Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the incidence of academy trusts undertaking new capital projects on school playing fields while requesting parental contributions for curriculum activities that schools are not permitted to charge for.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Education Act 1996 prohibits schools from charging for education provided during school hours, subject to very limited exceptions. The department publishes guidance to assist schools to comply with the law on charging for school activities. Parents who have concerns about their school’s charging policy should raise this with the school. They may be able to complain to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, if they remain unsatisfied once they have exhausted the school’s complaints procedure.
The department has a strong policy presumption against the disposal of school playing fields and has a set of criteria used to assess applications for consent. These include assessing whether the school can continue to meet its curriculum needs. The department gives consent only if the criteria are met, and where the proceeds from sales are to be reinvested in improvements to sports and education facilities.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the level of compliance of Multi Academy Trusts with statutory guidance on charging for school-time activities, including WOW days, curriculum-required trips and transport to compulsory swimming lessons.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Education Act 1996 prohibits schools from charging for education provided during school hours, subject to very limited exceptions. The department publishes guidance to assist schools to comply with the law on charging for school activities. Parents who have concerns about their school’s charging policy should raise this with the school. They may be able to complain to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, if they remain unsatisfied once they have exhausted the school’s complaints procedure.
The department has a strong policy presumption against the disposal of school playing fields and has a set of criteria used to assess applications for consent. These include assessing whether the school can continue to meet its curriculum needs. The department gives consent only if the criteria are met, and where the proceeds from sales are to be reinvested in improvements to sports and education facilities.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the effective use of Ofcom’s powers under the Online Safety Act 2023.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State has written to Melanie Dawes and made absolutely clear the Government's full backing for Ofcom using all its powers to enfore the Act. Ofcom has issued fines under the Act to three services, including fining a pornography company £1 million. I welcome Ofcom's decision earlier this month to look into whether major social media platforms are meeting their duties to remove illegal terrorist and hate content. There are no more excuses for failing to protect users.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
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 providing the same protections to historic villages as is provided to historic towns in the National Planning Policy Framework; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of grey belt designation on the distinct identity of village communities, like those in Guildford constituency.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question 39868 on 26 March 2025.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the reliability of the Companies House online service for issuing Director Identification Numbers; and what steps are being taken to address technical issues that prevent users from obtaining the required credentials.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Companies House is committed to providing robust digital services to its customers. Since April 2025, over two million individuals have successfully proven their identity and successfully received personal codes (referred to as Director Identification Numbers in this correspondence).
A small number of users have been impacted by technical issues. Companies House has worked closely to iterate services based on user feedback and experience. If the individual is continuing to experience issues, we would advise they contact Companies House directly so that their issues can investigated and supported accordingly.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that victims of domestic abuse are not required to bear additional financial or procedural burdens in order to progress divorce proceedings when the other party fails to engage.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is a matter of concern that perpetrators of domestic abuse may fail to engage with divorce proceedings. The courts have powers to deal with parties who fail to engage, including to make orders confirming a perpetrator has received a divorce application when they have refused to acknowledge it. In September this year, the process of asking the court to make orders about sending applications became easier, when His Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service extended the online application system for litigants-in-person.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will suspend financial penalties and other enforcement action for non-compliance with Companies House filing requirements while the online Director Identification Number service remains subject to operational faults.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Over two million individuals have successfully used the new systems. It is recognised that issues have arisen impacting some users. Companies House is working continuously to iterate services based on user feedback and experience.
Any enforcement action we take will be in line with our compliance and enforcement framework. Companies in default will have an opportunity to make representations. Where non-compliance can be attributed to technical issues outside of their control, then we will usually pause enforcement for a period of time.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made, as part of his Department’s responsibilities for access to justice and the protection of victims of domestic abuse, of the risk that delays caused by a non-engaging spouse in divorce and financial remedy proceedings may facilitate ongoing coercive or controlling behaviour.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is a top priority for this Government to tackle violence against women and girls, including economic abuse and coercive control. The Law Commission’s 2024 scoping report on financial remedies on divorce considered the issue of domestic abuse in financial remedy cases. The Government is carefully considering this report as it prepares to consult on issues identified by the Law Commission. We will issue our consultation by Spring next year.
It is a matter of concern that perpetrators of domestic abuse may fail to engage with divorce proceedings. The courts have powers to deal with parties who fail to engage, including to make orders confirming a perpetrator has received a divorce application when they have refused to acknowledge it. In September this year, the process of asking the court to make orders about sending applications became easier, when His Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service extended the online application system for litigants-in-person.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Loan Charge review, what steps her Department are taking to ensure consistency and fairness for individuals who have already settled their cases, compared to the concessions and reliefs now available to others who did not.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The purpose of the Independent Review of the Loan Charge was to bring the matter to a close for people who have not settled and paid their loan charge liabilities. The review identified affordability as a key barrier preventing those individuals from settling and made recommendations to remove this barrier, of which the Government has accepted all but one. To support those on the lowest incomes, the Government has gone further by providing an additional £5000 deduction for those in scope of the review, removing approximately 10,000 individuals from the charge entirely. This will come at a substantial Exchequer cost over the next five years.
The Government will legislate to give HMRC the power to administer a new settlement scheme. There is no plan to alter liabilities or refund tax paid by individuals who have settled and fully paid their liabilities under the loan charge.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that reasonable adjustments for people with mental health conditions recommended through Access to Work are delivered in a timely manner; and what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for support.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Access to Work supports workplace adjustments that go beyond what would normally be expected from an employer through their duty to provide reasonable adjustments as outlined in the Equality Act 2010, including for mental health conditions.
As set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we are reforming Access to Work to improve the scheme so that it helps more disabled people and people with health conditions, including mental health conditions, into and on in work.