Written questions by Snowden.

Representing the House of Commons Commission, if the Commission will assess the potential merits of increasing the availability of Democratic Access tours of Parliament during school holiday periods.

The Education Team ran a pilot during May half-term 2025 which offered schools the opportunity to visit Parliament. Some schools took up this opportunity but not at the same level as during term time. The interest mainly came from schools with different school holiday dates such as the Devolved Nations.Offering educational tours during holiday periods on a permanent basis would incur additional budget to ensure that the tours can be staffed. There would be a potential impact on visitor experience commercial tours, which have priority in the recess periods.The Visitor Experience team currently run one day of Inside UK Parliament tours per week in recess (c.500 tickets per week), available to all UK residents free of charge. These slots are usually fully booked. The remaining days are prioritised for commercial days.The Commission will receive an update at its June meeting on the availability of Democratic Access and Education related tours during the parliamentary recess and school holiday periods so that it can consider whether any changes are required.

What assessment she has made of the potential risk of social media account hacking to public office holders.

The Defending Democracy Taskforce, chaired by the Security Minister, works closely with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Westminster Parliamentary authorities, and Devolved Partners to help protect public office holders against the risk of cyber-attacks.We strongly encourage public office holders to follow the NCSC’s guidance for high-risk individuals on protecting accounts and devices, found on their website, and sign up for its cyber defence services to help bolster their protection.Public office holders should also consider turning on 2-step verification for all important online accounts, including social media, to improve their security.

Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has issued guidance to public office holders on taking steps to help prevent the hacking of social media accounts.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has not issued specific guidance on this topic and directs all social media users to the guidance on using social media safely available online from the National Cyber Security Centre.

What security checks are undertaken before an address change is accepted on a taxpayer’s Government Gateway account.

When a taxpayer requests an address change on their Government Gateway account, a range of security checks are applied to help protect the account and prevent unauthorised access.These checks include confirming the user’s identity through their Government Gateway credentials, monitoring for unusual or suspicious activity, and applying additional verification measures where appropriate. HMRC also uses automated controls and risk‑based assessments to help detect and prevent potential fraud.The precise nature of these checks is kept under review and is not disclosed in detail, as doing so could undermine their effectiveness.

What discussions her Department has had with the Financial Conduct Authority regarding the regulation of equity crowdfunding schemes such as the Equity for Punks programme operated by BrewDog.

The Government has regular conversations with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on a range of topics, including the regulation of equity crowdfunding.In 2024, the government delivered the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations which enabled the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to reform the UK Prospectus Regime.This new regime took effect on 19 January 2026, and gives investors access to better quality information to support their investment decisions.The regulations also created a new regulated activity of operating a Public Offer Platform (POP). Companies seeking to make public offers of securities outside a public market to a broad investor base, where the value exceeds £5 million, will now need to do so via a POP, ensuring investors receive better information about their investments.

Whether the Government has considered establishing periodic review procedures for High Court injunctions granting lifelong anonymity to offenders convicted of serious crimes committed as juveniles.

The High Court has been clear that the making of an injunction to grant lifelong anonymity to protect the identity of a now adult person convicted of a serious offence as a child, should be exceptional. In practice, such injunctions are made very rarely.The court will consider whether there is a real and immediate risk of serious physical harm or death or if the offender’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights justify making the injunction as a necessary and proportionate step. In doing so the court will balance these factors against the right of the media and others to freedom of expression.An application can be made to the High Court to end an injunction. To be successful, it must be demonstrated that the conditions justifying the making of the injunction are no longer in place.This Government has no current plans to establish periodic review procedures for these injunctions.

What support is available for small businesses and self-employed individuals to assist them in meeting the requirements of Making Tax Digital; and what measures are in place to monitor the effectiveness of this support.

