Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Access to Banking Services Review is examining geographical disparities in face-to-face banking provision; and whether Post Office branches could be used to address any such gaps.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to ensuring that people who need in-person banking can continue to access essential services across the UK.
That is why the Government commissioned an independent Review into Access to Banking Services, to assess whether changes to access to in-person banking services are causing consumer detriment, the scale of any detriment, and who it affects, including those who cannot use digital banking. The Review is considering these questions across the whole of the UK, including in rural and urban communities.
The Post Office provides banking services through over 10,000 branches via the Banking Framework agreement and, as such, the provision of services by the Post Office on behalf of banks will be considered as part of the Review.
Alongside the Review, the Government intends to use the Financial Services and Markets Bill to introduce a power to allow action to be taken in future to protect access to banking services, should the evidence support intervention.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is considering ahead of the imminent publication of the Access to Banking Services Review to ensure that people who cannot use digital banking retain reasonable access to face-to-face banking services, including through the Post Office network.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to ensuring that people who need in-person banking can continue to access essential services across the UK.
That is why the Government commissioned an independent Review into Access to Banking Services, to assess whether changes to access to in-person banking services are causing consumer detriment, the scale of any detriment, and who it affects, including those who cannot use digital banking. The Review is considering these questions across the whole of the UK, including in rural and urban communities.
The Post Office provides banking services through over 10,000 branches via the Banking Framework agreement and, as such, the provision of services by the Post Office on behalf of banks will be considered as part of the Review.
Alongside the Review, the Government intends to use the Financial Services and Markets Bill to introduce a power to allow action to be taken in future to protect access to banking services, should the evidence support intervention.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of national or local electronic registration system outages on funeral arrangements, faith communities requiring prompt burials, and international repatriation.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The move to an electronic register has no impact upon funeral arrangements, faith communities requiring prompt burials, and international repatriation. The existing legislative provisions to be able to obtain certificates for disposal prior to registration are unchanged.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what disaster recovery and business continuity testing has been undertaken ahead of the introduction of the General Register Office's electronic registration system on 9 November 2026; and what arrangements are in place for local authorities affected by network failures or cyberattacks.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The system used by registrars to record births and deaths electronically has been in place since 2009 and is designed with multiple levels of resilience to protect data. Since this system was introduced, any changes are subject to rigorous and well-established testing processes and are assured before implementation.
Disaster recovery and local business continuity arrangements are maintained to support the service. For local network failures or cyber incidents, arrangements can include partnership arrangements with neighbouring registration districts. The existing out-of-district declaration process will also remain available, allowing information to be taken manually for subsequent registration once the electronic register is available.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what arrangements her Department has provided following implementation of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 to enable local registration services to register births, stillbirths and deaths in circumstances where the national electronic registration system is unavailable.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
An electronic record has been in place alongside paper registers since 2009. From 9 November 2026, that electronic register will replace paper registers as the sole vehicle for the registration of births, deaths and stillbirths The electronic register is subject to robust controls, with well-established measures in place to ensure that registrations continue to be completed within the statutory timeframe.
In the event of a national system outage affecting the electronic register, the General Register Office would manage the situation as it does now through its critical or major incident arrangements, with the response determined by the nature and impact of the incident.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Registrar General can authorise an offline contingency process for the registration of births, stillbirths and deaths; and whether she has considered postponing the implementation of electronic registration until further resilience-building measures are in place.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The General Register Office remains committed to the implementation of electronic registers from 9 November 2026.
In the event of a national system outage affecting the electronic register, the General Register Office would manage the situation through its critical or major incident arrangements, with the response determined by the nature and impact of the incident.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2026 to Question 14738 on Department for Transport: Public Expenditure, what the planned timetable is for the decision.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Budgets for individual projects, including whether to cancel, delay or rescope them following the Defence Investment Plan will be taken through the Department's normal planning processes, including Annual Business Planning and future spending reviews.
For the additional savings the Department committed to making on Roads at the Defence Investment Plan, we consulted on changes to RIS3 funding over the summer. This consultation closed in September and the Department is currently reviewing the feedback before making a final decision.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential for Food Standards Agency-approved slaughterhouses to accommodate Jhatka slaughter methods that comply with general animal welfare laws; and what steps she is taking to support dietary diversity for the Sikh community in the UK.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 18 September to PQ UIN 28363.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with representatives of the UK Sikh community and the Jhatka Council regarding the commercial availability and certification of Jhatka-slaughtered meat within the legal framework of standard humane stunning regulations.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 18 September to PQ UIN 28363.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will review the text of Schedule 3 of the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 to consider extending the definition of permitted religious rites to permit Jhatka slaughter methods.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 18 September to PQ UIN 28363.