Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress she has made with Ofwat on helping to ensure that Yorkshire Water provides value to its customers through how it prioritises resources.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ofwat, the economic regulator, sets specific performance targets for companies including Yorkshire Water in the five-yearly price review. Where companies fail to meet these targets, they must reimburse customers through lower water bills.
As a result, Ofwat's Water Company Performance Report 2024-25 shows that Yorkshire Water's Outcome Delivery Incentive (ODI) underperformance payment was £46.302m. This is available on the Ofwat website: Water Company Performance Report 2024-25 - Ofwat.
The Government expects companies to provide high levels of service for customers and believes customers should be at heart of challenging companies on performance. We ensured companies updated their Articles of Association, the rules governing each company, to make the interests of customers a primary objective and took powers in the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 to allow the Consumer Council for Water introduce new customer panels to hold companies to account.
Asked by: Martin Vickers (Conservative - Brigg and Immingham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Revenue and Customs has updated its assessment of the number of suicides linked to the loan charge since January 2023; and whether the Government plans to publish updated figures on a routine basis.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government promised to commission a new independent review of the loan charge and that is what it delivered. The purpose of the review was to bring the matter to a close for people who have not settled and paid their loan charge liabilities. The Government accepted all but one of the review’s recommendations and in a number of instances has decided to go further.
Most notably, we decided to write off the first £5,000 of everyone’s liability, providing significant relief to those with the lowest liabilities who are more likely to have been lower earners and targeting support at those who most need it. Because of the decisions the Government has taken, around 30 percent of people within scope of the review could have their liabilities removed entirely. Most other individuals will see their liabilities reduced by at least half.
HMRC are committed to supporting customers through this process and are working hard to give them certainty on their tax positions as quickly as possible. This includes a dedicated service to guide customers through the settlement process and provide extra support for those who need it. Anyone who is worried about a tax liability should get in touch with HMRC as soon as possible. HMRC can provide reasonable adjustments to meet an individual’s needs and is working with Samaritans to provide guidance to advisors and signposting taxpayers where needed to a dedicated Samaritans helpline.
Any loss of life is a tragedy. The government and HMRC take the safeguarding of individuals and issues relating to loss of life extremely seriously. HMRC has a statutory obligation to refer incidences of death or serious injury of a customer, where there is an indication that HMRC contact may have directly or indirectly contributed to the event, to external oversight bodies. Since March 2019, HMRC has made eleven referrals to the Independent Office for Police Conduct where a taxpayer has sadly taken their life and had used a disguised remuneration scheme. HMRC does not currently have arrangements in place to routinely publish these figures.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to expand the use of direct payments to landlords for vulnerable tenants to prevent evictions and sustain tenancies.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Alternative Payment Arrangements are available to support those who cannot manage the Universal Credit (UC) single monthly payment, and where there is a risk of financial harm to the customer or their family. This includes direct payments to landlord for customers who have significant budgeting difficulties or rent arrears.
Direct payment requests are considered on a case-by-case basis and can be considered at the start or at any point during the UC claim to support the tenancy for the home the customer currently lives in. The need may be identified in the Service Centre, Jobcentre or requested by the claimant, their appointee, caseworker or landlord advising of a vulnerability, rent arrears or risk of eviction.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Child Maintenance Service's hotline in responding to concerns raised.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where a customer makes a complaint, including when an MP contacts DWP on their behalf, DWP complaints service standard (including Child Maintenance Service - CMS) aim is to contact a customer within 15 working days to tell them of the outcome of their complaint, or when they can expect a response if the complaint is complex and will take longer.
The Department actively assesses the adequacy of the timeliness and priority of enquiries received from MPs, which enables us to identify which benefit areas are generating the highest number of enquiries, the underlying reasons for these contacts, and the factors contributing to any delays in responses. Regrettably, higher volumes of MP enquiries, combined with a rise in more complex complaints which take longer to investigate, has caused some delays with our responses.
MPs and their caseworkers can contact the CMS via dedicated routes, in writing or by phone. Contact details are available on the parliamentary website. The CMS MP Hotline is available for MPs and their caseworkers who need to contact CMS regarding a general enquiry or a constituency case. This service is in addition to written correspondence.
The hotline operates Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, and is staffed by Complaint Resolution Managers. We aim to provide an immediate response to enquiries wherever possible. For more complex cases, we will arrange follow-up contact with the MP’s caseworker to discuss or provide additional information.
CMS is committed to delivering a modern, efficient service that meets the needs of all customers.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Child Maintenance Service's response times to MPs' queries.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where a customer makes a complaint, including when an MP contacts DWP on their behalf, DWP complaints service standard (including Child Maintenance Service - CMS) aim is to contact a customer within 15 working days to tell them of the outcome of their complaint, or when they can expect a response if the complaint is complex and will take longer.
The Department actively assesses the adequacy of the timeliness and priority of enquiries received from MPs, which enables us to identify which benefit areas are generating the highest number of enquiries, the underlying reasons for these contacts, and the factors contributing to any delays in responses. Regrettably, higher volumes of MP enquiries, combined with a rise in more complex complaints which take longer to investigate, has caused some delays with our responses.
MPs and their caseworkers can contact the CMS via dedicated routes, in writing or by phone. Contact details are available on the parliamentary website. The CMS MP Hotline is available for MPs and their caseworkers who need to contact CMS regarding a general enquiry or a constituency case. This service is in addition to written correspondence.
