Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of HMRC confidentiality rules on the ability of the Child Maintenance Service to (a) suspend and (b) revise liability, where possible fraudulent child benefit claims are under investigation by HMRC.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
To qualify for maintenance payments a child must meet the Child Maintenance Service's criteria. They must be:
They must also be habitually resident in the UK and usually living in the same household as the receiving parent. Child maintenance defines a child the same way as Child Benefit does to offer consistency across rules. Child benefit is not used as a blunt tool in determining who may be considered a receiving parent and the CMS can consider multiple different forms of evidence when determining who is the primary carer.
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.
Child Maintenance Service make 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 investigate the accuracy of information the CMS is given by either parent.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of the availability of glaucoma testing for driving license renewal in (a) North Norfolk constituency, (b) Norfolk and (c) England.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) does not require driving licence holders or applicants to be tested for glaucoma. However, drivers are legally required to inform the DVLA if they have been diagnosed with glaucoma in both eyes, or if they have been advised by their optician or optometrist that they do not meet the eyesight standards for driving.
When the DVLA is notified of a glaucoma diagnosis, the driver will be referred for a visual field test. The results of this test will be used to determine whether the individual concerned meets the required eyesight standards for driving.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of case backlog at the Valuation Office Agency; and what steps she is taking to reduce this.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is working as quickly as possible to clear cases, and moving staff to where there is the greatest customer demand. The VOA is focusing on the oldest cases first, and where customers are facing financial hardship.The VOA is replacing IT systems with modern cloud-based platforms that will deliver significant efficiencies. It is also upskilling its workforce to ensure there is flexibility in managing a wide range of cases and improving its digital services to make it easier for customers to self-serve.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to his Answer of 15 July 2025 to Question 66761 on Emergencies: Mobile Phones, what steps she is taking to support communities who have (a) no emergency sirens and (b) had their emergency sirens removed.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In the UK, we have a number of public warning and informing mechanisms that can be used in different situations when there is a risk to life. This includes the Emergency Alert system, introduced in April 2023, which has been used five times. Emergency Alerts are instantaneous and the Government can send alerts directly to all mobile phones within a geo-targeted area. A second national test of the emergency alerts system will take place on Sunday 7 September around 3pm in the afternoon.
Other warning methods include flood alerts via the Flood Warning Service, Met Office weather warnings and knocking door-to-door when safe.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 62866 on Neighbourhood Plans: Finance, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of this policy on levels of council tax.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Precept levels are decided by parish councils, considering the needs of their community. The government expects parish councils to consider carefully the burden they are placing on local taxpayers.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the publication entitled UK Government Resilience Action Plan published on 8 July 2025, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of emergency alert systems in rural areas with (a) poor and (b) no mobile signal.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Emergency Alerts are broadcast through mobile phone masts, and will be received by phones connected to the targeted masts. 95% of the UK landmass has 4G/5G coverage.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is continuing to work with the UK telecommunications industry to deliver 4G and 5G mobile connectivity to places where there is limited or no coverage.
Emergency alerts are part of a collection of warning and informing systems that we use in the UK for emergency response scenarios. Other methods include local sirens and knocking door-to-door when safe, as well as providing advice through media such as TV and radio.