Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the feasibility of making enhanced DBS certificates transferable between organisations where the role and level of check required are equivalent.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Under current arrangements, enhanced and other certificates issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) are transferable between organisations, where the role and level of check required are equivalent. That is, where the level of check for which the role is eligible is the same.
Employers can accept an existing criminal record certificate for recruitment purposes if it is the same type of check (for example, enhanced with a check of the adults’ barred list) and it has been issued for the same workforce (for example, adults’, children’s, other). There is no expiry date on criminal record certificates, as the information disclosed on certificates is correct at the date they are issued.
Importantly, the level of check an employer or organisation is entitled to request depends on the role’s eligibility in relation to DBS checks. For example, if an individual already has an enhanced with children’s barred list check certificate and the second role is only eligible for a standard certificate, the second employer or organisation would potentially be seeing information it is not legally entitled to request.
Conversely, if the employer for the second role requires an enhanced with barred list check but the existing certificate held by the applicant is enhanced only, not all relevant information would be available for the organisation to make a suitability decision. Further guidance and an eligibility tool are available at this link: www.gov.uk/government/collections/dbs-eligibility-guidance.
The DBS Update Service supports the portability of an individual’s certificate by ensuring the information is up to date. To support ongoing suitability decisions, applicants can subscribe to the Update Service, which allows employers to check if any relevant information has changed since the certificate was issued, although it is the employer’s decision whether to use the Update Service or to request the applicant re-apply for a certificate.
The Update Service offers a digital solution that supports real-time checking. It can also be of benefit to employers, who can undertake instant online checking of DBS certificates, thus saving time and money. The applicant would only need to obtain a new certificate in cases where there has been a change in recorded information, or in cases where they need to apply for a different type of criminal record check. The Update Service is free to use for volunteers and costs £16 a year for paid employees. Further information and details of how to subscribe can be found at https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 the availability of Government decarbonisation support for medium-sized community buildings that are not classified as public sector bodies.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Eligible community buildings can access support through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, which provides grants of up to £7,500 towards the installation of low‑carbon heating systems.
Landlords and tenants in this sector can search for local grant and advice schemes via the Government’s finance and support for businesses pages at: https://www.gov.uk/business-finance-support. They can also access energy efficiency advice through the Government’s Business Energy Efficiency Campaign at: https://businessenergyefficiency.campaign.gov.uk/
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consideration her Department gave to transition arrangements for UK citizens living abroad who have been making voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions but have not yet qualified for a full State Pension.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The changes to voluntary National Insurance contributions policy announced at Budget retain routes for individuals living outside of the UK to fill gaps in their NI records by paying Class 3 NICs, which allows individuals to continue to build entitlement to the UK State Pension.
This includes transitional arrangements for existing voluntary Class 2 and 3 customers to not be subject to the new 10-year qualifying conditions.
The removal of access to voluntary Class 2 NICs applies for the 2026/27 tax year onwards, and does not affect the ability of any customer to pay voluntary Class 2 NICs for periods abroad prior to 6 April 2026.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for refugee family reunion submitted before the route was temporarily suspended have been awaiting a decision for longer than the published service standard.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office temporarily paused the Refugee Family Reunion route from 4 September 2025, with applications submitted before that point continuing to be processed under the previous rules.
The number of Refugee Family Reunion applications submitted before the pause and awaiting a decision beyond the service standard is not available in published statistics and could only be collated and verified at disproportionate cost.
Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, considering a number of factors including user needs, as well as quality and availability of data.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to support the hospitality sector in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the important role the hospitality sector plays both in terms of its economic contribution but also to our culture.
That is why we are delivering a long overdue reform to rebalance the business rates system and support the high street businesses, as promised in our manifesto. We are introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties which are worth nearly £900 million per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties.
This Government has worked closely with the hospitality sector. We announced the first National Licensing Policy Framework and are working to ensure local authorities apply it consistently to ease licensing decisions ‘on the ground’. We have extended opening hours for Home Nations games in the later stages of the Men’s Football World Cup. We will also legislate to increase the number of Temporary Events Notices venues can hold, helping them screen further national moments and host community and cultural events.
In addition, we are more than doubling the Hospitality Support Fund to £10 over three years, ending upward-only rent review clauses and introducing a strong Community Right to Buy.
