Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department provides to NHS Trusts on the use of ward-wide audible alarm systems in maternity wards.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of current obligations of tech companies to communicate to customers about how their data will be used.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) impose obligations on tech companies to process customers’ personal data lawfully, fairly, transparently and securely, unless certain limited exemptions apply. Organisations must only process personal data where there are legitimate grounds to do so, and be clear with people about how and why their data is being used, such as through privacy notices.
The data protection legislation is monitored and enforced independently of Government by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO has published guidance on transparency requirements here: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/advice-and-services/audits/data-protection-audit-framework/toolkits/accountability/transparency/.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the risk that unpaid carers may have acquired criminal convictions as a result of DWP system failures rather than deliberate fraud.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government inherited a system where some busy carers, already struggling under a huge weight of caring responsibilities, have found themselves with unexpected debts due to earnings-related overpayments of Carer’s Allowance which they were asked to pay back. This only affected some of the relatively small number of Carer’s Allowance claimants who also do paid work, but the impact on some of these unpaid carers has been significant.
Liz Sayce OBE led an Independent Review into the matter. The Review’s report, which we published on 25 November 2025, alongside the Government’s response, has been invaluable in assessing how these overpayments have arisen; what can be done to support unpaid carers who have incurred debts in the past; and how further overpayments can be minimised in future.
The Review has shown that some mistakes were made, and we are determined to put them right. The Government has welcomed the report and is accepting or partially accepting 38 out of the 40 recommendations. In some cases, the changes the report is asking for have already been made. Others will take more time to put in place.
The department agrees the guidance on averaging earnings between 2015 and summer 2025 did not accurately reflect the statutory position with respect to those with fluctuating earnings. That is why we are putting steps in place to run a reassessment exercise. This exercise will begin later this year, and we will communicate details on how this will work in due course.
The department does not routinely publish data at a benefit level linked to benefit fraud prosecutions. However, data on the volume of prosecutions since 2015, where published, can be found in their respective Annual Report available here: DWP annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK. For example, for the 2024/25 figures see page 114 in the Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many unpaid carers have been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to carer’s allowance overpayments in each year since 2015.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government inherited a system where some busy carers, already struggling under a huge weight of caring responsibilities, have found themselves with unexpected debts due to earnings-related overpayments of Carer’s Allowance which they were asked to pay back. This only affected some of the relatively small number of Carer’s Allowance claimants who also do paid work, but the impact on some of these unpaid carers has been significant.
Liz Sayce OBE led an Independent Review into the matter. The Review’s report, which we published on 25 November 2025, alongside the Government’s response, has been invaluable in assessing how these overpayments have arisen; what can be done to support unpaid carers who have incurred debts in the past; and how further overpayments can be minimised in future.
The Review has shown that some mistakes were made, and we are determined to put them right. The Government has welcomed the report and is accepting or partially accepting 38 out of the 40 recommendations. In some cases, the changes the report is asking for have already been made. Others will take more time to put in place.
The department agrees the guidance on averaging earnings between 2015 and summer 2025 did not accurately reflect the statutory position with respect to those with fluctuating earnings. That is why we are putting steps in place to run a reassessment exercise. This exercise will begin later this year, and we will communicate details on how this will work in due course.
The department does not routinely publish data at a benefit level linked to benefit fraud prosecutions. However, data on the volume of prosecutions since 2015, where published, can be found in their respective Annual Report available here: DWP annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK. For example, for the 2024/25 figures see page 114 in the Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of families, who had their child benefit reinstated following the review into those who were suspended during the period of data-sharing between HMRC and the Home Office, were found to be eligible as a result of PAYE checks.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As HMRC informed the Treasury Select Committee in its letter dated 14 November 2025, it is unable to completely disaggregate the number of cases where eligibility was confirmed via a subsequent PAYE check from those where evidence was provided by the customer.
The information from the pilot remains HMRC’s best assessment of the effectiveness of the activity using international travel data to reduce error and fraud.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much and what proportion of funding for Northern Powerhouse Rail is expected to be spent in Lancashire.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Northern Powerhouse Rail will provide up to £45 billion of funding to deliver turn up and go railway services between Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield and York. The economic rationale is enabling these areas to function as single high productivity growth corridor.
The Government has not excluded funding potential future rail improvement schemes more widely for areas such as Lancashire. This is not within the Northern Powerhouse Rail programme funding and would be considered through other sources in the normal way, such as future rail network enhancement programme funding.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 105764 on Child Benefit: Maladministration, and with reference to the Data Protection Impact Assessment 15489, if she will make an assessment of why issues were not identified earlier, in the context of page 10 of the DPIA stating that weekly meetings would take place to identify issues.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Of the 23,794 Child Benefit enquires opened between August and October 2025 to confirm claimant’s residency status, 346 (1.5%) were issued to Northern Ireland claimants.
HMRC does not hold a breakdown of the categories of error and fraud for those customers that were found to be non-compliant.
As HMRC has explained, when issues were identified it took swift action to resolve the position for affected customers and HMRC has also strengthened the process and safeguards going forward for this exercise.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding has been allocated to the Defence Digital and Cyber Bursary scheme since its inception; and what proportion of that funding has been spent to date.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
To date, £2 million has been allocated to this scheme, of which £1.2 million has already been spent. A further £0.8 million is scheduled to be released within the next two weeks to support the latest intake.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2026 to Question 104272 on Child Benefit, how many and what proportion of the 1,109 cases due to (a) fraud, (b) claimant error and (c) official error.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Of the 23,794 Child Benefit enquires opened between August and October 2025 to confirm claimant’s residency status, 346 (1.5%) were issued to Northern Ireland claimants.
HMRC does not hold a breakdown of the categories of error and fraud for those customers that were found to be non-compliant.
As HMRC has explained, when issues were identified it took swift action to resolve the position for affected customers and HMRC has also strengthened the process and safeguards going forward for this exercise.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2026 to Question 104272 on Child Benefit, how many and what proportion of the 23,794 cases relate to families in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Of the 23,794 Child Benefit enquires opened between August and October 2025 to confirm claimant’s residency status, 346 (1.5%) were issued to Northern Ireland claimants.
HMRC does not hold a breakdown of the categories of error and fraud for those customers that were found to be non-compliant.
As HMRC has explained, when issues were identified it took swift action to resolve the position for affected customers and HMRC has also strengthened the process and safeguards going forward for this exercise.