Written questions by Timothy.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the charging of (a) interest and (b) compound interest on Equity Release Loans by financial services companies on (i) elderly customers and (ii) relatives of deceased customers.

Decisions concerning the design of loans, including the interest charged, are commercial decisions for firms in which the Government does not intervene. However, equity release products are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and so benefit from consumer protections under the Financial Conduct Authority’s rules, including requiring lenders to engage and provide tailored support to their customers and that advertising is clear, fair and not misleading. Anyone considering equity release should seek independent financial advice to help ensure that the product is suitable for their individual needs. The Equity Release Council, which represents the sector, also promotes high standards of conduct and practice across the industry.

Whether he has conducted an impact assessment of Royal Mail’s service standards performance on connectivity between local communities.

It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator for the postal sector to ensure the provision of the universal postal service. I recently met representatives of Ofcom who gave their reassurance that the regulator is closely monitoring Royal Mail’s performance and will regularly press Royal Mail on this issue to improve service levels as a matter of urgency.

What assessment he has made of the service standards of Royal Mail’s parcel (a) management and (b) delivery.

Ofcom is the independent regulator for the postal sector with the responsibility and powers to regulate postal services.Ofcom engages regularly with parcel operators to understand their approach to implementation of Ofcom’s consumer protection measures. The results of its most recent survey research on consumer satisfaction with parcel delivery services is published in Ofcom’s 2023-24 Post Monitoring Report: www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/postal-services/monitoring-reports/2023-2024/post-monitoring-report-2023-24.pdf

Whether he has made an assessment of levels of customer satisfaction with Royal Mail’s parcel (a) management and (b) delivery.

Ofcom is the independent regulator for the postal sector with the responsibility and powers to regulate postal services.Ofcom engages regularly with parcel operators to understand their approach to implementation of Ofcom’s consumer protection measures. The results of its most recent survey research on consumer satisfaction with parcel delivery services is published in Ofcom’s 2023-24 Post Monitoring Report: www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/postal-services/monitoring-reports/2023-2024/post-monitoring-report-2023-24.pdf

How many benefit overpayments there have been since 2020, broken down by (a) year, (b) value, and (c) benefit type.

Estimates of the overpayment cost of fraud and error in the benefit system for the past five financial years can be found at: Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK Recovery of benefit overpayments can be found in the attached annex.

How many benefit overpayments have been recovered since 2020, broken down by (a) year, (b) value, and (c) benefit type.

Estimates of the overpayment cost of fraud and error in the benefit system for the past five financial years can be found at: Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK Recovery of benefit overpayments can be found in the attached annex.

If she will make a comparative assessment of the level of Universal Credit payments made to foster carers with the prior system of (a) Working Tax Credit and (b) Child Tax Credit.

No such assessment has been made. Whilst the UC child element won’t be paid if the child or qualifying young person is looked after by a foster carer, the allowance and fees received by foster carers in return for fostering are not treated as earnings and are fully disregarded for the purposes of calculating entitlement to Universal Credit. The rules differ to how WTC and CTC treated the income.

How many successful mandatory reconsiderations there have been since 2020, broken down by (a) year, (b) value, and (c) benefit type.

Information for Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance can be found on Stat Xplore. Successful Personal Independence Payment (PIP) mandatory reconsiderations (MRs) can be found on the ‘PIP MR Clearances’ dataset. Use the ‘Geography’ and ‘National – Regional – LA – OAs’ filter to select ‘DWP policy ownership’. The ‘MR Decision’ filter can be used to select ‘New Decision – Award Changed’ and the ‘Month’ filter can be used to select the years you are interested in. For Employment Support Allowance Work Capability Assessment (ESA WCA) successful MRs, use the ‘Mandatory Reconsiderations – Clearances’ dataset. Use the ‘Geography’ and ‘National – Regional – LA – Ward’ filter to select ‘Great Britain’ and then ‘England’ and ‘Wales’. The ‘Decision’ filter can be used to select ‘Revised – allowed’ and the ‘Date of Decision’ filter can be used to select the time period needed. You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required. Universal Credit (UC) MRs can be found in Table 1 below. Table 1: volume of successful UC MRs by financial year 2019_202020_212021_222022_232023_242024_25Volume of successful MRs50,00047,00061,000100,000107,000110,000 Notes:Each UC claim can have more than one reconsideration registered against it.This is derived from unpublished information and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. It should therefore be used with caution and may be subject to future revision Information on other benefit MRs as well as their value is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to the Access to Work Scheme in the Pathways to Work Green Paper on individual claimants.

We will review all aspects of the Access to Work scheme after evaluating the findings of the Pathways to Work consultation alongside the work of the collaboration committees.

What steps she is taking to implement proposed changes to the Access to Work Scheme in the Pathways to Work Green Paper.

