Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether it is the regulator for the activities of The Hurlingham Polo Association, which describes itself as the governing body for polo in the UK, Ireland and many other countries throughout the world.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Neither the Department for Culture, Media and Sport nor its arm’s length body Sport England are regulators of sport in England. National Governing Bodies of sport are independent of Government and are responsible for the rules and regulation of their sports. Sport England recognises the Hurlingham Polo Association as the National Governing Body for Polo in England.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what scrutiny her department undertakes of the funding of sports associations, franchises and teams to assure itself that they are not associated with money laundering.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

UK Sport and Sport England as arm's-length bodies of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport provide funding to a range of sporting organisations including National Governing Bodies, and have strict eligibility criteria for funding along with financial assurance.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of evidence from the US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network published on 2 March 2026 that UK resident individuals may have laundered the proceeds of corrupt oil sales in Venezuela through MBaer Merchant Bank.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to protecting the UK’s financial system and maintaining a robust anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing system. This involves identifying risks to the system, monitoring global developments, and working with international partners.

The Government does not comment on assessments relating to specific firms. Where appropriate, the Government will act in response to individual cases and risks identified.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of the notice issued on 2 March 2026 by the US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposing that MBaer Merchant Bank be designated as an institution of primary money laundering concern.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to protecting the UK’s financial system and maintaining a robust anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing system. This involves identifying risks to the system, monitoring global developments, and working with international partners.

The Government does not comment on assessments relating to specific firms. Where appropriate, the Government will act in response to individual cases and risks identified.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact to the public pursue of (a) cancelling all outstanding student loan balances on existing borrowers; (b) cancelling all outstanding student loan balances for particular occupations for existing borrowers; and (c) cancelling all outstanding student loan balances for particular subjects studied, for existing borrowers.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Cancelling all outstanding student loan balances for existing student loan borrowers would lead to reduction of the fair value of the entire loan book to zero. The fair value of the student loan book, published in the most recent annual accounts, as at 31 March 2025 was £157.9 billion.

The department has not estimated the impact to the public purse of cancelling all outstanding student loan balances for subsets of graduates who studied particular subjects or work in specific professions.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact to the public purse of (a) changing the student loan repayment rates for existing borrowers and (b) changing the income threshold at which student loans are repaid for existing borrowers.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Reducing the repayment rate for existing student loan borrowers would reduce expected future repayments and therefore be a cost to the public purse. Increasing the income threshold at which student loans are repaid for existing borrowers would also reduce expected future repayments.

To support the long-term sustainability of the student loan system, we announced at the Autumn Budget 2025 that the Plan 2 repayment threshold will be increased to £29,385 in April 2026 and then frozen at that level for three years beginning April 2027.

Heating oil financial support

Heating oil prices

Conduct of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Palantir and the NHS

Refugee homelessness and the asylum move-on period

Dual nationals without British passports