Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will set out who assesses the value for money of Arm's Length Bodies.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Value for money in Arm's Length Bodies (ALBs) is primarily assessed by their sponsoring department. The Accounting Officer (typically the Chief Executive Officer) is directly accountable for the use of public funds.
ALBs are also scrutinised by Parliament and subject to independent audit, including value for money examinations, by the National Audit Office (NAO).
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, to whom Arm's Length Bodies report annually.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) are accountable to their sponsoring Minister and parent department. Their annual Reports and accounts are typically laid before Parliament.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what is the cost of Arm's Length Bodies to the public purse for the latest year for which data is available.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The UK government budgeted £369.78 billion for arms length bodies in the financial year 2023-24. 67% of this went to NHS England and the Education and Skills Funding Agency, which will both be repatriated to their parent departments.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when will she provide a response to questions 118113, 118114 and 118115 tabled on 4th March 2026.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I apologise for the delay in responding to the Hon Member's questions. The answers were published on 16 March.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help improve research and innovation in the defence sector.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Strategic Defence Review and Industrial Strategy were clear. Innovation is central to deterrence and decisive factors in war.
DSIT is working closely with the Ministry of Defence to implement the Defence Industrial Strategy. UKRI are delivering £550m into the Defence and National Security sector.
We are partnering with MOD as they commit at least 10% of their equipment budget on novel technologies. Ensuring cutting-edge UK research and innovation delivers for defence.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the experiences of children and young people with dyslexia are captured when measuring attainment at the end of secondary school.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to ensuring the exam system is equitable for all students and that students with disabilities, including dyslexia, can access exams and assessments without disadvantage.
Ofqual, the independent regulator of exams and assessments in England, has a statutory duty to ensure that assessments are a fair representation of a student’s knowledge and requires awarding organisations to put processes in place to ensure that all students can access assessments appropriately.
The Equality Act 2010 also requires awarding organisations to make reasonable adjustments where assessment arrangements could place a student who is disabled within the meaning of the Act at a substantial disadvantage in comparison to someone who is not disabled.
These adjustments can include, but are not limited to, extra time to complete assessments or assistance via a reader or a scribe, depending on the individual needs of the student.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question
To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has reported any recent evidence of family voting.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Commission publishes annual data from police services on allegations of electoral fraud. It is aware of the allegations raised at the Gorton and Denton by-election, and has been in contact with the Returning Officer and Greater Manchester Police to review the concerns raised.
The Commission takes allegations of electoral fraud very seriously. It is a criminal offence to attempt to pressure someone to vote in a certain way. Anyone who believes such an offence has occurred should report it to the police. The Commission will continue to provide information for voters about their rights, and guidance for polling station staff that supports them to protect the secrecy of voting in polling stations.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions her Department has had with LINK to ensure that banking hubs continue to accept cheques.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises that cheques remain an important payment method for some people. Decisions on whether cheque deposits are accepted and processed through Post Office counters in banking hubs are commercial matters for individual banks, based on their arrangements with the Post Office and Cash Access UK, which operates banking hubs. A significant number of retail banks continue to accept cheque depositing services through these counters.
Where cheque depositing is not available at a banking hub counter, customers continue to have alternative options to pay in cheques, including at bank branches, by post, or digitally via mobile banking apps using cheque imaging technology. Where banks have taken commercial decisions to change how they accept cheque deposits, they are expected to consider the needs of customers in vulnerable circumstances and to ensure alternative routes remain available.
The Government continues to engage with the banking industry to improve the consistency and functionality of services provided through banking hubs, including through recent discussions with banks, Cash Access UK and UK Finance.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government has considered the potential merits of introducing legislation to prohibit individuals convicted of terrorism offences from standing for elected public office.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government currently has no plans to change the disqualification criteria for those standing for election for these offences but keeps the counter‑terrorism framework under constant review to ensure it is fit for purpose.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has considered the potential merits of strengthening penalties for people who vote on behalf of family members without proper authorisation.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is essential that every elector is able to cast their vote in secret and free from any form of coercion. While the vast majority of people vote lawfully, any instance of personation or coercion at the polling station is unacceptable and undermines confidence in our democratic process. Personation, undue influence and offences under the Ballot Secrecy Act are all serious offences which can carry sentences of up to six months’ imprisonment, a fine, or both – reflecting the severity of these crimes.