Reforms to Access to Work are needed to ensure a better service for customers, to help disabled people start and stay in work, to provide clarity in what support should be provided and to ensure we are providing value for money for the taxpayer. Following the consultation launched by the Pathways to Work Green Paper, which closed in June, we are reviewing all aspects of the Scheme. We are working closely on proposals with stakeholders, and in particular disabled people and their representatives. We have established a Collaboration Committee that brings disabled people and other experts together to inform changes to the design of the Scheme. No changes have been made to Access to Work policy. We will announce any changes prior to them being implemented.

Whether her Department has provided (a) funding and (b) advice to City of Sanctuary UK since 4 July 2024.

Ministers and advisors have not met, nor has the department provided funding to, City of Sanctuary UK or Schools of Sanctuary.Three meetings have taken place between officials and Schools of Sanctuary since July 2024 to discuss issues such as school admissions.

Whether (a) ministers, (b) advisors, and (c) officials in her Department have held conversations with City of Sanctuary UK since 4 July 2024.

Ministers and advisors have not met, nor has the department provided funding to, City of Sanctuary UK or Schools of Sanctuary.Three meetings have taken place between officials and Schools of Sanctuary since July 2024 to discuss issues such as school admissions.

Whether her Department has promoted the Schools of Sanctuary initiative with (a) local education authorities (b) maintained schools, and (c) academy trusts and sponsors.

The department has not promoted the work of Schools of Sanctuary to any local authority or educational setting.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of passengers with a London Freedom Pass being able to travel for free in areas where the eligibility for free travel is set at an older age.

The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age, currently 66. In London, the Older Person's Freedom Pass is eligible to all London residents over the age of 66, which is the statutory eligibility for the ENCTS as set out in legislation. This therefore means that there would be no instance where a passholder of London's Older Person Freedom Pass would be using their pass in an area where the eligibility for free travel is set at a higher age. Residents who live in a London borough and are aged 60 or over are eligible for the 60+ London Oyster photocard. This concession enables passholders to travel for free on Transport for London (TfL) services and cannot be used to board services outside of London, with the exception of a small number of National Rail services connecting into London. This is an additional concession, funded and delivered at the discretion of TfL.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Secret Intelligence Service’s diversity and inclusion policies on the recruitment of White Britons to its Summer Intelligence Internship.

The intelligence agencies, as with any arm to the Civil Service, must take any decisions seeking to improve the diversity of their workforce in-line with UK law and in adherence with the relevant measures of the Equalities Act 2010. These measures permit employers to take specific actions to enable or encourage those with protected characteristics to apply for particular roles. Such action is considered lawful and includes both individuals from White minority backgrounds, those from socially or economically underrepresented groups and those from an ethnic minority background.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has (a) received reports of technical problems with and (b) investigated the functionality of the online evidence submissions form for the Islamophobia/Anti-Muslim Hatred Definition Working Group.

The Working Group launched a Call for Evidence to build on the extensive consultation they’ve already undertaken. The Call for Evidence closed on Sunday 20 July. It was open to the public and any individual or organisation was welcome to submit evidence. There are no known technical issues with the functionality of the Call for Evidence submission form and an email inbox was available for individuals and organisations to report any technical issues.

If her Department will take steps to raise awareness of road safety for drivers when overtaking cyclists.

Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022 introducing a hierarchy of road users, the department ran a THINK! campaign to raise awareness of the changes as they came into effect. This was followed by broader behaviour change campaigns in the summer of 2022 and 2023, to help embed the changes and encourage understanding and uptake of the guidance. We also promote cycle safety advice for cyclists and motorists via THINK!social channels, education resources and run radio filler advertising encouraging motorists to maintain safe driving distances from cyclists and horse riders, and to use the Dutch Reach when opening car doors to help keep cyclists safe.

What information her Department holds on the number of foreign nationals in prisons who are on remand in the community since 2019, broken down by (a) year, (b) nationality and (c) offence committed.

If a foreign national accused of a crime is held on remand, they are detained in custody ahead of trial and sentencing and will not be in the community. We are therefore not able to provide a response to this question as currently worded.The Ministry of Justice does publish information on the number of Foreign National Offenders in prison which includes the number of Foreign Nationals in prison on remand. The latest available published data can be found at Table 1_Q_9 in the attached link: prison-population-31-Mar-2025.ods.Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced. Where appropriate, the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation.

What information her Department holds on the number of foreign national offenders who have cited Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights as a reason not to be removed since 2019, broken down by (a) year, (b) nationality and (c) offence committed.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and could only be obtained for the purpose of answering this question through a manual search of case files, something that could only be done at disproportionate cost.Work is underway to improve the quality of information held by the department on foreign national offenders (FNOs). Further information on this work can be found at: Statistics on foreign national offenders and the immigration system - GOV.UK.

Pursuant to Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 64923 on Asylum: Housing, on what basis can (a) her Department, (b) Serco and (c) local authorities not inform Members of Parliament when sites are used for asylum dispersal in their constituency.

I refer the Hon Member to the Answer he received on 8 July 2025 to UIN 64923.