Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number and proportion of police vehicles that were (a) petrol, (b) diesel, (c) hydrogen, (d) hybrid, (e) plug-in hybrid and (f) fully electric in each year between 2015 and 2025.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has not in the past monitored the procurement and management of vehicles by individual police forces in England and Wales, and does not therefore hold the specific information requested for this question.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the (a) level of carbon emissions and (b) source of carbon emissions for each police force in each year between 2015 and 2025.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has not in the past monitored the procurement and management of vehicles by individual police forces in England and Wales, and does not therefore hold the specific information requested for this question.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of vehicles purchased by police forces in each year since 2015, broken down by car manufacturer.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has not in the past monitored the procurement and management of vehicles by individual police forces in England and Wales, and does not therefore hold the specific information requested for this question.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on (a) start and (b) end dates for lease agreements held by each police force for their vehicle fleet.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has not in the past monitored the procurement and management of vehicles by individual police forces in England and Wales, and does not therefore hold the specific information requested for this question.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with Distribution Network Operators on steps to accelerate the upgrades to substations near charging points for police electric vehicles.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has not in the past monitored the procurement and management of vehicles by individual police forces in England and Wales, and does not therefore hold the specific information requested for this question.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) petrol, (b) diesel, (c) hydrogen, (d) hybrid, (e) plug-in hybrid and (f) fully electric vehicles purchased by police forces in each year since 2015.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has not in the past monitored the procurement and management of vehicles by individual police forces in England and Wales, and does not therefore hold the specific information requested for this question.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of vehicles in each police fleet aged (a) up to one year, (b) between one and two years, (c) between three and five years and (d) older than five years.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has not in the past monitored the procurement and management of vehicles by individual police forces in England and Wales, and does not therefore hold the specific information requested for this question.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of police forces that have introduced discounted salary schemes for employees who own electric vehicles.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has not in the past monitored the procurement and management of vehicles by individual police forces in England and Wales, and does not therefore hold the specific information requested for this question.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the value of vehicles (a) purchased and (b) sold by police forces in each year since 2015.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has not in the past monitored the procurement and management of vehicles by individual police forces in England and Wales, and does not therefore hold the specific information requested for this question.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the effectiveness of fire prevention policies and (b) potential fire hazards at battery energy storage systems sites following the fire in Liverpool in 2020.

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

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) oversees a robust regulatory framework which covers batteries and requires responsible parties to take measures to ensure health and safety throughout all stages of a battery system’s deployment.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether battery energy storage systems sites are required to have fire insurance.

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

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) oversees a robust regulatory framework which covers batteries and requires responsible parties to take measures to ensure health and safety throughout all stages of a battery system’s deployment.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to publish non-illustrative fees for extended producer responsibility for packaging.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

A third set of illustrative base fees were published in December 2024, based on improved data, to provide greater certainty to business. Producers are required to submit the next round of 2024 data by 1 April 2025. Following this and pending satisfactory regulatory checks, we intend to use this data to publish pEPR base fees by June 2025 for the current Operational Year. Invoices will be issued in October 2025.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of sentences given in (a) magistrates’ courts and (b) crown courts were less than 60% of the statutory maximum length in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of offenders sentenced at criminal courts in England and Wales in the following links. This includes the information on sentence outcomes, including grouped custodial sentence lengths and average sentence lengths, for a wide range of offences, which can be viewed individually to show the range of sentencing outcomes:

• Magistrates’ courts: Magistrates' court data tool

• Crown Court: Crown Court data tool

Using data held centrally to align individual convictions to statutory maxima would only be possible at disproportionate costs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) Officials in his Department have undertaken with the sporting and cultural events sector to discuss proposals for the Care Quality Commission to increase its regulation over them.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Following the Manchester Arena Inquiry Volume Two report, the Government sought to make the necessary changes in the law to enable the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to regulate event healthcare at sporting venues and gymnasiums, and at temporary sporting and cultural events. The CQC will not be responsible for regulating sports and cultural events as a whole.

The CQC has taken steps to ensure that any changes are implemented in a way that gives healthcare providers appropriate time to register with the CQC. This provides further reassurance to both event organisers and the public on the level of healthcare expected.

