Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Child Maintenance Service has made of the potential impact of GDPR legislation on the ability of paying parents to find proof that their child is still in full-time education.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
If a paying parent believes that the Child Maintenance (CM) liability should cease because a qualifying child (QC) no longer meets the statutory definition of a qualifying young person but checks with His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) disagree, the CM caseworker can ask the receiving parent to provide;
1. verbal confirmation of the QCs status if they agree that the paying parent’s statement is correct, or
2. where they disagree with the paying parent, a letter from the school or college confirming the QCs status, or
3. written confirmation from an employer that the QC has started work.
Where the paying parent believes that Child Benefit is claimed fraudulently, the paying parent will be signposted to report the fraud to HMRC at Gov.UK.
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) makes automated monthly requests to HMRC asking for all children aged 16 to 19 who are included in its caseload, to establish whether Child Benefit is still in payment.
The CMS has a Financial Investigations Unit (FIU), that can investigate complex cases. This is a specialist team which can request information to check the accuracy of information the CMS is given by either parent.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Child Maintenance Service has made of the potential merits of working with authorities with investigatory powers to help paying parents to find supporting information.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
If a paying parent believes that the Child Maintenance (CM) liability should cease because a qualifying child (QC) no longer meets the statutory definition of a qualifying young person but checks with His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) disagree, the CM caseworker can ask the receiving parent to provide;
1. verbal confirmation of the QCs status if they agree that the paying parent’s statement is correct, or
2. where they disagree with the paying parent, a letter from the school or college confirming the QCs status, or
3. written confirmation from an employer that the QC has started work.
Where the paying parent believes that Child Benefit is claimed fraudulently, the paying parent will be signposted to report the fraud to HMRC at Gov.UK.
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) makes automated monthly requests to HMRC asking for all children aged 16 to 19 who are included in its caseload, to establish whether Child Benefit is still in payment.
The CMS has a Financial Investigations Unit (FIU), that can investigate complex cases. This is a specialist team which can request information to check the accuracy of information the CMS is given by either parent.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which stakeholders (a) she and (b) Ministers in her Department had discussions with on the consultation on copyright and artificial intelligence between 1 September 2024 and 4 April 2025.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Between 1 September 2024 and 4 April 2025 DCMS Ministers have met with numerous stakeholders from across the creative industries, including trade bodies and industry leaders, to discuss the government’s consultation on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence. These meetings have included roundtable discussions, as well as individual meetings with stakeholders.
Details of all meetings undertaken by DCMS ministers are included in DCMS transparency data, published on Gov.uk each quarter.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to repurpose spending on (a) hospital care and (b) emergency admissions for people at the end of life into community care services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life.
The Government is determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and community palliative and end of life care services will have a big role to play in that shift.
Funding provision for hospital care and community care services is subject to the forthcoming Spending Review, the outcome of which will be announced on 11 June.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will commission research on the outcomes following gender affirming surgery on young adults under the age of 25.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In line with the findings of the recent Cass Review, the Government is committed to supporting the development of research that delivers a robust, evidence-based understanding of gender dysphoria and transgender issues, especially where these issues relate to children and young people. The programme of research includes investments in research capacity, to enable National Health Service clinicians to dedicate time to research and ongoing service evaluation, and a living systematic review that will provide a regularly updated review of the latest international evidence to inform policy and frontline and clinical practice. These may produce new evidence on the outcomes following gender-affirming surgery on young adults, and contribute to ensuring that children and young people who are questioning their gender identity or experiencing gender dysphoria are well-safeguarded.
The Department, through the National Institute for Health Research, welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including the outcomes following gender-affirming surgery on young adults. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that children are not prescribed cross-sex hormones by private medical providers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Children’s safety must always come first. That is why the Government and the National Health Service in England are implementing the recommendations of the Cass Review, in full.
In her review, Dr Cass recommended “extreme caution” when prescribing cross-sex hormones for individuals aged 16 to 18 years old. We expect all providers to act in line with this recommendation.
NHS England has begun the process of forming a new clinical commissioning policy for hormone medications. In NHS Children and Young People’s Gender Services, as an interim measure, a national multi-disciplinary team with an independent chair will review all referrals of young people for cross-sex hormones before they can be initiated.
Furthermore, in response to the Commission on Human Medicines’ report on the safety implications of restricting the availability of puberty blockers for under 18 year olds, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to produce a quality standard for specialist gender services. Quality standards provide an evidence-based description of high-quality care, in a defined clinical area, and can be used by private providers.
