Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 March (HL15443), what steps they have taken in the past year to meet their legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation concerning work and pensions should be brought into force.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Policy teams within the Department for Work and Pensions are responsible for ensuring effective legislative practice within their area, including the management of uncommenced legislation, and considering when to bring forward commencement orders. Where needed, they work closely with lawyers and our central legislative strategy team. This work is undertaken alongside established postlegislative scrutiny processes.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 March (HL15443), what steps they have taken in the past year to meet their legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation concerning transport should be brought into force.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Policy teams within the department are responsible for ensuring effective delivery within their area, including the review of uncommenced legislation and considering when to bring forward commencement orders.
Where needed, they draw on the advice of government lawyers to support delivery. This is conducted alongside established post legislative scrutiny processes where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the Vehicle Excise Duty payment screen on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's website prompts people to pay monthly without mentioning on that screen that annual payment would be cheaper; and what assessment they have made of whether this practice is compliant with consumer protection laws and regulations.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
When a vehicle is due to be taxed, the DVLA sends the registered keeper a reminder that includes information on payment options, including the amount due if the customer chooses to pay by direct debit. The DVLA’s online vehicle licensing service also includes a link to a table of vehicle excise duty rates which individuals can view before deciding on which payment option to use.
The table below shows the number of new and automatically renewed direct debit mandates for vehicle excise duty payments in 2025/26.
2025/26 | Monthly instalments over 12 months | One single payment covering 12 months |
Total | 15,850,695 | 1,762,191 |
The DVLA keeps all services under review to ensure compliance with all relevant rules and regulations.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people in the most recent financial year for which data is available paid the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for Vehicle Excise Duty in monthly instalments; how many paid annually; and how much additional revenue was generated for the DVLA by the higher total charge for paying monthly.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
When a vehicle is due to be taxed, the DVLA sends the registered keeper a reminder that includes information on payment options, including the amount due if the customer chooses to pay by direct debit. The DVLA’s online vehicle licensing service also includes a link to a table of vehicle excise duty rates which individuals can view before deciding on which payment option to use.
The table below shows the number of new and automatically renewed direct debit mandates for vehicle excise duty payments in 2025/26.
2025/26 | Monthly instalments over 12 months | One single payment covering 12 months |
Total | 15,850,695 | 1,762,191 |
The DVLA keeps all services under review to ensure compliance with all relevant rules and regulations.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 March (HL15443), what steps the Ministry of Defence has taken in the last year to meet its legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation that falls within its area of responsibility should be brought into force.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The department keeps legislation under review, considering operational readiness and wider priorities. Policy teams within the department are responsible for ensuring effective legislative practice within their area, including reviewing uncommenced legislation and bringing forward commencement regulations as required, drawing on expert legal advice to support their delivery.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 March (HL15443), what steps the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has taken in the last year to meet its legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation that falls within its area of responsibility should be brought into force.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office keeps under review the status of any legislative provisions falling within its areas of policy responsibility which have not yet been commenced. Decisions on commencement are taken in the normal course of policy making.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 March (HL15443), what steps the Export Credits Guarantee Department has taken in the last year to meet its legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation that falls within its area of responsibility should be brought into force.
Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)
The Export Credits Guarantee Department, operating under the name UK Export Finance, keeps the commencement and implementation of legislation within its area of responsibility under review alongside operational readiness and delivery of wider priorities. The only uncommenced legislation for which it is responsible is the Industry and Exports (Financial Assistance) Act 2026 which received Royal Assent on 18 March 2026 and will come into force on 19 May 2026, pursuant to Section 3(2).
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 March (HL15443), what steps the Home Office has taken in the last year to meet its legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation that falls within its area of responsibility should be brought into force.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps the commencement of its legislation under review, taking account of operational readiness and delivery of wider priorities.
This is alongside an established post-legislative scrutiny process. Responsibility sits with policy teams to monitor the status of provisions and determine appropriate timings for when they should be brought into force.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 March (HL15443), what steps they have taken in the past year to meet their legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation concerning health and social care should be brought into force.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Policy teams within the Department of Health and Social Care keep the commencement and implementation of legislation under review. In line with established processes, we are in contact with the Health and Social Care Committee in the House of Commons to undertake required post-legislative scrutiny of relevant legislation, which includes a review of the operation of the legislation, and highlighting any measures not commenced and plans to commence them.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 March (HL15443), what steps the Cabinet Office has taken in the last year to meet its legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation that falls within its area of responsibility should be brought into force.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Cabinet Office conducts regular reviews to prioritise the commencement of legislation as soon as is reasonably practicable to do so, and taking into account departmental objectives.
The Cabinet Office has made two Commencement Orders in the past year to bring legislation within its remit into force as appropriate.