Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to check the compliance of PIP assessment facilities.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Where the department provides estate for the delivery of Personal Independence Payment assessments, we ensure that all assessment centres meet relevant legislative requirements, including full compliance with the Equality Act 2010.

For assessment centres sourced by our contracted suppliers, those suppliers are contractually required to provide the department with an annual assurance statement confirming that their estate meets all legislative requirements and, as a minimum, meets the same standards as department provided assessment centres.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what oversight her Department exercises over Network Rail’s commercial approach to major station redevelopments involving private capital.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

My Department’s oversight of such propositions varies, depending on factors such as the conditions of any private capital contributions and impacts on the operation of the network.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he will launch the Pensions Dashboard by the end of 2026.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

When we have assurances that the service is safe, secure and thoroughly user-tested, the Secretary of State will provide industry 6 months’ notice ahead of the launch of the government-backed MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard. Insights gained from the launch and operation of the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard will help inform the launch date of private sector pensions dashboards.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2026 to Questions 113526 and 113527, what stage she is at in the appointment process for the Digital Markets Champion.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

I refer the member to the answer given to 113526 and 113527 on the 25 February 2026.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to funding for physical education and sports on child obesity.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Physical activity is an important part of a healthy lifestyle that plays a role in tackling childhood obesity.

Too many children and young people do not meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommendation of 60 minutes of daily physical activity. The department is taking action to ensure all children and young people have access to high quality PE, physical activity and sport.

Good PE lessons are important in securing a solid foundation for leading active lives. That is why we are reforming the PE curriculum to support participation and development across all four key stages.

We are setting up a new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network, which will bring together schools, grass-roots clubs, and sport national governing bodies, so children and young people get a range of opportunities to take part in sport and physical activity inside and outside of school.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Section 4.230 of the Autumn Budget 2025, whether she plans to publish the consultation on the new ISA product before the Easter recess.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

At Autumn Budget 25 the government announced that it will publish a consultation in early 2026 on the implementation of a new, simpler ISA product to support first time buyers to buy a home. Once available, this new product will be offered in place of the Lifetime ISA.

The new design will include the government bonus being paid at the point the individual makes a withdrawal for a house purchase. This removes the need for a withdrawal charge and means a saver can withdraw funds, should their circumstances change, without penalty.

It will remain possible to open a Lifetime ISA until the new product becomes available and for account holders to continue to save into their Lifetime ISA in line with the existing rules indefinitely.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Section 4.230 of the Autumn Budget 2025, what steps she is taking to maintain the viability of the Lifetime ISA.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

At Autumn Budget 25 the government announced that it will publish a consultation in early 2026 on the implementation of a new, simpler ISA product to support first time buyers to buy a home. Once available, this new product will be offered in place of the Lifetime ISA.

The new design will include the government bonus being paid at the point the individual makes a withdrawal for a house purchase. This removes the need for a withdrawal charge and means a saver can withdraw funds, should their circumstances change, without penalty.

It will remain possible to open a Lifetime ISA until the new product becomes available and for account holders to continue to save into their Lifetime ISA in line with the existing rules indefinitely.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many meetings of the Retail Investment Campaign steering group have taken place.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government wants to see more people benefit from the higher returns and long-term financial resilience that investing can provide. That is why the Chancellor’s Leeds Reforms included bold actions to boost retail investment.

The Government welcomes the industry-led retail investment campaign which will promote the benefits of investing to the public, and will launch in April 2026. The inaugural meeting of the campaign steering group was held on 22 September 2025, and the steering group has met regularly since then. The Investment Association is the secretariat to the campaign, and HM Treasury supports the campaign in an observer capacity.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress she has made on the Retail Investment Campaign.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government wants to see more people benefit from the higher returns and long-term financial resilience that investing can provide. That is why the Chancellor’s Leeds Reforms included bold actions to boost retail investment.

The Government welcomes the industry-led retail investment campaign which will promote the benefits of investing to the public, and will launch in April 2026. The inaugural meeting of the campaign steering group was held on 22 September 2025, and the steering group has met regularly since then. The Investment Association is the secretariat to the campaign, and HM Treasury supports the campaign in an observer capacity.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on improving the delivery of financial education.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government recognises the importance of financial literacy in helping people to manage their finances and make the most of their money, and is taking steps to improve provision of financial education across all age groups.

In July 2024, the government established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review considered whether there is sufficient coverage of key knowledge and skills to prepare children and young people for future life and to thrive in a fast-changing world. The final report was published in November 2025, alongside the government’s response.

