Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of dual British citizens who hold an expired UK passport.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The information requested is not held. There is no obligation to declare dual nationality when applying for a British passport.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the current Service User Demand Plan target is for dispersed asylum accommodation in Fylde Borough; and how that target was calculated.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Asylum Accommodation Plans offer an evidence-based approach to procurement and delivery of asylum accommodation nationally, in a manner that is fair and equitable. Development of the Plans was informed by feedback provided by local authorities, Strategic Migration Partners (SMPs) the Local Government Association as well as other Government Departments. Furthermore, the plans are underpinned by an indexing model which considers several social factors, including crime rates, levels of homelessness and availability of GPs and Dentists.

Details of the Asylum Accommodation Plans, including the Service User Demand Plans for specific Local Authorities, are not published. However, these details are shared with nominated local authority officials, including at Fylde Borough Council. Progress against the Asylum Accommodation Plans is routinely monitored within regular official forums jointly attended by Local Authority, Home Office, accommodation providers and SMPs colleagues.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the press release entitled Over £17 million saved in past six months through government office closures, published on 23 February 2026, whether the estimated annual savings from closing three central London offices are net of (a) transition, (b) refit and (c) redundancy costs.

Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The savings from the three central London office closures relate to the annual property running costs. They have not been adjusted for any one-off transition, refit, or redundancy costs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce (a) transitional protection and (b) retrospective corrective measures for NHS staff who took partial retirement before formal guidance on its impact on redundancy entitlement was issued.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are no plans to introduce transitional protections or retrospective corrective measures for National Health Service staff who took partial retirement before formal guidance on the impact of redundancy entitlement was issued.

Contractual redundancy provisions for staff covered by the NHS terms and conditions of service handbook, also referred to as Agenda for Change, in England were agreed and ratified in partnership by the NHS Staff Council, the collective bargaining structure made up of trade union and employer representatives.

Any future changes to the handbook, including this section, would require the department to issue a mandate to allow negotiations to be undertaken by the NHS Staff Council.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what conditions are attached to the Exceptional Financial Support granted to councils in 2026; and whether those conditions include requirements for (a) asset disposals, (b) service reductions and (c) workforce restructuring.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

This government is delivering fairer funding, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade. However, delivering reform will take time, and the government recognises the challenging financial context for local authorities as they continue to deal with the legacy of the previous flawed system.

On 23 February government published details of Exceptional Financial Support provided to a number of councils to help them set balanced budgets for 2026-27. Full details of all support agreed under the Exceptional Financial Support process since 2020-21 are available on GOV.UK. As a requirement of support, the government will be seeking additional external assurance on all of these councils to support local improvement as well as provide an assessment on the actions each council is taking locally to manage its position.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities have applied for Exceptional Financial Support in each financial year since 2020; and what the total value of support approved has been in each year.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

This government is delivering fairer funding, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade. However, delivering reform will take time, and the government recognises the challenging financial context for local authorities as they continue to deal with the legacy of the previous flawed system.

On 23 February government published details of Exceptional Financial Support provided to a number of councils to help them set balanced budgets for 2026-27. Full details of all support agreed under the Exceptional Financial Support process since 2020-21 are available on GOV.UK. As a requirement of support, the government will be seeking additional external assurance on all of these councils to support local improvement as well as provide an assessment on the actions each council is taking locally to manage its position.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many child benefit enquiries were opened as a result of data-sharing between HMRC and Student Finance England to detect changes in the young person’s further education status; over what timeframe they were opened; and what the outcomes were.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

For 16–19-year-olds included on Child Benefit claims, eligibility is reliant on them being in full-time non-advanced education or approved training.

Data from Student Finance England helps HMRC identify when a young person included in a Child Benefit award may have moved into advanced education (degree level), where the claimant has not notified HMRC. In these circumstances, HMRC will conduct an enquiry with the customer to clarify their young person’s education status.

