Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the adoption of generative artificial intelligence on the number of entry-level roles in the creative industries.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

We acknowledge growing concerns across the creative industries regarding the impact of generative AI on entry level roles, weakening established routes into the creative sector. Government supports responsible AI adoption across the creative industries, and will take seriously the risks of displacement. Working alongside DWP and DBIST, we are monitoring workforce trends closely to build a robust evidence base and will continue engaging across subsectors to identify risks and mitigations to help define a sustainable vision for the labour market.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure rights holders are remunerated when their copyright works are used to train artificial intelligence models.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

This government believes creatives should be able to know and control how their content is used by AI firms and be able to seek fair payment. Working alongside DBIST, we will take steps to drive best practice on transparency, and on the use of the mechanisms available to creatives to control their works online. This joint work, set out in the 18 March Report on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, will inform any future potential legislation, if necessary.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what estimate his Department has made of the potential value to UK exporters of resolving the market access barriers recorded on the Digital Market Access Service in the 2025-26 financial year.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

323 market access barriers were reported in the financial year 2025/26. It includes all barriers that have been recorded onto the DMAS within one financial year. Once these have been resolved, the Department publishes their potential value in DBT annual report and accounts as indicators on departmental performance. These are valued using the BIST methodology on valuing market access barriers published on Gov.UK. In the financial year 2025 - 26, the Department resolved 133 barriers in full, worth around £13 billion in potential additional exports to UK businesses over 5 years.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Transformation Roadmap Update 2026, what the current percentage is of HMRC interactions with tax agents that take place digitally, against the target of 90% by 2030.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

HMRC publishes digital shift metrics as part of its aim for at least 90% of customer interactions to be completed through digital or automated channels by 2029/30.

HMRC published its latest digital shift metrics in the 2025/26 Annual Report and Accounts.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact on trade in pound sterling of publishing a sector by sector summary of each trade deal that the UK has signed, including a guide for businesses on how to take full advantage of the potential merits of said deal.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

My Department publishes a series of policy and sector guides for new Free Trade Agreements at Entry into Force (EIF). We have recently published guides on the UK-India FTA including nine sector guides. We have also published guides for the UK’s FTAs with Australia, New Zealand, and CPTPP, which can be found on Business.gov.uk market pages. We will continue to publish guides for future FTAs at EIF.

For new FTAs, we publish impact assessments (IAs) to support the parliamentary scrutiny process, including sector assessments. The IAs for FTAs with Australia, New Zealand, CPTPP, and India can be found on gov.uk.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what estimate his Department has made of the potential impact on the value of UK exports in pound sterling of removing all of the market access barriers reported to his Department in 2025/2026.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

323 market access barriers were reported in the financial year 2025/26. In the financial year 2025 - 26, the Department resolved 133 barriers in full, worth around £13 billion in potential additional exports to UK businesses over 5 years. These are valued using the BIST methodology on valuing market access barriers published on Gov.UK.

The impact on UK exports of removing these market access barriers can take several years following the resolution of a barrier. Furthermore, the extent to which UK exporters are able to realise the potential value of the opportunity related to a market access barrier can depend on a variety of wider factors, such as global trading conditions. The Department is monitoring take-up and we will review impact over time in line with standard obligations to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of government interventions.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the VAT treatment of electricity resupplied by park home site owners to residents in the context of the removal of VAT from household electricity on 1 October 2026.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

To support households with the cost of living, the Government is removing VAT from electricity bills this winter. Around 29 million households across the UK are expected to benefit from this change.

The new zero VAT rate for domestic electricity will replace the existing reduced VAT rate (5%). Anyone currently benefiting from the reduced rate will benefit from the new zero rate.

Some park home residents purchase their electricity from the park home site owner rather than directly from a licensed energy supplier. Where electricity is not individually metered and charged based on actual consumption, the electricity supply may be treated as part of the pitch fee and can therefore be subject to the same VAT treatment as that charge.

However, park home residents are protected from excessive charges by Ofgem's Maximum Resale Price provisions. These provisions prevent site owners from reselling energy at a higher price than they paid to the licensed supplier. Consumers are also entitled to request a breakdown of the site owner's costs, including electricity and/or gas charges, standing charges and VAT paid.

Consumers who consider they have been overcharged can claim against the reseller through the courts or tribunal services if their dispute cannot be resolved through negotiation. Such consumers can seek advice through this process from consumer protection bodies such as Citizens Advice.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recourse is available to a park home resident whose site owner does not reduce electricity charges following the removal of VAT from 1 October 2026; and what role Ofgem has in enforcing the maximum resale price in such cases.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

To support households with the cost of living, the Government is removing VAT from electricity bills this winter. Around 29 million households across the UK are expected to benefit from this change.

The new zero VAT rate for domestic electricity will replace the existing reduced VAT rate (5%). Anyone currently benefiting from the reduced rate will benefit from the new zero rate.

Some park home residents purchase their electricity from the park home site owner rather than directly from a licensed energy supplier. Where electricity is not individually metered and charged based on actual consumption, the electricity supply may be treated as part of the pitch fee and can therefore be subject to the same VAT treatment as that charge.

However, park home residents are protected from excessive charges by Ofgem's Maximum Resale Price provisions. These provisions prevent site owners from reselling energy at a higher price than they paid to the licensed supplier. Consumers are also entitled to request a breakdown of the site owner's costs, including electricity and/or gas charges, standing charges and VAT paid.

