Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the she is taking to help improve the (a) reliability and (b) resilience of Thameslink services on the Wimbledon Loop.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Now that Greater Thameslink Railway (which operates Thameslink services) is in the public sector, they and DfT Operator will be working hard to improve reliability and resilience of services on the Wimbledon loop. Recruiting additional Thameslink drivers has contributed to a significant reduction in cancellations caused by traincrew unavailability on the route this year compared with the equivalent period in 2025. Timetable changes from December 2026 are also intended to provide a more robust service that can recover more effectively from disruption.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that the repayment threshold for graduates on a plan 2 is restored to the level it was agreed upon when the loan was taken out.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We inherited a student loan system that is unfair and in need of reform but we also have to put that in the context of the wider public finances and the pressures our economy faces.
We increased the repayment threshold for Plan 2 loans to £28,470 in April 2025, its first increase since 2021, and we increased it again on 6 April this year to £29,385. This threshold will remain at this level until April 2030, at which point it will increase annually by inflation. Maintaining the Plan 2 repayment threshold in the 2027/28, 2028/29 and 2029/30 financial years is expected to have only small impacts on individual lifetime student loan repayments.
The department will continue to keep the student finance system under review to ensure it remains fair, protects lower and middle earners through income-contingent repayments, and balances the interests of students, graduates and taxpayers.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what fiscal steps she is taking to help tackle rough sleeping in London.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has committed £874 million over three years to tackle rough sleeping through the Rough Sleeping Programme, contributing to total investment of over £4.4 billion in homelessness and rough sleeping services over the next three years. This includes a further £432 million set out at the Budget, enabling local areas to continue providing routes off the streets in 2027-28 and 2028-29, alongside settled accommodation and intensive support for people experiencing long-term rough sleeping.
Funding allocations by area - including the Greater London Authority - can be found on gov.uk here.
Further detail about Years 2 and 3 routes off the street allocations will be confirmed soon.
Alongside this, London is receiving £846.4 million through the Homelessness, Rough Sleeping and Domestic Abuse Grant in 2026-29, supporting local areas to prevent and tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing regulations to limit the influence of external investors on operational and care-related decisions within privately owned adult social care providers.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government continues to assess the adult social care market and monitor risks to provider viability and continuity of care. We welcome investment that supports high-quality, sustainable care, while expecting all providers and investors to act responsibly, including in their financial arrangements, and to support appropriate reinvestment in the care sector.
Baroness Casey’s Independent Commission on Adult Social Care is developing proposals for a National Care Service. The Prime Minister has given her a broad scope which includes the market for care provision. The Government will consider its recommendations when its final report is received next summer.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the financial impact of care home closures resulting from commercial decisions made by privately owned adult social care providers on local authorities.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government continues to assess the adult social care market and monitor risks to provider viability and continuity of care. We welcome investment that supports high-quality, sustainable care, while expecting all providers and investors to act responsibly, including in their financial arrangements, and to support appropriate reinvestment in the care sector.
Baroness Casey’s Independent Commission on Adult Social Care is developing proposals for a National Care Service. The Prime Minister has given her a broad scope which includes the market for care provision. The Government will consider its recommendations when its final report is received next summer.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing limits on the extraction of profits from publicly funded adult social care services.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government continues to assess the adult social care market and monitor risks to provider viability and continuity of care. We welcome investment that supports high-quality, sustainable care, while expecting all providers and investors to act responsibly, including in their financial arrangements, and to support appropriate reinvestment in the care sector.
Baroness Casey’s Independent Commission on Adult Social Care is developing proposals for a National Care Service. The Prime Minister has given her a broad scope which includes the market for care provision. The Government will consider its recommendations when its final report is received next summer.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consideration he has given to reforming employer National Insurance contributions to support pubs and breweries employing part-time workers.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
Employers pay employer NICs where an employee earns above the Secondary Threshold, meaning no employer NICs are due for employees earning below this level.
Pubs and breweries can also benefit from employer NICs reliefs for employees under 21 and apprentices under 25, with no employer NICs due on earnings up to £50,270.
The Government also previously increased the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, protecting the smallest employers. Around 900,000 employers, approximately 40%, will have no employer NICs liability.
More widely, the Government is supporting the sector by freezing business rates bills in real terms for two years for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England, alongside further reductions for thousands of pubs and other high street businesses. As a result, half of retail, hospitality and leisure properties will pay no business rates.
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reducing VAT on alcohol served in pubs on the financial viability of wet-led pubs.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to reduce alcohol duty on draught beer and cider sold in pubs and social clubs.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events, and does not routinely comment on proposals.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to encourage eligible pensioners in London to claim Pension Credit.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to ensuring that all pensioners receive the support to which they are entitled. That is why we have been running the biggest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign across Great Britain to encourage pensioners and their families to check their eligibility and make a claim.
The campaign includes advertising across television, radio, print and social media, supported by media partnerships and social media influencers. We are also distributing some 660,000 leaflets to selected households across Great Britain, including London, and continue to work closely with partners and Local Authorities to help support the campaign.
The Guarantee Credit element of the Pension Credit caseload – the main safety net element – has continued to grow recently, with almost 30,000 more households receiving Guarantee Credit in March 2026 than in February 2025.