As part of that response, the government committed to making citizenship compulsory at Key Stages 1 and 2 in England, which will include financial education. The government is also legislating through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill so that all state-funded schools in England will be legally required to teach the national curriculum up to the age of sixteen. This will mean that pupils at academies, which do not currently have to follow the national curriculum, will also benefit from the changes to the curriculum.

The Treasury is working closely with the Department for Education on how we can support these changes and how they fit into the wider landscape of measures announced to support financial capability in adults as part of the government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy. My predecessor met the Minister of State (Minister for School Standards) last year ahead of the Strategy being published.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of the use of AI technologies in financial advice by (a) consumers and (b) industry.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government believes that the safe and effective adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in financial services is a major strategic opportunity, with the potential to power growth across the UK. As set out in the Government’s Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, it is our ambition to make the UK the world's most technologically advanced global financial sector, leveraging our dual strengths in financial services and AI.

AI is already widely used across the financial sector. A 2024 survey by the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that around three-quarters of UK financial services firms are now deploying AI. Industry estimates also suggest that the use of AI within the financial advice sector is rapidly growing, with the proportion of advice firms using AI more than doubling over the past year.

The government has not made a formal assessment of the level of AI use by consumers, including the use of large language models for financial advice. In recognition of growing consumer interest in these tools, the FCA has published information for consumers on using AI for investment research. This sets out the pros and cons of such tools, including the risk of incorrect or out-of-date information, and makes clear that advice from general purpose AI tools is not regulated and does not benefit from protections such as the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or the Financial Ombudsman Service.

To support the effective and safe use of AI by industry, while protecting consumers and financial stability, the government has appointed Financial Services AI champions, Harriet Rees and Rohit Dhawan. They will focus on helping firms seize the opportunities for AI in a way that supports innovation, maintains trust in UK financial services, and ensures that consumers are appropriately protected.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on modernising adviser charging rules.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Treasury engages regularly with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on a range of regulatory issues, including the regulation of financial advice.

The FCA plans to consult on simplifying and consolidating its investment advice rules and guidance to reduce unnecessary complexity and to clarify its regulatory expectations under the Consumer Duty. This will also cover the rules relating to ongoing advice services to make sure they are appropriate and relevant in future. An FCA consultation paper is expected by the end of Q1 2026.

In addition, the Government is working closely with the FCA to roll out targeted support for consumers from April this year. This represents the biggest reform of the financial advice and guidance landscape in more than a decade, and will represent a step change in the support that consumers receive to invest. Targeted support can be provided free at the point of use with firms recovering costs through cross-subsidisation, which is how HM Treasury expects most firms to operationalise the service. Firms can choose to charge a fee, but will need to follow FCA rules around fair value.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the regulatory disclosure requirements for investing.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government wants to see more people benefit from the higher returns and long-term financial resilience that investing can provide.

On 8 December, the FCA published their final rules for the new Consumer Compositive Investment (CCI) regime which will ensure relevant consumers have access to the most useful information – including on risks, costs and performance – to support their investment decisions.

In addition, the financial promotion regime requires firms to provide consumers with clear, fair and not misleading information that enables them to make appropriate decisions for their individual circumstances.

The Government also welcomes the industry-led review into risk warnings to reform how firms talk about the risks and benefits of investing and support improved consumer understanding. The review will report back to the Treasury early this year.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 on the effectiveness of Targeted Support.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Targeted support will be a new form of support, designed to bridge the gap between guidance and full financial advice. It will enable firms authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to proactively suggest appropriate products or courses of action using limited information about a customer and their circumstances. The regime will go live from April 2026.

In December, the FCA and Information Commissioner’s Office published a joint statement to provide clarity on the interaction between direct marketing rules and targeted support. This statement sets out how firms can inform customers of the availability of their targeted support services, including to those who have opted out of direct marketing, while complying with the relevant regulations.

In addition, feedback from industry highlighted that the way direct marketing rules apply in the workplace pensions context creates particular challenges for implementing the new regime. The government therefore committed in December to taking forward secondary legislation to address this, enabling workplace pension providers to deliver targeted support to members who have not opted out of direct marketing. This reflects that workplace pension providers have fewer opportunities to obtain consent for direct marketing, limiting the level of engagement that they can have with their members.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP assessment officers left their role in each month since January 2025.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not held in the format specified.

However, while data on the monthly totals for average health professional (HP) full‑time equivalents (FTEs) working on the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) contracts, and overall HP FTE leavers, is not currently published by the department, we will be sharing this information in a future statistical release.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many PIP assessment officers there were in each month since January 2025.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not held in the format specified.

However, while data on the monthly totals for average health professional (HP) full‑time equivalents (FTEs) working on the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) contracts, and overall HP FTE leavers, is not currently published by the department, we will be sharing this information in a future statistical release.