Written questions by Snowden.

Whether HMRC plans to publish the findings of its review into suspended child benefit payments.

As part of its ongoing efforts to reduce error and fraud in the Child Benefit system, HMRC undertook a pilot last year using international travel data. This pilot saw thousands of people who had left the UK but carried on claiming Child Benefit removed from the system, preventing around £17m in incorrect payments. This led to the expansion of the measure and investment in an additional 180 counter-fraud staff, announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, and is expected to save around £350 million over the next five years. In expanding the process over the past few months, a check of HMRC PAYE systems to look for continuing UK employment was excluded on around 23,500 enquiries in order to streamline the process, with a view to employment status being tested as part of any subsequent customer enquiry. We have apologised for this. Following concerns being raised, swift action was taken to improve the processes. A decision was made on 29 October to reinstate the employment check for all cases with immediate effect, meaning that HMRC’s risking has a higher success rate for identifying ineligible claims. HMRC reviewed all compliance cases already opened and conducted a PAYE check. These checks were completed for all customers on 14 November. Where there was evidence that customers had continued UK employment, HMRC reinstated payments automatically without any need for customer contact and those payments have been backdated. By the end of November, HMRC will have written to all customers who have not yet contacted them to provide a further 4 weeks to make contact. HMRC will also be responding to the Treasury Select Committee to outline the steps it has taken in relation to this issue.

When she expects HMRC to complete its review of suspended child benefit claims.

As part of its ongoing efforts to reduce error and fraud in the Child Benefit system, HMRC undertook a pilot last year using international travel data. This pilot saw thousands of people who had left the UK but carried on claiming Child Benefit removed from the system, preventing around £17m in incorrect payments. This led to the expansion of the measure and investment in an additional 180 counter-fraud staff, announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, and is expected to save around £350 million over the next five years. In expanding the process over the past few months, a check of HMRC PAYE systems to look for continuing UK employment was excluded on around 23,500 enquiries in order to streamline the process, with a view to employment status being tested as part of any subsequent customer enquiry. We have apologised for this. Following concerns being raised, swift action was taken to improve the processes. A decision was made on 29 October to reinstate the employment check for all cases with immediate effect, meaning that HMRC’s risking has a higher success rate for identifying ineligible claims. HMRC reviewed all compliance cases already opened and conducted a PAYE check. These checks were completed for all customers on 14 November. Where there was evidence that customers had continued UK employment, HMRC reinstated payments automatically without any need for customer contact and those payments have been backdated. By the end of November, HMRC will have written to all customers who have not yet contacted them to provide a further 4 weeks to make contact. HMRC will also be responding to the Treasury Select Committee to outline the steps it has taken in relation to this issue.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of trends in the number of young people not in employment, education, or training on economic growth in (a) Lancashire and (b) England.

When this Government came to office there were almost 1 million young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) and this Government is determined to address this. The Government understands the negative effects of unemployment can be particularly pronounced for young people and can have longstanding implications on their future earnings potential and life chances. This is why the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has a particular focus on ensuring young people are supported into employment, whilst also recognising their needs will vary depending on where they live and their own individual circumstances. In Lancashire, DWP currently operates seven Youth Hubs in partnership with local organisations. These hubs bring together employment support from a Jobcentre work coach and place-based support from local partnerships to help young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) into work. These are located in Pendle, Burnley, Hyndburn, Blackburn, Preston, Fleetwood, and Blackpool. Additionally, all Lancashire Jobcentres offer the Movement to Work programme, providing young people with valuable work experience placements designed to build confidence, develop skills, and improve job prospects. Building on existing support the government’s is also developing a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. As a first step, we are working with eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers across England which are testing innovative approaches to identify and deliver localised support to young people NEET or at risk of becoming NEET. This includes strengthening local coordination, through local leadership, and outreach to better connect young people with opportunities. We will use the learning from these Trailblazers to inform the future design and development of the Youth Guarantee as it rolls out across the rest of Great Britain. In addition, the Government is investing £25 million to expand Youth Hubs. This investment will almost double the number of Youth Hubs to over 200 across England, Scotland and Wales over the next three years, ensuring more young people can access personalised, wraparound support in their local communities. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor has also announced that every eligible young person who has been on Universal Credit for 18 months without earning or learning will be offered guaranteed paid work. Participants of the scheme will receive support to take advantage of available opportunities, with the aim of helping them transition into regular employment. The scheme forms part of the government’s aim to provide targeted support for young people at risk of long-term unemployment. Further details including eligibility criteria and the structure of placements, will be confirmed at the Budget.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the use of GPS-enabled smart watches on the security of UK defence sites.

