Pat McFadden Portrait

Pat McFadden

Labour - Wolverhampton South East

First elected: 5th May 2005

National campaign co-ordinator

(since September 2023)

Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

(since September 2023)

Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
29th Nov 2021 - 4th Sep 2023
Shadow Economic Secretary (Treasury)
10th Apr 2020 - 29th Nov 2021
Compensation (London Capital & Finance plc and Fraud Compensation Fund) Bill
8th Jun 2021 - 15th Jun 2021
Business and Trade Committee
2nd Mar 2020 - 11th May 2020
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee
2nd Mar 2020 - 11th May 2020
Panel of Chairs
23rd Mar 2020 - 22nd Apr 2020
Committee on Exiting the European Union
11th Sep 2017 - 6th Nov 2019
Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union
11th Sep 2017 - 6th Nov 2019
Committee on Exiting the European Union
31st Oct 2016 - 3rd May 2017
Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union
31st Oct 2016 - 3rd May 2017
Shadow Minister (Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs)
20th Oct 2014 - 5th Jan 2016
Treasury Committee
14th Nov 2011 - 24th Nov 2014
Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards (Joint Committee)
16th Jul 2012 - 12th Jun 2013
Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
12th May 2010 - 8th Oct 2010
Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills)
9th Jun 2009 - 6th May 2010
Member, Labour Party National Executive Committee
1st Jun 2007 - 6th May 2010
Minister of State (Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) (Employment Relations and Postal Affairs)
2nd Jul 2007 - 5th Jun 2009
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
5th May 2006 - 28th Jun 2007


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Pat McFadden has voted in 727 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
View All Pat McFadden Division Votes

Debates during the 2019 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
John Glen (Conservative)
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
(120 debate interactions)
Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party)
Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Home Affairs)
(23 debate interactions)
Rishi Sunak (Conservative)
Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, and Minister for the Union
(18 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
HM Treasury
(332 debate contributions)
Department for Work and Pensions
(24 debate contributions)
Cabinet Office
(16 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
View all Pat McFadden's debates

Wolverhampton South East Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Petition Debates Contributed

The Government must make a public statement on the #kissanprotests & press freedoms.

India is the worlds largest democracy & democratic engagement and freedom of the press are fundamental rights and a positive step towards creating a India that works for all.


Latest EDMs signed by Pat McFadden

Pat McFadden has not signed any Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Pat McFadden, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


2 Urgent Questions tabled by Pat McFadden

Wednesday 24th January 2024
Thursday 16th December 2021

Pat McFadden has not been granted any Adjournment Debates

Pat McFadden has not introduced any legislation before Parliament


Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
26th Jan 2022
To ask the Attorney General, how many members of staff at the Serious Fraud Office are working full time on the recovery of public money lost to fraud and economic crime from emergency covid-19 support schemes.

Although no investigations have been formally announced, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is investigating a number of suspected fraudulent applications for COVID loans.

In order to protect the investigative process, it is not always possible, or even desirable, for investigative bodies such as the SFO to announce investigations prematurely, or provide any details of the matters under investigation. The SFO proactively publishes information about its cases on its website whenever it is appropriate

SFO investigations follow the evidence, and their focus or scope may change as an investigation advances. The number of staff working on a specific case will fluctuate throughout an investigation’s lifecycle and will depend on factors such as the complexity of the allegations being investigated, and intelligence gathered or provided.

Alex Chalk
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
26th Jan 2022
To ask the Attorney General, how many ongoing investigations are underway at the Serious Fraud Office to recover public money lost to fraud and economic crime from the emergency covid-19 support schemes.

Although no investigations have been formally announced, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is investigating a number of suspected fraudulent applications for COVID loans.

In order to protect the investigative process, it is not always possible, or even desirable, for investigative bodies such as the SFO to announce investigations prematurely, or provide any details of the matters under investigation. The SFO proactively publishes information about its cases on its website whenever it is appropriate

SFO investigations follow the evidence, and their focus or scope may change as an investigation advances. The number of staff working on a specific case will fluctuate throughout an investigation’s lifecycle and will depend on factors such as the complexity of the allegations being investigated, and intelligence gathered or provided.

