Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will list the ten most frequently (a) used commodity codes for imports and (b) types of goods imported from illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in 2024.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The information requested is not available.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times HMRC recorded imported goods whose country of origin was falsely labelled as Israel in 2024 .
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in Palestine are illegal under international law. Goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel.
Where there are doubts about the origin of goods that have been declared as being of Israeli origin, HMRC will undertake checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure fiscal compliance. HMRC does not however provide specific details regarding checks as it may serve to undermine compliance activity.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 15 September 2025 to Question 75814 on Coronavirus: Fraud, how many cases the National Investigation Service (a) has open and (b) expects to transfer to the Insolvency Service.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Since the commencement of Covid-related investigations, the National Investigation Service has opened 254 criminal cases into alleged Bounce Back Loan fraud, with 131 cases currently ongoing.
We remain committed to tackling fraud and are working closely with the National Investigation Service and the Insolvency Service to ensure that cases are managed effectively. The Department for Business and Trade is considering a range of options for the transfer of cases, and further decisions will be made, guided by the latest information and statistics on the current caseload and enforcement activity.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure children are adequately safeguarded in family courts.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Children Act 1989 requires the court to have the child’s welfare as its paramount consideration when making a decision about the child’s upbringing. Any decisions the family courts make about the future arrangements for children are based on this fundamental principle.
This Government is delivering a package of reform to the family courts to ensure that children continue to be safeguarded and supported. This includes the expansion of the Pathfinder programme, which promotes child safeguarding through early multi-agency collaboration, expert domestic abuse support, and greater emphasis on the voice of the child.
This Government also recognises the significant impact that delays in court proceedings can have on children and families. That is why it is working to reduce backlogs and improve timeliness, so that children can access the support and stability they need without unnecessary delay. This includes the agreement of system-wide targets by the Family Justice Board for 2025/26, with a continued focus on tackling delay and reducing outstanding caseloads. In public law proceedings relating to children (such as care proceedings), this involves a renewed emphasis on the procedure set out in the Public Law Outline; and in private law proceedings relating to children (such as applications for child arrangements orders), areas delivering the Pathfinder model have made significant progress in addressing delays.
We are also working closely with the Department for Education to support the delivery of their reforms to children’s social care, underpinned by measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
The Government will share further plans for reform in due course.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Minister for Rail plans to respond to the correspondence of 11 August 2025 from the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells on accessibility at High Brooms Station.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On behalf of the Rail Minister, I apologise to the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells for the delay in responding to his correspondence regarding accessibility at High Brooms Station. A full response to the hon. Member was issued on 16 September.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many audits the Public Sector Fraud Authority has undertaken into the National Investigation Service; what the purpose of these audits was; what methods were used during these audits; what the risks identified during these audits were; and how long each of these audits took.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On 12 October 2023, the Public Sector Fraud Authority were requested to undertake a formal operational review of National Investigation Service, with a primary purpose to focus on performance. The review team included experts from the National Crime Agency, Serious Fraud Office, HM Revenue and Customs, Government Internal Audit Agency, and NHS Counter Fraud Authority.
The review report was provided to DBT on 17 November 2023 and made recommendations to prevent future risk of secondments lapsing and appropriate governance.
There have been no other formal audits or reviews undertaken by the Public Sector Fraud Authority into National Investigation Service.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many complaints his Department has received on the National Investigation Service.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade does not maintain a central record of complaints specifically about the National Investigation Service (NATIS).
While no formal complaints have been received directly by the Department, NATIS has been the subject of various Parliamentary Questions and Freedom of Information requests, indicating a level of interest.
In July 2025, the Department supported a response to a written complaint submitted to the Insolvency Service which included concerns about NATIS.
All correspondence is handled in line with established procedures to ensure appropriate and consistent responses.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department took to undertake due diligence in relation to the National Investigation Service before its funding for that body to enhance counter-fraud work was announced in the Spring Statement 2022.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
At the time of the Spring Statement 2022 the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) had commissioned and managed NATIS to undertake potentially fraudulent covid loan investigations.
Through the Machinery of Government changes accountability for NATIS passed to DBT in February 2023. Financial, Commercial and Security due diligence was completed by DBT in preparation for the contract that commenced April 2024.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that the contracted suppliers for the Disabled Students' Allowance are transparent with students on pricing.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Non-medical help hourly rates, together with any awards for travel, accommodation, or other costs, are supplied in the student’s entitlement letter, which outlines approved support. Additionally, the full breakdown of equipment costs is detailed in the needs assessment report, and students are entitled to request a copy of this report at any time. This means that students can see the costs associated with each element of their Disabled Students' Allowance support.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the Minister for Secondary Care plans to respond to the correspondence of 28 July 2025 from the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells on the Dashboard for Accelerated Discharge.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I have received the hon. Member’s correspondence and will reply in due course.