Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help support greater transparency in the fees associated with accepting card payments.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that the cost of accepting payments, including cards, is fair to all parties, and that our payment systems work for all.
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), the UK’s economic regulator for payments, has recently concluded two market reviews into card fees to assess if increases in prices are fair and reflect a market that is operating well. The PSR is now considering its next steps, including remedies designed to increase the transparency of scheme and processing fees.
https://www.psr.org.uk/our-work/market-reviews/
There are a number of fees that can be placed on merchants, including interchange fees which are governed by the Interchange Fee Regulations 2015 (IFR). The IFR caps the fees that are paid by a merchant (or trader) to the card user’s bank. The caps are currently set at 0.2% for every transaction using a debit card, and 0.3% for credit card transactions.
The Government is also committed to ensuring that payment options remain affordable and accessible for small businesses, including through measures that promote competition and reduce unnecessary costs. The National Payments Vision, published in November 2024, sets out the Government’s ambitions for a trusted, world-leading payments ecosystem delivered on next generation technology, where consumers and businesses have a choice of payment methods to meet their needs.
This included the ambition for seamless account-to-account payments to be developed as a ubiquitous payment method – enabling consumers to pay digitally for goods and services in shops and online, without using a card. This would provide greater choice to consumers and merchants in how they make and receive payments, which in turn is likely to spur innovation and downward competitive pressure on the cost of payments.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to support competition in the payments market to reduce fees for small businesses.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that the cost of accepting payments, including cards, is fair to all parties, and that our payment systems work for all.
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), the UK’s economic regulator for payments, has recently concluded two market reviews into card fees to assess if increases in prices are fair and reflect a market that is operating well. The PSR is now considering its next steps, including remedies designed to increase the transparency of scheme and processing fees.
https://www.psr.org.uk/our-work/market-reviews/
There are a number of fees that can be placed on merchants, including interchange fees which are governed by the Interchange Fee Regulations 2015 (IFR). The IFR caps the fees that are paid by a merchant (or trader) to the card user’s bank. The caps are currently set at 0.2% for every transaction using a debit card, and 0.3% for credit card transactions.
The Government is also committed to ensuring that payment options remain affordable and accessible for small businesses, including through measures that promote competition and reduce unnecessary costs. The National Payments Vision, published in November 2024, sets out the Government’s ambitions for a trusted, world-leading payments ecosystem delivered on next generation technology, where consumers and businesses have a choice of payment methods to meet their needs.
This included the ambition for seamless account-to-account payments to be developed as a ubiquitous payment method – enabling consumers to pay digitally for goods and services in shops and online, without using a card. This would provide greater choice to consumers and merchants in how they make and receive payments, which in turn is likely to spur innovation and downward competitive pressure on the cost of payments.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what she is doing to reduce the cost of accepting payments for small businesses.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that the cost of accepting payments, including cards, is fair to all parties, and that our payment systems work for all.
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), the UK’s economic regulator for payments, has recently concluded two market reviews into card fees to assess if increases in prices are fair and reflect a market that is operating well. The PSR is now considering its next steps, including remedies designed to increase the transparency of scheme and processing fees.
https://www.psr.org.uk/our-work/market-reviews/
There are a number of fees that can be placed on merchants, including interchange fees which are governed by the Interchange Fee Regulations 2015 (IFR). The IFR caps the fees that are paid by a merchant (or trader) to the card user’s bank. The caps are currently set at 0.2% for every transaction using a debit card, and 0.3% for credit card transactions.
The Government is also committed to ensuring that payment options remain affordable and accessible for small businesses, including through measures that promote competition and reduce unnecessary costs. The National Payments Vision, published in November 2024, sets out the Government’s ambitions for a trusted, world-leading payments ecosystem delivered on next generation technology, where consumers and businesses have a choice of payment methods to meet their needs.
This included the ambition for seamless account-to-account payments to be developed as a ubiquitous payment method – enabling consumers to pay digitally for goods and services in shops and online, without using a card. This would provide greater choice to consumers and merchants in how they make and receive payments, which in turn is likely to spur innovation and downward competitive pressure on the cost of payments.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Ofgem's work to enforce supplier license responsibilities to vet TPIs they partner with.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem’s supplier license conditions and other legal protections have not sufficiently protected non-domestic consumers from exploitative and harmful practices by some Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs). That is why last year, the Government announced its plans to directly regulate TPIs, by appointing Ofgem as regulator when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans his Department has to introduce regulation for Third Party Intermediaries in the retail energy market.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem’s supplier license conditions and other legal protections have not sufficiently protected non-domestic consumers from exploitative and harmful practices by some Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs). That is why last year, the Government announced its plans to directly regulate TPIs, by appointing Ofgem as regulator when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Sarah Edwards (Labour - Tamworth)
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 local authority top-slicing of High Needs Block funding on the resources available to schools and academy trusts to deliver provision set out in Education, Health and Care Plans (ECHP); and what mechanisms are in place to ensure that EHCP funding allocated to trusts is spent directly on the provision specified in those plans.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
High needs funding has increased by over £1 billion in the 2025/26 financial year and we are continuing that increased level of funding into next year. The vast majority of this funding is allocated by local authorities to schools, colleges and other settings, including for mainstream schools’ support costs in excess of £6,000 per pupil, to secure the special provision set out in education, health and care plans. Local authorities generally allow some flexibility over how this funding is used by schools, and are responsible for ensuring the school delivers the provision set out in those plans.