In addition to the recent public consultation, the CQC will consult further on their approach to regulating these activities. The Government and the CQC continues to engage with stakeholders within the health, sports, and events sector regarding the changes in the regulations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the capacity of the Care Quality Commission to regulate sporting and cultural events.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Following the Manchester Arena Inquiry Volume Two report, the Government sought to make the necessary changes in the law to enable the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to regulate event healthcare at sporting venues and gymnasiums, and at temporary sporting and cultural events. The CQC will not be responsible for regulating sports and cultural events as a whole.

The CQC has taken steps to ensure that any changes are implemented in a way that gives healthcare providers appropriate time to register with the CQC. This provides further reassurance to both event organisers and the public on the level of healthcare expected.

In addition to the recent public consultation, the CQC will consult further on their approach to regulating these activities. The Government and the CQC continues to engage with stakeholders within the health, sports, and events sector regarding the changes in the regulations.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to consult on the temporary exemption for sporting and cultural events at associated premises to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

From 26 April 2024 to 21 June 2024, a public consultation was run to gather views on the Government’s proposal. An easy read version was then made available from 13 August 2024 to 27 September 2024. The Government’s response to the consultation was published on 18 December 2024. A copy of the consultation response can be viewed on the GOV.UK website, at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-regulations-relating-to-the-care-quality-commission/outcome/government-response-to-the-results-of-the-consultation-on-changing-regulations-relating-to-the-cqc#:~:text=Across%20the%20easy%20read%20and,72%20hours%20of%20its%20use..

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of Packaging Export Recovery Note (PERN) system on global plastic pollution.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

All exports of plastic packaging waste are made in accordance with the relevant regulations related to the shipment of waste and are enforced by the Environment Agency (relevant regulator). The PRN/PERN system provides economic support for the recycling of packaging waste whether reprocessed in the UK or overseas.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the number of (a) packing export recovery and (b) packaging recovery notes that have been issued each year since 2010.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This data is available on the National Packaging Waste Database – National Packaging Waste Database.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much abuse and fraud has been reported on the Packaging Export Recovery Note system since 2010.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This data is available on the National Packaging Waste Database – National Packaging Waste Database.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the number of arrests for fraud concerning packaging export recovery notes in each year since 2010.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Data related to prosecutions is published by the relevant regulators. https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-enforcement-action

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of splitting recycling targets for (a) packaging recovery notes and (b) packaging export recovery notes.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra will shortly be engaging with relevant stakeholders to better understand the merits of this and other potential enhancements to the Package Recovery Note system.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the impact of her policies on electric vehicle charging companies’ (a) pricing and (b) subscription models.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government is committed to ensuring public charging is affordable for all. Under the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, chargepoint operators are required to clearly provide the price of charging at public chargepoints in pence per kilowatt hour. While this does not cap the cost of charging or require chargepoint operators to use a specific pricing model, it does ensure consistency in the way prices are displayed, making it easy for drivers to compare public chargepoints and choose the best rate.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the total (a) value and (b) number of payments made by her Department to Motability in each year since 2010.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department for Work and Pensions retains financial information for 7 years in compliance with the fifth principle of the Data Protection Act, therefore we are unable to provide historic data back to 2010. We can provide the requested estimated total Motability values data for the previous three calendar years, DWP has paid:

2022 - c£607 million

2023 - c£600 million

2024 - c£600 million

We are unable to provide volumes data, and value data for earlier years within the timescales required for this request, due to the time required to interrogate our systems to obtain this level of information.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of clay pigeon shooting on (a) business growth and (b) job creation in rural communities.

Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Rural areas offer significant potential for growth and are important to our economy, contributing over £315 billion a year to England alone.

Defra has not made a formal assessment on contribution of clay pigeon shooting to the rural economy; however, we know the rural economy is diverse with 86% of rural businesses unrelated to agriculture, forestry or fishing.

The government recognises the economic benefits that shooting sports such as clay pigeon shooting can bring to rural communities and that it can be an important part of a local economy which provides direct and indirect employment opportunities.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many smart meters he expects to be installed in NHS buildings in each year between 2025 and 2030.

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

Data on National Health Service smart meter usage in the NHS is not collected or projected centrally by NHS England. The annual Estates Return Information Collection does collect data on electricity meters, but this does not currently differentiate smart meters. Further information on the annual Estates Return Information Collection is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/estates-returns-information-collection

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many smart meters have been installed in NHS buildings in each year since 2015.

