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 his Department has plans to extend consumer rights to cash refunds following a customer complaint.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 has provisions for consumers to be able to obtain refunds where a product is not as described or fit for the declared purpose. In addition, consumers can seek redress where a trader has breached obligations under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The government has no plans to add cash refunds for general complaints to these rights at present.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57756 on Asylum: Housing, whether she has a target date for making a decision on the extension of the move on period beyond June 2025.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave her on 13 June to Question 57756.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57756 on Asylum: Housing, what her planned timetable is for evaluating the impact of interim measures.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave her on 13 June to Question 57756.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the temporary policy of extending the move on period for newly recognized refugees to 56 days will end.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave her on 13 June to Question 57756.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her department has made an assessment of the potential merits of mandatory minimum expiry dates on refund vouchers issued by airlines.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Regulation 261/2004 sets out passengers' rights in the event of certain flight disruptions, including rights to refunds and compensation. The Regulation states that refunds or compensation must be offered as payment in cash, by bank transfer, or by cheque. Airlines may only provide vouchers with the explicit and signed agreement of the passenger.
No assessment has been made regarding the potential merits of mandatory expiry dates on refund vouchers issued by airlines.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to support medical students with the cost of living.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Hazel Grove to the answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54621.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many local companies who joined the Crown Commercial Services for Solar for Schools Tenders in November have been offered contracts.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Solar for Schools is a Department for Education initiative. Schools have a variety of available routes to market to procure their solar energy solution requirements. The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) is not aware of any contracts awarded through its frameworks specifically for the Solar for Schools scheme.
The CCS Demand Management and Renewables Framework provides central government and the wider public sector with a range of decarbonisation products and services to support their carbon net zero strategy. During 24/25 customers utilised this commercial route to market - which has 41 suppliers, including 6 SMEs, allocated across the UK - to procure over £48m of projects ranging from Solar PV, Heat Pump installations and various other decarbonisation initiatives.
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, whether his Department plans to review funding available to medical students under the NHS Bursary.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
For the 2025 to 2026 academic year, the Government will increase the NHS Bursary tuition fee contributions, maintenance grants, and all allowances by 3.1%. This is the second consecutive year the Government has increased support for medical students through the NHS Bursary. Prior to this, the maintenance grants had not been uplifted since 2015.
The Government has also announced that maximum loans for living costs from Student Finance England, including reduced rate non-means tested loans for students in NHS Bursary years, will increase by 3.1%.
The NHS Bursary scheme is reviewed annually at the start of each academic year. At all times the Government must balance the level of support students receive with the need to deliver as much value as possible from taxpayers’ money.
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, what steps his Department has taken to support medical students with the cost of living.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
For the 2025 to 2026 academic year, the Government will increase the NHS Bursary tuition fee contributions, maintenance grants, and all allowances by 3.1%. This is the second consecutive year the Government has increased support for medical students through the NHS Bursary. Prior to this, the maintenance grants had not been uplifted since 2015.
The Government has also announced that maximum loans for living costs from Student Finance England, including reduced rate non-means tested loans for students in NHS Bursary years, will increase by 3.1%.
The NHS Bursary scheme is reviewed annually at the start of each academic year. At all times the Government must balance the level of support students receive with the need to deliver as much value as possible from taxpayers’ money.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to extend the move on period for newly recognised refugees to 56 days beyond June 2025.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
In December, the Home Office operationalised a pilot to extend the grace period to 56 days to support local authorities during a period of increased asylum decision making and with the transition to eVisas. It is important that we take the necessary time to evaluate the impact of the interim measures, including overall net costs to taxpayers, before making a decision on whether to make the measures permanent.