Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when her Department plans to publish its response to proposals submitted by the fuels sector on the inclusion of refined oil products in the scope of the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
From 2027, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will apply to imported goods from the aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, and iron & steel sectors. When considering which sectors should be included in the scope of the CBAM, the government looked primarily at three factors: inclusion in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), carbon leakage risk, and feasibility and effectiveness of applying the CBAM.
Whilst the refining of fuel is within scope of the UK ETS and is considered at risk of carbon leakage, there are concerns about the sector’s ability to ascertain the carbon content of imported goods at a product level due to high levels of co-production in the sector. Therefore, refined oil products will not be included in the scope of the CBAM from January 2027.
The sectoral scope of the CBAM will be kept under review beyond 2027 as new evidence comes to light to reflect methodological and technological advances.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress her Department has made on considering the inclusion of refined oil products in the scope of the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
From 2027, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will apply to imported goods from the aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, and iron & steel sectors. When considering which sectors should be included in the scope of the CBAM, the government looked primarily at three factors: inclusion in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), carbon leakage risk, and feasibility and effectiveness of applying the CBAM.
Whilst the refining of fuel is within scope of the UK ETS and is considered at risk of carbon leakage, there are concerns about the sector’s ability to ascertain the carbon content of imported goods at a product level due to high levels of co-production in the sector. Therefore, refined oil products will not be included in the scope of the CBAM from January 2027.
The sectoral scope of the CBAM will be kept under review beyond 2027 as new evidence comes to light to reflect methodological and technological advances.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority are outstanding for more than (a) 12 months, (b) 18 months and (c) two years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (the 2012 Scheme) does not prescribe a time limit for applications to be decided.
The majority of applications are decided within 12 months. Each case must be considered on its own facts. In most cases, CICA needs to get information from third parties such as the police and medical authorities.
Some applications will by necessity take longer to decide. This could be where information is not available due to ongoing court proceedings, where CICA needs time to assess the long-term impact of complex injuries (e.g. brain injuries), or where there is an application for loss of earnings (which requires at least 28 weeks of loss).
In the financial year 2024-25, the average time to make a decision was 370 days*.
The following table** shows the number of applications awaiting a first decision for more than 12, 18 and 24 months as at 31 March 2025.
Months | Applications awaiting a first decision |
12-18 | 6,711 |
18-24 | 4,877 |
24+ | 9,604 |
* This figure is based on cases that were decided in 2024-25. The applications may have been received in earlier years.
**The table does not include applications deferred under paragraph 98 of the 2012 Scheme.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average waiting time is for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to (a) process and (b) determine claims for compensation.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (the 2012 Scheme) does not prescribe a time limit for applications to be decided.
The majority of applications are decided within 12 months. Each case must be considered on its own facts. In most cases, CICA needs to get information from third parties such as the police and medical authorities.
Some applications will by necessity take longer to decide. This could be where information is not available due to ongoing court proceedings, where CICA needs time to assess the long-term impact of complex injuries (e.g. brain injuries), or where there is an application for loss of earnings (which requires at least 28 weeks of loss).
In the financial year 2024-25, the average time to make a decision was 370 days*.
The following table** shows the number of applications awaiting a first decision for more than 12, 18 and 24 months as at 31 March 2025.
Months | Applications awaiting a first decision |
12-18 | 6,711 |
18-24 | 4,877 |
24+ | 9,604 |
* This figure is based on cases that were decided in 2024-25. The applications may have been received in earlier years.
**The table does not include applications deferred under paragraph 98 of the 2012 Scheme.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to Agricultural and Business Property Relief on levels on investment on farms in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As agriculture is a devolved policy, this response only covers England.
In England, no assessment has been made of the potential impact of changes to Agricultural and Business Property Relief on levels of investment on farms. Data on farm investment income is available in the table 5 series of Farm Accounts in England – but these tables only show data for 2022/23 and 2023/24.
Defra are currently collecting the 2024/25 data; data on English farm investment income for 2024/25 will be published in January 2026.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether Scottish (a) venison and (b) venison products are eligible for the Brand Scotland initiative; and what process exists for (i) producers and (ii) sellers to engage with the Department on this matter.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Brand Scotland programme supports Scottish industry to export to international markets across the world. This includes the food and drink industry. Available support includes conducting trade missions overseas and supporting projects to promote exports, inward investment and Scottish soft power. Scottish businesses can contact the Scotland Office, British diplomatic posts overseas and the Department of Business and Trade for more details.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of a lifetime gift cap on the ability of family (a) farms and (b) businesses to mitigate changes to (i) Agricultural and (ii) Business Property Relief.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
There is no lifetime cap on gifts for inheritance tax purposes. Information on the rules is available at www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax/gifts.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer makes tax policy decisions at fiscal events and the Government does not comment on speculation around future changes to tax policy.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether organisations representing the (a) agricultural and (b) small business sectors have been consulted on the potential introduction of a lifetime cap on gifts for inheritance tax.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
There is no lifetime cap on gifts for inheritance tax purposes. Information on the rules is available at www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax/gifts.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer makes tax policy decisions at fiscal events and the Government does not comment on speculation around future changes to tax policy.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has undertaken modelling on the potential impact of a lifetime cap on gifts for inheritance tax on (a) businesses and (b) individuals.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
There is no lifetime cap on gifts for inheritance tax purposes. Information on the rules is available at www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax/gifts.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer makes tax policy decisions at fiscal events and the Government does not comment on speculation around future changes to tax policy.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of a potential lifetime gift cap on (a) family (i) farm and (ii) business viability between generations, (b) productivity, (c) food security and (d) job numbers.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
There is no lifetime cap on gifts for inheritance tax purposes. Information on the rules is available at www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax/gifts.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer makes tax policy decisions at fiscal events and the Government does not comment on speculation around future changes to tax policy.