Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including fixed estate charges and charges levied as covenants on residents’ leases in reforms affecting leaseholders’ ground rents and service charges.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the funding model for the maintenance of the legacy assets of the Olympic and Paralympic Games paid for by a Fixed Estate Charges levied on residents in the vicinity of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

This is ultimately a matter for the Greater London Authority. At the request of the Mayor a review of the Fixed Estate Charge was undertaken by the Deputy Mayor of Planning, Regeneration and Skills, and published in February 2023. The review and the London Legacy Development Corporation’s response are both available online.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to (a) monitor payment outcomes for Employment Tribunal awards and (b) ensure that workers using the employment tribunal penalty enforcement scheme receive their award.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)

We are working across government to make the dispute resolution system more resilient. This includes improving our understanding of enforcement outcomes and strengthening the system so that claimants can recover what they are owed. Along with the Ministry of Justice we have set up the Dispute Resolution Task Force to help inform our work. The next Survey of Employment Tribunal Applications will further help us understand award compliance better when published later this year.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of excluding payments of service tips and gratuities via a tronc from income tax.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)

Employees pay tax on all payments that reward them for the work they do. This includes wages, tips, gratuities, or any share of a service charge that they receive. Where the employer collects the tips and pays them to employees, the employer is required to deduct income tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) from these earnings.

Where customers pay tips directly to staff, each employee is responsible for declaring these earnings to HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) who will adjust the employee’s tax code to collect the tax due. These payments are not subject to NICs.

Further information on the tax treatment of gratuities, can be found at: www.gov.uk/tips-at-work/tips-and-tax.

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 2026 to Question 11892, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of further regulation of fixed estate charges and charges levied as covenants on residents’ leases.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 18 December 2025 (HCWS1210).

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to Question 11894, whether (a) her Department has a strategy for the maintenance of legacy assets, and (b) whether she would make an assessment of the need for a long-term strategy for a fair funding model to ensure the maintenance of the legacy assets of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, including the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

Responsibilities for legacy assets from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games have all transferred to their long-term owners and are no longer the responsibility of the UK Government. This includes Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which is managed by the London Legacy Development Corporation, a Mayoral Development Corporation of the Mayor of London.

Found: UK funding for de-mining in Lebanon (MAG/HALO) Finally, Uma Kumaran MP asked for an update on the

Found: Q1153 Uma Kumaran: That is welcome news for the Committee.

Found: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat; Honiton and Sidmouth) Alan Gemmell (Labour; Central Ayrshire) Uma Kumaran

Found: Thornberry (Chair); Fleur Anderson; Alex Ballinger; Aphra Brandreth; Richard Foord; Alan Gemmell; Uma Kumaran

Found: for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport  Lord Pitt-Watson as Parliamentary Secretary in HM Treasury Uma Kumaran

Found: for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport  Lord Pitt-Watson as Parliamentary Secretary in HM Treasury Uma Kumaran

The Committee is examining the UK Government’s approach to Syria following the collapse of the Assad Regime in December 2024 and the establishment of a transitional government. 

Submit Evidence (by 3 Sep 2026)

The National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence Review identify Russia as the most acute threat to the UK. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the UK Government has focused its defence and foreign policy posture on visible and practical support for Ukraine. The Committee is launching an inquiry on Russia to consider the UK’s bilateral relationship and whether the UK’s long-term strategic approach to a post-conflict Russia is clearly defined.