Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to ensure access to cheque deposit services in rural areas.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the important role the Post Office plays in providing essential banking services, particularly in rural areas. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance and pay bills at thousands of Post Office branches across the UK. Furthermore, the Post Office is required by the Department for Business & Trade to ensure that 95% of the total rural population across the UK is within 3 miles of their nearest Post Office.
Decisions about what services are available at the Post Office, such as cheque deposits, are made by the banks as part of their commercial arrangements.
Customers continue to have other options for paying in cheques, whether at local bank branches, by post, or digitally via mobile apps using cheque imaging technology. I have discussed this with Lloyds, who assure me customers are able to use freepost to deposit cheques without needing to travel, where branch or digital options are not suitable.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on access to banking services of Lloyds Banking Group’s decision to discontinue cheque deposit services at Post Offices from 31 December 2025.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the important role the Post Office plays in providing essential banking services, particularly in rural areas. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance and pay bills at thousands of Post Office branches across the UK. Furthermore, the Post Office is required by the Department for Business & Trade to ensure that 95% of the total rural population across the UK is within 3 miles of their nearest Post Office.
Decisions about what services are available at the Post Office, such as cheque deposits, are made by the banks as part of their commercial arrangements.
Customers continue to have other options for paying in cheques, whether at local bank branches, by post, or digitally via mobile apps using cheque imaging technology. I have discussed this with Lloyds, who assure me customers are able to use freepost to deposit cheques without needing to travel, where branch or digital options are not suitable.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions her Department has held with Lloyds Banking Group regarding its decision to remove cheque deposit services from Post Offices under Banking Framework 4.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the important role the Post Office plays in providing essential banking services, particularly in rural areas. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, check their balance and pay bills at thousands of Post Office branches across the UK. Furthermore, the Post Office is required by the Department for Business & Trade to ensure that 95% of the total rural population across the UK is within 3 miles of their nearest Post Office.
Decisions about what services are available at the Post Office, such as cheque deposits, are made by the banks as part of their commercial arrangements.
Customers continue to have other options for paying in cheques, whether at local bank branches, by post, or digitally via mobile apps using cheque imaging technology. I have discussed this with Lloyds, who assure me customers are able to use freepost to deposit cheques without needing to travel, where branch or digital options are not suitable.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will review HM Passport Office's policy on considering urgent government business or compassionate reasons to include (a) scattering of ashes and (b) ritual and prayer ceremonies.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
HM Passport Office policy already allows applications to be considered under compassionate grounds where there is a time-critical requirement arising from religious observance following a death. This includes the scattering of ashes or ritual and prayer ceremonies within a prescribed period.
To ensure staff apply the policy consistently, HM Passport Office is updating its internal guidance to state explicitly that these types of cases may meet the criteria for urgent consideration. Where travel for these purposes is planned but not subject to such time-sensitive requirements, standard processing times will apply.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she had with representatives of the hospitality sector ahead of the Autumn Budget 2025.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Ahead of the Budget Government Ministers and Senior Officials met with businesses and business representation organisations from a range of sectors, including those from the hospitality sector. These meetings provided an opportunity for the Government to hear the views of the business community to aid in the formation of policy, including fiscal policy. Such engagements are ongoing and will continue to be so.
I, and the rest of HM Treasury, am deeply committed to engaging with the business community across the country. We believe that maintaining a regular and open dialogue with the business community is essential for understanding levels of business confidence and for shaping government policy to support growth and investment.
These engagements are central to the Government’s ambition to foster a pro-growth, pro-investment environment throughout the UK. By listening directly to businesses, the Government is better able to respond to emerging challenges, seize new opportunities, and deliver policies that help businesses to thrive.
Further information on meetings held by HM Treasury Ministers can be found on the gov.uk website via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the scale of people-smuggling facilitation activity with operational links to Northern Ireland since July 2024; and how many disruptions and arrests have been made.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Through the Border Security Command, we continue to work with all key partners, both across the UK and internationally to disrupt and deter people-smuggling facilitation. Our collective law enforcement powers, sharing intelligence, data, and expertise, and conducting joined-up operational activity support our aim of putting people-smuggling gangs out of business.
The National Crime Agency's National Strategic Assessment assesses that the Common Travel Area (CTA), and particularly the routes between Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Great Britain, continue to be exploited by criminals for the purposes of immigration crime.