Making Tax Digital will help businesses and landlords keep on top of their tax affairs. It places small businesses on a more digital footing, with digital tools helping to reduce errors and make annual tax returns easier. The government is undertaking a range of activities to ensure those needing to use MTD for Income Tax from April 2026 are ready and able to do so successfully. This includes targeted media campaigns, awareness letters, developing guidance, and working with the software industry to ensure a broad range of MTD-compatible products is available, to suit different needs and budgets. Free options will support those with the simplest affairs. Supporting its introduction is a dedicated team of fully-trained MTD advisors. From April 2026, new options will be available on HMRC’s Self-Assessment and Agent helplines tailored to the needs of MTD users. Further support will continue to be offered through webinars, industry engagement and marketing activities targeted to reach those affected by the changes. HMRC’s latest published assessment of the potential impact of MTD for Income Tax across different taxpayer groups is available at: Extension of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment to sole traders and landlords - GOV.UK

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure licences granted for Houses of Multiple Occupancy do not adversely impact community cohesion.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 110684 on 11 February 2026.

What estimate she has made of the average financial cost to businesses of complying with Making Tax Digital; and what support is available to offset those costs.

Making Tax Digital will help businesses and landlords keep on top of their tax affairs. It places small businesses on a more digital footing, with digital tools helping to reduce errors and make annual tax returns easier. The government is undertaking a range of activities to ensure those needing to use MTD for Income Tax from April 2026 are ready and able to do so successfully. This includes targeted media campaigns, awareness letters, developing guidance, and working with the software industry to ensure a broad range of MTD-compatible products is available, to suit different needs and budgets. Free options will support those with the simplest affairs. Supporting its introduction is a dedicated team of fully-trained MTD advisors. From April 2026, new options will be available on HMRC’s Self-Assessment and Agent helplines tailored to the needs of MTD users. Further support will continue to be offered through webinars, industry engagement and marketing activities targeted to reach those affected by the changes. HMRC’s latest published assessment of the potential impact of MTD for Income Tax across different taxpayer groups is available at: Extension of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment to sole traders and landlords - GOV.UK

Whether her Department has issued guidance to HM Revenue and Customs on implementing the recommendations of the independent review of the loan charge.

The Government commissioned an independent review of the loan charge to bring the matter to a close for those affected, ensure fairness for all taxpayers and ensure that appropriate support is in place for those subject to the loan charge. The Government accepted the review’s conclusion that the loan charge was an extraordinary piece of Government policy which necessitated an exceptional response, and is now legislating a new settlement opportunity that will assist those who have not yet settled to do so. As a result, most individuals could see reductions of at least 50% in their outstanding loan charge liabilities, and an estimated 30% of individuals could have these liabilities written off entirely. To encourage more people to settle, the Government will write off the first £5,000 of liabilities in addition to the proposals put forward by Ray McCann. The Government’s response to the review represents a fair and proportionate attempt to provide a route to resolution for those who have not yet been able to settle with HMRC. In turn, this requires those individuals to now come forward and engage with HMRC in good faith.

What estimate her Department has made of the increase in the number of children classified as children missing education (CME) in Lancashire over the last decade; and what assessment she has made of the potential implications of this for her policies.

Children Missing Education data was first collected on a voluntary basis in Autumn 2022. Lancashire reported 4,690 Children Missing Education at any point in the 2024/25 academic year. This is a decrease from 4,820 in 2023/24, and an increase from 2,280 when collection began in 2021/22.The government is committed to breaking down the barriers to opportunity for our young people, and education is key in providing the strong foundations to better life chances.Local authorities already have a duty to locate and support children back into education where necessary, and we have published statutory guidance on ‘Children Missing Education’, and ‘Working Together to Improve School Attendance’ that reinforces the roles and responsibilities of schools and local authorities to work together in this area. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will go further, requiring councils to maintain registers of children not in school, ensuring fewer young people slip under the radar.

What steps her Department is taking to support local authorities experiencing increases in children missing education, including Lancashire County Council.

Children Missing Education data was first collected on a voluntary basis in Autumn 2022. Lancashire reported 4,690 Children Missing Education at any point in the 2024/25 academic year. This is a decrease from 4,820 in 2023/24, and an increase from 2,280 when collection began in 2021/22.The government is committed to breaking down the barriers to opportunity for our young people, and education is key in providing the strong foundations to better life chances.Local authorities already have a duty to locate and support children back into education where necessary, and we have published statutory guidance on ‘Children Missing Education’, and ‘Working Together to Improve School Attendance’ that reinforces the roles and responsibilities of schools and local authorities to work together in this area. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will go further, requiring councils to maintain registers of children not in school, ensuring fewer young people slip under the radar.

Whether her Department plans to introduce additional statutory duties or guidance for local authorities to track and support children missing education.

