Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has considered the potential merits of creating a national mail order fraud database for (a) retailers, (b) delivery companies, (c) customers and (d) other relevant parties to log delivery issues.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade has not made an assessment on creating a national mail order fraud database. Led by the Home Office, the Government will be setting out its approach to tackling all types of fraud in its upcoming Fraud Strategy.
Report Fraud is the new national reporting service for fraud and for cyber crime operated by City of London Police. They also take information reports on attempted frauds. Reports submitted to Report Fraud are considered by the service’s National Crime Analysis Service and evaluated to assess the information available which could assist an investigation.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will introduce an enhanced public awareness campaign to improve understanding of the updated Highway Code rules.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Improving road safety is one of my Department’s highest priorities. Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users.
That is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all.
Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the Department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.
Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.
However, as set out in the Strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and ensuring overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.
As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. As announced in the Strategy, to support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK the Government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the Government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much revenue has been generated from the application of VAT to private school fees to date and how this revenue has been allocated.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government has estimated that ending tax breaks for private schools will raise £1.8 billion a year by 2029/30. At the Autumn Budget 2025, the re-costing of the measure showed it will raise around £40 million per year more than originally forecast. This will raise essential revenue to help fund public services, including supporting the 94% of children in state schools.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps NHS England will take to ensure Integrated Care Boards comply with Regulation 6(4) of the NHS (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013, particularly where chemist premises are removed following a consolidation application, but no Supplementary Statement is publicly published to confirm that the relevant Health and Wellbeing Board is satisfied that no gap in service provision was created.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
If two pharmacies are consolidated onto one site, the relevant Local Authority Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) must publish a supplementary statement to their Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment if, in their view, the consolidation has not created a gap in service provision. This requirement is set out in Regulation 6(4) of the NHS (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013. Whilst it is not the responsibility of NHS England to ensure HWBs comply with this requirement, integrated care boards (ICBs) must seek assurance that a closure of a pharmacy would not create a gap when considering consolidation applications. This includes seeking the view of the HWB. Any representations received from the HWB are considered when reviewing an application from a contractor to open a pharmacy in the area. NHS England oversees the performance of ICBs through the NHS Oversight Framework 2025/26 and the Strategic Commissioning Framework.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has undertaken comparative analysis of maternity and paternity pay provisions for (a) teachers and (b) other (i) public and (ii) private sector professions; and what steps he is taking to help reduce disparities in parental leave entitlements across sectors.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government has committed to review the parental leave and pay system. All current and upcoming parental leave and pay entitlements are in scope of the Parental Leave and Pay Review.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what communications and outreach strategies the Department is implementing to inform victims, legal representatives, and support organisations about their eligibility and the future availability of free sentencing-remarks transcripts, in light of the 498 applications processed under the Rape and Sexual Offences pilot.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
In May 2025, we announced that we would continue to enable victims of rape and other sexual offences, whose cases were heard in the Crown Court, to apply for free transcripts of the sentencing remarks in their case, on an on-going basis. This followed a one-year pilot which ran from May 2024.
We have taken the following steps to promote the provision:
Providing the Witness Service, whose role is to support victims and witnesses at court, with an information sheet on the scheme to distribute to any eligible victims
Publishing a dedicated webpage on Gov.uk
Sharing information on the scheme at a forum with over 70 national and local stakeholders who work with or represent victims.
And creating social media posts on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and LinkedIn.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the equity of the current eligibility criteria for the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, including Regular Officers who were discharged before 29 July 2014 but who served the same qualifying period as those who have received the medal under the revised rule.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 29 October 2025, to Question 84537.
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-10-22/84537
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will set out how the Department’s planned reforms to enhance staff awareness of safeguarding roles and responsibilities will integrate new safeguarding frameworks into its organisational culture and operations, including guidance and training materials are accessible to staff with disabilities, provided in multiple formats, and include clear, direct routes to designated safeguarding leads.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Safeguarding is a priority for DWP. Year One of our multi-year strategy is about building strong foundations - raising awareness, strengthening capability, and deepening partnerships. This is not just a process change; it’s a fundamental culture shift to make safeguarding part of everyday business.
The Department already operates a tiered system of support for vulnerable customers. All staff are trained to recognise vulnerability and respond appropriately, with specialist help available for complex cases.
Frontline colleagues have access to guidance that supports them to refer individuals to external agencies with statutory responsibilities to protect people from harm, abuse or neglect when they identify safeguarding concerns.
The Department has committed to embedding Level 1 safeguarding training across the organisation. This provides employees with the knowledge and skills to recognise potential safeguarding concerns and to know what action to take and who to report to if they have concerns. We are offering this training to all DWP staff.
In addition, we have embedded Level 3 adult and child mandatory safeguarding for all clinicians across the organisation.
Our focus remains on making our training accessible. Design standards and design tools for DWP technical learning support a comprehensive range of learner needs, and DWP Service Delivery role based technical learning is fully compliant with the requirements of the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. Alternative formats are provided, and arrangements are made to support learners’ reasonable adjustments.
We will continue to enable colleagues to complete Safeguarding training as part of their professional development, and we will track progress.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that executors are not held personally liable for council tax bills, including empty property premiums, on properties undergoing probate where Class F exemptions apply, particularly in cases where probate is delayed and executors have no access to estate funds.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
When a property has been left empty following the death of its owner or occupant, it is exempt from council tax for as long as it remains unoccupied and until probate is granted. Where probate is delayed, the exemption will continue until probate is granted. Following a grant of probate (or the signing of letters of administration), a further six months exemption is possible, so long as the property remains unoccupied and has not been sold or transferred to someone else.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made on implementing the Private Parking Code of Practice; what steps the Government is taking to ensure that penalty charges issued by private parking operators are fair and proportionate; and whether a timetable has been set for introducing caps on such charges and measures to prevent aggressive enforcement tactics.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I wish to assure you that this government is determined to drive up standards in the private parking sector.
The new government code will contain guidance about the operation and management of private parking facilities and will protect motorists from bad practice, whilst supporting legitimate operators.
In preparation for the new code, in 2025 the government published a consultation document outlining its proposals to raise standards across the private parking industry.
All responses are now being analysed and the government will publish a response and outline its final plans in due course.