Written questions by Hollinrake.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission plans to ask political parties and regulated donees to declare donations over £500 made by cryptocurrencies.

If the market value in GBP of any cryptoasset received by a party or regulated donee is greater than £500, they must treat it as a donation and check the donor is permissible. If it is greater than the reporting threshold (£11,180), it must be reported to the Commission.Donations in cryptoassets of £500 or less are outside the scope of electoral law and do not need to be recorded or reported.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Electoral Commission has a list of the organisations currently registered as Members’ Associations.

The Electoral Commission does not hold a register of members associations, as there is no registration requirement for these groups. Members associations are subject to controls on the donations and loans they accept towards their political activities within their party.Members associations must report to the Commission on any donations or loans they accept. Reports must be made within 30 days of accepting the donation or entering into the loan. These reports are published on the Commission’s website.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what data the Electoral Commission holds on levels of electoral fraud, broken down by local authority area.

The Electoral Commission collects data on allegations of electoral fraud from all police forces across the UK, and publishes data on its website annually. Due to the way data is provided, it is broken down by police force, not by local authority. The Commission expects to publish 2025 electoral fraud data by the end of March.

Representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has produced on treating in elections.

The Commission’s guidance for candidates and agents includes an overview of electoral offences. It sets out that a person is guilty of treating if either before, during or after an election they directly or indirectly give or provide any food, drink, entertainment or provision to corruptly influence any voter to vote or refrain from voting. Treating requires a corrupt intent, and does not apply to ordinary hospitality.Allegations of treating are a matter for the police; the Commission supports the College of Policing with its guidance for policing elections, which includes information on how offences such as treating are investigated.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of levels of intimidation of candidates, agents and campaigners at (a) election hustings and (b) election counts.

Intimidation and abuse of those participating in public life has no place in our society and will not be tolerated. MHCLG does not engage directly with candidates or collect wider information about those involved in elections' experience of harassment and intimidation. MHCLG’s role is to provides all candidates and returning officers with security guidance ahead of elections periods. MHCLG does work closely with the Defending Democracy Taskforce, which leads on the cross-government response to harassment and intimidation, including work to evaluate its nature and scale, as well as with the police, Electoral Commission and Local Government Association, who also collect relevant information. The government is also working with the Electoral Commission to develop an updated Code of Conduct for campaigning to set clear expectations for behaviour during election campaigns and guidance for the verifications and counts.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2026 to Question 102816 on Local Government: Elections, on what dates the Electoral Commission was informed of his Department's (a) decision to postpone the 2026 mayoral elections and (b) consultation on postponing the council elections scheduled for May 2026.

Strategic authorities are established by secondary legislation, which requires the consent of the constituent councils. Whilst there is no requirement to consult the Electoral Commission on the establishment of strategic authorities, including on the timing of their inaugural mayoral elections, the Department remains in contact with the Electoral Commission where appropriate. The government wrote to the Electoral Commission on 18 December and considered their representations ahead of the decisions about the potential postponement of local elections in 2026.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the decision letter, Called-in decision: Royal Mint Court, London, EC3N 4QN (refs. 3353754 and 3353755), 20 January 2026, whether the build out of the Chinese Embassy site at the Royal Mint will be subject to inspections by local authority (a) building control and (b) planning officers.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 110795 on 12 Feb 2026.

Communities and Local Government, what is the Government’s policy on political advertising marking whether it has been created or manipulated by AI.

The government recognises that while AI presents significant opportunities, it also introduces risks including challenges posed by AI-generated content for the online information environment and the potential impact on democratic processes.Solutions that help to determine what media is real and what is AI-generated are key to tackling a range of AI risks. The government is undertaking work to explore the potential methods for detecting AI-generated content.Any reforms in this area must be carefully balanced to protect freedom of expression and avoid placing undue burdens on campaigners and online platforms.

Pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 102814 on Public Spaces: Political Activities, if she will make it his policy to investigate the use of a Public Spaces Protection Order by Leicester City Council to ban party political street stalls in the city centre.

The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities, and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to anti-social behaviour. This includes Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) which can be issued by councils to stop people committing anti-social behaviour in a public space.The powers in the 2014 Act are deliberately flexible in nature, and it is for local agencies to determine whether their use is appropriate in the specific circumstances of each individual case.

Representing the House of Commons Commission, who holds the accounts of APPGs no longer in operation and information relating to the winding up of their assets.

The finances of an APPG are a matter for the officers of the group.The Guide to the APPG Rules provides the following guidance:80. APPG Secretariats must not hold APPG funds themselves, all funds must only be accessible by an officer (or officers) of the APPG.81. Chairs are strongly advised to ensure that any money the group receives or holds is in a bank account in the name of the group and controlled by officers.97. If an APPG chooses to disband, it must publish an income and expenditure statement within 28 days of the date on which the APPG was closed down.

If his Department will set out what criteria it use to determine which standards are considered appropriate and not appropriate for public funding.

The Government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy, backed by an additional £725 million of investment, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers, more opportunities for young people and support the industrial strategy.Last year, the government spent 100% of its multi-billion-pound apprenticeship budget. To live within this budget and deliver on the above priorities, we must reform the apprenticeship programme to ensure its future sustainability and effectiveness. This includes working with employers to streamline the suite of over 700 apprenticeship standards as we roll out new short courses from April 2026.We have been working intensively with business on the next stages of reform and will announce plans for the development of the Growth and Skills Levy soon.