Children Missing Education data was first collected on a voluntary basis in Autumn 2022. Lancashire reported 4,690 Children Missing Education at any point in the 2024/25 academic year. This is a decrease from 4,820 in 2023/24, and an increase from 2,280 when collection began in 2021/22.The government is committed to breaking down the barriers to opportunity for our young people, and education is key in providing the strong foundations to better life chances.Local authorities already have a duty to locate and support children back into education where necessary, and we have published statutory guidance on ‘Children Missing Education’, and ‘Working Together to Improve School Attendance’ that reinforces the roles and responsibilities of schools and local authorities to work together in this area. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will go further, requiring councils to maintain registers of children not in school, ensuring fewer young people slip under the radar.

Whether HM Revenue and Customs has conducted a recent assessment of vulnerabilities in the Government Gateway system relating to unauthorised changes to personal account details.

HM Revenue and Customs keeps the security of the Government Gateway under continual review. As part of its standard cyber security and risk management processes, HMRC regularly undertakes security risk assessments, vulnerability management activity and testing to identify and mitigate potential threats, including risks associated with unauthorised changes to customer account details. These activities are complemented by fraud prevention controls, monitoring and investigation arrangements designed to detect and respond to suspicious or potentially fraudulent account activity. Where issues are identified, they are prioritised and addressed in line with HMRC’s security governance and incident management arrangements. For security reasons, HMRC does not comment publicly on the detail or outcomes of specific security assessments.

What steps her Department is taking to pursue enforcement action against promoters of tax avoidance schemes in connection with the loan charge.

This 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 affected, ensure fairness for all taxpayers and ensure that appropriate support is in place for those subject to the loan charge. The Government is introducing new powers in Finance Bill 2025/26 to close in on promoters of marketed tax avoidance and the other professionals who market or enable tax avoidance schemes. These new powers will go further and include more criminal sanctions. This shows the Government’s clear determination to close in on the few remaining promoters by strengthening deterrents and introducing significant additional consequences for promoters who continue promoting tax avoidance schemes. At the Budget, the Government announced action to tackle tax avoidance by umbrella companies, where most disguised remuneration now takes place. The Government will introduce legislation, effective from April 2026, to make recruitment agencies using umbrella companies legally responsible for accounting for PAYE on workers’ pay. Where there is no agency in the supply chain, this responsibility will fall to the end client. This along with the measures on promoters will help prevent disguised remuneration in the future.

Whether her Department cross-checks identity information with (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) other government databases before initiating debt recovery action relating to Universal Credit.

This department is committed to fairness in debt recovery and will always work with people to ensure that any recovery activity does not cause hardship or is unfairly detrimental. Identity checks are undertaken by DWP at the point a customer makes a benefit claim, and we work closely with other government departments during the claimant journey where necessary.

Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of mould and damp in council-owned housing in England.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 37561 on 19 March 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to improve accountability for councils not resolving mould and damp complaints from tenants.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 113896 on 2 March 2026.

What coordination exists between departments including the Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue and Customs in investigating suspected identity theft involving government digital services.

This government takes identity theft, and the harm it can cause victims, seriously. It is the responsibility of individual departments as to how they coordinate their policy and operational approaches in relation to identity theft involving government digital services. The Public Sector Fraud Authority’s (PSFA) remit is to work with departments and public bodies to understand, prevent and reduce the impact of fraud. This is achieved by supporting public bodies to have the basics in place, build counter fraud capability and embed financial targets.

Whether he intends to use powers in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to prohibit the sale of vaping devices designed to operate with refill containers that, when attached, resulting in a total liquid capacity exceeding 2ml.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will stop vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately branded, promoted, and advertised to children and will provide the Government with new powers to restrict the packaging, device appearance, and display of vapes and other nicotine products to stop the next generation from becoming hooked on nicotine.On 8 October 2025, we launched a Call for Evidence which sought evidence on the size and shape of vapes, vape tanks, and the components of vaping products, including pods, puff-count capacity, and nicotine delivery.We are now reviewing the responses, and these will help inform decisions around our future regulatory approach once the Tobacco and Vapes Bill has been enacted.The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as part of their upcoming Circular Economy Growth Plan, will consider evidence across a range of interventions, including but not limited to the regulation of product features to support increased recyclability.