Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission plans to ask political parties and regulated donees to declare donations over £500 made by cryptocurrencies.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

If the market value in GBP of any cryptoasset received by a party or regulated donee is greater than £500, they must treat it as a donation and check the donor is permissible. If it is greater than the reporting threshold (£11,180), it must be reported to the Commission.

Donations in cryptoassets of £500 or less are outside the scope of electoral law and do not need to be recorded or reported.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what role Lord Mandelson played while Ambassador to the United States on advising on the awarding of defence contracts to Palantir.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Details of central Government contracts above £12,000 for procurements commenced before 24 February 2025 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts procured under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025, are published on the Central Digital Platform Find a Tender service. The details published online include whether each contract was let through competitive tendering or via direct award.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has a list of the organisations currently registered as Members’ Associations.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Electoral Commission does not hold a register of members associations, as there is no registration requirement for these groups. Members associations are subject to controls on the donations and loans they accept towards their political activities within their party.

Members associations must report to the Commission on any donations or loans they accept. Reports must be made within 30 days of accepting the donation or entering into the loan. These reports are published on the Commission’s website.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has produced on treating in elections.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Commission’s guidance for candidates and agents includes an overview of electoral offences. It sets out that a person is guilty of treating if either before, during or after an election they directly or indirectly give or provide any food, drink, entertainment or provision to corruptly influence any voter to vote or refrain from voting. Treating requires a corrupt intent, and does not apply to ordinary hospitality.

Allegations of treating are a matter for the police; the Commission supports the College of Policing with its guidance for policing elections, which includes information on how offences such as treating are investigated.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what data the Electoral Commission holds on levels of electoral fraud, broken down by local authority area.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Electoral Commission collects data on allegations of electoral fraud from all police forces across the UK, and publishes data on its website annually. Due to the way data is provided, it is broken down by police force, not by local authority. The Commission expects to publish 2025 electoral fraud data by the end of March.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to pages 92 and 96 respectively of NHS England's annual report and accounts 2024-25 and 2023-24, if he will set out the business case for the increase in (a) facility time headcount to 88, (b) facility time paybill to £193,550, and (c) paid trade union activities to 1,068 hours.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The increased facility time in 2024/25 noted in NHS England’s Annual Report and Accounts was due to NHS England undergoing organisational change. This followed the transfers of Health Education England and NHS Digital into NHS England, which required formal consultation under employment legislation with recognised trade unions. This is also the reason for the increased facility time paybill and paid trade union activities.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Water White Paper, January 2026, p.31, how will the reform of the WaterSure scheme be funded, and whether there will be a cross-subsidy charged on household bills of residents who are not on the WaterSure scheme.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable and as such, is reforming the WaterSure support scheme. The regulations that provide for the scheme were made in 1999: The Water Industry (Charges) (Vulnerable Groups) Regulations 1999. We will extend eligibility to more households where a medical condition is present and increase support for up to 180,000 existing WaterSure recipients who could see a lower bill cap.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of levels of intimidation of candidates, agents and campaigners at (a) election hustings and (b) election counts.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Intimidation and abuse of those participating in public life has no place in our society and will not be tolerated.

MHCLG does not engage directly with candidates or collect wider information about those involved in elections' experience of harassment and intimidation. MHCLG’s role is to provides all candidates and returning officers with security guidance ahead of elections periods.

MHCLG does work closely with the Defending Democracy Taskforce, which leads on the cross-government response to harassment and intimidation, including work to evaluate its nature and scale, as well as with the police, Electoral Commission and Local Government Association, who also collect relevant information.

The government is also working with the Electoral Commission to develop an updated Code of Conduct for campaigning to set clear expectations for behaviour during election campaigns and guidance for the verifications and counts.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to protect the security of onshore telecommunication cables within Great Britain.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government is committed to ensuring the security and resilience of the UK’s telecommunications infrastructure.

As the lead government department for telecoms, DSIT is responsible for developing policies, including legislation, to help ensure the security of the UK’s public telecoms networks and services, and where appropriate works closely across government to ensure a coordinated approach. In doing so, it works closely with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), as the UK’s lead technical authority for cyber security.

The Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021 sets out a robust telecoms security framework, requiring public telecoms providers to identify, reduce and prepare for the risk of security compromises to their networks and services. The government consulted on updating the associated Code in 2025.

Public telecoms providers are responsible for the cyber-security of their own networks, including onshore telecommunications cables, in line with their obligations under this framework. Ofcom, as the telecoms regulator, is responsible for monitoring and enforcing their compliance with those obligations.

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 20 January 2026 to Question 105388 on Councillors: Vetting, whether she is considering options for criminal record checks for elected representatives other than councillors.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given Question UIN 105388 on 20 January 2026 which answered this question in full. This remains our current position.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 12 February 2026, to Question 111526, on Water Charges: Social Tariffs, and with reference to the Ofwat, Summary of water companies' published plans for affordability for 2025-30, December 2024, page 9, whether the Ofwat estimate of the average cross-subsidy per customers for social tariffs of (a) £26 a year for all Waste and Sewerage Companies and (b) £55 a year for Thames Water, remains the most recent estimate of the costs of social tariffs on households who are not on a social tariff as a consequence of the increases in social tariff charging.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Government is working with industry to keep support schemes under review to ensure that vulnerable customers are supported. In total the sector has committed to contribute £449 million to social tariffs, debt matching, and other support schemes over 2025-30. Water Companies set the amount that they have committed to social tariffs in their company business plans up to 2030 in Price Review 2024 and this remains the most up-to-date estimate of social tariff costs.

It is Ofwat's responsibility to independently scrutinise water company business plans and ensure that the prices water companies charge their customers are fair and proportionate. Ofwat published their final determinations for Price Review 2024 (PR24) on 19 December 2024, which sets company expenditure and customer bills for 2025-2030. This will deliver substantial and enduring improvements for customers and the environment through a £104 billion upgrade for the water sector.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answers of 4 December 2025 to Question 94726 on Water Charges, and of 10 December 2025 to Question 96792 on Water Charges: Social Tariffs, what information Ofwat holds on the average cost of social tariffs to other domestic customers, across each individual water company.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

In their PR24 business plans, water companies are required to explain how affordability support (including social tariffs) is funded. Companies must consult with their customers and organisations representing customers, to understand what an acceptable cross-subsidy is, and the eligibility for social tariff schemes. Some companies 'top-up' their social tariff schemes through shareholder contributions.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2025 to Question 96793 on water charges: social tariffs, what guidance Ofwat has given water companies on (a) whether tariffs from charging trials can be introduced without opt-in consent of the household and (b) whether households can opt-out of the trial.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Ofwat expects trials to follow its good practice principles, including strong customer engagement and safeguards.

Companies must also consult with the Consumer Council for Water in developing their trials to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place so that vulnerable consumers are protected or excluded from the trials.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Water White Paper, January 2026, p.42, what the incentives are that his department and Ofwat intend to introduce for homes to adopt water efficiency, and whether this will include changes to water tariffs for households.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is considering a range of incentives to encourage homes to adopt water efficiency. This includes enabling innovative tariff options through a rollout of 10.4 million smart meters in the next five years. This will also provide customers with improved data and communications on how water efficient technology and fixing leaks can reduce their water and energy bills to incentivise efficiency.

Ofwat also offer a range of water efficiency incentives for developers to encourage water efficiency in new homes. Government is also committed to tightening water efficiency standards in the Building Regulations, following our recent consultation, and introducing water efficiency labelling on water using products to support this.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will guarantee that apprenticeship standards aligned with the Government’s priority Industrial Strategy sectors (IS-8) will continue to be eligible for funding under the Growth and Skills Levy.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy, backed by an additional £725 million of investment, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers, more opportunities for young people and support the industrial strategy.

Last year, the government spent 100% of its multi-billion-pound apprenticeship budget. To live within this budget and deliver on the above priorities, we must reform the apprenticeship programme to ensure its future sustainability and effectiveness. This includes working with employers to streamline the suite of over 700 apprenticeship standards as we roll out new short courses from April 2026.

