Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he has taken to establish a central online register for conflicts of interest across government.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds

The government accepted the recommendations of the NAO’s 2024 report on conflict of interest management in government. In line with those recommendations,a good practice forum has been established and has met on a number of occasions since the NAO report was published - including to discuss the development of refreshed policy guidance setting a minimum standard, which will be published in due course. Once the revised policy is in place, departments will be encouraged to commission their internal auditors to review their implementation of the standard. In line with the NAO’s recommendation, the Government Internal Audit Agency has participated in the good practice forum.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department has taken to implement the recommendations of the NAO’s 2024 report on conflict of interest management in government.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds

The government accepted the recommendations of the NAO’s 2024 report on conflict of interest management in government. In line with those recommendations,a good practice forum has been established and has met on a number of occasions since the NAO report was published - including to discuss the development of refreshed policy guidance setting a minimum standard, which will be published in due course. Once the revised policy is in place, departments will be encouraged to commission their internal auditors to review their implementation of the standard. In line with the NAO’s recommendation, the Government Internal Audit Agency has participated in the good practice forum.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in how many instances his Department has put mitigations for conflict of interest in place for (a) Ministers and (b) senior officials each year since 1 June 2024.

Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)

Information on Ministers' interests is published on GOV.UK as part of the "List of Ministers' Interests" transparency data. Information on the interests of senior officials is published separately on GOV.UK in the "Register of Ministry of Defence Board Member Interests" transparency data.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to support veterans in South Dorset constituency.

Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)

The collaborative approach in South Dorset is a great example, delivering really effective outcomes – the county council, health services, and the local charity network all working together with us to provide real support. This, alongside the Veterans Strategy and VALOUR, means that veterans in your constituency are able to access timely and really effective help when they need it.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in how many instances her Department has put mitigations for conflict of interest in place for (a) Ministers and (b) senior officials each year since 1 June 2024.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

There are established processes in place for the declaration and management of interests held by ministers and senior civil servants, which ensure that steps are taken to avoid a conflict of interest or manage the perception of a conflict.

a) Information about the ministers’ interests can be found in List of Ministers’ Interests, which is published quarterly.

b) In line with the guidance in the Government’s Financial Reporting Manual, details of the interests held by members of HM Treasury’s Executive Management board that may conflict with their management responsibilities are published in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts.

Data on the specific number of individual mitigation measures put in place across all senior officials is held within confidential records and localised systems. To extract and aggregate a precise historical count of individual mitigations since 1 June 2024 could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many meetings his Department held with the Federation of Small Businesses that related to the changes to accounts for small companies and micro-entities between January and June 2026.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Between 1 January and 30 June 2026, officials from the Department for Business Trade (DBT) and/or Companies House met the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) on three occasions to discuss the Companies House accounts reforms. One meeting took place with Companies House before the Government announced its updated accounts reforms position on 9 June 2026. Following the announcement, a further meeting was held with Companies House, and another meeting with both Companies House and DBT officials.

Prior to this period, officials engaged with several stakeholder groups, including the FSB, to gather views on the accounts reforms. These views informed the Government’s updated position.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, which stakeholders his Department consulted on changes to accounts for small companies and micro-entities.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

In July 2025, the Companies House accounts reforms were put under review to ensure that they struck the right balance between tackling economic crime and avoiding undue business burden. During this review, Government officials consulted Business Representative Organisations, accountancy bodies and transparency groups.

This included the Federation of Small Businesses, Institute of Directors, British Chambers of Commerce, Startup Coalition, UK Private Capital, the Bank of England, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Transparency International UK and the Business Information Providers Association.

The Government announced its updated position on 9 June 2026.

Found: Minehead) Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat; Chesham and Amersham) Sarah Hall (Labour; Warrington South) Lloyd Hatton

Found: Minehead) Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat; Chesham and Amersham) Sarah Hall (Labour; Warrington South) Lloyd Hatton

Found: Minehead) Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat; Chesham and Amersham) Sarah Hall (Labour; Warrington South) Lloyd Hatton