Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to encourage Small and Medium Enterprises in Glasgow to register their offers on the official Great British Summer Savings website.
Answered by Chris Ward
The Great British Summer Savings (GBSS) campaign means cheaper family days out this summer across the whole of the UK. The Government is cutting VAT from 20% to 5% on family days out and for young people under 18 years old — from cinema and theatre tickets to attractions, and children's meals out.
The GBSS campaign is backed by the Federation of Small Businesses, the British Chambers of Commerce, UK Hospitality, the Society of London Theatre, UK Theatre and Small Business Britain, who - alongside government colleagues - have been engaging small and medium sized businesses in all parts of the UK.
VAT-eligible businesses can visit greatbritishsummersavings.gov.uk to take part. We have already onboarded thousands of offers with more being added every day.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to enforce the National Living Wage within the gig economy and delivery-app sectors.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
The Government is clear that all workers entitled to the National Minimum Wage should receive it, and all businesses, including those in the gig economy, must meet their legal obligations. This is why we have created the Fair Work Agency to bring enforcement functions together and make employment rights enforcement more effective.
Since 1999, the government has returned over £200 million to 1.5 million underpaid workers. In 2024/25, NMW investigations in Scotland returned close to £330,000 to nearly 1,000 workers, with employers fined £240,000 in total.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to (a) help increase the number of banking hubs and (b) protect access to free-to-use cash machines in high-deprivation areas in Glasgow.
Answered by Rachel Blake
The way people across the UK use retail banking services has changed significantly, with many customers now choosing to bank online. In response, banks and building societies have reshaped their branch networks, reflecting changing customer preferences.
However, the Government understands the importance of banking services to communities and high streets and is committed to supporting the financial services industry’s roll-out of 350 banking hubs by the end of this Parliament. Banking hubs are a voluntary service which were developed by the financial services sector in the context of legislation to protect access to cash under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023.
Over 275 hubs have been announced so far, and more than 235 are already open. The Government continues to engage with industry on ways to improve the consistency and level of services provided through banking hubs.
On 14 May the Government commissioned an independent Review into Access to Banking Services to assess whether changes in access to in-person banking services are causing consumer detriment, the scale of any detriment, and who it affects.
The evidence collected by the Review will inform future decisions on whether further action is needed. Alongside the Review, the Financial Services and Markets Bill includes a power to allow the Government to take action in future to protect access to banking services, should this be necessary. This power ensures the Government can act swiftly and proportionately, including through future regulation, if the evidence from the Review supports intervention.
The Government also recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those in vulnerable groups, and is committed to protecting access to cash for individuals and businesses.
Under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has responsibility and powers to protect access to cash, including free facilities for personal current account holders. The FCA’s most recent data shows that 99.2% of the urban population live within 1 mile of a free to use cash access point offering withdrawals. In rural areas, 98.5% of people live within 3 miles of a free to use cash access point offering withdrawals.
HMT launched the Access to Banking Services Review Call for Evidence on 8 June and will run for 6 weeks, closing on 20 July, inviting input from consumers, businesses, charities, community groups, local authorities and industry across the UK. The evidence will inform recommendations, with findings due in October. Responses can be submitted here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/access-to-banking-services-review-call-for-evidence.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to expedite the resolution of complaints about decisions on benefits.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is taking urgent action to reduce complaint backlogs and improve response times, with a clear focus on resolving issues as quickly as possible, including at the earliest point of contact where appropriate.
To support this, we have deployed additional resources to complaints and correspondence teams and prioritised activity to reduce outstanding volumes and strengthen performance monitoring to improve timeliness.
Where a complaint requires formal investigation, the Department’s service standard aims to provide a full response within 15 working days. More complex cases may take longer; however, the Department seeks to keep customers informed of progress and expected timescales.
In recent months, higher complaint volumes and increasingly complex cases have affected our response times. However, the Department is actively addressing these pressures and driving improvements in both timeliness and efficiency.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what targets her Department has set for resolving complaints about decisions on benefits.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is taking urgent action to reduce complaint backlogs and improve response times, with a clear focus on resolving issues as quickly as possible, including at the earliest point of contact where appropriate.
To support this, we have deployed additional resources to complaints and correspondence teams and prioritised activity to reduce outstanding volumes and strengthen performance monitoring to improve timeliness.