Tackling the threat from organised immigration crime, including illegal entry to the UK via the Common Travel Area (CTA), is complex and requires the coordination of approach and resource across the Home Office and with Policing Partners. Within Immigration Enforcement, our Officers work closely with law enforcement partners both in Northern Ireland, Great Britain, and the Republic of Ireland to maximise the use of resources and ensure the upstream disruption of out-of-country organised crime groups who seek to facilitate immigration crime through the CTA.
Our published national data on enforcement activity is available at the following link and includes data on detected irregular arrivals to the UK: Immigration system statistics, year ending September 2025 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions and business rates in Budgets 2024 and 2025 on the price competitiveness of UK hotels for inbound international travel.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The amount of business rates paid on each property is based on the rateable value of the property, assessed by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), and the multiplier values, which are set by the Government. Rateable values are re-assessed every three years. Revaluations ensure that the rateable values of properties (i.e. the tax base) remain in line with market changes, and that the tax rates adjust to reflect changes in the tax base.
At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since Covid, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic. To support with bill increases, at the Budget, the Government announced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years, including protection for ratepayers seeing their bills increase because of the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down. This means most properties seeing increases will see them capped at 15% or less next year, or £800 for the smallest.
Without our support, the pub sector as a whole would have faced a 45% increase in the total bills they pay next year. Because of the support we’ve put in place, this has fallen to just 4%.
The new RHL tax rates replace the temporary RHL relief that has been winding down since Covid. Unlike RHL relief, the new rates are permanent, giving businesses certainty and stability, and there will be no cap, meaning all qualifying properties on high streets across England will benefit.
The National Insurance Contributions (NICs) Employment Allowance has been more than doubled to £10,500, ensuring that over half of businesses with National Insurance liabilities, including those in the hospitality sector, will either gain or see no change this year. A Tax Information and Impact Note was published alongside changes to employer NICs.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of improved on-train wi-fi services on discouraging less sustainable forms of travel.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As part of the Spending Review business case assessing the value for money of delivering improved passenger internet connectivity, we assessed the positive benefits that can arise from ‘modal shift’, arising where people choose to travel by train in preference to using their cars. We followed standard transport appraisal and passenger demand forecast handbook guidance in our assessments.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help support economic growth for (a) travel agents and (b) tour operators.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government has recently announced the Small Business Plan. It outlines how we will make thriving small and medium sized businesses, which includes travel agents and tour operators, a reality across the UK through the most significant package of legislative reforms in 25 years to tackle late payments; unlocking billions of pounds in finance to support businesses to invest; removing unnecessary red tape; revitalising the High Street as a place to do business; and delivering growth boosting support for Digital and AI Adoption with a new online Business Growth Service.
The British Tourist Authority (BTA) supports specialist travel businesses through marketing and trade opportunities, linking UK businesses with the travel trade globally through events.
In addition to this, the BTA offers training programmes, research insights, and targeted funding schemes that help travel businesses reach international markets and build capability. It connects operators with overseas buyers through both international trade events and UK based hosted buyer programmes, promotes bookable products via its platforms, and provides data, tools, and grants to strengthen the UK’s visitor economy.
The Government has also launched The Business Growth Service as part of the Small Business Plan. This makes it easier and quicker for businesses to get the help, support and advice they need to start, grow and succeed.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help (a) recognise and (b) support the outbound travel industry.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS recognises the contribution of the outbound travel sector to the UK economy, which in 2024, saw pre-trip outbound spending reach £40 billion.
The Government is dedicated to ensuring smooth and efficient border crossings for UK citizens traveling to and from the EU. Following confirmation from the European Union that there are no legal barriers to the use of e-gates for UK nationals travelling in and out of EU Member States, the Government has proactively engaged with a wide range of counterparts across Europe.Several countries, including Bulgaria and Portugal, already expanded e-gate access to new locations for UK travellers, and many more countries including Switzerland, Estonia, and Austria have committed to further expansion in due course.
To provide a more stable environment for businesses that arrange overseas travel, the Department for Business and Trade have recently announced reforms to The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements 2018. These changes simplify the regulations and provide stronger redress rights for travel providers, supporting UK tourism businesses selling holidays at home and abroad.
DCMS is also committed to working with airlines, rail and the cruise sector to support route development and encourage regional growth throughout the UK. This in turn benefits the essential infrastructure used by UK residents travelling overseas.