Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the official statistics entitled 2025 HMRC statistics announcements, published on 8 October 2025, what assessment he has made of the reasons for HMRC’s error in recording VAT cash receipts outturn.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC corrected the error in their VAT cash receipts which impacted provisional figures from April 2025 to August 2025. The impact of the correction was an upward revision of VAT cash receipts by £2.4 billion (approximately 3% of year-to-date VAT receipts). There was no impact on earlier years. The revision was published in an exceptional release on 8 October 2025. This revision also means the ONS published revised borrowing figures, which for 2025/26 reduced by £2.0 billion.

I have been given assurance from HMRC that the revision does not affect any interactions with taxpayers and that HMRC will be conducting a robust review to prevent it happening again.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed higher business rates multiplier on employment in the retail sector.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century.

As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government will introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with ratable values (RVs) below £500,000 from 2026-27. This permanent tax cut will ensure they benefit from much-needed certainty and support.

This tax cut must be sustainably funded, and so the Government will introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties in 2026/27 - those with RVs of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties, but cover the majority of large distribution warehouses, including those used by online giants.

The final design, including the rates, for the new business rates multipliers will be announced at Budget 2025, so that the Government can factor the revaluation outcomes and broader economic and fiscal context into decision-making. When the new multipliers are set, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions his Department has had with Island Green Power on the proposed plans for The Droves Solar Farm; and if he will publish (a) the minutes and (b) the agenda of any such meetings.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 25328 on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn, whether he has received a copy of the report; and, with reference to his Department policy paper entitled New Hospital Programme; plan for implementation, published on 20 January 2025, what his planned timetable is for the publication of the site-by-site report of the RAAC hospitals.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The safety of staff and patients at the seven predominantly reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) hospitals remains our utmost priority.

The completion date for the report has been extended to ensure a detailed understanding of the complex data and issues considered, including the RAAC condition, planned and current mitigations, and the remaining expected life of the hospital sites. By building a better understanding, we can support each scheme to move forward more effectively. We expect the report will be complete this year. A decision has not yet been taken regarding the publication of the report.

In the interim, the seven predominantly RAAC hospitals continue their programme of RAAC mitigation works and the plans for the replacement hospitals continue at pace.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many penalties have been issued for using a rental e-scooter without holding a provisional or full UK driving licence with a category Q entitlement in each of the last three years.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government does not hold centralised data on the number of penalties issued for using rental e-scooters without a valid driving licence. Local police forces are best placed to provide information on any penalties issued in their respective areas.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to allow the use of privately owned e-scooters on public roads prior to completion of rental e-scooter trials in 2028.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government has committed to pursuing legislative reform for micromobility vehicles, which will include e-scooters, when parliamentary time allows. We understand the importance of providing a clear legislative timeline and we are working with colleagues across Government to deliver this.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that local authorities verify that rental e-scooter users have a provisional or full UK driving licence with a category Q entitlement when operating trials in their areas.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department has issued clear guidance for local authorities and operators participating in e-scooter trials, which includes a requirement for driving licence verification of all users. Compliance with this guidance is a condition of the legal order that enables each trial to proceed.

Before renting an e-scooter, users are required to provide their name, driving licence number, and a photograph of their licence. Operators must then confirm the validity of each licence, either through automated licence-checking systems or manual verification by their customer service teams. These checks help ensure that only individuals with a valid driving licence are permitted to participate in the trials.

Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that any operator they appoint adheres to all trial requirements. The Department does not carry out independent verification of operator compliance.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will consider the potential merits of allowing the use of privately owned e-scooters if covered by a motor vehicle insurance policy.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Private e-scooters are currently illegal to use on public roads as they meet the definition of a ‘motor vehicle’ under the Road Traffic Act 1988. As such, they must comply with all applicable legal requirements, not only the need for motor vehicle insurance policy.

The Government has committed to pursuing legislative reform for micromobility vehicles when parliamentary time allows, and will consult on any new proposed regulations, including on insurance requirements, before they come into force.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Takata airbags no drive recall notice on (a) learner drivers and (b) practical driving test wait times.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

As soon as the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency became aware of the issue, proactive communications were shared to all learner drivers who had a test booked and their driving instructors, clarifying that if a test had to be postponed as a result, the usual 10-day short notice conditions would be waived for them. The majority of vehicles were rectified before attending for test or an alternative vehicle was used. Due to the very small numbers who have been unable to go ahead with their test until a later date, there has been no impact on driving test wait times.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many learner drivers did not attend their practical driving test (a) nationally, (b) in Norfolk and (c) in North West Norfolk constituency in each of the last five years.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The number of learner drivers who fail to attend their driving test represents just 3% of all tests taken accounting for around 60,000 tests. With unprecedented demand for tests, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is doing all it can to further reduce unused test slots and encourage learners to inform them so that the test slot can be utilised.