The hotline operates Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, and is staffed by Complaint Resolution Managers. We aim to provide an immediate response to enquiries wherever possible. For more complex cases, we will arrange follow-up contact with the MP’s caseworker to discuss or provide additional information.
CMS is committed to delivering a modern, efficient service that meets the needs of all customers.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the Child Maintenance Service's stated response time is for MPs' queries.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where a customer makes a complaint, including when an MP contacts DWP on their behalf, DWP complaints service standard (including Child Maintenance Service - CMS) aim is to contact a customer within 15 working days to tell them of the outcome of their complaint, or when they can expect a response if the complaint is complex and will take longer.
The Department actively assesses the adequacy of the timeliness and priority of enquiries received from MPs, which enables us to identify which benefit areas are generating the highest number of enquiries, the underlying reasons for these contacts, and the factors contributing to any delays in responses. Regrettably, higher volumes of MP enquiries, combined with a rise in more complex complaints which take longer to investigate, has caused some delays with our responses.
MPs and their caseworkers can contact the CMS via dedicated routes, in writing or by phone. Contact details are available on the parliamentary website. The CMS MP Hotline is available for MPs and their caseworkers who need to contact CMS regarding a general enquiry or a constituency case. This service is in addition to written correspondence.
The hotline operates Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, and is staffed by Complaint Resolution Managers. We aim to provide an immediate response to enquiries wherever possible. For more complex cases, we will arrange follow-up contact with the MP’s caseworker to discuss or provide additional information.
CMS is committed to delivering a modern, efficient service that meets the needs of all customers.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps HMRC is taking to improve the responsiveness and consistency of its telephone customer service.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Improving day-to-day performance is a key priority for HMRC.
HMRC are investing in new technology to improve their telephony services. Last year, they launched procurement for a new Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) platform which will significantly enhance the customer experience.
They are also expanding their digital services. HMRC online services and the HMRC app are convenient to access and receive high customer satisfaction ratings.
As more people use HMRC digital services, HMRC’s customer service advisers are freed up to support those who are digitally excluded, have complex tax affairs, or find themselves in vulnerable circumstances.
HMRC’s Transformation Roadmap sets out further steps to improve the customer experience for taxpayers, agents, and businesses. The Roadmap can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-transformation-roadmap
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that applicants whose visa cases take longer than service standards are provided with timely updates.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
UKVI are currently processing applications on the overwhelming majority of its visa routes within their published customer service standards. Visa processing times are published on the UKVI website at Visa processing times: Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK
It may take longer to process an application if:
Customers are informed if their application will take longer to process.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times and improve contact accessibility for Child Maintenance Service users in Winchester constituency.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to improving accessibility and customer experience for all users, including those in the Winchester constituency. The Department recognises that call waiting times and contact routes have not always met expected standards and has taken steps to address this.
CMS has implemented the Digital Assist Telephony Service to support customers to use online services and reduce avoidable call demand.
CMS has invested in enhanced telephony routing to prioritise vulnerable customers and direct callers to the right support quickly, with additional operational capacity deployed when required to maintain service levels. CMS has extended weekday telephony hours to 6pm to meet demand.
CMS has expanded digital self-service, including Get Help Arranging Child Maintenance (GHACM) and My Child Maintenance Case (online account), which provide 24/7 access for parents to manage their case without needing to call, improving accessibility and offering greater flexibility on how and when customers make contact. Communication has been further improved through the introduction of online messaging for specific processes, with further expansion planned.
By promoting self-service options online and efficient call routing, we have freed up valuable resources to deliver a more responsive service and allow caseworkers more time to better assist customers who need to reach out to us via telephone. These measures are delivering progresses.
The Department will continue to monitor performance and invest in further improvements to ensure customers receive timely, high-quality support through the channels that best meet their needs and remains committed to providing a reliable, fair and responsive service for all parents across the country.
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve the enforcement of child maintenance obligations in cases where non-resident parents repeatedly change employment or sources of income in order to evade their child maintenance liabilities.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where a paying parent changes jobs, The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) uses real-time information from HMRC where available, to quickly identify new employment and adjust maintenance calculations accordingly.
People who are self-employed are required to keep accurate records of their business income and expenses for tax purposes. HMRC can charge penalties for inaccurate reporting where it results in tax being unpaid.
Where the information available from HMRC does not give rise to a liability which accurately reflects what a customer believes a paying parent should be paying, the parent can seek a Variation. Variations allow the CMS to look at some circumstances which are not covered by the basic maintenance calculation. A variation can be requested on grounds of diversion of income. This is when the paying parent may be able to control the amount of income they receive. This includes diverting income to another person or for another purpose (including excessive pension contributions).
Cases involving complex income can be investigated by the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU). This is a specialist team which can request information from financial institutions to check the accuracy of information the Child Maintenance Service is given.
If paying parents fail to meet their financial obligation to their children, the CMS has a range of strong enforcement powers including deduction from earnings orders and bank accounts, removing a parent’s passport or driving license and commitment to prison. These require time to be deployed effectively; this is obviously frustrating for parents, but is necessary to ensure that, as far as possible, the right person pays the right amount without imposing an excessive burden on employers, the banks, or the court system.
The government is working to introduce administrative liability orders which will replace the current requirement for the CMS to apply to the court for a liability order. Introducing a simpler administrative process will enable the CMS to take faster action against those paying parents who actively avoid their responsibilities and will get money to children more quickly.
Once the system is in place, wee expect the new liability order process in the majority of cases to take around 6 weeks. Changes will mean the CMS can use its strong enforcement powers more quickly to go after those who wilfully avoid their financial obligations to their children.