Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information her Department holds on (a) the average call answer time and (b) time spent on hold for people calling the HMRC employers general enquiries line in the last year.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
HMRC’s average call answer time for the Employers helpline in 2025/26 was 24 minutes 50 seconds. The definition of ‘average call answer time’ is the average time spent waiting in the queue for an adviser. This is from the time that the customer finished listening to HMRC’s automated messages and completed their selection from HMRC’s automated menu to the time when they get to speak to an adviser.
The average time spent on hold was 2 minutes 14 seconds. This measures the time after a call has been answered by an adviser when the caller is subsequently put on hold.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) independent assurance, (b) external audit and (c) third-party review was conducted on the (i) cancellation and (ii) remediation cost estimates contained in, or used to inform, the document entitled High Speed 2 (HS2) Phase 1: decision to continue delivery following programme reset – Accounting Officer Assessment summary (May 2026), updated on 19 May 2026.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The cancellation and remediation cost estimate assumptions were initially assured within HS2 Ltd. The analysis was then reviewed and assured by the Department of Transport, including the Department’s independent project advisors. As part of the Accounting Officer Assessment process, the analysis was independently reviewed by the Department’s Economic Centre of Excellence. The HS2 reset has, and continues to receive, Parliamentary scrutiny.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has carried out a review of the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loans Fund to determine whether lending decisions were made in accordance with relevant borrower concentration limits and subsidy control, valuation, monitoring surveyor, governance and external audit requirements.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has not carried out a review of individual lending decisions made through the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Loan Fund against the requirements listed.
As a combined authority, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is subject to statutory overview and scrutiny arrangements and has separate Overview and Scrutiny and Audit Committees.
GMCA has also published details of the governance and due diligence arrangements applying specifically to the Fund.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department's Research, Information and Communications Unit provides guidance or briefings to police Family Liaison Officers assigned to the families of crime victims.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
RICU does not provide guidance or briefings to police Family Liaison Officers assigned to the families of crime victims.
RICU provides analysis on terrorist use of propaganda and exploitation of the internet to inform the UK’s counter-terrorism system. All activity complies with relevant legislation. RICU works with a range of partners across HMG to support this counter-terrorism mission, including Counter Terrorism Policing.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much Student Loans Company funding was paid in respect of students studying at campuses operated by UK Management College in the latest academic year for which figures are available.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
To the nearest 10, the number of students studying courses run by UK Management College in receipt of Student Loans Company (SLC) support in the 2024/25 academic year was 3,360, as of 31 August 2025.
To the nearest million, the total amount of Student Finance England funding paid to students studying courses run by UK Management College in receipt of SLC support for the 2024/25 academic year was £62 million, as of 31 August 2025.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students studying at campuses operated by UK Management College were in receipt of Student Loans Company support in the latest academic year for which figures are available.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
To the nearest 10, the number of students studying courses run by UK Management College in receipt of Student Loans Company (SLC) support in the 2024/25 academic year was 3,360, as of 31 August 2025.
To the nearest million, the total amount of Student Finance England funding paid to students studying courses run by UK Management College in receipt of SLC support for the 2024/25 academic year was £62 million, as of 31 August 2025.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the reduction in the area of oilseed rape cultivated in England since 2013 on the availability of nectar and pollen resources for pollinators.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As part of our Environmental Improvement Plan, we will publish a new Pollinator Action Plan, which will set out key actions to support pollinators in England.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she intends to commission an independent (a) audit and (b) investigation into the governance, lending practices and financial controls of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in the context of the findings of the Court of Appeal in Weis v GMCA [2026] EWCA Civ 825.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Greater Manchester Combined Authority is subject to independent external audit as part of the established local audit framework. This audit is independent of government and is not commissioned by the Secretary of State.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority is responsible for maintaining appropriate governance and financial management arrangements.
Ministers take a range of factors into account when considering whether to exercise statutory powers in relation to a local or strategic authority and will only act where necessary to secure compliance with the Best Value Duty and on an objective, evidence lead basis.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC conducted an impact assessment of the time and cost implications for accountancy and tax practices arising from the implementation of multi-factor authentication for agent accounts.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
HMRC worked very closely with agent representative bodies to understand how best to introduce multi-factor authentication (MFA) to minimise burdens for the agent community. The timing and method of implementation were developed with representative bodies, alongside the support agents needed to prepare for MFA activation.
MFA provides an important additional layer of protection, to help prevent unauthorised access if the agent’s sign-in details are compromised
MFA is already used to protect Government Gateway accounts for individuals and organisations and is a familiar security measure across major digital services, including online banking, email, social media and online shopping
Extending this protection to agent accounts is a proportionate response to evolving online threats and helps to safeguard agents’ accounts and the sensitive information they hold on behalf of their clients.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Restore Britain - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment HMRC made of the administrative burden on accountancy and tax practices of implementing multi-factor authentication requirements for agent services accounts.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
HMRC worked very closely with agent representative bodies to understand how best to introduce multi-factor authentication (MFA) to minimise burdens for the agent community. The timing and method of implementation were developed with representative bodies, alongside the support agents needed to prepare for MFA activation.
MFA provides an important additional layer of protection, to help prevent unauthorised access if the agent’s sign-in details are compromised
MFA is already used to protect Government Gateway accounts for individuals and organisations and is a familiar security measure across major digital services, including online banking, email, social media and online shopping
Extending this protection to agent accounts is a proportionate response to evolving online threats and helps to safeguard agents’ accounts and the sensitive information they hold on behalf of their clients.