DVSA issues text reminders to learners between 2 and 12 days beforehand to help learners plan for their test. Learners can also get email alerts, check their test details online, and find resources on the GOV.UK website and through the official "Ready to Pass?" campaign. If a test is cancelled within 10 days of their test date, the learner loses their driving test fee.

The tables below show how many learner drivers did not attend their practical driving test (a) nationally, (b) in Norfolk and (C) in North West Norfolk constituency in each of the last five years.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of learner drivers not attending their practical driving test.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The number of learner drivers who fail to attend their driving test represents just 3% of all tests taken accounting for around 60,000 tests. With unprecedented demand for tests, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is doing all it can to further reduce unused test slots and encourage learners to inform them so that the test slot can be utilised.

DVSA issues text reminders to learners between 2 and 12 days beforehand to help learners plan for their test. Learners can also get email alerts, check their test details online, and find resources on the GOV.UK website and through the official "Ready to Pass?" campaign. If a test is cancelled within 10 days of their test date, the learner loses their driving test fee.

The tables below show how many learner drivers did not attend their practical driving test (a) nationally, (b) in Norfolk and (C) in North West Norfolk constituency in each of the last five years.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to encourage investment in high streets.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Government is committed to leveraging investment in our high streets. Through the Pride in Place programme, we are investing up to £5 billion to back regeneration in the places that need it most, including funding to unlock high street renewal.

We are committed to supporting more strategic investment in town centres by enabling property owner BIDs to operate across England.

We are also empowering local leaders through devolution to develop strategic, place-based investment plans, leveraging their deep regional insight for more targeted and effective investment.

Together, these approaches reflect a broader commitment to ensure high streets flourish and town centres remain vibrant, attractive places to live, work, and visit.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 69881 on Transport: Cost Benefit Analysis, whether her Department will make business case documents available for each scheme ahead of the Full Business Case stage.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

For the 50 schemes referenced in the Secretary of State’s statement on 8 July 2025, detailed Green Book analyses, costs, and benefit cost ratios for each scheme have not been published as a single package

The scheme-level business cases and economic assessments for projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio are published as they are finalised and reach the appropriate stage in the investment process. Summary information on costs and benefit cost ratios for major transport schemes may also be found in the Department for Transport’s Major Projects Portfolio, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/major-projects-data

In the case of Major Road Network schemes, the business cases belong to the relevant local authorities. This information is therefore available directly from them, once a scheme is approved at the Full Business Case (FBC) stage. Whilst we encourage them to publish these, it is their decision whether to publish their business cases on their respective websites.

Detailed information on Strategic Road Network (SRN) schemes is available in the applications for planning consent, available on the Planning Inspectorate’s website. Decisions to select schemes were based on evidence assessed against a wide range of criteria, in line with the HM Treasury Green book and the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance.

More information about rail enhancement schemes over the SR period is featured in the UK infrastructure pipeline published on 11 July, which government has committed to update regularly.

There are no plans to publish officials’ advice to Ministers regarding the schemes in question. As each scheme progresses, further documentation is released and made available on gov.uk as appropriate. The Government is committed to transparency and will continue to make business case documents available in line with Green Book and Treasury guidance as schemes move forward.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 69881 on Transport: Cost Benefit Analysis, whether detailed Green Book analyses, costs, and benefit cost ratios for each scheme (a) had been calculated at the point of selection and (b) have been calculated.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

For the 50 schemes referenced in the Secretary of State’s statement on 8 July 2025, detailed Green Book analyses, costs, and benefit cost ratios for each scheme have not been published as a single package

The scheme-level business cases and economic assessments for projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio are published as they are finalised and reach the appropriate stage in the investment process. Summary information on costs and benefit cost ratios for major transport schemes may also be found in the Department for Transport’s Major Projects Portfolio, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/major-projects-data

In the case of Major Road Network schemes, the business cases belong to the relevant local authorities. This information is therefore available directly from them, once a scheme is approved at the Full Business Case (FBC) stage. Whilst we encourage them to publish these, it is their decision whether to publish their business cases on their respective websites.

Detailed information on Strategic Road Network (SRN) schemes is available in the applications for planning consent, available on the Planning Inspectorate’s website. Decisions to select schemes were based on evidence assessed against a wide range of criteria, in line with the HM Treasury Green book and the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance.

More information about rail enhancement schemes over the SR period is featured in the UK infrastructure pipeline published on 11 July, which government has committed to update regularly.

There are no plans to publish officials’ advice to Ministers regarding the schemes in question. As each scheme progresses, further documentation is released and made available on gov.uk as appropriate. The Government is committed to transparency and will continue to make business case documents available in line with Green Book and Treasury guidance as schemes move forward.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 69881 on Transport: Cost Benefit Analysis, what criteria was used to select each project; and when she will publish details.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

For the 50 schemes referenced in the Secretary of State’s statement on 8 July 2025, detailed Green Book analyses, costs, and benefit cost ratios for each scheme have not been published as a single package

The scheme-level business cases and economic assessments for projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio are published as they are finalised and reach the appropriate stage in the investment process. Summary information on costs and benefit cost ratios for major transport schemes may also be found in the Department for Transport’s Major Projects Portfolio, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/major-projects-data

In the case of Major Road Network schemes, the business cases belong to the relevant local authorities. This information is therefore available directly from them, once a scheme is approved at the Full Business Case (FBC) stage. Whilst we encourage them to publish these, it is their decision whether to publish their business cases on their respective websites.