Where a complaint requires formal investigation, the Department’s service standard aims to provide a full response within 15 working days. More complex cases may take longer; however, the Department seeks to keep customers informed of progress and expected timescales.
In recent months, higher complaint volumes and increasingly complex cases have affected our response times. However, the Department is actively addressing these pressures and driving improvements in both timeliness and efficiency.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to monitor contractual performance for the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government.
The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in receiving their pension quotes are unacceptable. I want to reassure you that this Government has taken firm action to help put things right as soon as possible. We have agreed a clear recovery plan with Capita, which includes specific milestones and accountability targets for delivery. For priority cases, we have deployed additional resources and improved communication with affected colleagues, so that staff, both former and serving, receive the quality of service and support they deserve.
Existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been enhanced and strengthened to deliver improved performance and higher penalties for failure, including financial penalties. These have already applied in respect to Capita's performance with recent issues and delays in administering the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
Capita prioritised the most urgent cases and by the end of February, all death in service cases were either settled or progressed to the final stage or awaiting a member response. The same position was reached for ill health retirement applications by mid-March.
Capita has made lump sum payments to 8,979 members, the majority of whom have retired but are not yet receiving their pension, and are on track to bring these members into regular pension payments by the end of April.
To provide immediate financial support to those who may need it, arrangements are in place for interest-free bridging loans typically up to £5,000 or £10,000 in exceptional cases to most recent retirees facing payment delays. This is alongside interim lump sum payments being made to provide immediate funds to retiring members. The pension scheme continues to make monthly pension payments to approximately 730,000 existing pensioner members on time.
The latest position of the Civil Service Pension Recovery Plan Update is available at this weblink: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-pension-recovery-plan-updates
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the enforcement of Section 2A of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office maintains a rigorous approach to enforcing Section 2A of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA), which embeds the statutory principles of replacement, reduction and refinement (the 3Rs). All applications proposing the use of animals undergo a robust assessment to ensure that non-animal alternatives have been fully explored, that any animal use is fully justified and that potential harms are minimised. Compliance with the 3Rs is actively monitored by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit through a programme of audit and enforcement activity.
All establishments which test on animals are required to establish an Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB). AWERBs have a statutory responsibility under ASPA to advise on the application of the 3Rs within establishments. The Home Office has commissioned the Animals in Science Committee for advice on strengthening the effectiveness of AWERBs.
In November 2025, the Government published “Replacing animals in science: a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods”. This strategy commits to delivery of recommendations published in the ‘Rawle Report’, which involve strengthening Home Office processes for assuring full implementation of the 3Rs. The report is available here: https://nc3rs.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-02/Rawle%20project%20report.pdf.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the non-technical summaries for project licences granted in October – December 2025, what steps she is taking to phase out the use of animals in science.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
On 11th November 2025 the government published “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods” which outlines the steps we will take to achieve this. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/replacing-animals-in-science-strategy/replacing-animals-in-science-a-strategy-to-support-the-development-validation-and-uptake-of-alternative-methods(opens in a new tab) ).
The Home Office publishes non-technical summaries (NTS) for every project licence granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The non-technical summaries include the species and number of animals expected to be used over the duration of the project licence.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure individuals with large liabilities under the Loan Charge are given adequate support, particularly in cases involving financial and personal distress.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The Government recognised that concerns continued to be raised about the loan charge and that some felt strongly that it had not been handled appropriately. The Government therefore commissioned an independent review of the loan charge to bring the matter to a close for those who had not settled and paid their loan charge liabilities.
The Government accepted all but one of the independent review’s recommendations and in some cases is going further. The Government’s decision to write off £5,000 from everyone’s liability will mean that around a third will have their liabilities written off entirely. Most people will see reductions in their liabilities of at least 50%.
HMRC will continue to work with taxpayers to resolve their cases in line with existing legislation and case law. HMRC is committed to working sensitively and pragmatically with taxpayers to reach settlement. This includes offering flexible payment terms where people need more time to pay their liabilities.
The Government takes the wellbeing of all taxpayers very seriously. Vulnerable customers can make use of HMRC’s well-established Extra Support Service.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will confirm that ticket sales for prize draws offering both paid and free entry routes – as set out by the voluntary Code of Conduct published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport – are subject to VAT under the Value Added Tax Act 1994.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
HMRC confirm that prize draws offering both paid and free entry routes are not eligible for VAT exemption and paid entries will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20%.