Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she has taken with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle rogue company directors.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

I commend the Honourable Member for his relentless work on this issue, and I share his concern, because communities like Portobello Road and Notting Hill Gate should be places where legitimate businesses thrive, not where rogue traders and repeat directors play the system.

Since Budget 2025, action against rogue directors and abusive phoenixism has been stepped up.

£25 million over five years has been allocated to the Insolvency Service to establish a new Abusive Phoenixixm Taskforce, alongside changes to the Company Directors Disqualification Act to widen the circumstances in which directors who break the law can be disqualified.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure parity for same-sex couples with other couples in pension inheritance.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government is committed to ensuring equal treatment for same-sex couples in pension inheritance.

Following a Supreme Court judgment, occupational pension schemes must provide survivor benefits for same-sex spouses and civil partners on the same basis as for mixed-sex spouses and civil partners. Those protections are firmly in place and are protected by law.

Found: (Labour; Banbury) The following Members were also members of the Committee during the inquiry: Joe Powell

Found: (Labour; Banbury) The following Members were also members of the Committee during the inquiry: Joe Powell