Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether they will require their department and agencies to offer payroll deductions to all employees to enable them to join a credit union.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
Staff in my Department are employed by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), which provides payroll services on our behalf.
The MoJ does not currently operate a payroll‑deduction facility for credit union membership, however, staff who wish to join a credit union can already do so independently. My department continues to support staff financial wellbeing through the MoJ’s wider financial wellbeing offer, which provides access to information, tools, and advice.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the Restoration and Renewal Client Board, whether the Client Board will offer payroll deductions to all its staff to enable them to join a credit union.
Answered by Nick Smith
House of Commons and Joint Department staff, including those working for the Restoration and Renewal (R&R) Client Team, already have access to payroll deductions to enable them to join a credit union, operated through London Mutual Credit Union. Full details are available in the staff handbook.
The R&R Delivery Authority is a company limited by guarantee established pursuant to the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019, and under the Act, it may appoint employees on such terms and conditions, including as to remuneration and allowances, as it may determine. The Delivery Authority does not offer the ability to participate in a credit union. The Delivery Authority regularly engages with colleagues to seek their views, and the ability to participate in a credit union is not something in which staff have expressed interest.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the Commission will offer payroll deductions to all House staff to enable them to join a credit union.
Answered by Nick Smith
House of Commons and Joint Department staff already have access to payroll deductions to enable them to join a credit union, operated through London Mutual Credit Union. Full details are available in the staff handbook.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of allegations of harassment by the Government of Uganda against leaders of the opposition and their families.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK works with the Government of Uganda on a range of important issues, including trade, development, regional security and refugee response. We also regularly raise concerns about infringements of human rights and restrictions on political activity, including on opposition parties and their supporters. The UK engaged across the political spectrum to advocate for peaceful and credible January 2026 elections, including for opposition candidates to be able to campaign freely and safely, and we continue to press for democratic rights and freedoms, including through our High Commission in Kampala.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports of human rights abuses in Uganda.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK works with the Government of Uganda on a range of important issues, including trade, development, regional security and refugee response. We also regularly raise concerns about infringements of human rights and restrictions on political activity, including on opposition parties and their supporters. The UK engaged across the political spectrum to advocate for peaceful and credible January 2026 elections, including for opposition candidates to be able to campaign freely and safely, and we continue to press for democratic rights and freedoms, including through our High Commission in Kampala.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question
To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission, whether the Commission has had discussions with the National Audit Office regarding employee payroll deductions to credit unions.
Answered by Clive Efford
This is not a matter that the Commission has discussed with the National Audit Office.
The NAO does not currently operate any payroll deduction arrangements for credit unions, nor does it have any active schemes or mechanisms in place that facilitate credit union deductions from employees’ salaries.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, whether they will require their department and agencies to offer payroll deductions to all employees to enable them to join a credit union.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The AGO or its sponsored departments do not offer payroll deduction facility to employees to enable them to join a credit union.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of assistance available to people with EWS1 forms deemed to be invalid and unacceptable by mortgage lenders.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Officials in my department have regular engagement with financial sector stakeholders. A product of this is the lenders’ statement on cladding which has signatories from ten major banks and building societies.
These lenders have committed to consider mortgage applications, even if a property has building safety issues, provided either the building has funding for works from government or the developer, or the property is protected by the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act, and the leaseholder has completed a ‘Leaseholder Deed of Certificate’ to evidence it.
The statement was further updated in April last year to confirm that even where an EWS1 has, what they consider to be, an invalid signatory, lenders will not require a wholesale review of affected EWS1s. Lenders will consider alternative evidence, for example: that a building is in a remediation scheme, a Leaseholder Deed of Certificate has been completed or a Fire Risk Appraisal of the External Wall (FRAEW) has been undertaken.
An EWS1 form is not a government, legal or regulatory requirement. Not all lenders ask for an EWS1, but whether they do, remains a commercial decision.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with UK Finance on mortgage lenders' assessments of EWS1 forms issued by Tri Fire.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Officials in my department have regular engagement with financial sector stakeholders. A product of this is the lenders’ statement on cladding which has signatories from ten major banks and building societies.
These lenders have committed to consider mortgage applications, even if a property has building safety issues, provided either the building has funding for works from government or the developer, or the property is protected by the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act, and the leaseholder has completed a ‘Leaseholder Deed of Certificate’ to evidence it.
The statement was further updated in April last year to confirm that even where an EWS1 has, what they consider to be, an invalid signatory, lenders will not require a wholesale review of affected EWS1s. Lenders will consider alternative evidence, for example: that a building is in a remediation scheme, a Leaseholder Deed of Certificate has been completed or a Fire Risk Appraisal of the External Wall (FRAEW) has been undertaken.
An EWS1 form is not a government, legal or regulatory requirement. Not all lenders ask for an EWS1, but whether they do, remains a commercial decision.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she will have with broadcasters on commissioning programmes that encourage those aged over 60 to participate in sporting activity.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, including older people, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities to stay fit and healthy.
We understand sport helps encourage people to be active and support all grassroots activity to promote this message, and help people participate in sporting activity.
All national governing bodies and UK broadcasters are operationally and editorially independent of the Government. Consequently, we do not plan to have discussions with them regarding their commissioning plans in relation to encouraging those aged over 60 to participate in sporting activity.