Lord Sikka

Registered political parties are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in respect of any of their functions.

For contracts awarded under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, this information is not collated centrally. Departments are responsible for making their own procurement decisions.

The Procurement Act 2023, which went live on 24 February, requires all suppliers bidding for public sector contracts to register via a central digital platform and declare any relevant convictions and exclusion information. The strengthened exclusions and new debarment provisions in the Act enable and, where appropriate, require the exclusion of suppliers convicted of relevant offences.

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

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

The Lord Sikka

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

31 January 2025

Dear Lord Sikka,

As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking when the Office for National Statistics (ONS) will publish their latest data on winter deaths; what criteria they will use to calculate them; and whether they have any plans to return to a static reporting date (HL4448).

The ONS previously published a regular release on winter mortality in England and Wales. However, following the recent consultation on health and social care statistical outputs[1], this release has been paused to enable a review of the methodology and timeliness of the statistics to be completed. Once the review is complete, a proposal on the future status of this output will be published.

The ONS does publish regular statistics on deaths registered each week[2] which may be of interest to you. This includes deaths registered over the winter period as well as estimates of excess deaths using the methodology that was implemented in February 2024[3].

Yours sincerely,

Professor Sir Ian Diamond

[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/health-and-social-care-statistical-outputs/outcome/health-and-social-care-statistical-outputs-consultation-response

[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/previousreleases

[3]https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/causesofdeath/articles/estimatingexcessdeathsintheukmethodologychanges/february2024

The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Fines levied against insolvency practitioners are a disciplinary measure applied and collected by one of the three Recognised Professional Bodies which, under the oversight of the Insolvency Service operating on behalf of the Secretary of State, are responsible for authorising and regulating insolvency practitioners.

No specific assessment has been made in respect of the analysis in question. Relevant legislation does not impose UK residency requirements upon company directors.

The Companies Act 2006 applies equally to all UK registered companies and their officers regardless of where the directors are based.

Insolvency Service decisions to pursue an allegation of criminal misconduct by a foreign resident director of a UK registered company will assess the seriousness of the offence(s) alleged, whether there is a reasonable prospect of securing their return to the jurisdiction for any prosecution and the resources required.

Civil enforcement requires leave of the court to serve proceedings outside the jurisdiction.

There are currently no funded projects specifically for thorium-based nuclear technologies. Potential for future investment will be subject to the Spending Review and the scope of future R&D schemes.

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.

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.

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.

Ofwat's enforcement case against Thames Water for breach of Dividend rules was concluded on 28 May 2025. Thames Water now has until 20 August 2025 to pay the fine.

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. In addition, since 1997, two water only companies, Bristol Water Plc and Portsmouth Water Limited have been convicted of criminal offences. Details of the enforcement action taken against water companies by regulators are available on the relevant regulator’s 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 to the regulators in a decade, giving them the teeth they need to take tougher action against water companies. In addition, water company bosses could now face up to two years imprisonment where investigations by the regulators are obstructed.

This Government is committed to delivering greener transport and is considering its strategic approach to decarbonising aviation.

In 2023 the Department for Transport published research which estimated carbon emissions from UK-registered General Aviation aircraft arriving and departing from UK aerodromes in 2019. General Aviation includes all non-scheduled civil aviation, including business aviation.

By considering the typical maximum take-off weight of aircraft used for business aviation, his research found that approximately 370 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent were emitted by UK registered business aviation or larger recreational aircraft. Emissions from non-UK registered aircraft were not included.

Since they were introduced in 1998, all applicants for a first photocard driving licence have been required to provide official evidence of identity.

In terms of administrative costs, in 2023/24 the Department for Work and Pensions spent

(1) £30.7m on the administration of Pension Credit

(2) £3.3m on the administration of Winter Fuel payments.

Cost figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1m

The numbers quoted are estimated DWP level 1 operating costs, including both direct delivery staff and non-staff costs. Non-staff costs are only those costs incurred in local cost centres, relating to direct delivery staff in the processing and management of cases.

Please note that the data supplied is from the Departmental Activity Based Models (ABM). This data is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standards.

The Departmental Activity Based staffing models are a snapshot of how many people were identified as undertaking specified activities as assigned by line managers.

The data is frequently revised and changes to definitions / benefits / DWP structure effect comparisons over time. It should therefore be treated with caution and must be seen as an indication of cost, rather than the actual cost.

No assessment has been made. The figure quoted does not take account of additional employment arising from the enhancements to employment support announced in the Green Paper, about which the Office for Budget Responsibility has announced that it will produce an impact assessment in the autumn. It also does not take account of any measures to be announced in the forthcoming Child Poverty strategy.

Further information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, in addition to the information published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

The Households below average income (HBAI) statistics contain estimates of the number and percentage of people living in low-income households in the UK. This is published by the Department annually. The latest data covers financial year ending 2024.

In financial year ending 2024, it is estimated that 1.9 million pensioners were in relative poverty after housing costs, and 1.6 million pensioners were in absolute poverty after housing costs.

The latest available Pension Credit take-up statistics cover the financial year 2022 to 2023 and are available at: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2023 - GOV.UK. In the financial year ending 2023, it is estimated that 1.32 million pensioner households were in receipt of Pension Credit and up to 760,000 pensioner households were entitled to Pension Credit but not receiving the benefit.

The latest available Pension Credit caseload statistics cover the period up to August 2024. At August 2024, there were 1,360,660 pensioner households in receipt of Pension Credit in Great Britain. These statistics are available via DWP Stat-Xplore.

Total estimates of benefit expenditure and estimates of fraud and error across all benefits can be found at: Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK

As outlined in DWP Annual Reports and Accounts 2023 to 2024 on page 103, there were 655 prosecutions but a breakdown by benefit is not available.

Debt Management Unit’s total recovery in 2023-24 amounted to £2.81 billion (excluding Housing Benefit recovered by local authorities but including £46 million Housing Benefit debt recovered by DWP), page 133 of the DWP Annual Reports and Accounts 2023 to 2024.

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.

At the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November 2024, the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena committed to implement fully public registers by April 2025. The British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Anguilla and Turks and Caicos Islands agreed to implement registers of beneficial ownership, accessible to those with a legitimate interest, by June 2025. It remains our expectation that the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies will ultimately implement fully public registers, such as those that are already in place in Gibraltar and Montserrat.

Every Territory is making progress towards these commitments and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials are in regular contact with counterparts in the Overseas Territories on their proposals for registers to ensure they meet the agreement made at JMC. The Cayman Islands has introduced an accessible beneficial ownership register. Officials are working together to ensure that this system offers the best possible level of transparency and accessibility.

The Minister of State, Stephen Doughty MP continues to raise this directly with elected leaders across the Overseas Territories including a recent conference call with all leaders and representatives - and has recently spoken to and written to the Premiers of a number of territories individually on this issue, and offered further assistance to the small number who remain off track from meeting their commitments.

The UK condemns terrorism in all forms and our thoughts are with those affected by the Pahalgam terror attack, their loved ones and the people of India. Until all the facts are established, we must not speculate on the nature of the attack. The UK has transitioned from a traditional aid relationship with Pakistan to a mutually beneficial partnership which underpins UK national interests, including in keeping us safe from irregular migration, terror threats and organised crime. Some of the technical assistance we provide through UK Official Development Assistance is integral to these efforts.