Written questions by Whittingdale.

Whether the provisions enabling AI Sandboxes in the Regulating for Growth Bill will include protections for UK Intellectual Property to ensure that it cannot be suspended to allow experimentation in relation to technologies such as AI.

Awaiting answer.

Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of providing funding for covered tennis and padel facilities in Maldon constituency.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That has to mean delivering a range of facilities across the country based on what each local community needs. On 16 March, the Prime Minister confirmed £10 million investment in 2026/27 to develop new delivery models, including at least £2.5 million to the Lawn Tennis Association for covered courts for tennis, padel and other activities. We provide the majority of our support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding into grassroots sport across England, including providing support for the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). The LTA is receiving up to £14.5 million for seven years from 2022 to 2029 to invest in community tennis initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.We are now working closely with the sport sector stakeholders and local leaders to develop plans for future funding for a range of sports across the country based on communities’ needs. We will keep stakeholders and the wider sport sector updated as this work progresses, and we will announce plans once they have been fully developed.

Whether her Department will extend the discount under Loan Charge settlement plan to schemes used before December 2010.

The Government commissioned an independent review of the loan charge to help bring the matter to a close for people who have not settled and paid their loan charge liabilities. The review identified affordability as a key barrier preventing those individuals from settling and made recommendations to remove this barrier. The Government has no plans to apply the review’s recommendations beyond those individuals and employers with outstanding liabilities that were the focus of the review.

Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the findings in Ofcom's Review of Audience Protection Measures on On-Demand Programme Services regarding public demand for greater consistency in age ratings used on streaming services.

We note the findings of Ofcom’s Review of Audience Protection Measures on On-Demand Programme Services. The Government will shortly be designating mainstream video-on-demand services, bringing them under enhanced regulation by Ofcom. Ofcom will then consult on a new Standards Code for these services, similar to the Broadcasting Code. This will give the public an important opportunity to set out their views directly on the use of age ratings and content warnings.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to encourage greater consistency in age ratings and content warnings across streaming services to help parents ensure age-appropriate viewing for their children.

We note the findings of Ofcom’s Review of Audience Protection Measures on On-Demand Programme Services. The Government will shortly be designating mainstream video-on-demand services, bringing them under enhanced regulation by Ofcom. Ofcom will then consult on a new Standards Code for these services, similar to the Broadcasting Code. This will give the public an important opportunity to set out their views directly on the use of age ratings and content warnings.

What plans she has to increase public awareness of changes to the Highway Code made in the last 4 years.

Following changes made to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran THINK! Campaigns in 2022 and 2023 to raise awareness of the changes and encourage understanding and uptake of the new guidance, with 86% of road users having heard of the changes by September 2023.The Government's new road safety strategy identifies that more work is needed to continue embedding these changes.The THINK! campaign will continue to run three radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations. The Road Safety Strategy also sets out further actions to enable safer active travel including supporting councils to provide high-quality, easily accessible active travel schemes across England, and the development of its third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS 3).As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. To support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK, the government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.

If she will amend the Financial Promotions Order to remove the exemption for self-certified sophisticated investors.

The financial promotion regime includes a number of targeted exemptions that are designed to reduce regulatory burdens, including for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seeking to raise capital through sophisticated private investors. The previous government brought forward proposals to amend the exemptions for self-certified sophisticated investors and high-net-worth individuals, which came into effect in January 2024. Those reforms aimed to strike a balance between increasing consumer protection and preserving the ability of SMEs to raise capital. However, following significant concerns having been raised about the impact of these changes on SMEs raising capital, the previous Chancellor announced at Spring Budget 2024 that the government would legislate to reinstate the previous eligibility criteria. Those changes came into effect on 27 March 2024. The Government has no plans to remove the exemption for self-certified sophisticated investors.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she plans to meet the newly elected President of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus.

In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' as an independent state.We respect the right of the Turkish Cypriot community to choose their representatives in the UN-led settlement process, and we engage with Turkish Cypriot representatives under our non-recognition policy to support the UN-led settlement process. I will meet Mr Erhürman at the next informal UN-led talks to support momentum towards a just and lasting settlement. We followed his recent leadership election and are not aware of any evidence of irregularities.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of whether the recent presidential election in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was conducted in a free and fair manner.

In accordance with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' as an independent state.We respect the right of the Turkish Cypriot community to choose their representatives in the UN-led settlement process, and we engage with Turkish Cypriot representatives under our non-recognition policy to support the UN-led settlement process. I will meet Mr Erhürman at the next informal UN-led talks to support momentum towards a just and lasting settlement. We followed his recent leadership election and are not aware of any evidence of irregularities.