Detailed information on Strategic Road Network (SRN) schemes is available in the applications for planning consent, available on the Planning Inspectorate’s website. Decisions to select schemes were based on evidence assessed against a wide range of criteria, in line with the HM Treasury Green book and the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance.

More information about rail enhancement schemes over the SR period is featured in the UK infrastructure pipeline published on 11 July, which government has committed to update regularly.

There are no plans to publish officials’ advice to Ministers regarding the schemes in question. As each scheme progresses, further documentation is released and made available on gov.uk as appropriate. The Government is committed to transparency and will continue to make business case documents available in line with Green Book and Treasury guidance as schemes move forward.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will outline the (a) type and (b) length of sentences being served by foreign national offenders in prisons in England and Wales.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Details of sentences being served by foreign national offenders are published as part of the Ministry of Justice’s Offender Management Statistics Quarterly. The information requested can be found at Table 1_A_24 in the Annual Prison Population tables at the following link: prison-population-30-June-2025.ods.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign national offenders are serving life sentences.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Details of sentences being served by foreign national offenders are published as part of the Ministry of Justice’s Offender Management Statistics Quarterly. The information requested can be found at Table 1_A_24 in the Annual Prison Population tables at the following link: prison-population-30-June-2025.ods.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether it is his policy that offenders to be deported under Clause 32 in the Sentencing Bill would be required to serve any custodial sentence in their home country.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Sentencing Bill will amend the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) to allow eligible Foreign National Offenders (FNO) serving determinate sentences to be removed from prison for the purposes of immediate deportation any time after sentencing. FNOs removed under ERS are not subject to further imprisonment after they are removed from the UK but are barred from ever returning to the UK. If they return unlawfully, they will be liable to serve the rest of their sentence from the point they were deported.

Those serving life and other indeterminate sentences are not eligible for removal under ERS. Offenders serving a terrorism or terrorism-connected offence are also excluded from removal. ERS can be refused by HMPPS in certain circumstances for example if there is serious evidence an offender is planning a further crime.

Prisoner Transfer Agreements, where prisoners continue to serve their sentence in their home countries, will still be used in certain circumstances where we have an agreement in place and there is cooperation with the receiving country. Enhancing our prisoner transfer capability with partner countries remains important to the Ministry of Justice.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many ICBs have retained their unspent dental allocation in each of the last five years.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The requested information is not available. Dental budgets have been ringfenced since 2023/24. The Government wants to ensure that every penny we allocate for dentistry is spent on dentistry, and that the ringfenced dental budget is spent on the patients who need it most. Where there are unused resources, NHS England will seek to ensure that these are used to improve dental access.

The total underspend for the 2023/24 financial year was £392 million. Information on underspend for the 2024/25 financial year is currently unavailable, as this data has not yet been validated. Prior to the 2023/24 financial year, a dental ringfence was not in place.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign national offenders have (a) been deported more than once and (b) returned to the UK since being deported in each year since 2019.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on FNO returns in the quarterly Immigration System Statistics release. Quarterly data on enforced, voluntary and port FNO returns (of which ‘deportations’ are a legal subset) are published in table Ret_D03 of the Returns detailed datasets accompanying the release.

Information on FNOs who have been deported more than once, or who have returned to the UK after deportation, is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

A deportation order requires a person to leave the UK and prohibits them from lawfully entering the UK while it remains in force. Entering in breach of a deportation order is a criminal offence under section 24(1)(a) of the 1971 Act, with a maximum sentence of five years under section 40 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help tackle the theft of farm machinery in rural areas.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

We will be implementing the Equipment Theft Act, which is aimed at preventing equipment being stolen, making it harder for criminals to sell on stolen vehicles and equipment and assisting the police with identifying the owner.

We published the Government Response to the Call for Evidence on 17 October which sets out the scope for the necessary secondary legislation to be introduced.

The Act’s secondary legislation will require forensic marking to be applied to new All-Terrain Vehicles and for the details to be registered on a property database, for forensic marking to be applied to all new GPS units for use in agricultural and commercial settings, and for the details to be registered on a property database

Additionally, the Crime and Policing Bill introduces a new power for the police to enter and search premises to which items have been electronically tracked by GPS or other means, which will help the police in tackling stolen equipment and machinery.

This financial year we are providing the first Home Office funding since 2023 for the National Rural Crime Unit. This funding will enable the Unit to continue to increase collaboration across police forces, harnessing the latest technology and data to target the serious organised crime groups involved in crimes like equipment theft from farms.