Written questions by Thomas.

Communities and Local Government, if he will publish a list of mission critical neighbourhoods as defined by the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods.

We welcomed the May report from the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods entitled ‘Anatomy of Mission Critical Neighbourhoods’ and have noted the findings of the entrenched challenges these areas face, specifically in relation to economic inactivity, ill health and skills. We have not made any assessment of bank branches in the areas ICON analysed, however we will continue to work closely with the areas supported by our Pride in Place programme to build stronger communities, create thriving places and empower local people. Our Pride in Place programme will work closely with 244 neighbourhoods experiencing the highest levels of deprivation, delivering up to £5 billion funding and support over ten years to these areas.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods report entitled Anatomy of Mission Critical Neighbourhoods, published on 30 May 2025, whether he has made an assessment of the number of (a) Santander, (b) Barclays and (c) HSBC bank branches in mission critical neighbourhoods.

We welcomed the May report from the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods entitled ‘Anatomy of Mission Critical Neighbourhoods’ and have noted the findings of the entrenched challenges these areas face, specifically in relation to economic inactivity, ill health and skills. We have not made any assessment of bank branches in the areas ICON analysed, however we will continue to work closely with the areas supported by our Pride in Place programme to build stronger communities, create thriving places and empower local people. Our Pride in Place programme will work closely with 244 neighbourhoods experiencing the highest levels of deprivation, delivering up to £5 billion funding and support over ten years to these areas.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) pubs and (b) other hospitality businesses extending their Bounce Back Loans for (i) an additional five years beyond the current maximum limits and (ii) at the same rate of interest.

Pay As You Grow (PAYG) was introduced to give businesses that borrowed under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) greater flexibility, including extended repayment terms and short-term interest only payments. The Department’s multi-year published evaluation of the Covid-19 Loan Guarantee Schemes indicated that closure rates among BBLS borrowers using PAYG were relatively low compared to others, suggesting PAYG may have had an important role in ensuring the survival of some businesses. The department has not conducted a sector specific assessment in relation to PAYG impact.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 82944 on Credit Unions, if she will publish the responses to the call for evidence.

The government is committed to exploring legislative reform to the credit union common bond to ensure it remains fit for purpose. Responses to the call for evidence are currently being considered, and the government will provide an update on this work in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 82947 on Banks and Community Development Finance Institutions, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the reasons for which (a) HSBC, (b) Santander and (c) Barclays have not chosen to support work between banks and Community Development Finance Institutions to support the provision of affordable credit in the areas of highest deprivation.

As outlined in my previous response, the Government recognises the vital role Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) play in providing affordable credit to underserved consumers and businesses. However I cannot comment on how individual banks decide to approach provision of affordable credit. I am very grateful for the engagement by a range of banks and CDFIs in contributing to the upcoming Financial Inclusion Strategy, which includes a focus on access to affordable credit and will seek to ensure people have access to useful products and services for their needs.

Whether she plans to review the process for disabled customers to claim reduced rates of vehicle tax.

Customers who receive the enhanced rate mobility component of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and whose vehicles are already licensed in the disabled taxation class can renew their vehicle excise duty (VED) exemption online.Those customers who receive the standard rate mobility component of PIP, which entitles them to a 50 per cent reduction in the rate of VED payable, must send their application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).Facilitating online applications by disabled customers to claim reduced rates of VED requires the electronic exchange of data held by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) with the DVLA. Officials are considering how to improve the ability for customers in receipt of PIP to transact with the DVLA.

If her Department will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that SMEs are referred to the (a) most appropriate and (b) best value funding option under the Bank Referral Scheme.

The Bank Referral Scheme is a legislative initiative that requires major lenders (designated banks) to refer SME customers that they reject for finance, with the SME’s permission, to designated finance platforms that can connect the SME with alternative finance providers. The Scheme is designed so that once an SME has consented to referral, its details are shared with all designated finance platforms – there are currently three. Each designated finance platform is an online service that hosts a panel of lenders. Under the design of the Scheme, lenders decide whether to offer finance to an SME applying for finance and on what terms, and it is for the SME to decide whether it wishes to proceed if an offer is made. The SME could potentially be offered finance by more than one provider and would be free to choose the product best suited to its needs. On 27th October, the Government launched a consultation and call for evidence on the Bank Referral Scheme, inviting views on a range of issues and proposals aimed at better facilitating SME access to finance through the Scheme. Depending on feedback, the Government will consider whether the existing legislative framework needs to be amended. The consultation is available here and will close on 22nd December: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/bank-referral-scheme-consultation-and-call-for-evidence

How many people referred to the London North West University Hospital were (a) diagnosed with cancer and (b) had cancer ruled out within (i) 28 days and (ii) 62 days in each quarter since the start of 2022-23.