If she will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential merits of reversing recent changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief.

HM Treasury Ministers discuss a range of subjects with Ministers from other departments, including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, fixing the public finances, and funding public services. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 81396 on Artificial Intelligence: Copyright, if she will publish a list of the membership of all technical working groups that are due to be established in relation to the issue of copyright and AI.

We are establishing technical working groups to inform our approach to copyright and AI. They will be designed to bring together a range of experts and stakeholders across key issues, including transparency and technical standards. We have shared the full list of attendees of the Ministerial meetings with members of the plenary group. The terms of reference will be published in due course.

What discussions she has had with UK Finance on reforming of the role of the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Treasury Ministers meet with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the regular business of government. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel The Government engaged a wide range of stakeholders as part of its review of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which was conducted between March and July 2025. The Government recently consulted on proposed reforms following the conclusion of the review, and the consultation closed on 8 October 2025. The Government is now reviewing responses, and will set out its proposed next steps in due course. The review’s findings and the consultation on proposed reforms can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fs-sector-strategy-review-of-the-financial-ombudsman-service. The Government’s proposed reforms will not undermine the important role of the FOS in providing consumers with a cost-free route to quickly and easily resolve disputes with financial services firms. The review concluded that the FOS’s role providing an impartial dispute resolution service within the financial services regulatory framework should be preserved, and that the fair and reasonable test remains appropriate for its position as an informal alternative to the courts. The Government is proposing that the fair and reasonable test should be retained and adapted to align with the overall regulatory approach for financial services, so that where conduct complained of is in scope of FCA rules, a firm will be considered to have acted fairly and reasonably. These reforms will improve the regulatory coherence between the FOS and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to deliver a more consistent and predictable regulatory environment, which the Government believes will benefit both consumers and industry.. The 79th Group is subject to an ongoing investigation by The City of London Police. As such the Government is unable to comment on the specifics of the case. However, the FCA and PSR have recently written to financial services firms setting out their expectation that firms should determine whether any claims, or parts of claims, are a qualifying APP scam, on an individual basis.

What steps her Department has taken through the (a) Financial Conduct Authority and (b) Payment Systems Regulator to establish the reasons for which banks have not engaged directly with investors in resolving authorised push payment reimbursement claims relating to investments made (i) before and (ii) after 7 October 2024; and what (A) findings, (B) correspondence and (C) further steps have resulted from this work.

Treasury Ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at the link below. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel All payment services providers, including banks, are required to comply with the Payment Systems Regulator’s authorised push payment (APP) scam reimbursement regime, which came into force on 7 October 2024. This requires firms to reimburse victims for qualifying APP scams which took place from 7 October 2024 and over the Faster Payments System up to the value of £85,000. For APP scams which took place before this, these may be eligible for reimbursement under the Contingent Reimbursement Model Code, which applied from May 2019 and was signed by the UK’s largest banks and building societies. The 79th group are currently subject to an ongoing investigation by The City of London Police. As such the Government is unable to comment on the specifics of the case.The FCA and PSR have recently written to financial services firms setting out their expectation that firms should determine whether any claims, or parts of claims, are a qualifying APP scam, on an individual basis.

What representations her Department has received from receiving banks under the authorised push payment reimbursement arrangements in relation to (a) claims and (b) complaints by 79th Group investors; and what guidance UK Finance has provided to those banks on handling such claims.

Treasury Ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at the link below. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel All payment services providers, including banks, are required to comply with the Payment Systems Regulator’s authorised push payment (APP) scam reimbursement regime, which came into force on 7 October 2024. This requires firms to reimburse victims for qualifying APP scams which took place from 7 October 2024 and over the Faster Payments System up to the value of £85,000. For APP scams which took place before this, these may be eligible for reimbursement under the Contingent Reimbursement Model Code, which applied from May 2019 and was signed by the UK’s largest banks and building societies. The 79th group are currently subject to an ongoing investigation by The City of London Police. As such the Government is unable to comment on the specifics of the case.The FCA and PSR have recently written to financial services firms setting out their expectation that firms should determine whether any claims, or parts of claims, are a qualifying APP scam, on an individual basis.

What recent discussions her Department has had with UK Finance on proposed changes to the (a) role and (b) remit of the Financial Ombudsman Service; and what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of those proposed changes on protections for (i) people in the 79th Group and (b) other vulnerable investors.

