Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the performance of Capita in delivering and administering the civil service pension scheme.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government.
The issues and delays facing some civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions are unacceptable.
Angela MacDonald, Deputy Chief Executive at HMRC, is working with the Cabinet Office and Capita to lead and support delivery of a full recovery plan. This includes commitments, with milestones, to immediately deal with priority cases, restore service levels and improve communication with affected members.
Furthermore, any further service failures by Capita will attract financial penalties, which will reduce the overall cost of the contract.
The contract includes key performance indicators that, if not met, include financial penalties. These have already been applied in respect of Capita’s performance in December.
The Cabinet Office will continue to use all available commercial levers to hold Capita to account and ensure they deliver the contractual service levels.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she will take to address the tax disparity that sees employing hairdressing salons pay 123% more tax than self-employed hairdressing salons for the same turnover.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the vital role that hairdressing salons play in communities and the wider economy.
An individual's employment status is determined by the facts and circumstances of the engagement between the worker and engager. This is based on case law. The Government recognises that firms in the hair and beauty sector operate under different business models.
The Government has taken steps to support small businesses. To protect the smallest businesses from changes to employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) made at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government increased the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change.
The Government is also supporting small businesses to grow. At Budget, the Government announced the extension of Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) so that businesses opening second premises can retain their SBRR for three years, tripling the current allowance.
The Government keeps all areas of the tax system under review. Any changes to the tax system are announced as part of the annual Budget process.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
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 9 July to Question 61881 on Western Sahara: Origin Marking, if she is aware that Tesco sells tomatoes from Western Sahara labelled as produce of Morocco and if she will take action to ensure change.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK maintains high standards on the information provided on food labels and packaging so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy. The fundamental principles of our food labelling rules are that information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable consumers to make informed decisions.
It is the UK position that where origin information is given for food products made or grown in the Western Sahara, it must give accurate origin information and cannot be labelled as Moroccan.
Food labelling rules are enforced by local authorities. Defra officials will follow up on the matters raised so that the appropriate bodies can investigate further.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to publish the long-term housing strategy by March 2026.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 112714 on 2 March 2026.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2026 to Question 110103 on the Emissions Trading Scheme, how much revenue does the Government expect to raise per year for the period to 2030 from the extension of the Emissions Trading Scheme to maritime.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Impact Assessment includes a 20‑year discounted appraisal of the expected effects of extending the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) to domestic maritime.
This assessment projects roughly £1.9 billion in additional revenue to the UK Government over the appraisal period through the purchasing of allowances.
If the analysis is disaggregated to focus on the compliance period from 2026-2030, the estimated increase in revenue is £720 million, reflecting that earlier years account for a proportionally larger share of emissions, and allowance purchases, before the maritime sector begins to decarbonise more substantially.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of the Crown Court backlog comprises the cohort of up to three years’ imprisonment cases and would go before a Judge only court under proposed reforms.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes information about cases in the open caseload at both the magistrates’ courts and at the Crown Court. This includes breakdowns of volumes and durations as part of the Crown Court open caseload published as part of Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly: Criminal court statistics quarterly.
The Ministry of Justice does not publish data relating to the progression of cases or defendant elections in the open caseload. As such we cannot provide volume or timeliness estimates regarding the decision of the defendant to elect mode of trial within the disproportionate costs limit.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of cases in the Crown Court backlog are either way cases that would be no longer eligible for jury trial under proposed reforms.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes information about cases in the open caseload at both the magistrates’ courts and at the Crown Court. This includes breakdowns of volumes and durations as part of the Crown Court open caseload published as part of Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly: Criminal court statistics quarterly.
The Ministry of Justice does not publish data relating to the progression of cases or defendant elections in the open caseload. As such we cannot provide volume or timeliness estimates regarding the decision of the defendant to elect mode of trial within the disproportionate costs limit.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department holds information on the median age of cases yet to elect mode of trial.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes information about cases in the open caseload at both the magistrates’ courts and at the Crown Court. This includes breakdowns of volumes and durations as part of the Crown Court open caseload published as part of Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly: Criminal court statistics quarterly.
The Ministry of Justice does not publish data relating to the progression of cases or defendant elections in the open caseload. As such we cannot provide volume or timeliness estimates regarding the decision of the defendant to elect mode of trial within the disproportionate costs limit.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of cases in the court backlog are pending the decision of the defendant to elect mode of trial.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes information about cases in the open caseload at both the magistrates’ courts and at the Crown Court. This includes breakdowns of volumes and durations as part of the Crown Court open caseload published as part of Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly: Criminal court statistics quarterly.
The Ministry of Justice does not publish data relating to the progression of cases or defendant elections in the open caseload. As such we cannot provide volume or timeliness estimates regarding the decision of the defendant to elect mode of trial within the disproportionate costs limit.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of either-way cases in the Crown Court backlog yet to elect mode of trial.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes information about cases in the open caseload at both the magistrates’ courts and at the Crown Court. This includes breakdowns of volumes and durations as part of the Crown Court open caseload published as part of Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly: Criminal court statistics quarterly.
The Ministry of Justice does not publish data relating to the progression of cases or defendant elections in the open caseload. As such we cannot provide volume or timeliness estimates regarding the decision of the defendant to elect mode of trial within the disproportionate costs limit.