Alex Chalk
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
11th Mar 2024
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, to which domestic destinations Ministers in his Department have attended overnight visits in each of the last three financial years.

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to my response to UIN 17515 on 12th March 2024.

Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
7th Mar 2024
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many domestic overnight visits were undertaken by Ministers in his Department in each of the last three financial years; and what the cost of those visits was.

The Government publishes on GOV.UK details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (visas, accommodation, meals).

But as has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.

Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
5th Mar 2024
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by his Department in each of the last three financial years.

The Government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud in the system. As part of wider cross-government counter fraud investment, the government established the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year, the PSFA delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits.

The PSFA produces a Fraud Landscape Report (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cross-government-fraud-landscape-annual-report-2022). This provides data on fraud and error detection, loss and recoveries in central government, outside of the tax and welfare system and includes the Cabinet Office. The 2020/21 Report was published in March 2023. To note it outlines all figures rounded to the nearest £0.1m.

In 2022-23, as published in the department’s Annual Reports and Accounts, the Cabinet Office detected error of £3.48m, of which £3.43m was recovered in year and detected fraud of £60k of which none has been recovered to date. Efforts to recover the detected fraud are continuing at this time. The Cabinet Office does not hold specific data on fraud for previous years.

The Cabinet Office does not recognise a loss arising from error or fraud until efforts to recover the funds have been explored. This means that write-offs of error and fraud usually occur in the years after the original problem arose.

Losses recognised and written off by the Cabinet Office for the last three years are:

2022/23 - £4,800

2021/22 - £327,400

2020/21 - £703,300

Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
4th Mar 2024
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what reports and guidance his Department and has produced in the last three years; and how much was spent on their (a) printing and (b) distribution.

The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department. Reports and guidance that the Department has published can be found on gov.uk. Examples include the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/cabinet-office-annual-reports-and-accounts), Strengthening Ethics and Integrity in Central Government (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strengthening-ethics-and-integrity-in-central-government) and policy papers such as the Disability Action Plan (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disability-action-plan).

Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
4th Mar 2024
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.

In common with all other departments in central government, and arms lengths bodies, Cabinet Office applies the published guidance: Using Non-Corporate Communication Channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS, etc.) for Government Business, found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-corporate-communication-channels-for-government-business. This guidance, which was published by Cabinet Office in March 2023, applies to all individuals in central government (ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers).

Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
28th Feb 2024
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding his Department has (a) allocated for (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department.

Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
27th Feb 2024
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals his Department has paid for in each of the last three financial years.

The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department.

Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
26th Feb 2024
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of digital posts in his Department were vacant on 26 February 2024.

As at 31 January 2024, approximately 11.2% of Digital roles were vacant across the Cabinet Office and were either in an active or planned recruitment stage, showing we are making good progress towards reaching the 10% target by 2025 set by the 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data. The majority of these roles sit within Cabinet Office Digital, Government Digital Service and Central Digital and Data Office.

We set this target to drive modernisation and digitisation in Government, improving public services for the British people and saving taxpayer money. Overall good progress has been made, with total vacancies across the Civil Service now at 15%.

In order to improve recruitment success and fill existing vacancies CDDO has:

  • recently launched its Government Digital and Data Civil Service Careers (https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/professions/working-in-digital-data-and-technology/) webpage to attract new talent to the Civil Service. The webpage showcases secondment opportunities, talent programmes and digital and data jobs available in departments.

  • developed a digital and data pay framework that enables departments to pay more competitive market rates to attract specialist digital and data skills. Participating departments can fund higher civil service pay allowances from savings flowing from reducing their contingent labour headcount.

Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
23rd Feb 2024
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding was (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on software updates to legacy computer systems in departments that no longer exist in each of the last three financial years.