Based on operational management information, which is subject to change, HMRC conducted enquiries with around 3,000 Child Benefit claimants since late 2023/24, to clarify their child’s education status. Around 2,800 of the enquires resulted in decisions to end the Child Benefit award.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what support his Department is able to provide the conveyancing sector to digitise the property transaction process.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 103007 on 13 January 2026.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department is taking any steps to assist the digitisation of the conveyancing process.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 103007 on 13 January 2026.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what financial or technical assistance her Department provides to support implementation of the Global Charter for Children’s Care Reform in Sri Lanka.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has committed to provide technical assistance to signatories of the Global Charter on Children's Care Reform, where needed, to support the development and implementation of national children's care reform commitments. This technical assistance can support activities such as developing national care reform strategies and action plans, strengthening laws and policies, building the capacity of the children's social care workforce, improving data and monitoring systems, and supporting the transition from institutional to family‑based care.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the full cost to the NHS of preventable stoma management complications; and whether he will consider commissioning a national economic impact assessment of the potential savings associated with mandated annual specialist stoma reviews.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not specifically attempted to estimate the full costs to the National Health Service of preventable stoma management or the merits of introducing a nationally mandated annual specialist stoma review requirement within the NHS Standard Contract. However, as part of work linked to reforms of Part IX of the Drug Tariff, the Department is aware that patient experience varies, and through NHS England, is currently reviewing the provision of stoma products and stoma services.

The Department does not hold data on variation between integrated care systems (ICS) in access to specialist stoma review and structured follow-up. However, through this work NHS England has been engaging ICSs to understand what impacts stoma care and to identify improvements.

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 merits of introducing a nationally mandated annual specialist stoma review requirement within the NHS Standard Contract.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not specifically attempted to estimate the full costs to the National Health Service of preventable stoma management or the merits of introducing a nationally mandated annual specialist stoma review requirement within the NHS Standard Contract. However, as part of work linked to reforms of Part IX of the Drug Tariff, the Department is aware that patient experience varies, and through NHS England, is currently reviewing the provision of stoma products and stoma services.

The Department does not hold data on variation between integrated care systems (ICS) in access to specialist stoma review and structured follow-up. However, through this work NHS England has been engaging ICSs to understand what impacts stoma care and to identify improvements.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on variation between Integrated Care Systems in access to specialist stoma review and structured follow-up.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not specifically attempted to estimate the full costs to the National Health Service of preventable stoma management or the merits of introducing a nationally mandated annual specialist stoma review requirement within the NHS Standard Contract. However, as part of work linked to reforms of Part IX of the Drug Tariff, the Department is aware that patient experience varies, and through NHS England, is currently reviewing the provision of stoma products and stoma services.

The Department does not hold data on variation between integrated care systems (ICS) in access to specialist stoma review and structured follow-up. However, through this work NHS England has been engaging ICSs to understand what impacts stoma care and to identify improvements.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the £1.6 billion Inclusive Mainstream Fund will be allocated between (a) early years settings, (b) primary schools, (c) secondary schools and (d) post-16 institutions; and what accountability mechanisms will apply to that funding.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

We will publish methodology documents to explain the funding distribution of the Inclusive Mainstream Fund for early years settings, schools and 16-19 institutions in the spring.

In our recent publication 'SEND reform: putting children and young people first', we explained we will hold settings and trusts to account on how they take meaningful steps to invest in inclusion. More details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-first.

Schools will be required to explain their plans to use their overall funding allocation to embed inclusive practice through a published Inclusion Strategy. 16-19 institutions will be required to demonstrate how they will use their inclusion funding in their Accountability Agreements. In early years settings, local authorities will play a role in ensuring providers use their inclusion funding to support inclusive practice. We will provide further detail on these arrangements in the spring.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has undertaken an impact assessment of the effect of calculating Child Maintenance Service payments on gross income on the financial wellbeing of paying parents in the last five years.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The child maintenance liability is usually calculated as a percentage of a Paying Parent’s gross weekly income, unless they are on low income or benefits where they pay a flat rate of £7. Income information is taken directly from HM Revenue and Customs for the latest tax year available and applies to parents who are employed or self employed. This allows calculations to be made quickly and accurately.

On previous Child Maintenance schemes net income was used. When this was changed to gross income on the 2012 scheme, percentages were adjusted to reflect the change and keep liabilities broadly the same for a given level of income as they had been under previous schemes.

The Government has announced a review of the child maintenance calculation to ensure the formula encourages compliance and sustainable arrangements. Any changes made to the child maintenance calculation will be subject to public consultation, and if made, will require amendments to legislation so would be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what safeguards are in place to ensure that patients with a stoma are (a) offered a choice of dispensing provider and (b) actively involved in decisions relating to appliance selection; and how is compliance with those safeguards is monitored across Integrated Care Systems.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are a range of legislative and operational safeguards in place to support patient choice and facilitate co-decision between clinicians and patients regarding stoma appliances. In terms of legislation, the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013 aim to ensure that pharmaceutical services are delivered in a manner that is not conflicted with inducements that may be provided.