NHS England publishes data for the three cancer waiting time standards monthly, and this data can be broken down to a provider level, with further information available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/Since July 2025, NHS England has published Faster Diagnosis Standard data broken down by those who were diagnosed with cancer and those who had cancer ruled out. However, this data is not publicly available at a provider level.

What steps she has taken to help increase the number of police officers in the Harrow West constituency since the end of June 2024.

The Government has launched the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. This will ensure that every community in England and Wales will have named and contactable officers dealing with local issues, and that neighbourhood teams spend the majority of their time in their communities providing visible patrols and engaging with local communities and businesses.As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we have made £200 million available in 2025/26 to support the first steps towards delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel. Out of that funding, the Metropolitan Police Service have been allocated £45,638,456, enabling a projected growth of 420 police officers (FTE) and 50 Police Community Support Officers (FTE).We expect policing to make use of this funding to increase neighbourhood teams across every force this year. This increase in neighbourhood policing, alongside the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, will clearly demonstrate to the public that the police are dealing with local concerns, supporting more visible policing and greater public confidence. Where officers and resources are deployed, remains a local operational decision.

How many patients were seen within (a) one, (b) two and (c) four hours at accident and emergency in the London North West University Hospital in each quarter since 2022-23.

The data is not available in the format requested. NHS England does not publish data on patients seen within one or two hours. The only data available is for patients seen within four hours.The information requested for London North West University Hospital is only collected at trust level. There is currently no publicly available data at site level. The following table shows the four-hour performance in each quarter since 2022/23 for the London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust:QuartersPercentage of total accident and emergency attendances admitted, transferred, or discharged within four hoursPatient attendances over four hoursQuarter 1 of 2022/2373.4%64,288Quarter 2 of 2022/2369.0%46,653Quarter 3 of 2022/2365.7%59,585Quarter 4 of 2022/2373.4%56,395Quarter 1 of 2023/2476.5%60,390Quarter 2 of 2023/2471.9%55,810Quarter 3 of 2023/2470.9%57,973Quarter 4 of 2023/2476.1%64,384Quarter 1 of 2024/2575.3%64,571Quarter 2 of 2024/2577.4%62,920Quarter 3 of 2024/2571.8%62,321Quarter 4 of 2024/2575.2%63,637Quarter 1 of 2025/2676.9%67,024Quarter 2 of 2025/2676.5%66,344Source: Hospital Accident and Emergency Activity, available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-accident--emergency-activity

How many people in (a) Harrow, (b) Barnet, (c) Brent, (d) England and (e) London were diagnosed with (i) Stage One, (ii) Stage 2, (iii) Stage 3 and (iv) Stage 4 cancer in (A) 2022-23, (B) 2023-24 and (C) 2024-25.

The National Disease Registration Service is the cancer registry for England, and is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrsData can be broken down by stage as well as by geographical location. However, data is not available by local authority. Currently, data is available up to 2022.

Whether she plans to require (a) banks and (b) other major financial services providers to invest in community development finance institutions.

The Government recognises the vital role Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) play in providing affordable credit to underserved consumers and businesses. To support this, in November 2024, the British Business Bank launched the Community ENABLE Funding (CEF) Programme, which aims to deploy £150 million over the next two years to ‘not for profit’ lenders, including CDFIs. Several banks have already shown tangible support for CDFIs. For example, in 2023 NatWest provided £900,000 to the sector, with half distributed directly to households to help meet immediate needs during the cost-of-living crisis, and the remainder used to strengthen the sector’s capacity for future support. Similarly, Lloyds was announced as the lead investor in a new £62 million Community Investment Enterprise Fund, designed to help small businesses across England and Wales access finance through CDFIs, supporting local jobs and economic activity. My predecessor co-chaired a roundtable in July with Responsible Finance, which was an important opportunity to discuss how banks and CDFIs can work together to improve access to affordable credit. However, the Government has no plans to require banks or other major providers to invest in CDFIs.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding she plans to provide to support UN peacekeeping operations in (a) 2025-26 and (b) 2026-27.

For the 2025/26 peacekeeping fiscal year (July to June), the UK's mandatory contribution to the United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping Budget will be $245 million (4.7454 per cent) of a budget of $5.16 billion. Further funding will be required for the 2025/26 UK fiscal year following the Security Council's decision in September 2025 to establish a UN Support Office in Haiti, but the cost is yet to be confirmed. In addition, two UN Peacekeeping Operations are funded from the UN Regular Budget; the UN Military Observer Group for India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) and the UN Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO). Their respective budgets for the 2025 UN Regular Budget fiscal year (January to December) are approximately $9.680 million and approximately $41.4 million. The UK's contribution to the UN Regular Budget is 3.991 per cent. UN peacekeeping budgets are negotiated from May to June so figures for the UK's contribution in 2026/2027 will be available once budgets are confirmed. The UK has forecast for the entirety of the UN Regular Budget for 2026, so it is difficult to provide individual figures for both UNMOGIP and UNTSO budgets until they are agreed.