The Secretary of State introduced an indefinite order on the sale and supply of puberty blockers for under 18 year olds. This order continues to prohibit the sale or supply of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues prescribed by private UK-registered prescribers, for gender dysphoria and/or incongruence, to under-18 year olds not already taking them, and on the sale and supply of the drugs against prescriptions from prescribers registered in the European Economic Area or Switzerland, for any purposes, to anyone under 18 years old. This came into effect on 1 January 2025 as the previous emergency order expired and will be formally reviewed in 2027. We will not hesitate to take further action should safety concerns arise.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make a comparative assessment of the Standard Rate of Air Passenger Duty between the UK and (a) Germany, (b) France, (c) Italy and (d) Spain.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Air Passenger Duty (APD) applies to airlines and is the principal tax on the aviation sector. It is expected to raise £4.2 billion in 2024-25.
At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced Air Passenger Duty (APD) rates for 2026-27, including a partial adjustment to help compensate for two recent years of inflation that was higher than expected. APD rates are set in advance using forecasts of inflation, and so with actual inflation being significantly greater than forecast in 2022 and 2023, APD rates fell in real terms.
The Government is clear that APD is an appropriate tax that ensures airlines make a fair contribution to the public finances, particularly given that tickets are VAT free and aviation fuel incurs no duty. Other countries also have different forms of aviation taxes.
The Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to reform Air Passenger Duty to extend the exemption for children under 16 years old to travel in Premium Economy or any other cabin classes.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Air Passenger Duty (APD) applies to airlines, not individual passengers, and is the principal tax on the aviation sector. It is expected to raise £4.2 billion in 2024-25 and it aims to ensure that airlines make a fair contribution to the public finances, particularly given that tickets are VAT free and aviation fuel incurs no duty. The distance-based band structure ensures that those who travel furthest, and in the greatest comfort, incur a greater tax liability.
Children under 16 years old on the date of the flight, and in the lowest class of travel, are exempt from APD. This means that no APD will be paid on that passenger by the airline to the UK government. If children under 16 years old are travelling in any other class (such as premium economy) or in business jets, they are not exempt. Children under 2 years old without a seat are exempt from Air Passenger Duty for all classes of travel.
Airline operators declare the number of chargeable passengers by destination band and by rate. They do not break down chargeable passengers by age, and therefore this is not information that HMRC collects.
The government has published annual statistics and analysis on airline passenger numbers and Air Passenger Duty (APD) receipts in the UK which are administered by HM Revenue and Customs. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-passenger-duty-bulletin.
As with all taxes, APD is kept under review and any changes are announced by the Chancellor at fiscal events.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of total revenue generated by Air Passenger Duty from children aged under 16 years old who travelled in Premium Economy in each of the last three years?.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Air Passenger Duty (APD) applies to airlines, not individual passengers, and is the principal tax on the aviation sector. It is expected to raise £4.2 billion in 2024-25 and it aims to ensure that airlines make a fair contribution to the public finances, particularly given that tickets are VAT free and aviation fuel incurs no duty. The distance-based band structure ensures that those who travel furthest, and in the greatest comfort, incur a greater tax liability.
Children under 16 years old on the date of the flight, and in the lowest class of travel, are exempt from APD. This means that no APD will be paid on that passenger by the airline to the UK government. If children under 16 years old are travelling in any other class (such as premium economy) or in business jets, they are not exempt. Children under 2 years old without a seat are exempt from Air Passenger Duty for all classes of travel.
Airline operators declare the number of chargeable passengers by destination band and by rate. They do not break down chargeable passengers by age, and therefore this is not information that HMRC collects.
The government has published annual statistics and analysis on airline passenger numbers and Air Passenger Duty (APD) receipts in the UK which are administered by HM Revenue and Customs. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-passenger-duty-bulletin.
As with all taxes, APD is kept under review and any changes are announced by the Chancellor at fiscal events.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the cost to the exchequer of extending the Air Passenger Duty exemption for children under 16 years old to (a) Premium Economy and (b) any other cabin class travel.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Air Passenger Duty (APD) applies to airlines, not individual passengers, and is the principal tax on the aviation sector. It is expected to raise £4.2 billion in 2024-25 and it aims to ensure that airlines make a fair contribution to the public finances, particularly given that tickets are VAT free and aviation fuel incurs no duty. The distance-based band structure ensures that those who travel furthest, and in the greatest comfort, incur a greater tax liability.
Children under 16 years old on the date of the flight, and in the lowest class of travel, are exempt from APD. This means that no APD will be paid on that passenger by the airline to the UK government. If children under 16 years old are travelling in any other class (such as premium economy) or in business jets, they are not exempt. Children under 2 years old without a seat are exempt from Air Passenger Duty for all classes of travel.
Airline operators declare the number of chargeable passengers by destination band and by rate. They do not break down chargeable passengers by age, and therefore this is not information that HMRC collects.
The government has published annual statistics and analysis on airline passenger numbers and Air Passenger Duty (APD) receipts in the UK which are administered by HM Revenue and Customs. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/air-passenger-duty-bulletin.
As with all taxes, APD is kept under review and any changes are announced by the Chancellor at fiscal events.