We have been working intensively with business on the next stages of reform and will announce plans for the development of the Growth and Skills Levy soon.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will publish (a) the list of all apprenticeship standards under review and (b) the impact assessment of any decisions to restrict or defund those standards.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy, backed by an additional £725 million of investment, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers, more opportunities for young people and support the industrial strategy.

Last year, the government spent 100% of its multi-billion-pound apprenticeship budget. To live within this budget and deliver on the above priorities, we must reform the apprenticeship programme to ensure its future sustainability and effectiveness. This includes working with employers to streamline the suite of over 700 apprenticeship standards as we roll out new short courses from April 2026.

We have been working intensively with business on the next stages of reform and will announce plans for the development of the Growth and Skills Levy soon.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will set out what criteria it use to determine which standards are considered appropriate and not appropriate for public funding.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy, backed by an additional £725 million of investment, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers, more opportunities for young people and support the industrial strategy.

Last year, the government spent 100% of its multi-billion-pound apprenticeship budget. To live within this budget and deliver on the above priorities, we must reform the apprenticeship programme to ensure its future sustainability and effectiveness. This includes working with employers to streamline the suite of over 700 apprenticeship standards as we roll out new short courses from April 2026.

We have been working intensively with business on the next stages of reform and will announce plans for the development of the Growth and Skills Levy soon.

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 5 February 2026, to Question 108681, on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, if he will list each developer or applicant that has been given clarification meetings or pre-application engagement since July 2024.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Since July 2024, officials have undertaken pre-application engagement with:

• a Cross-Whitehall Group that included the Department for Transport, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and HM Revenue & Customs,
• the Home Office, and
• the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government.

Engagement in these instances related to prospective Crown or Urgent Crown applications, and carried out in accordance with planning propriety guidance.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the decision letter, Called-in decision: Royal Mint Court, London, EC3N 4QN (refs. 3353754 and 3353755), 20 January 2026, whether the build out of the Chinese Embassy site at the Royal Mint will be subject to inspections by local authority (a) building control and (b) planning officers.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 110795 on 12 Feb 2026.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has held discussions with the Met Office on steps to encourage more detailed presentation of weather information to support the visitor economy.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Public Weather Service (PWS) Customer Group has been working closely with the Met Office to strengthen the focus on supporting the outdoor economy, including tourism, through the Thrive theme within the PWS Customer Service Agreement. To enhance this work, the membership of the Customer Group has recently been expanded to include the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Head of Domestic Tourism.

Steps have already been taken by the Met Office to deliver a series of improvements to enhance the presentation of weather information which can support the visitor economy, with further developments planned.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what is the Government’s policy on political advertising marking whether it has been created or manipulated by AI.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government recognises that while AI presents significant opportunities, it also introduces risks including challenges posed by AI-generated content for the online information environment and the potential impact on democratic processes.

Solutions that help to determine what media is real and what is AI-generated are key to tackling a range of AI risks. The government is undertaking work to explore the potential methods for detecting AI-generated content.

Any reforms in this area must be carefully balanced to protect freedom of expression and avoid placing undue burdens on campaigners and online platforms.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2025 to Question 82334 on Home Office: Facilities Agreements, whether there has been a change to facility time arrangements in her Department since July 2024; and if she will make an assessment of the reasons for the change in the (a) cost and (b) number of facility time staff.

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

There have not been any changes to facility time arrangements in the Home Office since July 2024.

There will always be fluctuations from one year to another in terms of the number of employees elected as trade union reps and the amount of facility time they use to undertake their duties.

These fluctuations will be driven by a range of factors, such as vacancies on trade union committees being filled, the number of consultation exercises the employer needs to engage the unions on and the level of personal casework (e.g. grievances and disciplinaries) where trade union representatives may be supporting individual employees.

