Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether further regulations will be brought before the House regarding the abolition of the Lifetime Allowance.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has already legislated to abolish the Lifetime Allowance from 6 April 2024 and has brought forward a number of regulations to ensure the legislation operates as intended.

Most recently, the Pensions (Abolition of Lifetime Allowance Charge etc.) Regulations 2026 were laid before the House on Monday using the made affirmative procedure. These Regulations will be brought before the House for parliamentary scrutiny prior to coming into force at the end of this month.

The Government has used its regulation-making powers to address technical and consequential issues arising from the abolition of the Lifetime Allowance, ensuring the tax framework functions as intended. The existing power to make further consequential regulations expires at the end of this month.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what support his Department is offering to protect businesses from tariffs where it is not possible to source steel products domestically in the context of the Steel Trade Measures.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The measure has been designed to strike a balance between securing domestic steelmaking while maintaining secure supply for downstream users.

It is designed to only cover requirements that can be met in the UK. Where not feasible for technical reasons, quotas have been designed to allow for sufficient imports to be available to downstream users.

To ease short-term impacts, we are introducing a transitional arrangement under which the new measure would not apply to goods agreed under contract before 14 March 2026 and imported between 1 July and 30 September 2026. Further details are available on GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the Places of Worship Renewal Fund to allow for VAT costs on repairs and maintenance to be reclaimed.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Places of Worship Renewal Fund opened in May 2026 and awards grants for capital works, rather than just the VAT element of a project. Where capital grants have been awarded, VAT on eligible works and costs can be covered by the grant funding if it cannot be reclaimed.

The Department’s evaluation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which allowed for VAT costs on repairs and maintenance to listed places of worship to be reclaimed, showed that 80% of respondents said that they would still have carried out the work without the rebate. The new scheme adopts a more targeted approach to those places that most need support.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many expressions of interest her Department has received in the Places of Worship Renewal Fund.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The first funding round of the new Places of Worship Renewal Fund closed on Sunday and Historic England received 1041 expressions of interest. The Fund is part of our wider Arts Everywhere package and will enable churches and other places of worship to carry out urgent repairs and essential upgrades. We will target funding towards the areas that need it most with high levels of deprivation and low levels of community infrastructure.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of consumer protections where rogue traders use a limited company to avoid liability.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The law protects consumers when they buy goods, services or digital content remotely or in person. Consumer protections apply regardless of how a business is set up and are designed to help when consumers are treated unfairly or when things go wrong. These protections apply alongside other aspects of the law including the legal framework for incorporating, managing, and winding up companies. Companies House, HMRC and the Insolvency Service have developed a three-way partnership to help protect the public by tackling rogue directors who try to avoid liabilities through abuse of the insolvency regime.

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Bob Blackman (Chair); Jonathan Davies; Mary Glindon; Alison Hume

Found: Attendance Bob Blackman (Conservative, Harrow East) (Chair) (added 9 Sep 2024) 54 of 56 (96.4%) Jonathan Davies

Found: Chesterfield) (Chair) Olivia Blake (Labour; Sheffield Hallam) Julia Buckley (Labour; Shrewsbury) Jonathan Davies

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair); Jonathan Davies; Sarah Gibson; Alison Griffiths

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Mr Toby Perkins (Chair); Jonathan Davies; Sarah Gibson; Alison Griffiths

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Bob Blackman (Chair); Jonathan Davies; Will Stone; Martin Vickers