Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support she is providing for credible election observation and rule-of-law monitoring in Nigeria.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 10 March 2026 in response to Question 117243.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help ensure the 2027 Nigerian election is free, fair and fully competitive.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 10 March 2026 in response to Question 117243.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria will be used to determine if a worker has met the six-month waiting period requirement under Article 8(4) of the Convention to prevent the use of back-to-back detachment periods.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

A new certificate of coverage can only be issued under Article 8(4) of the Convention if six months has elapsed from the end date of a worker’s previous detachment, as shown on the worker’s previous certificate. Where the period of validity of the previous certificate is less than six months, a new certificate may be issued once an equivalent period of time has elapsed. For example, if a worker's previous certificate was issued for a period of four months, they will need to wait for four months from the end date of that certificate until they may be issued with another certificate.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the annual change in National Insurance contribution receipts as a result of the 36-month exemption for detached workers under Article 8 of the UK–India Double Contributions Convention.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Office for Budget Responsibility will certify the impact of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), including the Double Contributions Convention (DCC), in the usual way at a fiscal event, once the deal is finalised and ratified. The cost of the DCC agreement is likely to be a small fraction of the overall deal’s economic benefit.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department considered including self-employed people within the scope of the Double Contributions Convention signed with the Government of the Republic of India on 10 February 2026.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Double Contributions Conventions are designed to prevent double payment of social security contributions. The agreement does not include self-employed workers as they are not covered by India’s Employees' Provident Fund Scheme.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the 36-month National Insurance exemption under the UK–India Double Contributions Convention on the competitiveness of UK-based recruitment of domestic staff in the technology sector.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Convention will prevent the double payment of social security contributions and will not make it cheaper to hire Indian workers over British workers. While working in the UK, Article 8(7) requires Indian detached workers to pay contributions into India’s social security scheme (the Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme). The rates applying are broadly the same as those applied in the UK National Insurance system, meaning contributions will be similar. Indian detached workers would additionally be subject to visa application fees and may also be subject to the Immigration Health Surcharge.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Companies House news story entitled Update on Companies House WebFiling security issue, published on 16 March 2026, whether his Department is aware of any other security breaches in relation to Companies House.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

As an executive agency of the Department, Companies House manages its security risks against emerging threats and uses government compliant approaches for security and data protection. Companies House adopts a rigorous, risk management process aligned with government functional standards and its ISO 27001 certification.

Based on information provided to the Department at this time, we are not aware of any other current security breaches.

Found: lodged is, I imagine, due in part at least to active encouragement from our local MP, Dame Harriett Baldwin

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Meg Hillier (Chair); Dame Harriett Baldwin; Chris Coghlan; Bobby

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Meg Hillier (Chair); Dame Harriett Baldwin; Chris Coghlan; Bobby