Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the student loan repayment threshold remaining at its current level on (a) graduates in lower-paid or insecure employment, (b) social mobility and (c) students from lower-income backgrounds.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It was announced at the Autumn Budget that the repayment and interest thresholds for Plan 2 student loans will be frozen from the 2026/27 financial year until April 2030, when they will increase annually by inflation.
The department has produced the attached analysis regarding the impact of freezing the repayment and interest thresholds.
If a borrower is earning above the repayment threshold and their income stays the same, then their repayments will remain the same. If a borrower is not earning above the repayment threshold and their income remains the same, they will continue to not be required to make any repayments.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
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 has taken to communicate to mortgage lenders the Government's guidance that buildings under 11 metres in height do not require an EWS1 form.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Officials in my department have regular engagement with financial sector stakeholders. Lenders have been encouraged to move away from the use of EWS1 forms for buildings of all heights, and instead to rely on a Fire Risk Appraisal of External Walls (FRAEW). 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: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in the past year what has the average time been for the Child Maintenance Service to obtain a verified address for a paying parent once a caseworker identifies that one is missing; and what processes are in place to minimise delays where child maintenance arrears are accruing.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to ensuring parents meet their financial obligations to their children. Where a paying parent fails to take responsibility for paying their child maintenance and cannot be traced, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) will take immediate action and do everything within its powers to trace the paying parent. In addition to information provided by parents, CMS undertakes a series of trace checks to verify the paying parent’s address. These checks draw on several approved information sources, including; cross government databases, real time information from HM Revenue & Customs, credit reference agencies, employers and Local Authorities.
The CMS have a range of strong enforcement powers that can be used against those parents who consistently refuse to meet or evade their obligations to provide financial support to their children. We are committed to using these powers fairly and in the best interests of children and separated families to ensure compliance.
The statistical information requested in not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Child Maintenance Service takes to (a) verify and (b) obtain up‑to‑date addresses for paying parents in cases where enforcement action cannot proceed due to the absence of a confirmed address.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government is committed to ensuring parents meet their financial obligations to their children. Where a paying parent fails to take responsibility for paying their child maintenance and cannot be traced, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) will take immediate action and do everything within its powers to trace the paying parent. In addition to information provided by parents, CMS undertakes a series of trace checks to verify the paying parent’s address. These checks draw on several approved information sources, including; cross government databases, real time information from HM Revenue & Customs, credit reference agencies, employers and Local Authorities.
The CMS have a range of strong enforcement powers that can be used against those parents who consistently refuse to meet or evade their obligations to provide financial support to their children. We are committed to using these powers fairly and in the best interests of children and separated families to ensure compliance.
The statistical information requested in not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time is between a parent with care requesting a Financial Investigation Unit referral and the referral being actioned; and how the Department monitors compliance with internal timeframes.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Data on the average time from a parent initiating a referral request to the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) and that referral being actioned are not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
All cases which are accepted by the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) for investigation are assessed, and appropriate evidence obtained to fully inform the course of FIU action. The length of time required to complete the FIU action will depend on the complexity of fraud. Criminal cases of course can take much longer, due to their complexity.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases in the last three years involved child maintenance payments being incorrectly refunded to the paying parent due to clerical error; and what steps the Department is taking to reduce such errors.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This information is not readily available and providing it would incur disproportionate cost.
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) works to ensure cases are kept up to date and payments are processed accurately, with controls in place to minimise incorrect refunds. The introduction of the View Parent Finances screen further improves clarity and compliance by giving caseworkers a clearer, simplified view of complex financial information.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that Ofwat's successor regulator has sufficient powers to place a failing water company into Special Administration on grounds of environmental non-compliance, as well as insolvency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As set out in the Water White Paper, we will create a powerful new regulator, bringing together the relevant functions from the existing regulators (of Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate, the Environment Agency and Natural England) into one new body. The new regulator will be able to deliver better services for customers, joined-up regulation and a cleaner environment for nature and the public.
The bar for the Special Administration Regime is high. As per existing legislative requirements, evidence is needed that a company is insolvent or they are in such serious breach of their principal statutory duties or an enforcement order that it is inappropriate for the company to retain its licence.
As set out in the White Paper, to ensure the regulator can act decisively should the high bar for Special Administration be met, we will ensure companies have appropriate contingency Special Administration Regime (SAR) plans, setting out how they would ensure that any special administrator, once appointed, would be able to maintain delivery of critical services and facilitate restructuring or sale if SAR is triggered.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what level of recurrent funding has been identified by NHS England to fund the recommendations of new treatments considered by NHS England’s next Clinical Priorities Advisory Group Prioritisation meeting in Spring 2026.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is not able to provide the level of recurrent funding identified at this point to support the next Clinical Priorities Advisory Group prioritisation meeting. This would risk disclosing commercially confidential information.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if NHS England Specialised Commissioning will consider a second prioritisation meeting this year of the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group to reduce the 20 treatments currently being considered, in addition to the meeting in Spring 2026.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) prioritisation meetings are held annually and are aligned to NHS England's annual financial planning cycle.
The next prioritisation meeting is planned for spring 2026, where policies that are ready and require investment decisions will be considered. It is expected that up to 20 such policies will be considered at that meeting. CPAG also meets monthly to consider clinical policies and service specifications that are categorised as cost saving or cost neutral, enabling progress to be made outside of the annual prioritisation round.
There are currently no plans to hold an additional prioritisation meeting this year beyond the meeting scheduled for spring 2026.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department last reviewed the Child Maintenance Service’s policy framework for modern shared‑care arrangements; and whether the Service plans to reform its policies on cases where both parents actively share day‑to‑day parenting responsibilities.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government recognises that shared care arrangements can play an important role in supporting children to maintain relationships with both parents after separation.
In the child maintenance system, shared care is reflected in the maintenance calculation. Where a child stays overnight with the paying parent for at least one night a week on average, the amount of maintenance due is reduced to reflect the care provided.
If the Child Maintenance Service is satisfied that both parents have equal day-to-day care for the child, in addition to sharing overnight care, there is no requirement for either parent to pay child maintenance.