Guidance on Managing conflicts of interest in the NHS, updated in 2024, outlines that in services like stoma, where staff may be sponsored by industry, then such post holders must not promote or favour the sponsor’s specific products, and information about alternative products and suppliers should be provided. In addition, the British Healthcare Trade Association agreed a Code of Practice with its members who are involved in the dispensing of these appliances. The code aims to ensure ethical conduct and to safeguard patient interests in the dispensing process.

How compliance with the safeguards is monitored is a decision for the integrated care systems. Some areas have introduced central prescribing hubs in order to avoid any undue influence from sponsored posts or the dispensing contractors. Under the prescribing hubs a patient can use any dispensing contractor, but the prescription cannot be changed by them.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help reduce the need for patients to contact GP practices at 8am in order to secure a same-day appointment.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have pledged to end the 8:00am scramble by introducing a modern booking system. As part of this, we have introduced a new requirement for general practices to make online appointment requests available throughout the duration of core opening hours, which will help reduce pressure on phone lines for patients who prefer to call.

General practices are independent businesses that hold contracts with the National Health Service to provide essential services. The contracts are clear that patients must be offered an assessment of need or signposting to a different service on the day they contact their practice. This is to ensure that we move away from a ‘first come, first served’ approach to a more equitable one that benefits all patients.

NHS England published the Medium‑Term Planning Framework in October, setting a new requirement for all urgent appointments to be delivered on the same day, ensuring that patients needing urgent care are prioritised. Building on this, the 2026/27 GP Contract makes it explicit that any requests identified as clinically urgent, as determined by the general practice, must be dealt with on the same day.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS staff who had taken partial retirement were placed at risk of redundancy between 1 April 2024 and 31 January 2026.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Data held by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) confirms that the number of staff who applied for partial retirement between 1 April 2024 and 31 January 2026 and are in receipt of payment is 32,271. This number includes NHS Pension scheme members across England and Wales who are employed by National Health Service organisations, including general practices.

The Department does not hold data on the number of people who were also at risk of redundancy between this period. This data would be held at a local level by individual providers.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the introduction of the Electronic Travel Authorisation requirement from 25 February 2026 on dual British nationals travelling to the UK.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We have been clear on the requirement for dual British citizens to travel with a valid British passport or Certificate of Entitlement. This requirement applies equally to all British citizens, whether or not they hold another nationality. We recognise the enforcement of ETAs by carriers is a significant change, and so we have provided additional temporary guidance to carriers on possible alternative documentation, and have put in place around the clock support for carriers to prepare for these changes. In line with current practice, on arrival at the UK border, Border Force will still assess a person’s eligibility to enter the UK and conduct additional checks if required.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what security checks are undertaken before an address change is accepted on a taxpayer’s Government Gateway account.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

When a taxpayer requests an address change on their Government Gateway account, a range of security checks are applied to help protect the account and prevent unauthorised access.

These checks include confirming the user’s identity through their Government Gateway credentials, monitoring for unusual or suspicious activity, and applying additional verification measures where appropriate. HMRC also uses automated controls and risk‑based assessments to help detect and prevent potential fraud.

The precise nature of these checks is kept under review and is not disclosed in detail, as doing so could undermine their effectiveness.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions her Department has had with the Financial Conduct Authority regarding the regulation of equity crowdfunding schemes such as the Equity for Punks programme operated by BrewDog.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government has regular conversations with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on a range of topics, including the regulation of equity crowdfunding.

In 2024, the government delivered the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations which enabled the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to reform the UK Prospectus Regime.This new regime took effect on 19 January 2026, and gives investors access to better quality information to support their investment decisions.

The regulations also created a new regulated activity of operating a Public Offer Platform (POP). Companies seeking to make public offers of securities outside a public market to a broad investor base, where the value exceeds £5 million, will now need to do so via a POP, ensuring investors receive better information about their investments.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the increase in the number of children classified as children missing education (CME) in Lancashire over the last decade; and what assessment she has made of the potential implications of this for her policies.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Children Missing Education data was first collected on a voluntary basis in Autumn 2022. Lancashire reported 4,690 Children Missing Education at any point in the 2024/25 academic year. This is a decrease from 4,820 in 2023/24, and an increase from 2,280 when collection began in 2021/22.

The government is committed to breaking down the barriers to opportunity for our young people, and education is key in providing the strong foundations to better life chances.

Local authorities already have a duty to locate and support children back into education where necessary, and we have published statutory guidance on ‘Children Missing Education’, and ‘Working Together to Improve School Attendance’ that reinforces the roles and responsibilities of schools and local authorities to work together in this area. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will go further, requiring councils to maintain registers of children not in school, ensuring fewer young people slip under the radar.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support local authorities experiencing increases in children missing education, including Lancashire County Council.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Children Missing Education data was first collected on a voluntary basis in Autumn 2022. Lancashire reported 4,690 Children Missing Education at any point in the 2024/25 academic year. This is a decrease from 4,820 in 2023/24, and an increase from 2,280 when collection began in 2021/22.

