Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the answer of 29 May 2026, to Question 2113, on Written Questions: Artificial Intelligence, what assessment the Commission has made of the adequacy of the accuracy of the new AI feature.
Answered by Nick Smith
The AI feature assists staff in identifying duplicate questions by finding and listing questions which have been submitted previously where there is 80% or greater level of similarity. The Table Office reports that it is a helpful tool to support staff in identifying identical or near identical text duplicates. Pre-existing tools such as Parliamentary Search continue to be used to support the identification of duplicate questions. In any case, staff are responsible for reviewing the questions to assess whether the rules of order relating to questions already answered are engaged. The Table Office is happy to demonstrate the tool to Members who are interested in it.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the House of Commons' policy is on whether the name of an intermediary donor to a hon. Member is published on the House of Commons Register of Interests, where an agent channels a donation for another ultimate donor through an intermediary.
Answered by Nick Smith
The requirements for registering interests and information that has to be supplied is set out in Chapter 1 of the Code of Conduct and Guide to the Rules.
The Commissioner has issued an Advice Note on the transparency of registrations in response to questions raised by Members of Parliament. That Advice Note can be accessed here: advice-note-2023.01.11-2---transparency-of-registration.pdf
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2026, to Question 18054, on Members' Interests: Registration, whether the House of Commons has provided any guidance on whether donations or gifts to Members of Parliament that they receive in the 12 months before their first election to Parliament need to be from permissible sources.
Answered by Nick Smith
The Electoral Commission provides authoritative advice on the permissibility of donors.
The following paragraphs of Chapter 1 of the Code of Conduct and Guide to the Rules provide advice on the registration of interests received in the 12 months before a Members’ election and on the permissibility of donors.
1. Paragraph 5 of the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament provides:
Members must fulfil conscientiously the requirements of the House in respect of the registration of interests in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. New Members must register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election within one month of their election, and Members must register any change in those registrable interests within 28 days.
2. The House therefore requires new Members, within one month of their election, to register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election. After that, Members are required to register within 28 days any change in those registrable interests. Such a change includes both the acquisition of a new interest and the ceasing of any registered interest, for example because an employment has ceased or because a holding has reduced in value or been sold.
Permissible donors
19. Members must not accept any donations, loans, security or other support valued at over £500 from impermissible donors. They must also report them to the Electoral Commission within 30 days of receipt. The following are permissible donors:
20. In addition, certain trusts may be permissible as donors, but not as lenders or providers of security or credit. Local councils are not permissible donors or lenders.
23. Before accepting any benefit over £500 which would require registration in this category (including a credit facility or a loan which exceeds £500 in value), Members are required to satisfy themselves that it is from a permissible donor, and to notify the Electoral Commission within 30 days of any impermissible donations.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2026 to Question 18054 on Members’ Interests: Registration, whether the House of Commons has a policy on whether donations accepted by a hon. Member in the 12 months before they are elected should be permissible.
Answered by Nick Smith
The requirement to register donations in the 12 months before they are elected is set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Chapter 1 of the Code of Conduct and Guide to the Rules:
1. Paragraph 5 of the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament provides:
Members must fulfil conscientiously the requirements of the House in respect of the registration of interests in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. New Members must register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election within one month of their election, and Members must register any change in those registrable interests within 28 days.
2. The House therefore requires new Members, within one month of their election, to register all their current financial interests, and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the 12 months before their election. After that, Members are required to register within 28 days any change in those registrable interests. Such a change includes both the acquisition of a new interest and the ceasing of any registered interest, for example because an employment has ceased or because a holding has reduced in value or been sold.
The rules on registering donations (Category 2) are set out in paragraphs 15 to 20 of Chapter 1.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria the Health and Safety Executive applies when determining whether incidents involving falling objects from height in areas accessible to members of the public meet the threshold for inspection.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
Decisions on whether to investigate incidents or concerns are made by selecting those where the risk is highest and where the greatest regulatory impact can be made with available resources within the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
HSE use an evidence-based approach to select incidents for further enquires and investigation (this includes factors such as the vulnerability of the persons affected and the level of potential harm). This approach helps us to decide on the most appropriate type of intervention.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many reports received by the Health and Safety Executive in 2024-25 relating to falling objects from scaffolding onto public highways resulted in a site inspection.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
In 2024-25, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out 67 site inspections relating to incidents involving falling objects from scaffolding onto public highways.
This comprised 23 inspections arising from concerns raised by members of the public and others, and 44 investigations following reports made under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what interests has the new Secretary of State declared in relation to (a) North Rock Capital Management, (b) Lighthouse Partners and (c) Ordinate One.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Secretary of State's interests have been declared in accordance with the process set out in the Ministerial Code.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of the forecast change in the (a) accuracy and (b) completeness of the (i) Parliamentary and (ii) local government electoral roll from the introduction of Automatic Voter Registration.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is using the Representation of the People Bill to lay the foundations to make the registration process more automated and simpler in the coming years.
The policy was assessed as part of the Impact Assessment for the Representation of the People Bill.
We intend to explore and test new and more automated methods of registration and evaluation of this testing will help us to better understand the potential impact of the proposed automated registration processes.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, further to the Rycroft Review: HM Government response, 6 July 2026, recommendation 11, under what circumstances the National Crime Agency has a remit over the investigation of breaches of political finance laws on the permissibility and reporting of donations; and what the role is of the (a) Metropolitan Police and (b) City of London Police in investigating such matters.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Crime Agency, police, the Electoral Commission and other partners work collaboratively to provide an appropriate response to breaches of political finance law within the legislative frameworks provided.
Enforcement is supported by a networked policing model led by the City of London Police, with centrally based specialists providing advice and coordination to Single Points of Contact across police forces.
The Special Enquiries Team (SET) leads the Metropolitan Police’s response to electoral crime and politically sensitive investigations. SET provide specialist assessment, investigation and strategic advice to policing and partner agencies on offences linked to public office and the democratic process.
The Representation of the People Bill extends the Electoral Commission’s enforcement remit to include candidate finance offences, which will enable more proportionate and encompassing enforcement across the political finance framework, while retaining police investigation and prosecution for the most serious cases.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations his department has received from the Labour Rural Research Group since July 2024.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 1 May 2026, Jenny Riddell-Carpenter MP wrote to the Minister for Rural Affairs in her capacity as then-Chair of the Labour Rural Research Group. Subsequently, I met with Jenny Riddell-Carpenter MP on 24 July, to discuss the LRRG’s research on the rural economy.