Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the RAF Voyager aircraft are leased; who are the real ultimate owners; and what payments have been made to them since 2008.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
All RAF Voyager aircraft are leased. A Private Finance Initiative arrangement allows for all 14 Voyager aircraft owned by AirTanker Limited to be leased to the Ministry of Defence (MOD), with 11 being leased to the MOD at this time.
The payments since 2008 for the AirTanker Limited concession contract total approximately £6 billion.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the collapse of Wilko in 2023, what action they have taken against directors and auditors of Wilko.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Insolvency Service received the administrators’ reports in November 2023. After reviewing the reports, the Insolvency Service concluded that there were either no grounds or insufficient grounds to commence a disqualification investigation.
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has not taken any enforcement action against the auditors, and responsibility for investigating the auditor's conduct in this case lies with the relevant professional body. The FRC continues to monitor developments given the public interest in this case.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many adults in the UK they expect not to pay any income tax in the financial year 2025–26.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Data on the number of UK adults who are not liable to pay income tax are not currently held or published.
HMRC publishes projections for the total number of Income Taxpayers per year in Table 2.1 of the Income Tax liabilities statistics. [1] Current projections show that there are estimated to be 39.1 million Income Taxpayers in the UK in the 2025 to 2026 financial year.
The Office for National Statistics publishes projections for the total number of people in the UK by age in their population projections. [2] They currently estimate there to be 55.9 million individuals aged 18 or over in the UK in 2025.
[1] Table 2.1 of our Accredited official statistics (gov.uk).
[2] Zipped population projections data files, UK - Office for National Statistics
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to propose legislation under which organisations with criminal convictions would be prevented from owning and controlling water supply and wastewater services.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to holding water companies to the highest standards of environmental and corporate responsibility. We are taking robust action to strengthen accountability and enforcement across the sector.
This includes the Water (Special Measures) Act, which delivers the most significant increase in enforcement powers for regulators in over a decade. Rules issued by Ofwat on fitness and propriety will require companies to test whether senior individuals meet specified standards and prevent the appointment of individuals to these roles where standards are not met.
In addition, the Environment Agency and Ofwat have also launched the largest criminal and civil investigations into water company discharges ever undertaken. These can lead to criminal prosecution and unlimited fines.
The Government is also conducting the largest review of the water sector since privatisation through the Independent Water Commission. This will examine how the sector can better deliver for customers and the environment, including the effectiveness of current ownership and governance arrangements. The Commission final report is due to be published this summer, and the Government will respond in due course.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many criminal convictions have been secured by regulators against Southern Water since privatisation.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since the privatisation of water and sewerage companies in 1989, all ten Water and Sewerage companies which discharge into English waters have been convicted of criminal offences including Southern Water. Details of the enforcement action taken against water companies by regulators are available on the relevant regulators’ websites.
We will not let companies get away with illegal activity and where breaches are found, the regulators will not hesitate to hold companies to account. The Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 provides the most significant increase in enforcement powers for the regulators in a decade and ensures that imprisonment is always available as a sentencing option to the courts where investigations by the environmental regulators have been obstructed.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what dates (1) Thames Water, (2) Yorkshire Water, and (3) Northumbrian Water, paid in full the respective fines of £104 million, £47 million and £17 million announced by Ofwat on 6 August 2024.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Water Industry Act 1991 requires Ofwat to publish a draft decision for consultation if it is going to impose an enforcement order or a penalty as a result of an enforcement case. Following the period of consultation, Ofwat considers all responses received and takes these into account when making its final decision.
On 20 March 2025 Ofwat announced the conclusion of its wastewater enforcement case into Yorkshire Water securing an enforcement package of £40 million to be paid by the company.
On 28 May 2025 Ofwat issued an enforcement order and financial penalty to Thames Water. This was the final decision in two investigations looking into the operations of Thames Water, which faces penalties totalling £122.7 million, including £104 million for the wastewater investigation. This penalty has not yet been paid. Ofwat set out that Thames Water should pay the fine by 20 August.
On 4 June 2025 Ofwat announced the conclusion of its wastewater enforcement case into Northumbrian Water securing an enforcement package of £15.7 million to be paid by the company.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will commission an independent inquiry into how hip replacements containing cobalt have affected the lives of patients.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is committed to ensuring that all medical devices on the United Kingdom’s market meet stringent safety and performance standards. It continuously monitors the safety of orthopaedic implants using data from adverse incident reports, national registries, and clinical input to identify emerging risks.
Currently, the MHRA has not identified a safety signal to suggest that cobalt chrome components used more broadly in hip replacements pose an increased or unacceptable risk to patients. Therefore, there are no plans to commission an independent inquiry into hip replacements containing cobalt chrome.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many business liquidations remain incomplete (1) 5 years, (2) 10 years and (3) 15 years or more after their commencement; and how many have been investigated for undue delay.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of businesses subject to pre-pack administration survive longer than (1) 5 years, (2) 10 years, and (3) 15 years.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 18 June (HL8190), what assessment they have made of analysis published by Tax Policy Associates on 17 May suggesting that 900,000 UK registered companies have no UK resident directors.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
No specific assessment has been made in respect of the analysis in question. Relevant legislation does not impose UK residency requirements upon company directors.