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

Data on National Health Service smart meter usage in the NHS is not collected or projected centrally by NHS England. The annual Estates Return Information Collection does collect data on electricity meters, but this does not currently differentiate smart meters. Further information on the annual Estates Return Information Collection is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/estates-returns-information-collection

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list (a) the contracts signed by NHS trusts for (a) designing and (b) constructing new NHS buildings that are net zero in operation and (b) the value of each of those contracts.

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

The Department of Health and Social Care has not provided targeted funding for heat decarbonisation measures since 2015, nor does it hold a list of any net zero building contracts entered by individual National Health Service trusts. Since 2019, targeted funding for low carbon heating measures has been provided by the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, where NHS trusts have secured £1.2 billion in grant funding. This scheme is funded and led by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Alongside this, the Department of Health and Social Care has invested in reducing the NHS’s energy bills through the National Energy Efficiency Fund, with associated decarbonisation benefits. This has provided targeted funding for high-return measures, like LED lighting and building management systems, of £40 million in the 2023/24 financial year, and £95 million in the 2024/25 financial year. NHS England has also provided substantial guidance to the system on decarbonisation issues, including the 2023 Net Zero Health Building Standard, and the 2020 Delivering a Net Zero NHS report.

Looking ahead to 2025/26, we are working with Great British Energy to invest £100 million in trusts’ renewable energy infrastructure across 196 NHS sites, where the average trust could save up to £45,000 on their yearly energy bills.

Spending plans beyond 2025/26 will be determined through the forthcoming Spending Review.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the projected cost for spend on ultra-low carbon measures for NHS buildings in England by 2030.

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

The Department of Health and Social Care has not provided targeted funding for heat decarbonisation measures since 2015, nor does it hold a list of any net zero building contracts entered by individual National Health Service trusts. Since 2019, targeted funding for low carbon heating measures has been provided by the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, where NHS trusts have secured £1.2 billion in grant funding. This scheme is funded and led by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Alongside this, the Department of Health and Social Care has invested in reducing the NHS’s energy bills through the National Energy Efficiency Fund, with associated decarbonisation benefits. This has provided targeted funding for high-return measures, like LED lighting and building management systems, of £40 million in the 2023/24 financial year, and £95 million in the 2024/25 financial year. NHS England has also provided substantial guidance to the system on decarbonisation issues, including the 2023 Net Zero Health Building Standard, and the 2020 Delivering a Net Zero NHS report.

Looking ahead to 2025/26, we are working with Great British Energy to invest £100 million in trusts’ renewable energy infrastructure across 196 NHS sites, where the average trust could save up to £45,000 on their yearly energy bills.

Spending plans beyond 2025/26 will be determined through the forthcoming Spending Review.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much has been spent on ultra-low carbon measures for NHS buildings in England in each year since 2015.

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

The Department of Health and Social Care has not provided targeted funding for heat decarbonisation measures since 2015, nor does it hold a list of any net zero building contracts entered by individual National Health Service trusts. Since 2019, targeted funding for low carbon heating measures has been provided by the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, where NHS trusts have secured £1.2 billion in grant funding. This scheme is funded and led by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Alongside this, the Department of Health and Social Care has invested in reducing the NHS’s energy bills through the National Energy Efficiency Fund, with associated decarbonisation benefits. This has provided targeted funding for high-return measures, like LED lighting and building management systems, of £40 million in the 2023/24 financial year, and £95 million in the 2024/25 financial year. NHS England has also provided substantial guidance to the system on decarbonisation issues, including the 2023 Net Zero Health Building Standard, and the 2020 Delivering a Net Zero NHS report.

Looking ahead to 2025/26, we are working with Great British Energy to invest £100 million in trusts’ renewable energy infrastructure across 196 NHS sites, where the average trust could save up to £45,000 on their yearly energy bills.

Spending plans beyond 2025/26 will be determined through the forthcoming Spending Review.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of NHS trusts that have spent funding on (a) installing charge points and (b) upgrading the local distribution network in each year since 2015.

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

National Health Service trusts have submitted data on electric vehicle (EV) charging points through the annual Estates Return Information Collection since 2018/19, with further information available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/estates-returns-information-collection

The following table shows the number of trusts that have increased their number of EV charging points, each year from 2018/19 to 2023/24:

Please note that this data does not account for trust mergers, as, for example, a newly formed trust merged from two trusts with no change to the number of charging points will be recorded as an increase. There is no centrally collected data recording costs or differentiating whether the charging points are trust-funded or externally funded. NHS England does not collect data on distribution network upgrades relating to EV charger installation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much he expects average energy bills to be for NHS buildings in each year between 2025 and 2030.