We will continue to work with the hospitality sector to develop a new cross-government High Streets Strategy to help businesses in Harpenden and Berkhamsted, and across the country, to remain the centre of local communities.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many UK citizens living abroad were making voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions in each of the last five years.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
A population estimate for the number of individuals who pay voluntary class 2 National Insurance contributions abroad is being published on the 12 March 2026, in the Tax Information and Impact note for the Voluntary National Insurance contributions abroad changes announced at Budget 2025.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the grey belt policy on speculative development proposals on village edges in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency, while local plans are under examination.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 111723 on 24 February 2026.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what progress the Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence within her Department has made in improving the procurement of digital services, including cloud, since its establishment.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Digital Commercial Centre of Excellence (DCCOE) is responsible for delivering on the digital procurement recommendations made by the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee respectively. Since the establishment of the DCCOE we have made positive progress in addressing those recommendations, including:
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of diagnostic overshadowing on people with Down syndrome; and if he will take steps to include expectations on condition-specific training for relevant professionals within guidance under the Down Syndrome Act 2022.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2023, NHS England produced a guide for frontline staff as they support people with a learning disability which asks staff to be aware of diagnostic overshadowing, and which is available at the following link:
NHS England does not hold data on the extent of diagnostic overshadowing for people with Down syndrome, nor is the data held centrally.
Through the implementation of the Down Syndrome Act 2022, the Government is striving to improve life outcomes for people with Down syndrome, raise awareness and understanding of their needs, and break down barriers to opportunity that they, and other disabled people, face.
Under the Down Syndrome Act, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is required to give guidance to relevant authorities in health, social care, education, and housing services on what they should be doing to support the needs of people with Down syndrome. The draft guidance, which was published for public consultation on 5 November 2025, acknowledges that the care of people with Down syndrome may be affected by diagnostic overshadowing and recognises its impact on the care and treatment that people receive. Once the consultation has closed on 30 March 2026, the Government will consider all consultation responses to inform the final guidance to be published.
Relevant authorities, as defined in the schedule to the act, have a duty to have due regard to the final guidance once it is published. The act does not create any new functions beyond this duty. Rather, it brings together existing statutory requirements and guidance that relevant authorities must and/or should already be complying with to support people with Down syndrome and people with other conditions and/or a learning disability who have similar needs.
Under existing legislation, Care Quality Comision registered providers must ensure that staff receive appropriate professional development which is necessary for them to carry out their duties and must receive specific training on learning disability and autism appropriate to their role, as per Section 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, Section 181(7) of the Health and Care Act 2022 and Regulation 18 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. We expect that providers should be considering whether specific training on Down syndrome is required for their staff, and the draft guidance under the Down Syndrome Act sets out that some staff who work frequently with people with Down syndrome may require additional training on Down syndrome.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 ensure that the final guidance under the Down Syndrome Act 2022 provides direction on required provision, including speech and language support and transition to adulthood; and how implementation will be monitored.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Down Syndrome Act 2022, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is required to give guidance to relevant authorities in health, social care, education, and housing services on what they should be doing to meet the needs of people with Down syndrome.
We considered a range of evidence from our Call for Evidence and engagement when developing the draft Down syndrome guidance, currently out for public consultation, including research on speech and language therapy (SLT).
The draft guidance highlights that people with Down syndrome are likely to have communication needs and sets out support that can be provided, including that people with Down syndrome should be able to access speech and language assessment and support in a timely manner. The guidance is also clear that NHS commissioners and providers may offer people with Down syndrome, and their families and carers, a range of SLT services and interventions to support their communication, tailored to their specific needs. This should include early intervention services starting from birth, continuing through early years to support a good start in life, and then into primary and secondary school and transition to adulthood, including transitions from child to adult care and support.
Relevant authorities, as defined in the schedule to the act, have a duty to have due regard to the final guidance once it is published. The act does not create any new functions beyond this duty. Rather, it brings together existing statutory requirements and guidance that relevant authorities must and/or should already be complying with to support people with Down Syndrome and people with other conditions and/or a learning disability who have similar needs.
NHS England published statutory guidance on 9 May 2023 which says that every integrated care board (ICB) should identify a member of its board to lead on supporting the ICB to perform its functions effectively in the interest of people with Down syndrome. The statutory guidance sets out NHS England’s expectations about fulfilling executive lead functions and outlines the responsibilities of these roles in more detail at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/executive-lead-roles-within-integrated-care-boards/