Consumers who consider they have been overcharged can claim against the reseller through the courts or tribunal services if their dispute cannot be resolved through negotiation. Such consumers can seek advice through this process from consumer protection bodies such as Citizens Advice.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that park home residents who purchase electricity from a site owner rather than directly from a licensed supplier receive the full benefit of the removal of VAT from household electricity from 1 October 2026.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

To support households with the cost of living, the Government is removing VAT from electricity bills this winter. Around 29 million households across the UK are expected to benefit from this change.

The new zero VAT rate for domestic electricity will replace the existing reduced VAT rate (5%). Anyone currently benefiting from the reduced rate will benefit from the new zero rate.

Some park home residents purchase their electricity from the park home site owner rather than directly from a licensed energy supplier. Where electricity is not individually metered and charged based on actual consumption, the electricity supply may be treated as part of the pitch fee and can therefore be subject to the same VAT treatment as that charge.

However, park home residents are protected from excessive charges by Ofgem's Maximum Resale Price provisions. These provisions prevent site owners from reselling energy at a higher price than they paid to the licensed supplier. Consumers are also entitled to request a breakdown of the site owner's costs, including electricity and/or gas charges, standing charges and VAT paid.

Consumers who consider they have been overcharged can claim against the reseller through the courts or tribunal services if their dispute cannot be resolved through negotiation. Such consumers can seek advice through this process from consumer protection bodies such as Citizens Advice.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the removal of VAT from 1 October 2026 on park home residents who pay for electricity through a site owner operated pre-payment or sub-metered arrangement.

Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General

To support households with the cost of living, the Government is removing VAT from electricity bills this winter. Around 29 million households across the UK are expected to benefit from this change.

The new zero VAT rate for domestic electricity will replace the existing reduced VAT rate (5%). Anyone currently benefiting from the reduced rate will benefit from the new zero rate.

Some park home residents purchase their electricity from the park home site owner rather than directly from a licensed energy supplier. Where electricity is not individually metered and charged based on actual consumption, the electricity supply may be treated as part of the pitch fee and can therefore be subject to the same VAT treatment as that charge.

However, park home residents are protected from excessive charges by Ofgem's Maximum Resale Price provisions. These provisions prevent site owners from reselling energy at a higher price than they paid to the licensed supplier. Consumers are also entitled to request a breakdown of the site owner's costs, including electricity and/or gas charges, standing charges and VAT paid.

Consumers who consider they have been overcharged can claim against the reseller through the courts or tribunal services if their dispute cannot be resolved through negotiation. Such consumers can seek advice through this process from consumer protection bodies such as Citizens Advice.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate the Cabinet Office has made of the average cost to businesses of preparing social value responses when bidding for central government contracts under the Social Value Model set out in Procurement Policy Note 002.

Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office regularly engages with suppliers and industry bodies to seek their feedback on potential burdens when developing procurement policy.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department has taken to help rights holders identify when their works have been used to train artificial intelligence models since March 2026.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)

The Government recognises that greater transparency about how AI developers train their models can support licensing, enforcement and creator control.

Our March report on AI and copyright committed to further work on input transparency. Since then, we have engaged 38 stakeholders and continue to engage to understand what information is needed, what can feasibly be provided, and discuss best practice.

We are also taking forward research into tools to help creators understand and manage how their works are used online, including technical solutions and standards. This work will help establish what works and whether there is an appropriate role for government.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the enforcement of criminal court compensation orders; and whether he plans to introduce measures to improve the recovery of compensation awarded to victims of fraud.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The effectiveness of the enforcement of all financial penalties, including all criminal compensation orders is constantly under review.

HMCTS is taking action to improve the collection and enforcement of criminal compensation orders as part of the improvements to financial penalties more generally, and this includes compensation orders made to victims of fraud. For example, HMCTS is already investing over £14 million to replace an outdated IT system used to support the collection and enforcement of financial penalties. Although the functionality of the modernised system will initially be largely like for like, it will provide HMCTS with a stable foundation for more sophisticated technology features to be delivered in the future to provide further improvements to increase collections.

Court-imposed financial penalties are enforced as a whole, with payments distributed according to a statutory order of priority. This ensures the compensation is paid first to victims, followed by the victim surcharge, before any payments are applied to fines or other financial impositions.

HMCTS reports on compensation through the HMCTS Trust Statement, which is published annually on GOV.UK: HM Courts & Tribunals Service Trust Statement 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK.

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she is taking steps to ensure that people can access government services through direct contact with a person, rather than solely through digital channels.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

Point 5 of the Government Service Standard makes clear that all services delivered by central government must be accessible and designed so that everyone can use them.

Departments are expected to ensure that well-supported offline routes, such as telephone, paper and face-to-face support is available to those who need it. This is known as assisted digital support - guidance for designing assisted digital support is set out in the Government Service Manual.

Orkney and Shetland girls’ participation in sport

Devizes Town Crier, winner of National Town Crier Championship

Donna Cuthbertson and the BBC Scotland Make A Difference Awards

Cancer treatment in rural areas

GSCE attainment gap and dyslexia

River Lavant

Administration of PAPYRUS

Independent cafes and coffee shops

Political donations and campaign finance regulation

Support for retired service animals

UK firefighters attending the Terry Farrell Patriot Memorial Stair Climb

Battle of Britain Day 2026

Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) rescue operations

No description available