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 14 January 2026 to Question 102816 on Local Government: Elections, on what dates the Electoral Commission was informed of his Department's (a) decision to postpone the 2026 mayoral elections and (b) consultation on postponing the council elections scheduled for May 2026.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Strategic authorities are established by secondary legislation, which requires the consent of the constituent councils. Whilst there is no requirement to consult the Electoral Commission on the establishment of strategic authorities, including on the timing of their inaugural mayoral elections, the Department remains in contact with the Electoral Commission where appropriate.

The government wrote to the Electoral Commission on 18 December and considered their representations ahead of the decisions about the potential postponement of local elections in 2026.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with the Met Office on the campaign, led by Chester Zoo on behalf of outdoor attractions, to encourage clearer presentation of weather forecasts to support informed decision making and the visitor economy.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Met Office has recently received an enquiry from the campaign and are considering an engagement plan to integrate this with their existing plans to develop the 'Thrive' theme of the Public Weather Service including tourism facing services.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has received any representation from Labour Together in 2023 or 2024 relating to the disclosure of materials relating to the Electoral Commission investigation into Labour Together.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Commission does not disclose details of correspondence related to its investigations , so it would not be appropriate to confirm whether it received representations in relation to this matter.

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 12 February 2026 to Question 112203 on Electoral Commission: Companies House, whether the Electoral Commission has established a policy on the circumstances in which it would use its enhanced powers to obtain company information.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

The Commission does not have a separate policy relating to the powers conferred to it in the Economic Crime and Transparency Act 2023. Its Enforcement policy sets out how it works with other regulatory bodies, and includes detail on sharing information.

It states that the Commission shares information with other regulatory bodies where it is able to and it is appropriate to do so. Where a matter under investigation includes an offence or offences where more than one enforcement body has an interest, it will liaise with other regulatory bodies or the police at the earliest possible stage to minimise duplication of investigative work.

Question

To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what Freedom of Information Act requests has the Electoral Commission substantively disclosed information in response to, on Labour Together, since 2021, which have not been published on the Electoral Commission’s FOI disclosure log.

Answered by Jeremy Wright

Since 2021, the Commission has received 16 Freedom of Information requests relating to Labour Together.

The Commission receives a high volume of complex FOI requests, and therefore does not routinely publish all FOI responses on its disclosure log.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2025 to Question 91039 on Trade Unions: Equality, how many (a) chairs and (b) committee members are entitled to use their work time for network activity; and what the name is of each diversity network in (i) his Department and (ii) NHS England.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department advises that up to three individuals per network, including chairs, co-chairs and committee members, may receive a 10% work time allocation for network activity, with line manager agreement. The Department has eight recognised diversity networks which align with characteristics protected under the Equality Act 2010 and/or characteristics particularly important to our organisational demographic:

• Age Network;
• Disability, Neurodiversity, Long-term Conditions and Carers Network;
• Faith and Belief Network;
• Parenting Network;
• Race Network;
• Sex Network ("sex" in the Equality Act 2010 refers specifically to biological sex recorded at birth, not acquired gender, and as such this network covers sex, with supporting forums discussing 'men's' and 'women's' issues);
• Sexuality and Gender Network; and
• Social Equality and Support Network.

NHS England does not set an organisation wide allocation or entitlement of protected time for staff network chairs or committee members. Any arrangements for time spent on network activity are agreed locally, based on business need.

NHS England has 12 staff networks:

• Ability;
• Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic;
• Carers and Family Network;
• Christian Network;
• Disability and Well-being;
• Jewish;
• LGBTQIA+;
• Menopause;
• MultiKultural;
• Muslim;
• Neurodiversity; and
• Women’s.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment Ofwat has made of the potential impact of bills of family homes with gardens from the introduction of (a) seasonal water charging tariffs and (b) progressive water charging tariffs, further to evidence from charging trials introduced to date, and from the forecast effects as such tariffs are rolled out by water companies.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

All companies plan to trial new charging structures by 2030 and some of them plan to introduce them more widely for additional customers if the trials are successful. It is important that water companies challenge themselves to develop progressive and proactive behaviours which will benefit households and consumers.

The trials are still ongoing across water companies. The only trial to have concluded so far is Affinity Water’s WaterSave Tariff trial, the findings of this trial showed more people to have saved money than they had originally estimated. Further information can be found here.