How many complaints (a) her Department, (b) the Financial Conduct Authority, (c) the Prudential Regulation Authority and (d) the Financial Ombudsman Scheme have received on high cost business lenders who have offered loans with interest rates payable of more than 40%.

The Treasury receives correspondence across a wide variety of subjects including financial services. While we are not able to measure the number of complaints the department receives in relation to high-cost credit for business loans with interest rates payable of more than 40%, the volume of correspondence on the cost of credit in relation to business loans is generally low. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) publishes annual and quarterly insights into which areas are attracting most complaints. In its last quarterly publication, it noted that complaints about unaffordable lending had halved. That data-point does not, however, distinguish between household and commercial credit and the areas of topical complaints may change quarter on quarter. In the last five years, credit card related complaints to the FOS have been one of the top five areas of complaints, but business lending specifically is not a significant source of FOS disputes in comparison to household and personal credit. The Bank of England’s ‘bankstats’ data provides insights into business and household credit, including the effective interest rates for SMEs on new and outstanding loans. The monthly average of UK resident banks’ sterling weighted loans for new advances to SMEs now stands at 6.35%, as of 31st August 2025, a figure that has tracked down as the base rate has fallen.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of effectiveness of UK funding for (a) the United Nations Development Programme and (b) Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) assesses the effectiveness, value for money, performance and relevance of UK funding to multilateral organisations including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), through annual reviews and continuously encouraging effectiveness in delivery and reform where necessary. The FCDO scrutinises UN budget proposals to ensure activities are effective and in line with UK priorities.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much funding she plans to provide to support development efforts in (a) Pakistan and (b) Nepal in the (i) 2025-2026 and (ii) 2026-2026 financial years.

For Financial Year 25/26, UK Government development funding for Pakistan is £103 million, and for Nepal it is £47 million. We are currently in the process of allocating budgets for 2026 onwards. The Minister for Development will inform Parliament in the usual manner when these budgets are confirmed.

When she plans to publish the responses to the call for evidence entitled Credit Union Common Bond Reform, published on 14 November 2024.

The government recognises the role that credit unions play in providing savings and affordable loans to their members, serving local communities throughout the country. This is why the government is taking steps to ensure credit unions are fully supported to grow and scale into the future. This includes exploring legislative reform to the credit union common bond, to ensure it remains fit for purpose. We launched a call for evidence at last year’s Mansion House on the potential reform, which closed in March this year. Responses to the call for evidence are being carefully considered and the government will provide an update on this work in due course.

Communities and Local Government, if he will require registered social landlords to promote credit union membership to their tenants.

There is currently no requirement for registered providers of social housing to promote credit union membership to their tenants, and we do not propose to introduce one. Registered providers are expected to deliver the outcomes of the Regulator of Social Housing’s regulatory standards. This includes the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, which includes a requirement for registered providers to co-operate with relevant partners to promote social, environmental and economic wellbeing in the areas where they provide social housing. This could include signposting tenants to sources of support, and we recognise the work many register providers do to help tenants sustain their tenancies and manage their finances.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2025 to Question 81241 on Credit Unions: Mortgages, what information her Department holds on which credit unions offer mortgages in each (a) region and (b) UK nation.

There are six credit unions in the UK currently offering mortgages. Of these, two are headquartered in England, three in Scotland, and one in Northern Ireland. Of those headquartered in England, one is located in the North West and one is located in London. Depending on the credit union in question’s common bond type, these credit unions may serve members outside of their headquartered regions. Credit union policy is devolved to Northern Ireland, and so legislation may differ.

If she will require banks to submit quarterly data on the number of small and medium sized business account (a) openings and (b) closures.

The Government recognises the vital role financial services play in supporting millions of businesses across the UK, and believes all customers should be treated fairly by banks and have access to the financial services they need. This is why the Government introduced new rules earlier this year to require banks to give customers 90 days' notice before closing accounts and provide a clear explanation. The Government’s new rules will ensure more transparent and predictable access to banking, while still recognising that it is a commercial decision for a provider as to whom they provide services for. More widely, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) monitors banks regarding account openings and closures and has published reports looking at debanking. Beyond this, the Treasury has no plans to require banks to submit further information in this area.