The government is committed to breaking down the barriers to opportunity for our young people, and education is key in providing the strong foundations to better life chances.

Local authorities already have a duty to locate and support children back into education where necessary, and we have published statutory guidance on ‘Children Missing Education’, and ‘Working Together to Improve School Attendance’ that reinforces the roles and responsibilities of schools and local authorities to work together in this area. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will go further, requiring councils to maintain registers of children not in school, ensuring fewer young people slip under the radar.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to introduce additional statutory duties or guidance for local authorities to track and support children missing education.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Children Missing Education data was first collected on a voluntary basis in Autumn 2022. Lancashire reported 4,690 Children Missing Education at any point in the 2024/25 academic year. This is a decrease from 4,820 in 2023/24, and an increase from 2,280 when collection began in 2021/22.

The government is committed to breaking down the barriers to opportunity for our young people, and education is key in providing the strong foundations to better life chances.

Local authorities already have a duty to locate and support children back into education where necessary, and we have published statutory guidance on ‘Children Missing Education’, and ‘Working Together to Improve School Attendance’ that reinforces the roles and responsibilities of schools and local authorities to work together in this area. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will go further, requiring councils to maintain registers of children not in school, ensuring fewer young people slip under the radar.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department cross-checks identity information with (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) other government databases before initiating debt recovery action relating to Universal Credit.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

This department is committed to fairness in debt recovery and will always work with people to ensure that any recovery activity does not cause hardship or is unfairly detrimental. Identity checks are undertaken by DWP at the point a customer makes a benefit claim, and we work closely with other government departments during the claimant journey where necessary.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, if the Commission will assess the potential merits of increasing the availability of Democratic Access tours of Parliament during school holiday periods.

Answered by Nick Smith

The Education Team ran a pilot during May half-term 2025 which offered schools the opportunity to visit Parliament. Some schools took up this opportunity but not at the same level as during term time. The interest mainly came from schools with different school holiday dates such as the Devolved Nations.

Offering educational tours during holiday periods on a permanent basis would incur additional budget to ensure that the tours can be staffed. There would be a potential impact on visitor experience commercial tours, which have priority in the recess periods.

The Visitor Experience team currently run one day of Inside UK Parliament tours per week in recess (c.500 tickets per week), available to all UK residents free of charge. These slots are usually fully booked. The remaining days are prioritised for commercial days.

The Commission will receive an update at its June meeting on the availability of Democratic Access and Education related tours during the parliamentary recess and school holiday periods so that it can consider whether any changes are required.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support is available for small businesses and self-employed individuals to assist them in meeting the requirements of Making Tax Digital; and what measures are in place to monitor the effectiveness of this support.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Making Tax Digital will help businesses and landlords keep on top of their tax affairs. It places small businesses on a more digital footing, with digital tools helping to reduce errors and make annual tax returns easier.

The government is undertaking a range of activities to ensure those needing to use MTD for Income Tax from April 2026 are ready and able to do so successfully.

This includes targeted media campaigns, awareness letters, developing guidance, and working with the software industry to ensure a broad range of MTD-compatible products is available, to suit different needs and budgets. Free options will support those with the simplest affairs.

Supporting its introduction is a dedicated team of fully-trained MTD advisors. From April 2026, new options will be available on HMRC’s Self-Assessment and Agent helplines tailored to the needs of MTD users.

Further support will continue to be offered through webinars, industry engagement and marketing activities targeted to reach those affected by the changes.

HMRC’s latest published assessment of the potential impact of MTD for Income Tax across different taxpayer groups is available at:

Extension of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment to sole traders and landlords - GOV.UK

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the average financial cost to businesses of complying with Making Tax Digital; and what support is available to offset those costs.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Making Tax Digital will help businesses and landlords keep on top of their tax affairs. It places small businesses on a more digital footing, with digital tools helping to reduce errors and make annual tax returns easier.

The government is undertaking a range of activities to ensure those needing to use MTD for Income Tax from April 2026 are ready and able to do so successfully.

This includes targeted media campaigns, awareness letters, developing guidance, and working with the software industry to ensure a broad range of MTD-compatible products is available, to suit different needs and budgets. Free options will support those with the simplest affairs.

Supporting its introduction is a dedicated team of fully-trained MTD advisors. From April 2026, new options will be available on HMRC’s Self-Assessment and Agent helplines tailored to the needs of MTD users.

