Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential cost exempting repairs enjoyed by museums and galleries from VAT to include listed places of worship to the Exchequer.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Outside of a limited number of VAT reliefs aimed at stimulating the supply of new homes, the standard VAT rate of 20 per cent applies to most construction work.

Some museums and galleries receive VAT refunds on the costs associated with providing free access to their permanent collections, under the museums and galleries VAT Refund Scheme. This includes the refunds of the VAT paid on repairs to the buildings that contain museums/galleries’ permanent collections. Further information about the refund scheme can be found here:

VAT Refund Scheme for museums and galleries (VAT Notice 998) - GOV.UK

The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, administered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, provides grants for VAT paid by listed places of worship on their repair and maintenance costs, with the objective of helping to preserve UK heritage. From April 2026, the scheme will be replaced by a Places of Worship Renewal Fund, which will invest £92 million capital funding into listed places of worship. It is designed to ensure that taxpayer funding is targeted more effectively toward the preservation of our heritage assets.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will reinstate the right to remain of a Christchurch constituent who has been classified as an overstayer pending review of his case, with reference 1212-0001-5632-8110/00.

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

We are working with the hon Gentleman’s constituent to resolve the situation and will contact them directly to resolve the situation.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many UK businesses at the most recent date for which information is available have had their Government Gateway access restricted on the grounds that their accounts may have been compromised by fraudulent attempts to reclaim VAT.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The security of HMRC’s online services is a top priority. We are aware of attempts by organised criminals to access VAT accounts using genuine customers’ registration details, and our immediate focus is to protect customer data and correct any affected tax or payment records. Customer accounts may be restricted, i.e. suspended or deleted, for a range of reasons, including proactive fraud monitoring, reports of suspicious activity, and the closure of inactive accounts. Specialist security and VAT teams are actively investigating and delivering improvements to strengthen VAT account security, which could include restricting accounts where fraudulent activity has not been identified.

When and if fraudulent activity has occurred, HMRC contacts affected customers to explain the remedial actions taken and outline any steps they need to take.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what has been the cost to his Department of assessing claims under the Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme in each of the last four years for which information is available.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (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.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, if the Commission will publish the details of the 12 asbestos incidents in the Palace of Westminster to which reference is made on page 25 of the report entitled Delivering restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster: the costed proposals, published on 5 February 2026.

Answered by Nick Smith

The table below outlines the twelve asbestos related incidents since 2016 which have occurred in the Palace, as outlined on page 25 of the R&R Costed Proposals Report.

Question

To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, what works are currently being undertaken to remove or isolate asbestos in the Palace of Westminster; and how many operatives are engaged in those works.

Answered by Nick Smith

Over the last 12 months, a total of 40 tasks has been carried out by the Licensed Asbestos Removal Contractor within the Palace of Westminster to seal, encapsulate, or remove asbestos containing materials.

Asbestos removal will take place as part of maintenance and project works:

1. Where asbestos presents safety risks to delivery of project works.

2. Where asbestos is likely to result in risks in relation to ongoing maintenance and business as usual activities.

3. Where asbestos has been identified by a risk assessment to require removal due to the level of risk to building occupants.

The House Administration employs an Asbestos Compliance Manager who oversees asbestos surveys and removal activities and provides specialist advice to maintenance and project teams across the Estate.

The House Administration also holds contracts with an asbestos consultancy, which maintains three permanent site‑based staff to undertake surveys and inspections, and with a Licensed Asbestos Removal Contractor, which provides two permanent site‑based staff to manage asbestos removal and remediation works required for maintenance and construction projects.

Where a section of the Estate is temporarily handed over to a contractor as a controlled construction zone with restricted access, they may use their own licensed asbestos teams. They are required to liaise with the Asbestos Compliance Manager and, once the area is handed back, ensure all asbestos removal activity is fully logged.

The number of staff deployed by these contractors varies according to operational requirements, including during recess periods when asbestos removal works are more frequently scheduled.

Found: Campbell-Savours (Labour; Penrith and Solway) Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat; North East Fife) Sir Christopher Chope

Found: Campbell-Savours (Labour; Penrith and Solway) Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat; North East Fife) Sir Christopher Chope

Found: Bill Esterson (Labour; Sefton Central) (Chair) Ms Polly Billington (Labour; East Thanet) Sir Christopher Chope

Found: Q620 Sir Christopher Chope: What can you do to stop profiteering?

Found: Bill Esterson (Labour; Sefton Central) (Chair) Ms Polly Billington (Labour; East Thanet) Sir Christopher Chope

The cross-party Modernisation Committee is holding an inquiry into Backbench Business Committee and Petitions Committee debates, as part of its ongoing work on how time is used in the Commons.