The Ministry of Defence has strict rules governing where smart devices, including GPS-enabled smart watches, can and cannot be used. We do not comment on the detail of those measures.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of local careers advice and guidance services in preventing young people from becoming not in employment, education or training in Lancashire.

The department funds a network of careers hubs across England to drive up standards of careers provision for young people. Lancashire Careers Hub works with 162 secondary schools and colleges to connect careers provision to regional skills needs, aligned with the Lancashire Skills and Employment Strategic Framework.Through the Boosting Skills Pathway Fund, the careers hub works with local small and medium enterprises to break down barriers and connect young people to diverse pathways including T Levels.In the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, the department committed to prevent young people becoming not in education, employment or training through more effective use of data by local partners and by ensuring that those without a post-16 study plan are automatically allocated a place at a local college or further education provider.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has provided to (a) developers and (b) investors on ensuring that applications to the Building Safety Regulator (i) provide the required detail and (ii) meet the required standards to avoid rejection.

New guidance, developed with the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), supports industry to better understand all aspects of the new building control regime. A joint Building Safety Regulator (BSR)-CLC working group with Tier 1 developers is also addressing key challenges and identifying areas for improvement. More broadly, BSR run a series of webinars covering both design and construction requirements, as well as in-occupation requirements, and has published guidance online including “getting building control applications right.” BSR is actively supporting the Construction Leadership Council to publish a further suite of industry guidance, expected around mid-November on the statutory documents accompanying building control approval applications, staged approvals and Gateway 3.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of covering the insurance costs of employers taking on volunteer workers; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on the number of people not in employment, education or training.

DWP recognises that there are many benefits to volunteering for individuals, including for those not in employment, education or training. These include gaining new skills, knowledge and experience, improving physical and mental wellbeing, growing confidence and improving a person's CV. We have worked with the Royal Voluntary Service and with a group of charities who make up Shaping the Future with Volunteering to develop a ‘Volunteering Toolkit’ to support DWP operational staff, including work coaches, to connect customers to volunteering opportunities. We also ran a two-week internal communications campaign in Autumn 2024 to raise the profile of volunteering as a step towards work. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA) protects employees and others who may be affected by work activities. This includes those volunteering for, or on behalf of an organisation. Employers must include volunteers, as well as employees, in risk assessments to identify significant risks and implement effective control measures. Any further insurance beyond statutory requirements is a commercial decision for an employer.

What steps he is taking to encourage businesses to offer work experience placements to recent university graduates.

The government encourages work experience through various initiatives spanning various departments. The Department for Business and Trade published the UK’s Industrial, Trade and Small Business Strategies, which were developed in partnership with business, with positive feedback from leading business organisations. For example, the Industrial Strategy will provide an additional £1.2bn of investment in the skills system by 2028-29.The Department for Work and Pensions has an established strong network of partnerships with external training providers, universities, and graduate employment platforms to enhance graduate employment opportunities.DWP are reforming Jobcentre Plus to create a new, more personalised employment support service across Great Britain. This new service will move away from a one-size-fits-all approach and recognise that individuals – including graduates – have different needs. It will provide tailored help to find good, meaningful work and support progression in employment, with a stronger focus on skills and careers.

What steps she is taking to ensure that irregular migrants deported under the UK/France treaty entitled Agreement on the Prevention of Dangerous Journeys, published on 5 August 2025, do not return to the UK illegally.

The Department continues to work closely with French counterparts to ensure migrants returned under the UK-France agreement are clearly aware of the consequences of returning to the UK illegally – that they will be subject to removal once again - and to support French officials in encouraging migrants to pursue other options available to them in France. Where previously removed individuals have returned to the UK by small boat, they have been swiftly identified, detained and progressed for removal.

What information her Department holds on the number of animals bred for scientific research that (a) were killed and (b) died without being used in procedures in each of the last 12 months.

The Home Office has previously published (2017) additional statistics covering the number of non-genetically altered animals that were bred for scientific procedures but were killed or died without being used in procedures; and the number of animals (genetically altered and non-genetically altered) subject to tissue sampling for the purposes of genotyping. These statistics can be viewed here: www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-of-scientific-procedures-on-living-animals#additional-statistics-for-2017.The 2017 data collection was as a result of a requirement of the European Directive 2010/63/EU for additional statistics on animals bred for scientific procedures but that were killed or died without being used. After leaving the EU the UK was no longer required to collect and release additional statistics. Future publication of this data is presently under review.

What recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of the suspension of child benefit payments on families also receiving other forms of social security support.

No assessment has been made. Child Benefit, administered by His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC), is not taken into account as income when calculating a Universal Credit award or other means-tested benefits. It is used to assess benefit levels for the purpose of determining whether to apply the benefit cap which limits the amount of social security benefits a working age household can receive. The benefit cap is applied through Housing Benefit and Universal Credit. The Department will continue to work closely with HMRC on all relevant matters.

What recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the number of young people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training in (a) the North West and (b) Fylde constituency.

The department publishes official statistics on those not in education, employment or training (NEET) for England from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for young people aged 16 to 24 here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief/2024.Since 2021, the number of 16 to 24 year-olds estimated to be NEET in the North West has been increasing with the latest estimate at end 2024 being 121,400. The lowest number in the series was in 2021, estimated to be 74,200. The data can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/cc3fd0f9-292c-47fa-d20e-08de2129b4fd.In recent years, the Office for National Statistics has faced challenges around the falling number of responses to the LFS, which has led to increased sampling variability. This is particularly notable at regional level and caution is advised when interpreting short-term changes. All estimates should be viewed alongside associated confidence intervals.These estimates are not available at lower-level geographies due to limitations with sample sizes. Therefore, NEET estimates in Fylde constituency are not available.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of data-sharing protocols between Departments following the suspension of child benefit payments by HMRC.

HMRC uses Home Office international travel data as a starting point for identifying potential unreported absences from the UK. Undetected changes to an individual’s residency status are a leading cause of Child Benefit error and fraud. The legal basis for disclosing information between HMRC and Home Office for the purpose of tackling fraud is Chapter 4 of the Digital Economy Act (“DEA”) 2017. The exchange of data between HMRC and the Home Office continues to work as expected and agreed.

Whether the Prime Minister sought advice from the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests on the receipt of donations from David Kogan prior to his appointment as the Independent Football Regulator Chair.

I refer the Hon Member to the Prime Minister’s letter to the Independent Adviser for Ministerial Standards, published on 12 November.

If he will publish correspondence between the Prime Minister's Office and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the appointment of the Independent Football Regulator Chair.

I refer the Hon Member to the Prime Minister’s letter to the Independent Adviser for Ministerial Standards, published on 12 November.

Communities and Local Government, how many (a) social rent, (b) affordable rent, and (c) shared ownership homes have been provided through the Social and Affordable Homes Programme since its inception.

Bidding for the Programme in question has not yet opened. On 7 November 2025, my Department published a policy statement on the Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) which can be found on gov.uk here. This was accompanied by detailed guidance for prospective bidders published by Homes England and the Greater London Authority.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the US government shutdown on UK-based financial institutions with exposure to US government (a) securities and (b) agencies.

The US Government shutdown ended on 12 November 2025. HM Treasury works closely with the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) and UK financial regulators to assess any risks to the financial sector, including those relating to the global outlook.

What assessment he has made of trends in the prevalence of corridor care in hospitals in Lancashire.

The Government is determined to get the National Health Service back on its feet, so patients can be treated with dignity.  We are therefore doing everything we can as fast as we can to consign the delivery of care in temporary escalation spaces to the history books.Our Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, published in June 2025, set out the steps we are taking to ensure that patients will receive better, faster, and more appropriate emergency care this winter, backed by a total of nearly £450 million of funding. This includes a commitment to publish data on the prevalence of corridor care for the first time.

How many and what proportion of NHS staff will receive armed forces-specific training by (a) 2026 and (b) 2028.

The training and education programmes will be rolled out to all National Health Service organisations and for all NHS staff over the next two and a half years. The programmes will share best practice about how the NHS can identify and support patients with an Armed Forces background.By the end of 2026, the target is for all board members of integrated care boards and Department national commissioning teams to have completed Armed Forces healthcare specific training. In addition, by the end of 2026, the ambition is for 200,000 NHS staff in England to have completed the training.By 2028, the ambition is for 400,000 NHS staff to have completed Armed Forces healthcare specific training. Performance will be reviewed against ambitions regularly, and appropriate changes will be made to the programme so that uptake continually increases.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the US government shutdown on joint UK–US defence (a) projects and (b) research collaboration.

There has been no impact on our defence projects or research collaboration where we have continued to engage with those essential US staff who continued to work during the shutdown.