Lara Bird

Where a company enters administration or liquidation, the insolvency practitioner acting as office-holder is responsible for identifying and dealing with the company’s assets, including any amounts due from other companies.

Office-holders have wide powers to secure company property and seek information and, where appropriate, pursue recovery action. Where relevant legal thresholds are met, they may also seek to overturn certain transactions made prior to the insolvency proceedings that were not to the benefit of all of the creditors, so that assets may be restored for the benefit of the insolvent estate and its creditors.

Administrators are regulated Insolvency Practitioners, appointed to manage the company’s affairs, business and property. Their statutory duties include making appropriate enquiries into transactions entered into by the company which includes intercompany transactions. Where transactions meet the relevant legal tests, the administrator may seek to reverse the transaction for the benefit of all creditors.

The Companies Act 2006 sets out legal requirements in respect of related-party transactions. These include the rights and duties of the company directors and shadow directors within Part 10, disclosure obligations in Part 15 and financial assistance rules in Part 17.

Where a company enters insolvency, the insolvency framework provides mechanisms to investigate the company’s affairs and transactions before insolvency, including transactions involving connected parties. These protections sit alongside company reporting and disclosure requirements.

The Companies Act 2006 sets out legal requirements in respect of related-party transactions. These include the rights and duties of the company directors and shadow directors within Part 10, disclosure obligations in Part 15 and financial assistance rules in Part 17.

Where a company enters insolvency, the insolvency framework provides mechanisms to investigate the company’s affairs and transactions before insolvency, including transactions involving connected parties. These protections sit alongside company reporting and disclosure requirements.

The Government is currently considering responses to its recently concluded Corporate Civil Enforcement Reforms consultation.

The regulatory and insolvency framework balances the interests of consumers, employees, businesses and other creditors. Duties of company directors are set out in legislation, and they are expected to comply with company and insolvency law and uphold the highest standards of corporate governance.

The recent consultation included proposals to modernise corporate enforcement, such as automatic disqualification of directors where companies are wound up by the court on public interest grounds, and director restrictions to tackle misconduct more quickly and prevent escalation.

English Whisky has been registered as a geographical indication as the application met the requirements of the regulation. There are no plans by the department to assess reversing this decision. Appeals against this decision submitted by the deadline will be heard by a First-tier Tribunal.

Sanitary and phytosanitary trade restrictions must be evidenced-based and proportionate in line with World Trade Organization rules.

Defra is assessing Brazilian production systems in place to ensure that beef from animals treated with certain antimicrobial products is not exported to Great Britain, as a priority.

Under the Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine, tariffs on all goods are temporarily removed until March 2029, except for poultry and eggs, where the liberalisation is due to end on 31 March 2028.

The UK is around 90% self-sufficient in eggs for human consumption and has been for the past ten years.

The proportion of egg imports which originate in Ukraine has increased, but overall, UK imports of eggs and associated products decreased by 6% in the 12 months to June 2026, compared to the previous 12 months.

Defra is closely monitoring trade flows and market conditions and will continue to engage with the UK poultry and egg sectors throughout the period of liberalisation.

The Child Maintenance Service uses gross income because this provides a clear and consistent basis for calculating maintenance. Information about the paying parent’s gross income is taken directly from HM Revenue and Customs for the latest tax year available, allowing calculations to be made quickly and accurately. We judge gross income figures are less vulnerable to manipulation by the minority of parents who attempt to evade paying child maintenance.

The current calculation scheme was designed using gross income and was introduced in 2012 to simplify the assessment process and reduce administrative burden. The Government currently has no plans to change the basis of the calculation from gross income to net income.

Since April 2017, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) have been fully devolved in Scotland, and the Scottish Government is responsible for the allocation and payment of funding to Scottish local authorities. Further information on the funding of DHPs in Scotland can be found for 2025/26 using this link: Official statistics: Applications, determinations, awards and award total value - Discretionary Housing Payments in Scotland: 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 - gov.scot

Any assessment of the costs or fiscal impact of these devolved arrangements is a matter for the Scottish Government.

No comparative assessment has been made of child poverty trends in England and Wales compared to Scotland since the introduction of the Scottish Child Payment.

Information on child poverty levels and percentage in England, Scotland and Wales from 1994/95 to 2024/25 can be found in tables 1.4a and 1.4b in the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) summary results file. Country level estimates are presented as three-year averages as single year regional estimates are considered too volatile.

HBAI data from 2021/22 uses administrative data in place of survey responses for the major DWP and HMRC benefits. This means that data prior to 2021/22 (unlinked) is not directly comparable to data from 2021/22 onwards (administrative linked). Comparisons across unlinked and administrative linked data can be made using the methodology outlined in section 3.2 of the Background Information and Methodology report.

The UK Government welcomes action taken by devolved governments to tackle child poverty and continues to work constructively with the Scottish Government on areas of shared interest.

We have considered evidence from across the UK, including approaches taken by the devolved governments, throughout development of the Child Poverty Strategy. The Strategy sets out the UK Government's own approach to reducing child poverty through boosting incomes, reducing the cost of essentials and strengthening local support for families. The Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling child poverty and supporting low-income families and will continue to learn from evidence on what works.