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

The Department of Health and Social Care does not make independent energy price projections for National Health Service buildings. However, as matter of course, we make full use of official energy data in policy development, including the central HM Treasury Green Book scenario on energy prices, and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s energy and emissions projections, where appropriate. We continue to focus on increasing energy efficiency across the NHS estate, including by investing over £90 million in energy saving measures through National Energy Efficiency Fund in 2024/25, and through our recently announced partnership with Great British Energy, where £100 million will be invested in solar panels across the NHS during 2025/26.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much each NHS trust in England has spent on purchasing electric vehicles in each year since 2015.

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

Data on the costs of purchasing electric vehicles is not collected centrally by NHS England. This data is held by National Health Service organisations locally.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefit claimant households included people who have (a) not worked for (i) five, (ii) ten, (iii) twenty and (iv) more than twenty years and (b) never worked in each year since 2010 in the latest period for which data is available, broken down by local authority.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

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 the fire at the battery energy storage systems site in Liverpool in 2020 on the environment.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has not made an assessment of the potential impact on the environment of the fire at the battery energy storage systems site in Liverpool in 2020. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service carried out testing of the water run-off with advice from its scientific support provider at time of the incident. Tests indicated no harmful contamination of watercourses or drains, with the water run off also largely being contained on site.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers arrived in the UK without appropriate documents in in each year since 2020.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The information requested is not available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of processing R&D tax relief (a) applications, (b) rejections and (c) appeals in each year since 2015.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

In October 2024, HMRC released operational data in the Approach to Research & Development Tax Reliefs 2023-2024 publication. This includes data from 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 on the number of R&D enquiries, the proportion of claims requiring adjustment and data on appeals. This publication represents the most comprehensive data on R&D compliance activity and is not available for previous years.

This publication also included customer service data on processing times and the average time to complete a compliance check. HMRC processed 92% of claims within 40 days in 2023-2024. Processing means paying the claim, making contact to request further information, or refusing the claim, and, for claims identified as high-risk, starting an appropriately targeted compliance check.

The table below provides final and illustrative estimates of the cost of error and fraud in the R&D tax reliefs since 2020-2021.

The Mandatory Random Enquiry Programme approach introduced for small and medium sized enterprises represents good practice in the measurement of error and fraud, and involves a detailed inspection of a representative sample of claims filed. These estimates are published in HMRC Annual reports and Accounts and previous reports can be found at gov.uk at: HMRC’s Annual reports and Accounts.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many R&D tax relief claims have been rejected in each year since 2015; and how many of those have been successfully appealed.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

In October 2024, HMRC released operational data in the Approach to Research & Development Tax Reliefs 2023-2024 publication. This includes data from 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 on the number of R&D enquiries, the proportion of claims requiring adjustment and data on appeals. This publication represents the most comprehensive data on R&D compliance activity and is not available for previous years.

This publication also included customer service data on processing times and the average time to complete a compliance check. HMRC processed 92% of claims within 40 days in 2023-2024. Processing means paying the claim, making contact to request further information, or refusing the claim, and, for claims identified as high-risk, starting an appropriately targeted compliance check.

The table below provides final and illustrative estimates of the cost of error and fraud in the R&D tax reliefs since 2020-2021.

The Mandatory Random Enquiry Programme approach introduced for small and medium sized enterprises represents good practice in the measurement of error and fraud, and involves a detailed inspection of a representative sample of claims filed. These estimates are published in HMRC Annual reports and Accounts and previous reports can be found at gov.uk at: HMRC’s Annual reports and Accounts.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of (a) fraud and (b) error related to R&D tax relief in each year since 2015.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

In October 2024, HMRC released operational data in the Approach to Research & Development Tax Reliefs 2023-2024 publication. This includes data from 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 on the number of R&D enquiries, the proportion of claims requiring adjustment and data on appeals. This publication represents the most comprehensive data on R&D compliance activity and is not available for previous years.

This publication also included customer service data on processing times and the average time to complete a compliance check. HMRC processed 92% of claims within 40 days in 2023-2024. Processing means paying the claim, making contact to request further information, or refusing the claim, and, for claims identified as high-risk, starting an appropriately targeted compliance check.

