Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of amending the process for allotment disposal by local authorities.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Under the Allotments Act 1925, in order for local authorities to dispose of allotments they have to seek approval from the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and a defined legal threshold must be met before approval. This includes: the allotment to be surplus to requirements, any waiting lists to be considered, public consultation to have occurred, and other local policies to have been considered. At present, we have made no formal assessment of the potential merits of amending the process for allotment disposal by local authorities.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of levels of (a) taxation and (b) regulatory costs on growth in the retail sector.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government closely monitors the health of different sectors across the UK economy and regularly engages with the retail sector, which it recognises plays a vital role in communities and high streets across the country.

From April 2026, the Government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. This permanent tax cut will ensure that eligible RHL properties benefit from much-needed certainty and support.

This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so the Government is introducing a higher rate on the most valuable properties in 2026/27 - those with RVs of £500,000 and above.

The Government recognises that, ahead of the new multipliers being introduced, RHL businesses need support in 2025-26. So, the Government has prevented RHL relief from ending by extending it for one year at 40 per cent up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business and frozen the small business multiplier.

The final design, including the rates, for the new business rates multipliers will be announced at Budget 2025, so that the revaluation outcomes and broader economic and fiscal context can be factored into decision-making. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.

The Government has been engaging widely with the retail sector to understand regulatory barriers to growth. The Small Business Plan, published in summer, aims to tackle late payments, boost access to finance, and remove red tape to help small businesses, including retailers, grow and thrive.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with gig economy operators on ensuring consumer safety from people working illegally.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Through the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, the Home Office is closing an existing gap to make it a legal requirement for all businesses in the UK, including those in the gig economy, to prevent illegal working by checking anyone working for them has the right to do so. Tackling illegal working in the gig economy, as led by the Home Office, enhances public safety and reduces the opportunities for exploitation.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy to increase the property value threshold for using a Lifetime ISA in line with either inflation or the annual increase in house prices.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Data from the latest UK House Price Index shows that while the average price paid by first-time buyers has increased, it is still below the Lifetime ISA (Individual Savings Accounts) property price cap in all regions of the UK except for London, where the average price paid is affected by boroughs with very high property values.

As of 2024/25 there were over 1.3 million LISA accounts open and, since its introduction in 2017, the LISA has helped 314,600 people purchase their first property.

The Government keeps all aspects of savings tax policy under review.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2025 to Question 83371 on Abiraterone: Finance, what steps he is taking to secure recurrent budget allocation for abiraterone for use in cases of high-risk non-metastatic prostate cancer.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Abiraterone is not licensed for use in the treatment of high-risk, non-metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, and as such, cannot be evaluated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for routine use on the National Health Service. NICE makes recommendations for the NHS in England on the vast majority of new and significant licence indications but does not evaluate medicines that are used outside their marketing authorisations or “off-label”.

These funding decisions are the responsibility of NHS commissioners who are required to make decisions on the basis of the available evidence. For cancer medicines, NHS England is the responsible commissioner and has an established mechanism to do so through its clinical prioritisation process. NHS England considered abiraterone as an off-label treatment for the treatment of hormone sensitive, non-metastatic prostate cancer through its clinical policy development process in 2024/25. Through this process, NHS England confirmed that there was sufficient supporting evidence to support the routine commissioning of abiraterone in this indication and it was ranked as the top priority for routine commissioning. However, it has not been possible to identify the necessary recurrent funding to support the commissioning of abiraterone, or any other treatments within the prioritisation round.

This position takes into account the need to ensure the affordability of introducing any new routine commissioning policies, alongside maintaining existing services for patients, and meeting the NHS’ legal requirement to fund all NICE approved drugs. Abiraterone for the treatment of high-risk, hormone sensitive, non-metastatic prostate cancer remains the top priority for routine commissioning, and its position is being kept under active review.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many enforcement actions have been taken against gig economy companies found to have engaged workers without the legal right to work in the United Kingdom since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold an estimate of the prevalence of illegalworking among people using app-based delivery platforms. The recent jointwork between the Office for National Statistics and the Home Office explainsthe complexities - Measuring illegal migration: our current view - Office forNational Statistics.Through the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, the Government isintroducing tough new laws to clamp down on illegal working, including in thefood delivery sector. This means that for the very first time, employmentchecks will be extended to cover businesses hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers in sectors like food delivery.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of the prevalence of illegal working among people using app-based delivery platforms.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold an estimate of the prevalence of illegal working among people using app-based delivery platforms. The recent joint work between the Office for National Statistics and the Home Office explains the complexities - Measuring illegal migration: our current view - Office for National Statistics.