The budget assigned to complete remediation of legacy IT is defined and agreed between the Chief Digital Information Officer and ultimately the Accounting Officer of each Department and HM Treasury. The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), in the Cabinet Office, does not have visibility of these figures directly, nor does CDDO monitor individual departments' technology spending on legacy treatment.

CDDO has established a programme to support departments in treating legacy. CDDO has agreed a framework to identify ‘red-rated’ systems, indicating high levels of risk surrounding the asset. Departments have committed to have remediation plans in place for these systems by 2025.

Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
22nd Feb 2024
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what meetings the Minister of State without Portfolio in the Cabinet office has held since her appointment.

Ministers regularly meet with department officials and external stakeholders. Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

The Minister without Portfolio’s unique role allows her to work across government, supporting the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for the Cabinet office, to identify where our public sector delivery is inhibited by bureaucracy and inefficiencies. The Minister’s overarching aim is to ensure that the provision of public services delivers the best possible value for the taxpayer.

Further information on the Minister without Portfolio’s role can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/people/esther-mcvey.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
22nd Feb 2024
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his speech at the Institute for Government’s Annual Conference 2024, published on 23 January 2024, with whom the Minister of State Without Portfolio in the Cabinet Office has held meetings on identifying inefficiencies.

Ministers regularly meet with department officials and external stakeholders. Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

The Minister without Portfolio’s unique role allows her to work across government, supporting the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for the Cabinet office, to identify where our public sector delivery is inhibited by bureaucracy and inefficiencies. The Minister’s overarching aim is to ensure that the provision of public services delivers the best possible value for the taxpayer.

Further information on the Minister without Portfolio’s role can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/people/esther-mcvey.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
22nd Feb 2024
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his speech at the Institute for Government’s Annual Conference 2024, published on 23 January 2024, what steps the Minister of State Without Portfolio in the Cabinet Office has undertaken to identify inefficiencies.

Ministers regularly meet with department officials and external stakeholders. Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

The Minister without Portfolio’s unique role allows her to work across government, supporting the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for the Cabinet office, to identify where our public sector delivery is inhibited by bureaucracy and inefficiencies. The Minister’s overarching aim is to ensure that the provision of public services delivers the best possible value for the taxpayer.

Further information on the Minister without Portfolio’s role can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/people/esther-mcvey.

John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
13th Nov 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the planned timeline is for implementing the National Security Unit for Procurement within his Department; and who will be responsible for leading that unit.

The National Security Unit for Procurement, based in the Cabinet Office, will investigate suppliers who may pose a risk to national security and assess whether companies should be barred from public procurements. The Unit was announced as part of stepped up measures to protect national security in government contracts, and will be operational in time for commencement of the Procurement Act in Autumn 2024, when debarment and exclusion powers come into effect.

Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
1st Mar 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the total cost of fraud and error to government departments in the latest year for which figures are available.

The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA), established in August 2022, works with government departments and public bodies to understand and reduce the impact of fraud and error against the public sector. In line with the PSFA Mandate public bodies are required to report identified fraud and error loss figures to the PSFA.

The most up to date estimate used by the PSFA, relating to financial year 20/21 suggests that the annual level of fraud and error against the government is between £33bn and £55bn. This estimate excludes fraud and error within COVID-19 schemes as fraud measurement activity within these schemes is still ongoing.

The new Government Counter Fraud Profession Strategy sets out how the government is increasing the capability of staff within government and beyond to tackle fraud.

1st Mar 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate with Cabinet colleagues of the total cost to the public purse of (a) fraud and (b) waste arising from (i) benefit fraud, (ii) contracts signed during the covid-19 pandemic and (iii) tax evasion in each of the last three years.

The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA), established in August 2022, works with government departments and public bodies to understand and reduce the impact of fraud and error against the public sector. In line with the PSFA Mandate public bodies are required to report identified fraud and error loss figures to the PSFA. This is to aid transparency and fill the gaps in reporting. For this reason, the PSFA does not collect data on tax and welfare fraud and error losses, as these are published directly by HMRC and DWP respectively within their annual report and accounts process.

