Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department has issued on the use of merit order when using a reserve list for the appointment of a (a) Cabinet Secretary and (b) Permanent Secretary.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles set out rules on reserve list appointments (here, page 5). This applies to all appointments, and there is no separate guidance for appointment of a Cabinet Secretary or Permanent Secretaries.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the pavement licenses on the hospitality industry for each of the last two years.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh

In October 2025, the Government launched a call for evidence seeking views on the recommendations from the report of the Licensing Taskforce. This shaped the development of the National Licensing Policy Framework published in November 2025. We will continue to work with a wide range of stakeholders, including local authorities, police and residents, to take forward the recommendations made by the Taskforce including around pavement licences.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made a formal assessment of the impact of the pavement licensing regime on the hospitality industry.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh

In October 2025, the Government launched a call for evidence seeking views on the recommendations from the report of the Licensing Taskforce. This shaped the development of the National Licensing Policy Framework published in November 2025. We will continue to work with a wide range of stakeholders, including local authorities, police and residents, to take forward the recommendations made by the Taskforce including around pavement licences.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent changes to the treatment of pensions within inheritance tax on the adequacy of the current timeframe for the payment of inheritance tax.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The changes to the inheritance tax treatment of pensions are consistent with the process which already exists for administering estates and paying any tax due. Personal representatives are already responsible for administering the rest of the estate, including non-discretionary pension schemes which are already in scope of inheritance tax.

The Government recognises the general difficulties that some personal representatives may face in paying the inheritance tax due and already offers several payment options to help.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 1 April 2026 to Question 120397 on Police: Elections, whether her Department collates and holds such contact details for each police force.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office remains firmly committed to protecting elected representatives and those standing for election.

The Home Office does not routinely collate or hold contact details for individual police forces. MPs can access the contact details for their relevant Operation Bridger coordinator via ParliNet.

In an emergency, elected representatives or candidates are advised to call 999 and reference Operation Bridger for MPs, or Operation Ford for locally elected representatives or those standing for local election.

For non‑emergency incidents, reports should be made to the police via 101 or through the online reporting system, again referencing Operation Bridger or Operation Ford as appropriate. This ensures that the relevant Bridger coordinators and/or Ford officers are able to follow up on reported incidents.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 120381 on Lord Mandelson, whether the Chief Secretary to the Treasury discussed the exit payment with (a) the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and (b) 10 Downing Street.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC has issued guidance on whether the provision of advice on tax matters by an employer in relation to matters not connected to employment is a benefit in kind.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The general rules for employment-related benefits are set out in HMRC’s guidance at: www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim20020

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much local authorities across England have raised through the pavement licensing scheme in each year since its inception.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh

Central government sets fee caps for pavement licenses and licenses are directly administered by local authorities. Central government does not collect information on how much revenue local authorities have raised.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on whether the former Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister backed up official Government information on his personal phones through the Apple iCloud service.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2026 to Question 119948 on Cryptocurrencies, whether her Department holds information on whether the Tether cryptocurrency is being used to make political donations into the UK from abroad.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMT Treasury does not collect or hold information on the use of specific cryptoassets in political donations. Oversight of political donations rests with the Electoral Commission.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the regulations governing financial institutions handling Tether cryptocurrency.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government legislated in February of this year to establish a financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, requiring firms to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority for providing relevant cryptoasset services in or to the UK. This built on previous regulatory interventions on cryptoasset money laundering and financial promotions. The Government’s approach is ensuring cryptoasset users are protected against detriment, whilst giving firms the certainty needed to invest and grow in the UK.

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2026 to Question 119365 on Members: Dual Jobholding, whether he plans to amend the House of Commons Code of Conduct to ban hon. Members taking secondary employment through speakers’ bureaus and paid speaking engagements.

Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons

I refer the Hon. Member to the response provided to his question 119365.

I look forward to working with the Committee on Standards as it continues its inquiry into MPs’ employment and outside interests.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC has issued guidance on whether a donation of cryptocurrency to a (a) political party and (b) regulated donee creates a capital gains tax liability for the donor.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC has not published specific guidance on the donation of cryptoassets to political parties or regulated donees.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any (a) civil servant and (b) Minister (i) has occupied and (ii) is occupying any of the official Ministerial residences in Admiralty House since September 2025.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, with reference to HM Government’s submission to the Procedure Committee, WRP0015, published 28 January 2026, paragraph 29, what steps is the Leader of the House taking to address the inconsistencies on the approach to written questions and the Freedom of Information Act in relation to written answers by the Cabinet Office.

Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons

It is a matter for individual departments to determine how to respond to parliamentary questions from Members.

The Guide to Parliamentary Work (available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work), published by my office, sets out the government's position regarding the relationship between the treatment of requests for information through parliamentary questions and the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000. Paragraph 221 states that “if information would be released under FOI, it would also be released in response to a WPQ”.

I have written to all Members of Cabinet and spoken with Departmental Parliamentary Clerks and Permanent Secretaries to remind departments and Ministers about the importance of providing full and helpful responses to WPQs - including their obligations to disclose information in WPQs that would be released under FOI.

I continue to encourage Hon. Members to raise any specific issues they may have with myself or my office.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2026 to Question 113783 on Cabinet Office: Reviews, whether any staff involved with the Humble Address also undertook due diligence on Lord Mandelson.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when intends to publish an answer to Question 111735, tabled on 9 February 2026, on Morgan McSweeney.

Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

A response has been issued here.

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, with reference to the Government’s submission to the Procedure Committee, WRP0015, published 28 January 2026, paragraph 14, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the quality of answers received on the number of written Parliamentary Questions tabled.

Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons

I refer the Hon. Member to paragraphs 15-18 of the Government’s submission to the Procedure Committee (WRP0015).

