Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2026 to Question 116959 on Taxation: Overpayments, if she will publish the average processing time for HMRC overpayment relief claims in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC does not produce an overall average processing time for overpayment relief claims. Processing times vary depending on the type of claim and the checks required to protect public funds.
However, HMRC recognises that payments to customers are important, therefore claims are processed as priority post. HMRC aims to process 80% of priority post received within 15 working days.
Customer correspondence performance is reported monthly and quarterly through HMRC’s published performance updates at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support she will introduce to assist people with oil heating through the current kerosine price increases.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government recognises the pressures facing households who rely on heating oil. This is why we are providing an additional £53 million of targeted support for vulnerable households, largely in rural communities.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, (a) what the current average processing time is for HMRC overpayment relief claims; and (b) what steps her Department are taking to reduce times in processing those claims.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC recognises that payments to customers are important, therefore claims are processed as priority post. HMRC aims to process 80% of priority post received within 15 working days.
Customer correspondence performance is reported monthly and quarterly through HMRC’s published performance updates at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates.
HMRC continues to invest in automation and to review their internal processes to ensure overpayments relief claims are issued in a timely manner.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, a) what assessment he has made of the extent to which legacy pension disputes currently being pursued by the Ministry of Defence and Equiniti arise from historical administrative or management errors by the Department or its contractors; and b) what steps he is taking to help support impacted veterans and service personnel.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) seeks to recover overpayments regardless of the reason they occurred because it has a legal and financial obligation to protect public funds. This principle applies universally to ensure consistency, fairness, and accountability in the management of taxpayers' money. Allowing overpayments to remain unrecovered, regardless of the circumstances, could set a precedent that undermines the MOD's duty to manage public resources responsibly and equitably.
The MOD, in collaboration with its contractors, is committed to supporting those affected by incorrectly calculated payments. A dedicated helpline has been established to provide technical and administrative advice, while a bespoke leaflet outlines available support, including repayment options and appeal processes. Veterans Services (VS) also offer free, one-to-one support to veterans, their families, and dependents through a national network of welfare managers across the UK and Republic of Ireland. VS staff, who are fully briefed on members' rights regarding overpayment recovery, can assist with completing Income and Expenditure forms in cases of hardship, provide guidance on submitting defences against recovery and conduct holistic welfare reviews. They can also advise on additional benefits or support available from the MOD, other Government Departments, or the Third Sector.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many legacy disputes relating to incorrectly calculated Armed Forces pension entitlements are currently being pursued by Equiniti and the Ministry of Defence; and what the total monetary value of these claims is.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This information is not held in the format requested. A manual review of all overpayments would be required in order to identify if there is a dispute relating to the pension entitlements being incorrectly calculated which would incur a disproportionate cost to obtain.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will immediately release the vetting advice the Prime Minister received prior to the appointment of Matthew Doyle to the House of Lords.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As a matter of policy, the Government does not publish information relating to individuals' peerage nominations.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his Norwegian counterpart on finalising the number of Global Combat Ships which BAE will build in Glasgow for that country.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Our Type 26 deal to provide at least five Norwegian frigates is a significant economic boost which will deliver jobs and drive growth in Scotland. We are working closely and meeting regularly with our Norwegian allies to progress the new partnership, with the Defence Secretary most recently meeting with his counterpart this month and agreeing to step up our security commitment. Our bilateral strategic partnership is more important than ever to the security of the Arctic and High North. We are safer and more prosperous together.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what procurement priority has been awarded to the replacement of the Royal Air Forces Hawk T1 and T2 aircraft.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Flying training will continue to be a sovereign priority. All future platform procurements will be made as part of the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of trends in (a) pensioner poverty and (b) child poverty across the UK.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics on the number of pensioners living in absolute and relative poverty in the UK are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication, the latest available being Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2024 - GOV.UK. The table showing the percentage of pensioners in relative poverty over time by region is published as “table 6.10ts” of “pensioners- hbai-timeseries-1994-95-2023-24-tables”.
Statistics on the number of children living in absolute and relative poverty in the UK are pub-lished annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication, the latest available being Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2024 - GOV.UK. The table showing the percentage of children in relative poverty over time is published as “table 4.1tr” of “children-trends-hbai-1994-95-2023-24-tables”.
Statistics on the number of children living in absolute and relative poverty on a before housing costs basis at local level are published annually in the “Children in low income families: local area statistics” publication, the latest available being Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2024 - GOV.UK.
The latest statistics published on 27 March 2025 are up to and including 2023/24. The latest available data can also be found on https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. Guidance on how to use it can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/User-Guide.html.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of constraint payments and balancing actions in each year since 2020; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of this on domestic energy bills.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The breakdown of curtailment and balancing action costs borne by domestic consumers and other data relating to constraints is provided in the National Energy System Operator (NESO) Annual Balancing Report. The most recent of these reports was published in June 2025 which can be found via this link: neso.energy/document/362561/download. We recognise that actions are needed to reduce system constraints. The current extent of grid constraints reflects years of underinvestment, with new network infrastructure development having lagged the expansion of new generation. We are already taking action to reduce constraints with the biggest upgrade to Great Britain’s electricity network in decades.