The table below provides final and illustrative estimates of the cost of error and fraud in the R&D tax reliefs since 2020-2021.

The Mandatory Random Enquiry Programme approach introduced for small and medium sized enterprises represents good practice in the measurement of error and fraud, and involves a detailed inspection of a representative sample of claims filed. These estimates are published in HMRC Annual reports and Accounts and previous reports can be found at gov.uk at: HMRC’s Annual reports and Accounts.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average delay in payment for businesses applying for R&D tax relief was in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

In October 2024, HMRC released operational data in the Approach to Research & Development Tax Reliefs 2023-2024 publication. This includes data from 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 on the number of R&D enquiries, the proportion of claims requiring adjustment and data on appeals. This publication represents the most comprehensive data on R&D compliance activity and is not available for previous years.

This publication also included customer service data on processing times and the average time to complete a compliance check. HMRC processed 92% of claims within 40 days in 2023-2024. Processing means paying the claim, making contact to request further information, or refusing the claim, and, for claims identified as high-risk, starting an appropriately targeted compliance check.

The table below provides final and illustrative estimates of the cost of error and fraud in the R&D tax reliefs since 2020-2021.

The Mandatory Random Enquiry Programme approach introduced for small and medium sized enterprises represents good practice in the measurement of error and fraud, and involves a detailed inspection of a representative sample of claims filed. These estimates are published in HMRC Annual reports and Accounts and previous reports can be found at gov.uk at: HMRC’s Annual reports and Accounts.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an estimate of the average cost for businesses applying for R&D tax relief.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

In October 2024, HMRC released operational data in the Approach to Research & Development Tax Reliefs 2023-2024 publication. This includes data from 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 on the number of R&D enquiries, the proportion of claims requiring adjustment and data on appeals. This publication represents the most comprehensive data on R&D compliance activity and is not available for previous years.

This publication also included customer service data on processing times and the average time to complete a compliance check. HMRC processed 92% of claims within 40 days in 2023-2024. Processing means paying the claim, making contact to request further information, or refusing the claim, and, for claims identified as high-risk, starting an appropriately targeted compliance check.

The table below provides final and illustrative estimates of the cost of error and fraud in the R&D tax reliefs since 2020-2021.

The Mandatory Random Enquiry Programme approach introduced for small and medium sized enterprises represents good practice in the measurement of error and fraud, and involves a detailed inspection of a representative sample of claims filed. These estimates are published in HMRC Annual reports and Accounts and previous reports can be found at gov.uk at: HMRC’s Annual reports and Accounts.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) sources and (b) levels were of carbon emissions for NHS buildings in England in each year since 2015.

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

National Health Service organisations are not expected to individually submit carbon emissions data. Estimates are made at a national level, based on energy consumption data submitted by trusts through the annual Estates Return Information Collection. Further information on the annual Estates Return Information Collection is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/estates-returns-information-collection

Total NHS carbon emissions estimates are published in NHS England’s Annual Report. A copy of a table showing total secondary care emissions by energy source and rounded to nearest 10 ktCO2e, from 2018/19 to 2023/24, the most recent data available, is attached.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average cost of energy bills were for NHS buildings in each year since 2015.

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

The annual Estates Return Information Collection (ERIC) collects data on the energy costs of National Health Service organisations. This data has been consistently reported since 2018/19. The following table shows the cost of energy bills for NHS trusts as reported in ERIC, from 2018/19 to 2023/24:

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what contracts have been agreed by her Department for (a) designing and (b) constructing new school buildings that are net zero in operation; and what the value was of each contract.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department’s building projects are currently delivered through our £7 billion construction framework 2021 (CF21) which was published under the previous government. The specification for that framework requires buildings to be net zero carbon in operation. Signed contract values are published on GOV.UK, normally within 30 days of the contract being signed, and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what fire prevention policies battery energy storage systems sites are required to follow.

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

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates battery energy storage systems (BESS) under a framework which requires responsible parties to take measures to ensure health and safety throughout all stages of a BESS’s deployment. Of particular relevance to fire prevention, the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) sets minimum requirements for the protection of workers and others from fire and explosion risks.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for the Home Department to prevent the online sale of illegal e-bikes.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Product safety law requires that all consumer products placed on the UK market must be safe. The Office for Product Safety and Standards, in my Department, has a programme of work focused on tackling the sale of illegal e-bikes, making sure online platforms are aware of their responsibilities and working closely with Border Force on the issue at the UK Border. My officials work closely with counterparts across Government, including the Home Office on e-bike safety.

