Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of extending the fuel duty freeze on CPI inflation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the honourable member to the answer given to UIN 9699 on 23 June 2026.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the efficiency of Capita plc in processing outstanding Civil Service pension cases; and if he will provide guidance on the expected timescales within which all outstanding pension cases from 2025 will be paid.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and Gov.uk.
Capita is under a firm mandate to restore full service delivery to standard contractual levels by the end of June 2026. We are actively exploring the use of all available commercial and contractual levers and continue to withhold milestone payments for missed transition deliverables. All options remain on the table if they fail to meet the June deadline.
Around 25,000 members currently await pension quotations from Capita, including outstanding historical cases left unprocessed by the previous administrator. Whilst we have mandated that Capita restore service levels by the end of June 2026, putting accepted quotes into payment requires sequential administrative steps, meaning the first actual payments will commence around late August or September.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Capita plc processes Civil Service pension cases in (a) a timely and (b) an efficient manner; and what that timeframe will be.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and Gov.uk.
Capita is under a firm mandate to restore full service delivery to standard contractual levels by the end of June 2026. We are actively exploring the use of all available commercial and contractual levers and continue to withhold milestone payments for missed transition deliverables. All options remain on the table if they fail to meet the June deadline.
Around 25,000 members currently await pension quotations from Capita, including outstanding historical cases left unprocessed by the previous administrator. Whilst we have mandated that Capita restore service levels by the end of June 2026, putting accepted quotes into payment requires sequential administrative steps, meaning the first actual payments will commence around late August or September.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June to Question 6798 on Travellers: Caravan Sites, how many new Gypsy and Traveller sites and pitches have been built since September 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the continued freeze in fuel duty on (a) CPI inflation and (b) the cost of living.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The extension of the temporary 5 pence per litre cut to fuel duty rates until 31 December 2026 will help to reduce pressure on costs at the pump and provides certainty to motorists.
The measure will have a direct effect on the Consumer Price Index (CPI); it is expected to reduce CPI by 0.04 percentage points in quarter 4 2026.
In total, the decisions taken since the 2024 general election to freeze fuel duty will save motorists 11p per litre or £120 for the average car.
Further details on the impacts of this measure, including on households and businesses, are set out in the Tax Information and Impact Note, available here:
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the forthcoming changes to earned settlement will preserve eligibility to apply for settlement after five years under Appendix Settlement Protection for people granted five years’ permission to stay as a refugee or person with humanitarian protection as a result of an asylum claim or further submissions made on or before 1 March 2026.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 5 March 2026, the Home Office updated the Immigration Rules to reduce the length of refugee and humanitarian protection permission to stay, for adults and accompanied asylum seeking children who claimed asylum from 2 March 2026, from 5 years to 30 months.
The Explanatory Memorandum accompanying the Rules change confirmed:
“Adults and accompanied and unaccompanied children granted 5 years leave as a result of an asylum claim or further submissions made by 1 March 2026 will remain eligible to apply for settlement after 5 years under Appendix Settlement Protection.” Explanatory Memorandum to The Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules.
The Home Office ran a public consultation on earned settlement across migrant cohorts earlier this year, including how the current system should be reformed and how those reforms should be implemented. The consultation, which ran for 12 weeks, opened on 20 November 2025 and closed on 12 February 2026. We are now reviewing and analysing all responses received. This analysis will help inform the development of the final earned settlement model. Once the final model has been decided, the Home Office will communicate the outcome publicly.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the length of time Credit Reference Agencies retain information on defaults; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of limiting that length of time, including to support people seeking to recover their financial standing.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Credit files play an important role in supporting informed and responsible lending decisions. They should contain factual information, including records of defaults, which typically form a key part of lenders’ assessments of creditworthiness. Organisations that report such information to credit reference agencies are expected to follow the Principles for the Reporting of Arrears, Arrangements and Defaults at Credit Reference Agencies, available at: https://www.scoronline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Principles-for-the-Reporting-of-Arrears-Arrangements-and-Defaults-at-Credit-Reference-Agencies-version-2a-final-updated-to-refer-to-GDPR-and-DPA-2018.pdf.
Information on defaults is generally retained on a credit file for six years before being removed automatically. This reflects long-standing industry practice within the wider regulatory and data protection framework and the importance of this information to lenders’ assessments of creditworthiness. However, lenders do not all assess applications in the same way and an individual’s financial circumstances may be considered more broadly than credit file information alone.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to implement the recommendation issued by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in 2024 to ‘ensure the provision of adequate and culturally appropriate accommodation for Gypsy and Traveller communities and create more sites and stopping places for these communities.'
Answered by Nesil Caliskan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is committed to ensuring that prejudice and discrimination have no place in our society. The Equality Act 2010 provides protection against discrimination for people because of various characteristics, including race, which covers colour, nationality, and ethnic and national origins.
In terms of culturally appropriate accommodation, between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the Government consulted on a new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The consultation on the revised Framework, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals to incorporate policies relating to traveller sites, currently set out in Planning Policy for Traveller Sites, within relevant chapters of the draft NPPF. We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had discussions with Morrisons on its reported plans to close 100 Morrisons Daily stores, including the store on Edinburgh Road in Jarrow; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of those closures on workers, high streets and access to essential retail services in affected communities.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
While this is a commercial decision for Morrisons, we understand that this will be a concerning time for workers and their families. A broad range of support is available for those affected, including through Jobcentre Plus and the Rapid Response Service. Acas can also provide employees and employers with free, impartial advice on workplace rights, rules and best practice.
We remain committed to supporting thriving high streets and have introduced permanently lower business‑rates multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure properties, introduced a £4.3 billion transitional support package protect ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation, and are bringing forward a new High Streets Strategy, to help reinvigorate our communities.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
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 effectiveness of Post Office Ltd’s franchising model in maintaining community access to Post Office services where branches are located within retail premises that subsequently close; and what discussions he has had with Post Office Ltd on the proposed closure of Edinburgh Road Post Office in Jarrow following the proposed closure of the Morrisons Daily store in which it is located.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the impact that post office and retail closures can have on employees, communities and access to essential services. The proposed closure of certain Morrisons stores is a commercial decision by the retailer rather than Post Office Limited.
My officials are in close contact with Post Office Limited to ensure it continues to meet the Government’s network requirements. Post Office Limited has indicated it will locally advertise the opportunity for a replacement branch for all affected branches, including in Jarrow.