The Government is engaging with industry leaders to further drive progress in this area and supports the innovative approaches being taken to trial new charges aiming to make bills fairer and more affordable for their customers.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the policy paper entitled UK-EU Summit - Common Understanding, published on 22 December 2025, whether he expects the UK to make financial contributions to the European Union as a consequence of the provisions on competition cooperation.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The UK will not make financial contributions to the European Union as a consequence of the provisions on competition cooperation. The UK‑EU Competition Cooperation Agreement signed on 25 February 2026 facilitates enhanced dialogue and operational cooperation between the Competition and Markets Authority, the European Commission and the National Competition Authorities of EU Member States. The agreement will be laid before Parliament under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (CRaG) in due course.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2026 to Question 113802 on British Business Bank, what the name is of the Aegon pension scheme and its default funds.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The British Business Bank’s workplace pension is provided by Aegon. Aegon Workplace Default (ARC) is the default fund.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has received representations from Inter Mediate on removing sanctions against Syria.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 3 June 2025 to Question 52690.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 85831 on Public Houses, whether he plans to allow 16 and 17 year olds to consume alcohol-free drinks when accompanied by an adult and when drinking with a substantive meal in a licensed premises.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In Fit for the Future: 10-Year Health Plan for England, the Government has committed to explore measures to regulate access to no- and low-alcohol (NoLo) products in line with other alcoholic beverages. This policy is being pursued as alcohol substitute drinks are only intended for consumption by adults.

Department officials are progressing work to take forward this commitment and are in the process of scoping out the full details. We will update stakeholders in due course.

There are no current plans to change the licensing rules in pubs for 16- and 17-year-olds.

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, whether he plans to introduce a ban on second jobs for hon. Members.

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

As outlined in our manifesto, the Government is committed to the principle that second jobs for Members of Parliament should be banned outside of very limited exceptions, such as maintaining professional qualifications.

The Committee on Standards is currently undertaking an inquiry into MPs’ employment and outside interests, and I look forward to working with the Committee as this work progresses.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 102814 on Public Spaces: Political Activities, if she will make it his policy to investigate the use of a Public Spaces Protection Order by Leicester City Council to ban party political street stalls in the city centre.

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

The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities, and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to anti-social behaviour. This includes Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) which can be issued by councils to stop people committing anti-social behaviour in a public space.

The powers in the 2014 Act are deliberately flexible in nature, and it is for local agencies to determine whether their use is appropriate in the specific circumstances of each individual case.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Lord Mandelson’s (a) salary and (b) allowances whilst a member of the Senior Civil Service were liable for income tax and National Insurance, and whether he was resident and domiciled in the UK for tax purposes.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The same tax rules applied to Mr Mandelson's remuneration as apply to all other permanent UK civil service staff working overseas on standard contracts for the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 12 March 2024 to Question 16665 on Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Offenders, whether Ministers are asked to declare a criminal convention when joining the Department.

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

I refer the Honourable Member to the government’s response to his previous question of 9 December 2025, reference 96210.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Cabinet Office due diligence exercise for the appointment of Lord Mandelson as Ambassador to the United States considered (a) the Financial Times report entitled Links between Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein detailed in JPMorgan report, published on 21 June 2023 and (b) the associated material on the Epstein-Mandelson relationship detailed in JP Morgan's Project Jeep released by the US courts, reference: Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (1:22-cv-10904), District Court, S.D. New York, published on 20 June 2023, Exhibit 4.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the Government's statement and release of information on 11th March, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The Government is working to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what role Jonathan Powell, as national security adviser, had in the (a) advice to the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary and (b) due diligence, over the appointment of Lord Mandelson as Ambassador to the United States.

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

I refer the Hon Member to the Government's statement and release of information on 11th March, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The Government is working to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister plans to appoint a permanent Chief of Staff.

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

A complete list of Special Advisers is published on an annual basis in the Special Advisers Annual Report. It would not be appropriate to comment on individual staffing matters.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her policy is on the annual uprating of fuel duty by inflation.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Rates will only gradually return to early 2022 levels by March 2025.