The quality of answers provided to Members is of equal importance to the timeliness of the response. However, the Government notes the significant and sustained increase in the volume of WPQs this session, which inevitably has an impact on the quality of the answers.

I look forward to working with the Procedure Committee as it continues its inquiry into written parliamentary questions.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2026 to Question 113783 on Cabinet Office: Reviews, whether the Propriety and Ethics team provided a substantive report on allegations made about the conduct of the former Parliamentary Secretary in the Cabinet Office.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the time was for HMRC to determine whether to levy a penalty charge for the incorrect payment of residential stamp duty in the last 12 months.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Where HMRC identifies an inaccuracy during a compliance check into a Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) return or claim, it is standard practice to also consider whether a penalty is due.

In the vast majority of cases any penalty will be issued at the conclusion of the compliance check, at the same time as when the tax position is decided.

The length of a compliance check depends on multiple factors such as the technical complexity of the issue and whether a customer appeals a decision. HMRC does not record separately the amount of time within compliance checks spent considering whether penalties are due.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that historic communications and reasonable expectations of pension scheme members are reflected in trustee governance and decision-making.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Pensions Regulator has published guidance on trustee duties and expects trustees, when considering discretionary benefit increases, to assess whether doing so would be in members’ interests, including any consistent history or practice of making such awards.

DWP’s recent consultation, “Trust based pension schemes: Trustees and governance, building a stronger future” sought views on ensuring that trustee boards take into account the perspectives of members in their decision making. We are currently analysing responses to the consultation.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 118900 on Polling Stations: Religious Buildings, what advice the Electoral Commission has issued on whether (a) synagogues and (b) mosques are deemed accessible.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Commission provides guidance to Returning Officers on identifying suitable polling station venues. This includes evaluating the suitability of the polling stations that are available for use in the appropriate electoral areas.

The Commission has recently drawn Returning Officers’ attention to existing security guidance. It also provides accessibility guidance, which outlines the actions Returning Officers should take when assessing the accessibility of venues, including ensuring venues have sufficient space for voting to take place, and considering which equipment may be necessary to support voters, such as ramps or temporary floor coverings.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 118899 on Elections: Campaigns, whether the Electoral Commission has made an assessment whether an imprint in a foreign language is accessible and legible to electors who only speak and read English.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Electoral Commission has not made such an assessment.

There are no requirements in law on the language of imprints. Campaigners may wish to produce campaign material in other languages to reach voters whose first language is not English. The purpose of an imprint is to ensure that voters seeing the material, know who is responsible for it. Providing an imprint in the same language as the campaign material would be one way to ensure transparency for those voters that the material is targeting.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether there is a memorandum of understanding between the Electoral Commission and the House of Commons on the reporting and enforcement regime for political donations for hon. Members.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Electoral Commission has a memorandum of understanding with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, which outlines how the two reporting regimes operate in a way which reduces the administrative burden on MPs. The Commission regularly reviews how the regimes operate and makes recommendations to Parliament to ensure the systems work effectively together and minimise the administrative burden on parliamentarians.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 118895 on Political Parties: Finance, what guidance the Electoral Commission has provided to Members’ Associations on how sponsorship revenue deemed to be as a commercial transaction should be treated under donation reporting requirements.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

Commercial transactions may be sponsorship, if the purpose of the payment can reasonably be seen to be to help the members association meet the costs of an event, publication, or research study. For example, a payment for advertising at an event run by a members association would be sponsorship and the full amount must be treated as a donation.

The Commission will publish updated guidance on sponsorship shortly.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 118900 on Polling Stations: Religious Buildings, whether the Electoral Commission holds any data on the number of polling stations located in (a) synagogues and (b) mosques.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

Individual local authorities are responsible for designating polling places. The Electoral Commission does not hold a central list of polling stations.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether there is a memorandum of understanding between the Electoral Commission and the Metropolitan Police on electoral law enforcement.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Electoral Commission does not have a memorandum of understanding with the Metropolitan Police. It works closely with police forces to support them in their understanding of electoral law.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2026 to Question 113783 on Cabinet Office: Reviews, whether Cabinet Office staff who previously worked with Labour Together recused themselves from involvement with the Cabinet Office’s review into Labour Together.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the point of order by the Right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington of 23 February 2026, Official Report, Column 60, on Labour Together and APCO Worldwide: Cabinet Office Review, what communications the Chief Whip conducted with the hon. Member for Makerfield on the pending Cabinet Office investigation.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2026 to Question HL15096 on Labour Together, whether (a) special advisers and (b) civil servants are required to record their engagement with Labour Together, where such engagement is not already covered by quarterly reporting transparency requirements.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will place in the Library a copy of the information and documentation provided by the hon. Member for Makerfield to (a) the Cabinet Office PET team and (b) the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Statements to assist their two inquiries into Labour Together.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the former Deputy Prime Minister (the Rt Hon Member for Ashton-under-Lyne) will publish a tax return for the period of time that she was Deputy Prime Minister for the 2024-25 tax year.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of notifying pensioners of small upratings to the State Pension; and whether he has considered reducing the cost through alternative methods of communicating such changes.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of defined benefit pension schemes in surplus where discretionary increases have been proposed by trustees but not implemented due to employer refusal.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to review the legislative framework governing employer consent requirements in relation to discretionary increases in defined benefit pension schemes.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what role the Pensions Regulator plays in overseeing decisions where discretionary increases are declined despite scheme affordability; and whether that role will be expanded.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of safeguards for members of defined benefit pension schemes where trustees recommend discretionary increases and those increases are actuarially affordable but sponsoring employers withhold consent.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to require pension schemes to provide clearer advance notification to members when established policies on discretionary increases are (a) changed and (b) withdrawn.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.