The Product Safety and Metrology Bill will provide powers that can be used to place new duties on online marketplaces with regards to unsafe products.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many ministerial visits he has made to Suffolk since 4 July 2025; and where those visits took place.

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

The Secretary of State and the Ministerial team conduct visits across the UK on a regular basis including in Suffolk. A central list of every visit conducted is not publicly available.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in England are projected to pay on average for energy bills in each year between 2025 and 2030.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The average annual energy costs for primary and secondary schools based on financial returns to the department from 2015 to 2024 are as follows:

To note:

• Local authority-maintained schools report costs for the 12-month period to 31 March. Academies report costs for the 12-month period to 31 August.
• These figures do not include energy costs recorded as attributable to or incurred by multi-academy trust central services.
• All spending data reported by schools to the department is publicly available at https://financial-benchmarking-and-insights-tool.education.gov.uk/data-sources.

The department does not hold a forecast for how much primary and secondary schools are projected to pay in their energy bills beyond the 2025/26 financial year. This is set out in the ‘School costs technical note’ which estimated energy price inflation for schools at a 4.1% increase for the 2024/25 financial year and a fall of 5.1% for the 2025/26 financial year.

The department is developing a suite of productivity initiatives to support schools in making efficiencies in their budgets. This includes giving schools the opportunity to join the department’s Energy for Schools initiative. When schools' energy contracts are up for renewal, they can join the department's contract. During the pilot for this project, schools saved 36% on average compared to their previous contracts.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in England paid for energy bills on average in each year since 2015.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The average annual energy costs for primary and secondary schools based on financial returns to the department from 2015 to 2024 are as follows:

To note:

• Local authority-maintained schools report costs for the 12-month period to 31 March. Academies report costs for the 12-month period to 31 August.
• These figures do not include energy costs recorded as attributable to or incurred by multi-academy trust central services.
• All spending data reported by schools to the department is publicly available at https://financial-benchmarking-and-insights-tool.education.gov.uk/data-sources.

The department does not hold a forecast for how much primary and secondary schools are projected to pay in their energy bills beyond the 2025/26 financial year. This is set out in the ‘School costs technical note’ which estimated energy price inflation for schools at a 4.1% increase for the 2024/25 financial year and a fall of 5.1% for the 2025/26 financial year.

The department is developing a suite of productivity initiatives to support schools in making efficiencies in their budgets. This includes giving schools the opportunity to join the department’s Energy for Schools initiative. When schools' energy contracts are up for renewal, they can join the department's contract. During the pilot for this project, schools saved 36% on average compared to their previous contracts.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many smart meters have been installed in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in England in each year since 2015.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department does not hold information on how many primary and secondary schools have installed smart meters since 2015, nor do we set an expectation for how many primary and secondary schools should install smart meters. However, smart meters are recommended within the department’s published energy efficiency guidance. The guidance outlines that educational settings should monitor their energy use to help prioritise the best ways to reduce energy consumption. The guidance is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-efficiency-guidance-for-the-school-and-fe-college-estate/energy-efficiency-guidance-for-the-school-and-further-education-college-estate.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many smart meters he expects to be installed in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in each year between 2025 and 2030.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department does not hold information on how many primary and secondary schools have installed smart meters since 2015, nor do we set an expectation for how many primary and secondary schools should install smart meters. However, smart meters are recommended within the department’s published energy efficiency guidance. The guidance outlines that educational settings should monitor their energy use to help prioritise the best ways to reduce energy consumption. The guidance is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-efficiency-guidance-for-the-school-and-fe-college-estate/energy-efficiency-guidance-for-the-school-and-further-education-college-estate.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the average amount received in benefits by benefit claimant households in each year since 2010, broken down by local authority.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Monthly statistics for the number of households on Universal Credit and Housing Benefit in Great Britain by local authority are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore.

Universal Credit statistics, by monthly average award amount, are available from August 2015 to November 2024 in the Households on Universal Credit dataset.