At Budget 2025, the Government extended the 5 pence–per litre cut for a further five months, until the end of August this year. The Government has also cancelled the increase in line with inflation for 2026/27; instead, rates will only gradually return to early 2022 levels by March 2027. The 5p cut was introduced at following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when prices reached a peak of over £1.90 per litre.

Since Budget 2024, the Government's decisions to freeze fuel duty will save the average motorist over £90 – or 8-11 pence per litre – compared to the plans inherited from the previous government.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department had correspondence with Global Counsel between 10 February 2025 and 11 September 2025.

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

Yes. Cabinet Office are collating a cross-government response to the Humble Address related to Lord Mandelson and relevant papers will be provided to the House.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 101773 on Political Parties: Conferences, if she will set out the timetable for the (a) internal review and (b) consultation of relevant stakeholders.

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

The Home Office has now completed the initial scoping phase of the internal review and will shortly be reaching out to relevant stakeholders, including political parties, to arrange meetings in April to gather their views.

An internal report is expected to be completed by the end of May.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the written statement of 23 February 2026, HCWS1342, on Media Freedom Coalition, if she will take steps to protect British journalists from being (a) harassed and (b) intimidated by political actors in the United Kingdom.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the continuing absence of an apology from the leader of his party for her public attacks on the journalist Nadine White in January 2021, which led to extensive online harassment and abuse directed at Ms White, and which was condemned by organisations including the Society of Editors, the National Union of Journalists, the Resource Centre on Media Freedom in Europe, and the Platform to promote the protection of journalism.

By contrast, this Government is committed to upholding media freedom and ensuring journalists are able to operate without fear of threat and harassment, both in the UK and around the world. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office plays a role in the UK National Committee for the Safety of Journalists, which is led jointly at Ministerial level by the Home Office and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and we are also co-chairing the international Media Freedom Coalition, as set out in my written ministerial statement on 23 February (HCWS1342).

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, who holds the accounts of APPGs no longer in operation and information relating to the winding up of their assets.

Answered by Nick Smith

The finances of an APPG are a matter for the officers of the group.

The Guide to the APPG Rules provides the following guidance:

80. APPG Secretariats must not hold APPG funds themselves, all funds must only be accessible by an officer (or officers) of the APPG.

81. Chairs are strongly advised to ensure that any money the group receives or holds is in a bank account in the name of the group and controlled by officers.

97. If an APPG chooses to disband, it must publish an income and expenditure statement within 28 days of the date on which the APPG was closed down.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of changes in Montenegro's money laundering legislation.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to protecting the UK’s financial system and identifying risks to our system. The National Risk Assessment for money laundering and terrorist financing was published in July 2025 and assessed international risks the UK faces, including risks linked to the Western Balkan region.

The National Risk Assessment provides up-to-date risk information to enable the UK public and private sector to respond to evolving threats. The Government intends to develop a new public-private strategy focused on anti-money laundering and asset recovery in the coming months to respond to the risks identified.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2026 to Question 105914 on Cryptocurrencies, whether the Tether cryptocurrency is audited by any UK body.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Treasury is not privy to any information regarding Tether’s auditing arrangements.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 79 of the Budget Policy Costings 2025, published in November 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the reduction of the Cash ISA limit to £12,000 on revenues to the Exchequer, separate to the other measures included in that estimate.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

At Autumn Budget 2025, the Government announced that the annual ISA allowance will be kept at £20,000 with the cash ISA limit set at £12,000 from April 2027 for under-65s. This is part of the wider strategy aimed at supporting people to get into investing, including Targeted Support, which will be available from April 2026. In addition, financial services firms will provide new, easily navigable ways for people to find the right UK investment for them.

The Government is introducing an age carve out for those aged 65 and above in recognition that they may need more flexibility in how they manage their savings as they approach retirement. Savers over the age of 65 will continue to be able to save up to £20,000 in a cash ISA each year.

The Exchequer Impact for the Reduction of the Cash ISA limit to £12,000 for under-65s from April 2027 measure in isolation is: