Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance HMRC issues to third-party debt collection agencies acting on its behalf to recover debts subject to (a) an active dispute or (b) an unresolved fraud investigation.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not place tax debts that are either in an active dispute or part of an unresolved investigation with debt collection agencies (DCAs). If a taxpayer communicates to a DCA that their debt is part of an active dispute, which could include being part of an open investigation, the guidance states that the case should be returned to HMRC
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of VAT penalties issued in the 2024-25 financial year were subsequently (a) overturned or (b) cancelled on appeal.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The information you have requested can be found here: 2024-25 HMRC Annual Reports and Accounts and here: 2024-25 Tax Assurance Commissioners Report
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of existing legal provisions relating to road traffic collisions involving horses; and whether she has considered introducing legislation to recognise horses and their riders as vulnerable road users for the purposes of criminal liability.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department already recognises that horse riders are vulnerable road users with safety needs. Accordingly, the Highway Code covers horse riders and the need for drivers to exercise special care in relation to them.
There are a range of offences which create criminal liability for bad driving and the harm that results. Those offences include dangerous or careless driving. The offences apply where a pedestrian or another road user, including horse riders are involved. The independent Sentencing Council provides guidelines to the courts for sentencing driving offences which also list as an aggravating factor, that is a factor meriting an increased sentence, the fact that the “victim was a vulnerable road user, including pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders, motorcyclists etc.”
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to support rural and off-grid households with energy costs.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the significant pressures these increases to alternative fuel prices place on households in rural communities and off-grid households.
The Chancellor recently confirmed the Government’s approach to rising energy prices will be to target help to those who need it most. To that end, the Government has announced £53 million for low-income families, who heat their homes with oil to help tackle surging prices.
Since the crisis began, we have worked with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to warn companies about unfair practices, such as price gouging, as well as writing to companies to warn them about our expectations of their behaviour. The Government continues to monitor the situation closely, and we are looking at what further support may be needed.
The measures taken in the Autumn Budget reduce the cost of electricity and therefore benefit all households with a domestic electricity meter, including those not on the gas grid. In addition, on 30 January, we announced the continuation of the Warm Home Discount scheme until 2030/31, providing around 6 million eligible households with the £150 rebate on their energy bills each winter.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of (a) legislation and (b) guidance in enabling police forces to take account of patterns of reported dangerous driving behaviour when determining whether to pursue enforcement action following a road traffic incident.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The existing legislative framework provides the police with appropriate powers to investigate and take enforcement action in response to incidents involving dangerous driving. Any form of dangerous driving is considered a serious road safety issue.
How police powers are exercised, including how offending patterns are taken into account, is a matter for the operational judgement of Chief Constables. Decisions on whether to pursue enforcement action following a road traffic incident are made on a case‑by‑case basis, informed by the circumstances of the incident, available evidence and local intelligence.
Guidance for police in this area is provided by the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs’ Council. This guidance supports officers to assess risk, proportionality and evidence, and enables forces to make use of intelligence and information where appropriate when determining the most suitable policing response.
The Government keeps legislation and guidance under review but does not direct the police on individual enforcement decisions, reflecting the operational independence of the police.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance is issued to police forces on the investigation of road traffic collisions involving horses and riders where serious injury is caused; and whether she has plans to review existing guidance where no human fatality has occurred.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Guidance is set out on the investigation of all road collisions resulting in serious injury and fatality, by the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
The police are the lead agency for investigations of road traffic collisions and have the primary duty to investigate and establish the circumstances that have led to any serious injury involving horses and riders.
The Government has no plans to review guidance for police officers which informs operational decisions, including the investigation of road traffic collisions, as police have the knowledge, expertise and training to inform reasonable guidance and decisions.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that households are not charged higher assessed water tariffs where a water meter cannot be installed due to infrastructure limitations beyond the customer’s control.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On water metering, individual water companies are responsible for deciding how best to manage water demand, including their approach to metering. Customers charged on an unmeasured basis are typically charged by reference to the rateable value of the property. Where a meter cannot be installed, customers are instead offered an assessed charge based on one of the following: the number of bedrooms, the type of property, the number of people living in a property or the company’s average metered bill. Additional information about unmeasured charging can be found on the Ofwat website.