Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential financial impact on outdoor visitor attractions, including zoos like Chester Zoo and theme parks like Drayton Manor, from the presentation of weather forecasts that use a single icon to summarise whole-day conditions.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS recognises the vital role outdoor visitor attractions play in the UK’s visitor economy. These sites, ranging from world-leading zoos and theme parks to historic gardens, contribute to regional investment, local employment and often support learning and biodiversity conservation.
At this time, DCMS has not made a specific assessment of the potential financial impact of digital weather forecasting on outdoor visitor attractions. The Government is aware of the concerns raised by the sector regarding how these forecasts can influence visitor behaviour, including the recent campaign led by Chester Zoo.
My department continues to represent the interests of the visitor economy across Government and my officials are engaged on this matter. This includes membership of the Public Weather Service (PWS) Customer Group. This Group has been working closely with the Met Office to strengthen the focus on supporting the outdoor economy, including the visitor economy. More broadly, I remain committed to maintaining a close and constructive dialogue with industry representatives to ensure the visitor economy continues to thrive.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help support greater transparency in the fees associated with accepting card payments.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that the cost of accepting payments, including cards, is fair to all parties, and that our payment systems work for all.
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), the UK’s economic regulator for payments, has recently concluded two market reviews into card fees to assess if increases in prices are fair and reflect a market that is operating well. The PSR is now considering its next steps, including remedies designed to increase the transparency of scheme and processing fees.
https://www.psr.org.uk/our-work/market-reviews/
There are a number of fees that can be placed on merchants, including interchange fees which are governed by the Interchange Fee Regulations 2015 (IFR). The IFR caps the fees that are paid by a merchant (or trader) to the card user’s bank. The caps are currently set at 0.2% for every transaction using a debit card, and 0.3% for credit card transactions.
The Government is also committed to ensuring that payment options remain affordable and accessible for small businesses, including through measures that promote competition and reduce unnecessary costs. The National Payments Vision, published in November 2024, sets out the Government’s ambitions for a trusted, world-leading payments ecosystem delivered on next generation technology, where consumers and businesses have a choice of payment methods to meet their needs.
This included the ambition for seamless account-to-account payments to be developed as a ubiquitous payment method – enabling consumers to pay digitally for goods and services in shops and online, without using a card. This would provide greater choice to consumers and merchants in how they make and receive payments, which in turn is likely to spur innovation and downward competitive pressure on the cost of payments.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to support competition in the payments market to reduce fees for small businesses.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that the cost of accepting payments, including cards, is fair to all parties, and that our payment systems work for all.
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), the UK’s economic regulator for payments, has recently concluded two market reviews into card fees to assess if increases in prices are fair and reflect a market that is operating well. The PSR is now considering its next steps, including remedies designed to increase the transparency of scheme and processing fees.
https://www.psr.org.uk/our-work/market-reviews/
There are a number of fees that can be placed on merchants, including interchange fees which are governed by the Interchange Fee Regulations 2015 (IFR). The IFR caps the fees that are paid by a merchant (or trader) to the card user’s bank. The caps are currently set at 0.2% for every transaction using a debit card, and 0.3% for credit card transactions.
The Government is also committed to ensuring that payment options remain affordable and accessible for small businesses, including through measures that promote competition and reduce unnecessary costs. The National Payments Vision, published in November 2024, sets out the Government’s ambitions for a trusted, world-leading payments ecosystem delivered on next generation technology, where consumers and businesses have a choice of payment methods to meet their needs.
This included the ambition for seamless account-to-account payments to be developed as a ubiquitous payment method – enabling consumers to pay digitally for goods and services in shops and online, without using a card. This would provide greater choice to consumers and merchants in how they make and receive payments, which in turn is likely to spur innovation and downward competitive pressure on the cost of payments.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what she is doing to reduce the cost of accepting payments for small businesses.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that the cost of accepting payments, including cards, is fair to all parties, and that our payment systems work for all.
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), the UK’s economic regulator for payments, has recently concluded two market reviews into card fees to assess if increases in prices are fair and reflect a market that is operating well. The PSR is now considering its next steps, including remedies designed to increase the transparency of scheme and processing fees.
https://www.psr.org.uk/our-work/market-reviews/
There are a number of fees that can be placed on merchants, including interchange fees which are governed by the Interchange Fee Regulations 2015 (IFR). The IFR caps the fees that are paid by a merchant (or trader) to the card user’s bank. The caps are currently set at 0.2% for every transaction using a debit card, and 0.3% for credit card transactions.
