Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle misinformation online.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This issue is, rightly, of huge concern. The Online Safety Act is already protecting users from illegal dis- and misinformation online, including foreign interference.
We are already taking further action, including launching a campaign to support children’s resilience to misinformation.
Where we need to take further action, especially to protect UK democratic processes, we will.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the expected timeline is for the publication of the first tranche of documents relating to the period in which Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor served as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We have set up a dedicated team to coordinate work across Government to search historic paper and electronic files and identify documents on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s role and appointment as Special Representative for Trade and Investment in 2001. This Government is committed to complying as quickly as possible with the Humble Address of 24 February while avoiding publication of information that the Thames Valley police believe could prejudice their live investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct in public office.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many staff are working in the team responsible for reviewing records relating to the period in which Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor served as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, expressed as (a) number of staff and (b) full-time equivalent hours.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade is leading the Government’s response to the Humble Address on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment as Special Representative on Trade and Investment. A small, Director-led team is co-ordinating work to identify relevant records, assisting Ministers to meet their obligations to the House, and supporting the ongoing police investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct in office. The team is also working to support the Government’s response to the Humble Address on Peter Mandelson. The team is drawing extensively on support from officials across the Department, particularly staff with expertise on historical records management. The team is also working closely with other Whitehall Departments, particularly teams in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Cabinet Office. We will update the House on this work as soon as is practicable.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the staff working in the team responsible for reviewing records relating to the period in which Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor served as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment are dedicated exclusively to that work.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade is leading the Government’s response to the Humble Address on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment as Special Representative on Trade and Investment. A small, Director-led team is co-ordinating work to identify relevant records, assisting Ministers to meet their obligations to the House, and supporting the ongoing police investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct in office. The team is also working to support the Government’s response to the Humble Address on Peter Mandelson. The team is drawing extensively on support from officials across the Department, particularly staff with expertise on historical records management. The team is also working closely with other Whitehall Departments, particularly teams in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Cabinet Office. We will update the House on this work as soon as is practicable.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
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 17 February 2025 to Question 29847 on Death Certificates, if he will publish the findings of his Department's monitoring of the impact of the death certification reforms on the time taken to register deaths.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We believe the answer of 17 February 2025 refers to the answer given to Question 29570. The Department’s monitoring of the impact of death certification reforms, including the time to register a death, includes consideration of:
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether any of the staff working in the team responsible for reviewing records relating to the period in which Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor served as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment are also working on the Government response to the Humble address on Mandelson.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade is leading the Government’s response to the Humble Address on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment as Special Representative on Trade and Investment. A small, Director-led team is co-ordinating work to identify relevant records, assisting Ministers to meet their obligations to the House, and supporting the ongoing police investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct in office. The team is also working to support the Government’s response to the Humble Address on Peter Mandelson. The team is drawing extensively on support from officials across the Department, particularly staff with expertise on historical records management. The team is also working closely with other Whitehall Departments, particularly teams in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Cabinet Office. We will update the House on this work as soon as is practicable.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many individuals with outstanding Loan Charge liabilities are estimated to have debts exceeding £140,000; and of those, how many she expects will be able to settle under the terms announced following the McCann Review.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
This Government recognised that concerns were raised about the Loan Charge under the previous government and that some felt strongly that it had not been handled appropriately.
The Government therefore commissioned an independent review of the Loan Charge to bring the matter to a close for those affected, ensure fairness for all taxpayers and ensure that appropriate support is in place for those subject to the Loan Charge.
Page 19 of the Independent Loan Charge Review report provides estimates of the distribution of outstanding liabilities.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-of-the-loan-charge
The Government accepted all but one of the independent review’s recommendations and in some cases is going further, including writing off the first £5,000 from everyone’s liability. Around a third will have their liabilities written off entirely. Most people will see reductions in their liabilities of at least 50%.
The new settlement opportunity is open to anyone with outstanding Loan Charge liabilities, including employers.
The Government’s response to the review represents a fair and proportionate attempt to provide a route to resolution for those who have not yet been able to settle with HMRC. In turn, this requires those individuals to now come forward and engage with HMRC in good faith.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason the settlement opportunity arising from the McCann Review does not include those whose use of disguised remuneration schemes occurred before 9 December 2010 or after 5 April 2019.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Budget 2024, the Government announced a new independent review of the loan charge. The purpose of the review was to bring the matter to a close for people who have not settled and paid their loan charge liabilities.
The settlement opportunity will only include disguised remuneration scheme use between December 2010 and April 2019 because this is the period during which the loan charge applies.
The Government has no plans to apply the review’s recommendations beyond those individuals and employers with outstanding liabilities that were the focus of the review.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many civil servants are currently working to locate and identify files relating to the period in which Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor served as the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade is leading the Government’s response to the Humble Address on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment as Special Representative on Trade and Investment and has set up a small, Director-led team to co-ordinate work to identify relevant records, assist Ministers to meet their obligations to the House, and support the ongoing police investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct in office. The team is also working to support the Government’s response to the Humble Address on Peter Mandelson. The team is drawing extensively on support from officials across the Department, particularly staff with expertise on historical records management. The team is also working closely with other Whitehall Departments, particularly teams in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to secure repatriation routes for British nationals currently subject to shelter-in-place advice.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The safety of British nationals remains the Government's top priority. I refer the Hon Member to the statement I gave to the House on 5 March, and the answers provided to questions raised in response. Assisted departures have now taken place from both Oman and Dubai. We will provide further updates on a regular basis, including details of our ongoing evacuation flights, as well as our efforts to secure an end to Iran's attacks on countries in the region, and the full resumption of normal commercial flights.