Treasury Ministers meet with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the regular business of government. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel The Government engaged a wide range of stakeholders as part of its review of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which was conducted between March and July 2025. The Government recently consulted on proposed reforms following the conclusion of the review, and the consultation closed on 8 October 2025. The Government is now reviewing responses, and will set out its proposed next steps in due course. The review’s findings and the consultation on proposed reforms can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fs-sector-strategy-review-of-the-financial-ombudsman-service. The Government’s proposed reforms will not undermine the important role of the FOS in providing consumers with a cost-free route to quickly and easily resolve disputes with financial services firms. The review concluded that the FOS’s role providing an impartial dispute resolution service within the financial services regulatory framework should be preserved, and that the fair and reasonable test remains appropriate for its position as an informal alternative to the courts. The Government is proposing that the fair and reasonable test should be retained and adapted to align with the overall regulatory approach for financial services, so that where conduct complained of is in scope of FCA rules, a firm will be considered to have acted fairly and reasonably. These reforms will improve the regulatory coherence between the FOS and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to deliver a more consistent and predictable regulatory environment, which the Government believes will benefit both consumers and industry.. The 79th Group is subject to an ongoing investigation by The City of London Police. As such the Government is unable to comment on the specifics of the case. However, the FCA and PSR have recently written to financial services firms setting out their expectation that firms should determine whether any claims, or parts of claims, are a qualifying APP scam, on an individual basis.

What representations her Department has received from sending banks under the authorised push payment reimbursement arrangements in relation to (a) claims and (b) complaints by 79th Group investors; and what guidance UK Finance has provided to those banks on handling such claims.

Treasury Ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at the link below. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel All payment services providers, including banks, are required to comply with the Payment Systems Regulator’s authorised push payment (APP) scam reimbursement regime, which came into force on 7 October 2024. This requires firms to reimburse victims for qualifying APP scams which took place from 7 October 2024 and over the Faster Payments System up to the value of £85,000. For APP scams which took place before this, these may be eligible for reimbursement under the Contingent Reimbursement Model Code, which applied from May 2019 and was signed by the UK’s largest banks and building societies. The 79th group are currently subject to an ongoing investigation by The City of London Police. As such the Government is unable to comment on the specifics of the case.The FCA and PSR have recently written to financial services firms setting out their expectation that firms should determine whether any claims, or parts of claims, are a qualifying APP scam, on an individual basis.

If his Department will review the policy requiring local authorities to claw back covid grant payments made in error where (a) significant periods of time have elapsed before notification of the error, (b) the payment was (i) made and (ii) used in good faith and (c) repayment would have a disproportionate impact on small community organisations.

The various business grant schemes were a vital component of support for many businesses during the Covid-19 crisis. However, due to the speed of delivery, payments were made in good faith and in some cases following post payment compliance checks, some awards were identified as being made when they didn’t qualify for the support. In such cases, to protect public money these funds are recovered. Recovery action is considered and assessed on a case-by-case basis, with repayment terms on an interest-free basis offered to support businesses required to repay.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of requiring repayment of covid business support grants that were (a) paid in error by local authorities, (b) received and spent in good faith and (c) only identified several years after the original payment on small community sports clubs.

The various business grant schemes were a vital component of support for many businesses during the Covid-19 crisis. However, due to the speed of delivery, payments were made in good faith and in some cases following post payment compliance checks, some awards were identified as being made when they didn’t qualify for the support. In such cases, to protect public money these funds are recovered. Recovery action is assessed on a case-by-case basis, with repayment terms on an interest-free basis offered to support businesses required to repay funds.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reorganise local government in Essex.

Local Government Reorganisation creates a huge opportunity for efficiency and improve public services.Final proposals from councils in Essex were submitted by 26 September. We anticipate launching a statutory consultation in November.

When he expects the Lampard Inquiry to report; and what steps he is taking to support the Inquiry.

Although the Department sponsors the Lampard Inquiry, the inquiry is independent of the Government. Baroness Lampard has committed to publish the final report as soon as possible and the inquiry will publish its intended timescales in due course. The next hearings are due to commence on 13 October 2025, with further hearings scheduled throughout 2026. The Government is committed to ensuring that lessons are learned from the Lampard Inquiry to improve patient safety. The Department is a core participant to the inquiry and will give evidence. We are confident that the inquiry will play an important role in identifying wider learning for the health system and will contribute to improvements in patient safety. The inquiry continues to be funded by the Department.