Housing Benefit statistics, by weekly average award amount, are available from November 2008 to March 2018 in the Housing Benefit – Data to March 2018 dataset and from April 2018 to November 2024 in the Housing Benefit - Data from April 2018 dataset.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide

The information requested for households receiving other benefits is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of benefit claimant households had received welfare payments for (a) five, (b) ten, (c) twenty and (d) more than twenty years in each year since 2010 in the latest period for which data is available, broken down by local authority.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefits claimant households received (a) Universal Credit, (b) New Style Jobseekers’ Allowance, (c) New Style Employment and Support Allowance, (d) Personal Independence Payment and (e) legacy benefits in each year since 2010, broken down by local authority.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Monthly statistics for the number of households on Universal Credit and Housing Benefit in Great Britain by local authority are published quarterly on Stat-Xplore.

Universal Credit statistics are available from August 2015 to November 2024 in the Households on Universal Credit dataset.

Housing Benefit statistics are available from November 2008 to March 2018 in the Housing Benefit – Data to March 2018 dataset and from April 2018 to November 2024 in the Housing Benefit - Data from April 2018 dataset.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide

The information requested for households receiving the other benefits is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS (a) hospitals, and (b) other buildings in England will be (i) sold, (ii) refurbished, and (iii) demolished between 2025 and 2030.

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

The Department does not currently hold estimated figures for the number of sales, refurbishments and demolitions of hospitals and other National Health Service buildings in England for 2025 to 2030.

Decisions to sell, refurbish or demolish hospitals and other NHS buildings in England are matters for the local NHS organisations in line with their local infrastructure planning.

Decisions on sales, refurbishments and demolitions will also be shaped by capital availability. We are backing NHS systems to invest in local priorities in 2025/26, with over £4 billion in operational capital, and national funding, including the £750 million Estates Safety Fund. Systems are in planning stages for capital investments in 2025/26, informed by the NHS capital guidance for 2025/26, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/capital-guidance-2025-26/

Capital funding levels for 2026/27 to 2030/31 will be determined through the current Spending Review, which concludes in June 2025.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials in his Department have had with the Health and Safety Executive on its proposed restriction on the acquisition, storage, and use of lead shot.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

In Spring 2021, Defra asked the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency (EA) to prepare a restriction dossier for lead ammunition in all habitats. The HSE and the EA have considered the evidence of risk posed by lead in ammunition to human health and the environment, as well as the socio-economic impacts of their proposed restriction. They also considered the effectiveness, practicality, monitorability and enforceability of their suggested restriction.

HSE have now published a final Opinion on their restriction proposal for lead in ammunition (including lead shot), informed by feedback from public consultations as well as independent scientific advice. As part of their Opinion, HSE have considered the socio-economic impacts of their proposed restriction in GB. Defra has received HSE’s final Opinion and are assessing their proposals. A decision will follow, which will be taken with the consent of the Devolved Governments of Scotland and Wales.

Since the final Opinion was published, Defra Officials have been in contact with the HSE to discuss and further understand their recommendation in detail.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of exempting elite shooting athletes from the Health and Safety Executive’s proposed restriction on the acquisition, storage, and use of lead shot.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) final Opinion on their restriction proposal for lead in ammunition, informed by information from public consultations as well as independent scientific advice, included consideration of the use of lead shot by athletes. In their final Opinion, HSE set out their assessment and this included a proposed exemption for competitive athletes. Now Defra has received HSE’s final Opinion on the proposed restriction, we are assessing their proposals. A decision will follow in due course, which will be taken with consent from the Devolved Governments of Scotland and Wales.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations his Department has received from shooting organisations on restrictions on the acquisition, storage, and use of lead shot.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra has received representations from a variety of stakeholders, including shooting organisations, setting out a diverse range of views on this issue. The main shooting organisations that have made representations have been: The British Association for Shooting and Conservation, Aim to Sustain, and the Gun Trade Association.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of restricting the acquisition, storage, and usage of lead shot on elite shooting athletes.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) final Opinion on their restriction proposal for lead in ammunition, informed by information from public consultations as well as independent scientific advice, included consideration of the use of lead shot by athletes. In their final Opinion, HSE set out their assessment and this included a proposed exemption for competitive athletes. Now Defra has received HSE’s final Opinion on the proposed restriction, we are assessing their proposals. A decision will follow in due course, which will be taken with consent from the Devolved Governments of Scotland and Wales.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many irregular migrants have been granted permission to work in (a) full-time and (b) part-time employment in each year since 2020.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

Obtaining the specific information requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple systems owned by multiple teams across the Home Office and, therefore, could only be obtained for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of irregular migrants who do not have an up-to-date address registered by her Department.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

