Andrew Snowden

Enforcement of drug driving legislation and how available resources are deployed is an operational matter for individual Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to determine in conjunction with local crime and policing plans, taking into account the specific local problems and demands with which they are faced.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutes cases that are referred to it by the police.

The Government has announced more than half a billion pounds of additional central government funding for policing next year to support the Government’s Safer Streets Mission.

Section 5A of the Road Traffic Act 1988, introduced in 2015, aligned enforcement of drug driving with that of drink driving by introducing a strict liability offence to avoid the need to prove impairment. CPS management information shows that in the financial year 2023/2024, 25,559 offences were charged under this section which proceeded to a first hearing in the magistrates’ courts.

I refer the Honourable Member to the recruitment advert for the Ethics and Integrity Commission Independent Member roles which was published on Monday 13 October 2025. The full details, including the essential criteria, can be found on the public appointments website at: https://apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/roles/9003

This government is leaving no stone unturned to investigate and recover public funds lost to fraud and error during the pandemic - getting back what is owed to the British people.

At the recommendation of the Covid Counter Fraud Commissioner, the government launched the Voluntary Repayment Scheme on September 12th. The scheme is one element in a wider package of measures recommended by the Commissioner and will provide crucial learnings for his final report.

The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) has not made an estimate of the value of funds likely to be recovered. The scheme is subject to uncertainty due to its novel nature, the time elapsed since the pandemic, and the time it takes for departments to report recovery success back to the PSFA. However, the PSFA will undertake a comprehensive assessment of the scheme’s impact once it’s concluded.

The scheme will continue to provide individuals who received money from COVID-19 support schemes which they did not need or were not eligible for, an opportunity to repay until December 2025, before the introduction of new investigatory powers in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill.

The Fraud Risk Assessment Accelerator is another example of how this government is staying one step ahead of fraudsters, making sure public funds are protected and used to deliver public services for those who need them most.

The Fraud Risk Assessment Accelerator is already being deployed and will be available to all departments by November, offering public bodies access to the latest AI advancements without the additional costs of building and hosting their own solutions.​

We've designed the tool with usability in mind. Users can upload schemes via a GOV.UK​-style frontend, and the AI will assess how fraudsters are likely to target them. The Public Sector Fraud Authority will also continue to provide user training to support wider adoption and usage across government.​

The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) works closely with local authorities to prevent fraud through the National Fraud Initiative (NFI), which is one of the PSFA’s key data and analytics services.

The NFI specialises in data matching, which involves comparing sets of data electronically, such as the council tax records of an authority, against other records held by the same or another authority, to see to what extent they match.

The NFI is vital in tackling fraud in local authority spending. This includes the removal of fraudsters from social housing properties, ensuring they go to those families in genuine need, and cracking down on blue badge fraud - of which 22,000 fraudulent permits were cancelled in the last year alone. It also has a strong record of delivering outcomes for local authorities. To date, the NFI has detected, prevented and recovered over £3bn in fraud and error.

The NFI is collaborating closely with local authorities to tackle fraud in other areas of local spending. For example, the introduction of the Legislative Reform (Disclosure of Adult Social Care Data) Order 2025, will once again ensure that fraud in adult social care spending can be identified and investigated by local authorities.

In circumstances where organisers believe that the event could be attended during working time, it will be for the Senior Civil Servant signing-off the event to determine whether it is directly related to a business outcome or individual learning and development. Where this is the case individuals would also need to obtain line manager approval before attending.

The Cabinet Office does not hold data relating to the number of events deemed inappropriate.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 10th October is attached.

The Ethics and Integrity commission was established on 13 October 2025. Further information is in my Written Ministerial Statement, 'Government of Service', published the same day.

This information isn’t centrally held.

In line with the Model Contract for Special Advisers, when a special adviser’s appointing minister leaves office special advisers’ contracts are automatically terminated.

The Model Contract states special adviser severance entitlement. The cost of severance payments is stated in the Annual Report on Special Advisers.

The Cabinet Office does not centrally hold information or data on this topic.

Severance reform

This Government has reformed ministerial severance payments to ensure that payments are both proportionate and fair. Ministers are now expected to forgo their entitlement to a ministerial severance payment if they have served in office for less than six months or leave office following a serious breach of the Ministerial Code. Ministers who return to office within three months of leaving will be asked to forgo their salary until the end of that three-month period and ministers who have seriously breached the Business Appointment Rules will be expected to repay any severance payment received.

Severance payments

Details of severance payments received by ministers and special advisers are routinely published in the relevant department’s Annual Report and Accounts. Any severance costs associated with the September reshuffle will be included as part of the 2025-26 Annual Report and Accounts which will be published in late summer 2026.