Our focus is on addressing both the immediate pressures facing families and the structural drivers of poverty, with the measures announced through the Child Poverty Strategy expected to lift around 550,000 children out of relative poverty after housing costs in 2029-30.

The UK strongly disagrees with the sanctions imposed on the International Criminal Court. We continue to monitor their impact on the Court's ability to carry out its mandate, and on the individuals and organisations which support international justice and accountability. We remain in close contact with the Court, affected British nationals, relevant organisations and international partners. The Government continues to assess the implementation and practical implications of these measures, including what support may be appropriate for those affected.

The UK strongly disagrees with the sanctions imposed on the International Criminal Court. We continue to monitor their impact on the Court's ability to carry out its mandate, and on the individuals and organisations which support international justice and accountability. We remain in close contact with the Court, affected British nationals, relevant organisations and international partners. The Government continues to assess the implementation and practical implications of these measures, including what support may be appropriate for those affected.

The UK strongly disagrees with the sanctions imposed on the International Criminal Court. We continue to monitor their impact on the Court's ability to carry out its mandate, and on the individuals and organisations which support international justice and accountability. We remain in close contact with the Court, affected British nationals, relevant organisations and international partners. The Government continues to assess the implementation and practical implications of these measures, including what support may be appropriate for those affected.

The UK has consistently condemned violence by extremist settlers in the West Bank and remains clear that those responsible should be held accountable. It is important that British nationals are aware of the UK's position on settlements and the rules that will be brought in under new measures announced by the Foreign Secretary on 8 September.

The Government has concluded that Israel's ongoing occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful.

We have already suspended or rejected over 80 licences. Those suspensions remain in place. Additionally, we will now refuse all applications for exports that materially contribute to the occupation.

We have reviewed all extant licences for exports to Israel on the same basis. All licences are maintained under careful and continual review, and we can and will suspend or revoke any that we assess materially contribute to the occupation.

We now have in effect an additional lock on relevant licences.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people who need in-person banking can continue to access essential services.

That is why the Government commissioned an independent Review into Access to Banking Services, to assess whether changes to access to in-person banking services are causing consumer detriment, the scale of any detriment, and who and where it affects. The Review is considering these questions across the whole of the UK, including in rural and urban communities. It is not based on a specific definition of rural or urban areas.

The Chair of the Review will provide a report and recommendations to the Government in October 2026 and the Government will publish the report in due course.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people who need in-person banking can continue to access essential services.

That is why the Government commissioned an independent Review into Access to Banking Services, to assess whether changes to access to in-person banking services are causing consumer detriment, the scale of any detriment, and who and where it affects. The Review is considering these questions across the whole of the UK, including in rural and urban communities. It is not based on a specific definition of rural or urban areas.

The Chair of the Review will provide a report and recommendations to the Government in October 2026 and the Government will publish the report in due course.

The Government has no plans to adopt section 48 of the EU Consumer Credit Directive 2023/2225 in the UK.

Insurers make commercial decisions about the terms on which they offer cover following an assessment of the relevant risks including, where appropriate, a customer's medical history. The Government does not generally intervene in these commercial underwriting decisions.

The Equality Act 2010 generally prohibits discrimination based on certain personal characteristics. However, the law accepts that some exceptions apply for insurance, including relating to age and disability. The Act stipulates an insurance provider cannot refuse to cover potential consumers or charge more for insurance as a result of these characteristics, unless they base their risk assessment on relevant information from a reliable source and (in the case of the disability exception) it is reasonable for the insurer to refuse cover or charge more.

The government’s proposals for settlement reform were set out in the Command Paper ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’ (CP1448) and were the subject of a public consultation between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026.

We received over 200,000 responses from the public and organisations and are now considering all responses received.  This will help inform the development of the final earned settlement model.

Once the final model has been decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly.  This will also include both economic and equality impact assessments.

The Defence Nuclear Enterprise spent £12 billion in the financial year 2025-26. The Defence Investment Plan sets out a further £63.6 billion of planned investment in the Defence Nuclear Enterprise between 2026-27 and 2029-30.

Our Ministers and officials speak regularly with their US counterparts on a wide range of defence matters to ensure coherence and alignment between our two nations. As a matter of longstanding policy, we do not offer comment or information relating to other foreign nations’ military operations.

For operational security reasons, we do not offer comment or information relating to foreign nations’ military operations. All UK support to allies for operational purposes is considered on a case-by-case basis and includes consideration of the legal basis and policy rational for the proposed activity.

For operational security reasons, we do not offer comment or information relating to foreign nations’ military operations. All UK support to allies for operational purposes is considered on a case-by-case basis and includes consideration of the legal basis and policy rational for the proposed activity.

For operational security reasons, we do not offer comment or information relating to foreign nations’ military operations. All UK support to allies for operational purposes is considered on a case-by-case basis and includes consideration of the legal basis and policy rational for the proposed activity.