If his Department will publish (a) the list of all apprenticeship standards under review and (b) the impact assessment of any decisions to restrict or defund those standards.

The Government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy, backed by an additional £725 million of investment, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers, more opportunities for young people and support the industrial strategy.Last year, the government spent 100% of its multi-billion-pound apprenticeship budget. To live within this budget and deliver on the above priorities, we must reform the apprenticeship programme to ensure its future sustainability and effectiveness. This includes working with employers to streamline the suite of over 700 apprenticeship standards as we roll out new short courses from April 2026.We have been working intensively with business on the next stages of reform and will announce plans for the development of the Growth and Skills Levy soon.

If his Department will guarantee that apprenticeship standards aligned with the Government’s priority Industrial Strategy sectors (IS-8) will continue to be eligible for funding under the Growth and Skills Levy.

The Government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy, backed by an additional £725 million of investment, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers, more opportunities for young people and support the industrial strategy.Last year, the government spent 100% of its multi-billion-pound apprenticeship budget. To live within this budget and deliver on the above priorities, we must reform the apprenticeship programme to ensure its future sustainability and effectiveness. This includes working with employers to streamline the suite of over 700 apprenticeship standards as we roll out new short courses from April 2026.We have been working intensively with business on the next stages of reform and will announce plans for the development of the Growth and Skills Levy soon.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of recent extreme winter storms on UK (a) Atlantic Puffins and (b) other seabird populations.

We have several policy delivery programmes that contribute to the protection and conservation of seabirds, supporting our mission on nature’s recovery. These include integrating seabird needs into our strategic marine spatial planning; management and review of our marine protected areas (MPA) network; delivering measures to reduce seabird bycatch; and pushing for seabird protections internationally. We have established a Seabird Conservation Coordination Group, comprising Government officials, experts, environmental NGOs and industry representation. This group is considering recommendations in Natural England’s English Seabird Conservation and Recovery Pathway report, and helping to coordinate, monitor and drive delivery of priority actions for seabirds across our programmes of work. We will continue to work with devolved Governments on next steps, including as they implement their respective seabird conservation strategies.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help protect seabird populations.

We have several policy delivery programmes that contribute to the protection and conservation of seabirds, supporting our mission on nature’s recovery. These include integrating seabird needs into our strategic marine spatial planning; management and review of our marine protected areas (MPA) network; delivering measures to reduce seabird bycatch; and pushing for seabird protections internationally. We have established a Seabird Conservation Coordination Group, comprising Government officials, experts, environmental NGOs and industry representation. This group is considering recommendations in Natural England’s English Seabird Conservation and Recovery Pathway report, and helping to coordinate, monitor and drive delivery of priority actions for seabirds across our programmes of work. We will continue to work with devolved Governments on next steps, including as they implement their respective seabird conservation strategies.

With reference to page 79 of the HM Budget 2025 Policy Costings, published in November 2025, for what reason the Exchequer Impact of the Cash ISA changes fluctuate from (a) £5 million in 2028-29 to (b) £35 million in 2029-30 to (c) £15 million in 2030-31.

The figures set out on page 79 of the Budget 2025 Policy Costings document reflect the estimated Exchequer impact from a combination of savings tax changes. The savings measures covered are:Making the Help to Save scheme permanent from April 2027,Maintaining the total ISA annual subscription limit at £20,000 with cash limit reduced to £12,000 for under-65s from April 2027,Delaying the ISA digitalisation until April 2028, andMaintaining the ISA subscription limits until 2030/31. The profile of the Exchequer impacts reflects the different commencement dates of these changes, as well as the timing of receipts collected through Self-Assessment.

Through which (a) companies and (b) registries HM Government holds its crypto-assets.

Neither the Treasury nor central Government hold any cryptoassets. However, the Government recognises the transformative potential of cryptoassets and blockchain technologies to drive economic growth in the UK and increase efficiencies across financial markets. We are therefore committed to making the UK a world leading destination for cryptoassets and have taken steps to establish a new financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets.

If she will publish the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasting schedule agreed between the OBR and her Department.

HM Treasury published the Budget Information Security Review on 9 February: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-information-security-review. The review states that "The OBR will not publish the full forecast timetable ahead of the 2026 Spring Statement. The OBR will consider, ahead of Budget 2026, whether the current approach to publishing the timetable continues to contribute to transparency and stability as was intended when it was implemented in October 2022 following a recommendation by the OBR’s then non-executive directors"

What the target date is for a new chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility to be in post.

HM Treasury launched a competitive external recruitment campaign for a new Chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) on 20 February. The intention is that a new Chair is in post by the Budget later this year. While the Chair’s post is vacant, the two current members of the Budget Responsibility Committee, Professor David Miles and Tom Josephs, will lead the OBR.

What steps her Department is taking to encourage investment in British equities by pension funds.

The government has taken forward an ambitious programme of reforms to boost UK markets, including overhauling the UK listing and prospectus rules to make it easier for firms to raise the capital they need to grow. In addition, the government has taken steps through the measures outlined in the Pensions Investment Review to improve long-term returns to pension savers and support UK growth. These will directly support investment in UK growth markets, including firms quoted on AIM and Acquis.