Relocation costs

Relocation costs are not recorded by the Cabinet Office

Administrative costs

Any administrative costs associated with the reshuffle will be part of the costs of running the department and will not be published separately in the Annual Report and Accounts.

As with any media planning approach, channels are selected based on their ability to engage with relevant audiences in alignment with the government's strategic objectives.

The Cabinet Office is consistently tracking and reviewing spending on communications to ensure efficiency and that the appropriate strategy is implemented. We will not spend more than is needed to be effective and ensure best value for the taxpayer.

Please see the breakdown below of spend on social media broken down by department between 1st August 2024 and 31st July 2025.

Please note that this may not be the complete spend as the Cabinet Office does not centrally manage Departmental social media spend directly.

The Government is committed to improving the Emergency Alerts system as it serves a crucial purpose helping to save lives in emergency situations by issuing an alert to all compatible mobile phones.

There was an initial 12 month evaluation period (April 2023 - April 2024) during which the government carried out analysis on the effectiveness of the system. This analysis allowed the government to assess the benefit of emergency alerts during life-threatening emergencies. Following this evaluation lessons have been taken after each activation of emergency alerts to ensure any necessary changes or technical improvements are made to improve the system.

We have ensured that the Emergency Alerts system works with voice reader software. This means that everyone who already has this and all other accessibility settings enabled on their phones should have the alert read out to them.

As part of the communications campaign, we have developed a British Sign Language information video explaining the upcoming national test.

We have also engaged with disability groups, including the Royal National Institute of Blind People, the Royal National Institute for Deaf People and Mencap. These charities conducted engagement campaigns to reach individuals with visual impairments to help them understand more about the alerts.

The Emergency Alerts capability is reliant on mobile network operators’ infrastructure to issue alerts. Under the Communications Act 2003 and Telecommunications (Security) Act 2021, UK communications providers have a statutory requirement to take appropriate and proportionate steps to identify risks to their resilience, reduce those risks, prepare for compromises and mitigate and remedy them when they do occur. These requirements are overseen by Ofcom. The Department has regular discussions with the UK’s mobile network operators and works in partnership with communications providers to ensure that their networks remain secure, resilient, and accessible, including during emergencies.

The emergency services, whose role is to warn, inform and advise the public in the event of an emergency have the Emergency Alerting capability available to them 24/7/365 upon request. The established procedures have been closely designed alongside both national and regional emergency response plans.

Regular training is undertaken with local authorities, local resilience forums, and emergency services to familiarise them with the Emergency Alert capability and requesting processes.

Emergency Alerts are just one of many capabilities available to first responders on the ground to assist them in disseminating vital information and guidance, complementing a wide range of tools at the disposal of emergency services for communicating risks to life for example local news, radio, television, social media, or door knocking.

The Cabinet Office works closely with the Ministry of Defence to track and monitor risks to national security supply chains. The forthcoming Defence Industrial Strategy will set out the government's approach to defence supply chain security and resilience.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 14th July is attached.

The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department.

Heads of departments have agreed that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service, as was the case under the previous administration.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 4th July is attached.

The Government Property Agency maintains defibrillators across its estate inline with best practice (annual servicing) and is aligned to manufacturer’s guidelines. Defibrillators are also regularly visually inspected.

Regulatory oversight of gig economy platforms spans multiple departments and agencies depending on the specific aspect being regulated. For example, the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology is responsible for data protection policy and legislation as it relates to personal data, and the Department for Business and Trade has responsibility for the legislative framework on employment rights.

Platform usage policies are contractual matters between the companies and their users, with companies responsible for enforcing their own terms of service within the bounds of applicable laws.

This information is not centrally held by the Department for Business and Trade.

No such formal separate assessment will be made, but we expect these investments to have significant economic benefits across the whole of the UK.

A liquidators’ statutory functions when winding up a company are to secure and realise any assets, distribute any funds generated to those entitled to them and generally act in the interests of the company’s creditors. In carrying out their statutory functions, liquidators are also obliged to have regard to their regulatory standards and code of ethics. This may extend to resolving legal title and infrastructure issues affecting homeowners if doing so is in creditors’ interests.

The Home Office announced that an expanded fraud strategy will be published later this year, as part of the government’s Plan for Change, with a key focus of the strategy being combatting tech-enabled fraud.

We will continue to work with Defra colleagues to support businesses and producers where appropriate.

Trade missions are promoted widely to companies in Lancashire through direct marketing and partners. Following the mission to Food & Hospitality China, in November 2024, Lancashire companies have forecast increased sales from new international business.

International Trade Advisers provide support for eligible businesses that require tailored advice to grow their international sales. DBT has seven Food & Drink Export Champions in the North, one of which is based in Lancashire.