Through the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, the Government is introducing tough new laws to clamp down on illegal working, including in the food delivery sector. This means that for the very first time, employment checks will be extended to cover businesses hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers in sectors like food delivery.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish data on the number of (a) criminal penalties issued, (b) prosecutions undertaken and (c) successful convictions secured for illegal working since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Impact 25 legacy programme.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Since July 2024 the Government has invested £6.7m into the £14.5m Impact 25 programme which is pivotal in cementing rugby as a game for all. The programme has reached 850 clubs as more female-friendly facilities have been built all over the country encouraging female participation in rugby.

The programme has trained 3,385 new female coaches and match officials, making coaching sessions and matches more accessible. Impact 25 has contributed to a 35% increase in female age grade registrations in England rising from 17,700 places in 2022 to 23,900 in 2025. To assess progress against Impact 25’s outcomes the RFU uses a range of data sources which are reported on as part of the programme. We will work with the RFU, Sport England and UK Sport to monitor progress against these outcomes and the RFU’s long term goal of having 100,000 female players in England.

The programme has provided over £5,000 of investment to Dartfordians RFC and Sidcup RFC in Old Bexley and Sidcup. Both clubs have received sanitary product packages which are made freely available in club restrooms as well as kits for their u12s team and access to coaching and match official courses for their members.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) local authority leaders, (b) metro-mayors and (c) the Mayor of London on the value for money of foreign visits.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Local authorities are responsible for their own financial management, and we do not monitor their day-to-day business. We expect all local authorities to take prudent decisions and ensure they manage their finances effectively, in line with “Best Value” guidance, under the Local Government Act 1999.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what consideration his Department has given to the potential merits of mandating carbon monoxide detectors in every home with fixed combustion appliances.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to answer given to Question UIN 80767 on 20 October 2025.

The Building Regulations 2010 apply to new building work and are intended to protect people’s safety, health and welfare. They apply when a building is being designed, constructed, or subject to major re-design, so that minimum standards for size, space and materials are included. The Regulations, which are supported by statutory guidance in Approved Document J, set minimum performance standards for new building work including, at Schedule 1 Part J, provisions for detection and early warning of carbon monoxide. The statutory guidance makes clear that where a new or replacement fixed gas or solid fuel burning appliance is installed in a dwelling, a carbon monoxide alarm should be provided in the room where the appliance is located.

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations 2015 provide important protections for renters, private and social, requiring landlords to fit smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in their homes. In addition to these regulations, fire and carbon monoxide safety requirements can be found in the Housing Act 2004, the Fire Safety Act 2021 and the Building Safety Act 2022, and government will protect tenants further through our review of the Decent Homes Standard and the new requirements to address health and safety hazards under Awaab’s Law.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 3 November to question 84965 on Gambling, what assessment she has made of the accuracy of the statistical analysis in the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities' report entitled The economic and social cost of harms associated with gambling in England published on 11 January 2023; and if she will exclude it from use within her Department.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The report that the Honourable Member refers to estimates the economic and social costs of gambling-related harm and provides a useful addition to our evidence base. As we have previously set out in a number of gambling-related impact assessments, we recognise that the report has limitations relating to both data availability and methodology, which means that the cost estimates may be under- or over-estimating the true cost of harm. This is true of many reports that try to estimate the cost of harm. However, we continue to consider this report in the context of the wider evidence base, and as such have no plans to exclude it from use in the Department.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November to question 84964 on Gambling, what steps she is taking to ensure that her department uses (a) impartial, and (b) accurate data, and commissions (i) impartial, and (ii) accurate data on gambling harms.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government recognises the importance of using impartial, accurate and up-to-date statistics on gambling behaviour and harms. We are committed to ensuring that policy decisions are guided by the best available evidence from a broad range of reliable sources.