Obtaining the specific information requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple systems owned by multiple teams across the Home Office and, therefore, could only be obtained for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many irregular migrants have been given the right to work in each year since 2020.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

Obtaining the specific information requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple systems owned by multiple teams across the Home Office and, therefore, could only be obtained for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school buildings will be (a) sold, (b) refurbished and (c) demolished between 2025 and 2030.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department supports responsible bodies, such as local authorities and charitable trusts, that own and manage the school estate, with capital funding, building programmes and extensive guidance. The department does not generally hold data on planned sales, refurbishment or demolition of primary and secondary school buildings by these bodies.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the (a) sources and (b) levels of carbon emissions for schools in England in each year since 2015.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Education settings are not required to provide specific data on their energy use or greenhouse gas emissions.

To estimate the education estate's emissions position overall, the department references a Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy report, the Building Energy Efficiency Survey (BEES) 2014/15.

The BEES report estimates that schools and universities represent approximately one third of all England and Wales public sector building emissions. Total greenhouse gas emissions from education sector buildings were estimated to be 4.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) per year. The equivalent figure for industrial sector buildings is 7.8 MtCO2e. The annual greenhouse gas emissions from electrical energy consumption were 2.2 MtCO2e and those from non-electrical energy consumption were 1.9 MtCO2e.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much has been spent on ultra-low carbon measures for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in England in each year since 2015.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is committed to supporting the UK net-zero carbon targets. Since 2021, the department’s own building standards require that all new school buildings we deliver are net-zero carbon in operation and are adapted to climate change to between 2 and 4 degrees temperature increase. The costs of meeting net-zero are within the overall construction costs for each school and not separately identified.

Decisions on which projects to prioritise with funding are primarily taken at a local level. For the 2025/26 financial year, the department has increased funding to improve the condition of the estate to £2.1 billion, up from £1.8 billion in 2024/25. Details of capital funding are published on GOV.UK.

Capital funding beyond the 2025/26 financial year will be set out following the next phase of the spending review.

Schools, along with other public bodies, have also been able to access funding from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which is run by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Details of projects funded are also available on GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department is projected to spend on ultra-low carbon measures for (a) primary and (b) secondary schools by 2030.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is committed to supporting the UK net-zero carbon targets. Since 2021, the department’s own building standards require that all new school buildings we deliver are net-zero carbon in operation and are adapted to climate change to between 2 and 4 degrees temperature increase. The costs of meeting net-zero are within the overall construction costs for each school and not separately identified.

Decisions on which projects to prioritise with funding are primarily taken at a local level. For the 2025/26 financial year, the department has increased funding to improve the condition of the estate to £2.1 billion, up from £1.8 billion in 2024/25. Details of capital funding are published on GOV.UK.

Capital funding beyond the 2025/26 financial year will be set out following the next phase of the spending review.

Schools, along with other public bodies, have also been able to access funding from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which is run by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Details of projects funded are also available on GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of building new charging infrastructure for police electric vehicles in each year between 2025 and 2030.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold this data. Decisions about the allocation of police resources locally, are a matter for Chief Constables and directly elected local policing bodies (including Police and Crime Commissioners, Mayors exercising PCC functions and the London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of building new charging infrastructure for police electric vehicles in each year between 2020 and 2025.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold this data. Decisions about the allocation of police resources locally, are a matter for Chief Constables and directly elected local policing bodies (including Police and Crime Commissioners, Mayors exercising PCC functions and the London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime).

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many irregular migrants have been given a National Insurance Number in each year since 2020.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP does not issue National Insurance Numbers to irregular migrants. The department is responsible for the allocation of National Insurance Numbers to adults in the UK, and all applicants are required to provide evidence of their identity and information to prove they have the right to work in the UK. This is the only circumstance in which applicants will be granted a National Insurance number.

The information provided by applicants is corroborated against other Government Department systems before a National Insurance Number is allocated.

We publish quarterly data on the number of adult overseas nationals entering the UK that have received a National Insurance number, please see the link below for more information.

National Insurance number allocations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK - GOV.UK

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many successful asylum claimants by nationality there were by (a) age and (b) sex in each year since 2020.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of granted asylum claims in each year, by nationality, age and sex, is published in table Asy_D02 of the Asylum and resettlement detailed datasets. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate to 2024.