those schools and pupils who will benefit from it the most. New Partnerships will strengthen links between schools and local clubs, to deliver high quality PE for every child and remove barriers to participation for less active children. Provision will be informed by baseline and ongoing needs assessments led by a national delivery partner.

To support schools with the transition to this new approach, the government has committed to a £100 million transitional Premium payment for the 2026/27 academic year. In response to longstanding calls from schools, we are also investing almost £200 million in capital funding to go towards improving school sporting facilities.

Despite over a decade of investment via the PE and sport premium, less than half of all children meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 active minutes a day. Inequalities persist, particularly for girls and pupils from disadvantaged and black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

We are investing over £1 bIllion for PE and School Sport over the next three years funding a new approach which will combine both a universal offer to all primary and secondary schools, plus targeted support for those schools and pupils who will benefit from it the most. New Partnerships will strengthen links between schools and local clubs, to deliver high quality PE for every child and remove barriers to participation for less active children. Provision will be informed by baseline and ongoing needs assessments led by a national delivery partner.

To support schools with the transition to this new approach, the government has committed to a £100 million transitional Premium payment for the 2026/27 academic year. In response to longstanding calls from schools, we are also investing almost £200 million in capital funding to go towards improving school sporting facilities.

Despite over a decade of investment via the PE and sport premium, less than half of all children meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 active minutes a day. Inequalities persist, particularly for girls and pupils from disadvantaged and black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

We are investing over £1 bIllion for PE and School Sport over the next three years funding a new approach which will combine both a universal offer to all primary and secondary schools, plus targeted support for those schools and pupils who will benefit from it the most. New Partnerships will strengthen links between schools and local clubs, to deliver high quality PE for every child and remove barriers to participation for less active children. Provision will be informed by baseline and ongoing needs assessments led by a national delivery partner.

To support schools with the transition to this new approach, the government has committed to a £100 million transitional Premium payment for the 2026/27 academic year. In response to longstanding calls from schools, we are also investing almost £200 million in capital funding to go towards improving school sporting facilities.

On 10 June 2026, a co‑designed bovine TB control strategy for England, developed and recommended by the Steering Group of the Bovine TB Partnership, was published. It is now available on the government-industry TB Hub website. The Government will now consider proposals carefully, intending to move swiftly from recommendations to delivery through a series of rolling three‑ to five‑year delivery plans.

The strategy proposes greater access to privately funded ancillary bovine TB testing alongside statutory testing to support earlier detection of infected cattle and disease management.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 18 March 2026 to PQ UIN 119681.

No assessment has been made of the contribution of littering from vehicles to roadside litter.

Local councils have legal powers to take enforcement action against offenders who litter from vehicles.  Anyone caught littering from a vehicle may be prosecuted in a magistrates’ court, which can lead to a criminal record and a fine of up to £2,500 on conviction. Instead of prosecuting, councils may decide to issue a fixed penalty (on-the-spot fine) of up to £500. District councils outside of London have powers to issue a civil penalty to the registered keeper of a vehicle from which litter is thrown.

To support local councils to make good use of their fixed penalty powers for littering and related offences I have laid new Statutory Guidance, “Litter enforcement powers: when and how to use them” in Parliament. Local authorities will need to have regard to this guidance when using their powers. The guidance is available here: Litter enforcement powers: when and how to use them - GOV.UK.

Funding for roadside litter removal is provided through retained penalty receipts and enforcement. National Highways funds maintenance from existing budgets, more information can be found on: Highways maintenance block: formula allocations 2026 to 2030 - GOV.UK Designated Funds - National Highways

We have been proud to support and endorse national clean-up initiatives such as the Great British Spring Clean, and the Great British Beach Clean, and we will continue to use our influence to encourage as many people and businesses as possible to participate in these types of events again.

The Government recognises the essential service that rescue and rehoming centres provide, often on a voluntary basis, to animals, including those that have suffered from mutilation.

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is illegal to carry out a non-exempted mutilation such as the cropping of a dog’s ears in England and Wales unless specifically exempted for medical reasons. While these practices are illegal in the UK, we recognise that the current legislative framework can be abused by traders who import these dogs from abroad.

The Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Act 2025 Act will give the Government powers to prohibit dogs and cats being brought into Great Britain with non-exempted mutilations, such as docked tails and cropped ears.

Any appropriate exemptions to these prohibitions will be delivered via secondary legislation at a later date. In the meantime, the Government will continue to work with stakeholders including rescue organisations and consider their feedback.

Every individual project is managed following the Gateway process set out in the Government Functional Standard for Project Delivery. As a project nears completion, Project Managers are required to test the readiness for service (Gateway 4) and then check that the required benefits have been delivered (Gateway 5). This allows for contracts with suppliers to be formally closed and for lessons to be learned and shared.