Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will ask the Chief Executive of HMRC to meet with the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work and Pensions and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence to discuss the potential merits of payroll deduction for credit union schemes.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC’s financial wellbeing offer for its workforce, aligned to the Civil Service Financial Strategy, includes access to a variety of advances including rental deposits and season ticket loans, as well as debt/budgeting advice and support through its Employee Assistance Programme.
HMRC has no current plans to introduce payroll deduction arrangements, to enable its employees to join a Credit Union. It does not hold the role of policy lead for payroll deduction schemes across government, and decisions on the merits of payroll deduction arrangements would be a matter for the relevant departments.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make it her policy for HMRC to offer payroll deduction to its employees to enable them to join a credit union.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC’s financial wellbeing offer for its workforce, aligned to the Civil Service Financial Strategy, includes access to a variety of advances including rental deposits and season ticket loans, as well as debt/budgeting advice and support through its Employee Assistance Programme.
HMRC has no current plans to introduce payroll deduction arrangements, to enable its employees to join a Credit Union. It does not hold the role of policy lead for payroll deduction schemes across government, and decisions on the merits of payroll deduction arrangements would be a matter for the relevant departments.
Asked by: Helen Whately (Conservative - Faversham and Mid Kent)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what is the total amount of Child Benefit paid to non-UK nationals since July 2024, broken down by month; and what proportion of that amount was paid for children who don’t reside in the UK.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC no longer produce a breakdown of Child benefit claimed by nationality.
This release was discontinued following user consultation.
The latest publication was in August 2022. Income Tax, National Insurance contributions, Tax Credits and Child Benefit Statistics for Non-UK Nationals: 2019 to 2020 - GOV.UK
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, in what financial year will the new default arrangements for council tax bills being billed in 12 instalments, rather than 10, come into effect.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government published a consultation on modernising and improving council tax administration which included a proposal on whether to move to default 12 monthly council tax billing whilst retaining the option to pay over 10 months. The government is currently considering all responses on this proposal and will publish its response to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government correspondence entitled 4/2025: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) Multipliers, published on 17 November 2025, if she will publish the Valuation Office Agency's business rates revaluation communication pack provided to local authorities.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The VOA does not routinely publish its communications with local authorities.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the valuations and address of each dwelling liable to pay the council tax surcharge will be published online by the Valuation Office Agency.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Valuation Office Agency is developing its approach and will set out more details in due course, alongside the government’s consultation.
Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what support is available to help UK-based organisations become a UKRI approved research organisation to allow them to apply for research grants.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
To apply to become an eligible organisation, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) provides:
UKRI encourages organisations to engage with the relevant UKRI Research Council and further information can be found at: https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/before-you-apply/apply-to-be-an-eligible-organisation/.
To become a UKRI-eligible RO, the entity must demonstrate independent capability to lead, manage, and report on research, with a strategy aligned to UKRI priorities. The entity must also be legally constituted, have a track record of research investment, and provide evidence of their ability to manage public funding, such as having a physical UK research base.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential impact of social media use on children’s mental health.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I share the worries of parents and many of those in the medical profession; the question is not whether the government will act, but how. These are nuanced issues on which there are a diverse range of views; that is why we are launching a consultation and national conversation on next steps. We are also working closely across government on these topics, with DHSC, as well as Ofcom, DfE, and the Home Office. Furthermore, the Department for Education will be producing guidance on screentime.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what progress her Department has made on the rollout of gigabit broadband in Derbyshire Dales constituency.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In May 2025, BDUK and Full Fibre mutually agreed to end the Project Gigabit contract for the Peak District, affecting some Derbyshire Dales premises
Since then, BDUK has worked with suppliers on alternatives and is now close to agreeing a replacement contract with Openreach. We know this has taken time, but we are working hard to have the contract in place within the next month
Separately, over 3,200 premises across the constituency are already being reached through two Project Gigabit contracts with Connect Fibre.
Asked by: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the resilience of mobile networks.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Reliable access to mobile services is essential. We recognise the impact that power cuts and storms can have on services, especially in rural areas – Storm Goretti is a recent example of this. Ofcom is analysing power backup requirements to ensure adequate resilience during outages. The Government is fostering collaboration between the electricity and telecommunications sectors to minimise disruption when power cuts occur, aiming to mitigate the impact and ensure any interruptions to mobile services are brief and affect as few people as possible.