The Government is also committed to ensuring that payment options remain affordable and accessible for small businesses, including through measures that promote competition and reduce unnecessary costs. The National Payments Vision, published in November 2024, sets out the Government’s ambitions for a trusted, world-leading payments ecosystem delivered on next generation technology, where consumers and businesses have a choice of payment methods to meet their needs.
This included the ambition for seamless account-to-account payments to be developed as a ubiquitous payment method – enabling consumers to pay digitally for goods and services in shops and online, without using a card. This would provide greater choice to consumers and merchants in how they make and receive payments, which in turn is likely to spur innovation and downward competitive pressure on the cost of payments.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Ofgem's work to enforce supplier license responsibilities to vet TPIs they partner with.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem’s supplier license conditions and other legal protections have not sufficiently protected non-domestic consumers from exploitative and harmful practices by some Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs). That is why last year, the Government announced its plans to directly regulate TPIs, by appointing Ofgem as regulator when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans his Department has to introduce regulation for Third Party Intermediaries in the retail energy market.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem’s supplier license conditions and other legal protections have not sufficiently protected non-domestic consumers from exploitative and harmful practices by some Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs). That is why last year, the Government announced its plans to directly regulate TPIs, by appointing Ofgem as regulator when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of local authority top-slicing of High Needs Block funding on the resources available to schools and academy trusts to deliver provision set out in Education, Health and Care Plans (ECHP); and what mechanisms are in place to ensure that EHCP funding allocated to trusts is spent directly on the provision specified in those plans.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
High needs funding has increased by over £1 billion in the 2025/26 financial year and we are continuing that increased level of funding into next year. The vast majority of this funding is allocated by local authorities to schools, colleges and other settings, including for mainstream schools’ support costs in excess of £6,000 per pupil, to secure the special provision set out in education, health and care plans. Local authorities generally allow some flexibility over how this funding is used by schools, and are responsible for ensuring the school delivers the provision set out in those plans.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether Multi-Academy Trust boards are permitted to redact minutes of board meetings that relate to the use of public funds; what guidance her Department issues on transparency and redaction of trust governance documents; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of current practices.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Academy Trust Governance Guide outlines that the trust board is responsible for being open and transparent about its decisions and actions. This guide is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-trust-governance-guide.
The Academy Trust Handbook and trust’s articles of association state that trusts must make available on request for inspection the agenda for board, local committees/governing bodies and committee meetings, approved minutes of each meeting, and any report, document or other paper considered at each meeting.
Trusts may exclude from its records material which, by reason of its nature, the trustees are satisfied should remain confidential, such as names of employees or pupils. The trust must comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK General Data Protection Regulations.
To monitor financial oversight, trusts must submit an annual report and accounts in accordance with the Charity Commission’s Statement of Recommended Practice and the departments Accounts Direction to the department.
The requirements set out in the Academy Trust Handbook are reviewed annually.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria her Department uses to determine when to intervene in a Multi-Academy Trust experiencing financial difficulty; and what steps she is taking to hold trust leadership and trustees accountable for financial mismanagement.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Academy trusts play a central role in our education system, but accountability hasn’t kept pace with their growth. The government is delivering on its manifesto commitment by legislating to introduce Ofsted inspection of academy trusts, and intervention powers for the Secretary of State where inspection identifies that a trust is failing.
The department’s published guidance on Financial Support and Oversight for Academy Trusts sits alongside the Academy Trust Handbook and sets out the regulatory approach for the sector and how the department will engage with trusts in financial difficulty. Both of these documents can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-support-and-oversight-for-academy-trusts/financial-support-and-oversight-for-academy-trusts-guidance, and: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-trust-handbook/academy-trust-handbook-2025-effective-from-1-september-2025.
Where there are concerns about the financial compliance or governance of a trust, the department will intervene and can issue a notice to improve setting conditions that the trust must meet to address concerns and avoid further action. The Secretary of State also has the power to terminate a trust's funding agreement in the most serious cases.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides to (a) schools and (b) Multi-Academy Trusts on appropriate staffing levels; and what assessment she has made of trends in the level of overstaffing in (i) maintained schools and (ii) academies.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department supports school leaders by providing a range of resources, including commercial resources and benchmarking tools. This includes our school staffing guidance, designed to help employers in all schools with staffing and employment issues, and to inform their decision making. It provides information to relevant legislation and sources of up-to-date guidance and advice that employers need to consider.
We have also made resources available as part of the ‘Maximising Value for Pupils’ programme, including the financial benchmarking and insight tool, which helps schools examine their financial data and benchmark spending against similar schools and trusts, and the ‘Energy for Schools’ pilot, which has identified 36% savings for schools on their energy bills.
The department publishes an annual headcount of those working in schools in the School Workforce Census, with the latest release available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.