Developing impartial and accurate evidence on gambling-related harms is a key priority for the statutory gambling levy. That is why 20% of funding will be directed towards high-quality, independent research to fill gaps in the evidence base, which will be used to inform policy related to tackling gambling-related harm.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 28 October to question 83435, on Gambling: Taxation, if she will set out a timeline for publishing the Terms of Reference for the Levy Board and Advisory Group.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department intends to publish the Terms of Reference for the Gambling Levy Programme Board and the Gambling Levy Advisory Group before the end of the year.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with Ambassadors to the Court of St James's on the payment of outstanding congestion charge debts by embassies.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement laid in the House on 19 November concerning the Debts owed by Diplomatic Missions and International Organisations in the UK, Official Report, vol. 775, cols. 57WS-60WS.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 17 November to Question 87901 on Individual Savings Accounts, what assessment she has made of (a) the impact of the property price cap on the number of first-time buyers purchasing homes, (b) the number of first-time buyers by London borough, and (c) if she will make it her policy to provide a separate cap for properties in (i) inner London boroughs and (ii) outer London boroughs.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Data from the latest UK House Price Index demonstrates that the average price paid by first-time buyers is below the LISA property price cap in all regions of the UK. This includes London, where the average price paid by first-time buyers in November 2023 was under £437,000. A single UK-wide cap keeps the Lifetime ISA simple for savers and providers. In 2024/25, 87,250 individuals withdrew Lifetime ISA funds for a house purchase, an increase of around 30,500 on the previous tax year.

While HMRC does collect data on regional breakdown of Lifetime ISA account holders, the data quality is not sufficient to provide accurate regional breakdowns or produce statistics on individual London boroughs.

In HMRC’s response to the recent Treasury Select Committee’s LISA enquiry (link), a regional breakdown was provided where homes were bought using LISAs: HMRC LISA enquiry response - Tables 1, 2 and 3.

The Government keeps all aspects of tax and savings policy under review.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what meetings the Government has had with David Kogan since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Details of official meetings held in a ministerial capacity with external organisations or individuals are declared quarterly on GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what meetings she has held with David Kogan since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

All the Secretary of State’s meetings are published Quarterly as part of the transparency data available on Gov.uk

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information her Department holds on political donations made by the Independent Football Regulator Chair since 2019.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Mr Kogan’s donations are publicly disclosed on the Electoral Commission donation register. On 7 May 2025 Mr Kogan declared additional political donations, beneath the thresholds required by the Governance Code, when he appeared before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had recent discussions with RyanAir on potential changes to air passenger duty.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The government is committed to engaging with interested groups when developing and legislating tax policy and regularly engages with airlines and the wider aviation industry.

The Chancellor makes decisions on tax policy at fiscal events.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has had recent discussions with the Rt hon. Gordon Brown on gambling duties.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Chancellor discusses a variety of issues with stakeholders throughout the year, including the run up to Budget.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 28 October to question 83432 on Betting: Excise Duties, if she will publish a list of the stakeholders who (a) have responded to the consultation, and (b) have met with Ministers as part of the consultation.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government launched a consultation on the tax treatment of remote gambling, which closed on 21 July 2025. Responses are now being analysed and a response to the consultation will be published at Autumn Budget 2025.

As is standard practice the consultation response will include a list of stakeholders who responded to the consultation. As part of HM Treasury’s commitment to transparency details of ministerial meetings with external stakeholders are published and the latest version can be found at the following link:

HM Treasury: ministerial overseas travel and meetings, April to June 2025 - GOV.UK

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the international competitiveness of the tax regime.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The UK has an internationally competitive tax system.

The Government published its Corporate Tax Roadmap at Autumn Budget 2024, which included a commitment to ensuring a competitive and sustainable main rate of corporation tax by capping it at 25 per cent for the duration of this parliament. The current rate of corporation tax is the lowest in the G7, and this is supplemented by generous business investment tax reliefs which directly support investment, including Capital Allowances, R&D tax reliefs, and the Patent Box regime.