Further support will continue to be offered through webinars, industry engagement and marketing activities targeted to reach those affected by the changes.

HMRC’s latest published assessment of the potential impact of MTD for Income Tax across different taxpayer groups is available at:

Extension of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment to sole traders and landlords - GOV.UK

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Government has considered establishing periodic review procedures for High Court injunctions granting lifelong anonymity to offenders convicted of serious crimes committed as juveniles.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The High Court has been clear that the making of an injunction to grant lifelong anonymity to protect the identity of a now adult person convicted of a serious offence as a child, should be exceptional. In practice, such injunctions are made very rarely.

The court will consider whether there is a real and immediate risk of serious physical harm or death or if the offender’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights justify making the injunction as a necessary and proportionate step. In doing so the court will balance these factors against the right of the media and others to freedom of expression.

An application can be made to the High Court to end an injunction. To be successful, it must be demonstrated that the conditions justifying the making of the injunction are no longer in place.

This Government has no current plans to establish periodic review procedures for these injunctions.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has issued guidance to HM Revenue and Customs on implementing the recommendations of the independent review of the loan charge.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government commissioned an independent review of the loan charge to bring the matter to a close for those affected, ensure fairness for all taxpayers and ensure that appropriate support is in place for those subject to the loan charge.

The Government accepted the review’s conclusion that the loan charge was an extraordinary piece of Government policy which necessitated an exceptional response, and is now legislating a new settlement opportunity that will assist those who have not yet settled to do so.

As a result, most individuals could see reductions of at least 50% in their outstanding loan charge liabilities, and an estimated 30% of individuals could have these liabilities written off entirely. To encourage more people to settle, the Government will write off the first £5,000 of liabilities in addition to the proposals put forward by Ray McCann.

The Government’s response to the review represents a fair and proportionate attempt to provide a route to resolution for those who have not yet been able to settle with HMRC. In turn, this requires those individuals to now come forward and engage with HMRC in good faith.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he intends to use powers in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to prohibit the sale of vaping devices designed to operate with refill containers that, when attached, resulting in a total liquid capacity exceeding 2ml.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will stop vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately branded, promoted, and advertised to children and will provide the Government with new powers to restrict the packaging, device appearance, and display of vapes and other nicotine products to stop the next generation from becoming hooked on nicotine.

On 8 October 2025, we launched a Call for Evidence which sought evidence on the size and shape of vapes, vape tanks, and the components of vaping products, including pods, puff-count capacity, and nicotine delivery.

We are now reviewing the responses, and these will help inform decisions around our future regulatory approach once the Tobacco and Vapes Bill has been enacted.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as part of their upcoming Circular Economy Growth Plan, will consider evidence across a range of interventions, including but not limited to the regulation of product features to support increased recyclability.

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 implications for its policies on vaping regulation of vaping devices marketed as delivering tends of thousands of puffs.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will stop vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately branded, promoted, and advertised to children and will provide the Government with new powers to restrict the packaging, device appearance, and display of vapes and other nicotine products to stop the next generation from becoming hooked on nicotine.

On 8 October 2025, we launched a Call for Evidence which sought evidence on the size and shape of vapes, vape tanks, and the components of vaping products, including pods, puff-count capacity, and nicotine delivery.

We are now reviewing the responses, and these will help inform decisions around our future regulatory approach once the Tobacco and Vapes Bill has been enacted.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as part of their upcoming Circular Economy Growth Plan, will consider evidence across a range of interventions, including but not limited to the regulation of product features to support increased recyclability.

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 location restrictions for high fat, sugar and salt products on fruit and nut (a) bars and (b) bags; and what steps he is taking to ensure that regulation does not have unintended consequences for competition.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis to ease the strain on our National Health Service and create the healthiest generation of children ever.

Restrictions on the promotion by location of ‘less healthy’ food and drink products in stores and their equivalent places online have been in place since 2022. These restrictions apply to categories of products that impact most on childhood obesity, which were chosen following public consultation. Only fruit and nut bars and bags that are high in saturated fat, salt, or sugar are in scope of the restrictions. There are exceptions for certain coated nuts products. The products that are in and out of scope of the restrictions are set out in the Schedule to the Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 regulations and we have published guidance to support industry on complying with the restrictions.

We published a detailed impact assessment on the costs to industry and the benefits of this policy on the GOV.UK website. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the restrictions and will publish a Post Implementation Review within five years of the restrictions taking legal effect which would consider any unintended consequences of the policy.

Excise