Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many people from (a) governments, (b) international organisations, (c) civil society and (d) the private sector had confirmed their attendance at the Illicit Finance Summit before its postponement.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Illicit Finance Summit will bring together a wide coalition of country governments and other partners to tackle illicit finance and corruption. As is the normal practice with UK-hosted events, we will publish details of who attended the Summit after it has taken place.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she had discussions with her Ukrainian counterparts before rescheduling the Illicit Finance Summit.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Illicit Finance Summit has been moved to December primarily due to scheduling issues in the international calendar, including those related to the conflict in the Middle East. The new dates will enable broader participation, ensuring that the Summit generates the strongest possible international commitments in this crucial area. We have been in touch with all overseas partners to confirm this decision, including Ukraine. There have been no substantive costs, aside from staff time, resulting from the rescheduling.
Further information can be found on GOV.UK: UK to host Illicit Finance Summit in December - GOV.UK
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of rescheduling the Illicit Finance Summit to December 2026.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Illicit Finance Summit has been moved to December primarily due to scheduling issues in the international calendar, including those related to the conflict in the Middle East. The new dates will enable broader participation, ensuring that the Summit generates the strongest possible international commitments in this crucial area. We have been in touch with all overseas partners to confirm this decision, including Ukraine. There have been no substantive costs, aside from staff time, resulting from the rescheduling.
Further information can be found on GOV.UK: UK to host Illicit Finance Summit in December - GOV.UK
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason she has rescheduled the Illicit Finance Summit to December 2026.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Illicit Finance Summit has been moved to December primarily due to scheduling issues in the international calendar, including those related to the conflict in the Middle East. The new dates will enable broader participation, ensuring that the Summit generates the strongest possible international commitments in this crucial area. We have been in touch with all overseas partners to confirm this decision, including Ukraine. There have been no substantive costs, aside from staff time, resulting from the rescheduling.
Further information can be found on GOV.UK: UK to host Illicit Finance Summit in December - GOV.UK
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the answer of 1 June 2026 to Question 3528, what assessment he has made of the (a) effectiveness of Ofcom in securing compliance with Universal Service Obligation targets and (b) potential impact of increasing the powers and penalties of Ofcom on securing compliance.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I have been clear that Royal Mail’s performance has not been good enough. I met with Ofcom to raise concerns about Royal Mail’s compliance with its Universal Service Obligation targets.
Ofcom takes compliance with its regulatory targets seriously and has the necessary regulatory tools and statutory powers to enforce compliance as an independent regulator. These include the power to impose fines on Royal Mail of up to 10% of its turnover from its postal services business.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of levying fines on Royal Mail to secure compliance with Universal Service Obligation targets.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ofcom, as the independent regulator for postal services, is responsible for monitoring and enforcing Royal Mail's compliance with its Universal Service Obligation targets. It has taken enforcement action where failures have been identified, including fining Royal Mail £21 million for its 2024-25 performance. These financial penalties are designed to incentivise compliance and deter future breaches.
Additionally, Ofcom required Royal Mail to publish a quality of service improvement plan, which it did on 21 April. The regulator continues to monitor delivery against that plan to ensure service levels improve.
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, what his planned timetable is for making a commencement order under section 108 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 to enact Schedule 30 of the Act.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS65) made today, 21 May 2026.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how individuals and small businesses can contribute to the Access to Banking Services Review.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to ensuring that people can continue to access in-person banking services. In addition, small businesses are an important and diverse part of the UK economy and supporting their growth, including their access to suitable banking services for their needs, is a priority for the Government.
That is why, on 14 May, the Government commissioned an independent Review into Access to Banking Services, chaired by Richard Lloyd OBE.
The Review will assess the impact of changes in the provision of in-person banking services across the United Kingdom, including the scale and nature of any detriment to consumers arising from a lack of access, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups. The evidence gathered will inform decisions on whether future action is needed.
The Review will seek input from market participants and consumer representatives, and may also consult Government and regulators.
Further details regarding how individuals and firms can contribute their evidence to the Review will follow in due course.
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 proportion of enquiries from MPs to the Child Maintenance Service were responded to within 15 working days in a). 2024, b). 2025 and c). 2026 to date.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost to the public purse is of advertising the Digital ID consultation on podcasts.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The digital ID consultation is open to the public, and its success is hinged on open and transparent participation. We have a duty to reach as broad a population as possible and have worked with media partners in order to ensure that the public are aware of the consultation and how to participate. For this campaign, we’ve worked with two podcast partners: Acast and Audioboom, with a combined spend of £62,817 for the duration of the 12 week consultation.