Fraud measurement work in Covid-19 spending is ongoing and as such the PSFA does not currently have sufficient information to estimate levels of fraud and error across government Covid-19 contracts. The PSFA publication reporting fraud and error losses incurred by Government in 21/22, will be published in due course.

1st Mar 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the total cost of (a) fraud and (b) error arising from (i) purchases of personal protective equipment, (ii) NHS Test and Trace, (iii) Government business support schemes, (iv) the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, (v) the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and (vi) other aspects of the Government's response to the covid-19 pandemic.

The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA), established in August 2022, works with government departments and public bodies to understand and reduce the impact of fraud against the public sector.

Accounting Officers have primary responsibility for managing the risk of fraud in their department. They are accountable for understanding and managing the risk of fraud within the schemes and services they are responsible for delivering. As such, the latest estimates for potential fraud and error loss in the government’s Covid-19 support schemes can be found in departments’ Annual Reports and Accounts, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-reports-and-accounts-for-central-government-departments.

The latest information on error and fraud from HM Revenue & Customs can be found within HMRC’s Error and Fraud in Covid-19 Schemes publication.

18th Jul 2022
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the responsibilities of the Domestic and Economic (Efficiency and Value for Money) Committee include identifying savings in respect of civil service staffing.

The Terms of Reference of the Domestic and Economic (Efficiency and Value for Money) Committee are to drive efficiency, effectiveness and economy in government spending, and scrutinise plans to manage major current and future cost pressures. Further details about this committee were released on GOV.UK on 20 March 2022, accessible below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-efficiency-drive-to-cut-55-billion-of-government-waste.

There are a number of Cabinet Committees that could take agenda items related to civil service staffing. It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees is not normally shared publicly.

25th Jan 2022
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much (a) has been lost from the public purse as a result of fraud, scams and economic crime and (b) has been recovered to the public purse having been lost to fraud, scams and economic crime in each of the last five years.

The government publishes an Annual Fraud Landscape Report or Bulletin. The 2019/20 Fraud Landscape Bulletin states that our best estimate of the total fraud and error losses to the government is between £29bn and £52bn per year. This is an estimate built from the best available evidence on fraud and error loss.

HMRC produces annual estimates of loss (Measuring Tax Gaps) based on statistical sampling. The closest fit to fraud and economic crime are the criminal attacks and evasion categories. HMRC also produces a loss estimate for tax credits - this is made up of fraud and error - not just fraud. Since 2017 (1), HMRC has reported ‘additional tax generated,’ which is made up of a wide range of compliance activities to recover due tax, not all related to fraud. With regards to serious tax fraud, the HMRC Fraud Investigation Service has recovered over £1bn of criminal assets using a combination of both civil and criminal recovery powers over the last 5 years.

15/16

16/17

17/18

18/19

19/20

HMRC Criminal Attacks and Evasion + Tax Credit Estimated loss

£11.3bn

£11.6bn

£10.8bn

£11.2bn

£11.6bn

HMRC Additional Tax Generated

n/a

n/a

£26.1bn

£29.3bn

£31.8bn

DWP produces annual estimates of the fraud and error in the benefit system based on statistical sampling. The losses are apportioned between fraud and error. DWP also produces figures on recoveries of overpaid benefit each year, however, is it not possible to break this down to just fraud - it is made up of fraud, claimant error and official error. DWP’s reporting includes 2020/21 which shows a marked increase in loss level post-pandemic.

16/17

17/18

18/19

19/20

20/21

DWP Estimated Value of Fraud and Error

£3.6bn

£3.8bn

£3.9bn

£4.6bn

£8.4bn

DWP Estimated Value of Fraud

£2.0bn

£2.2bn

£2.1bn

£2.8bn

£6.3bn

DWP Recovered Fraud and Error (Official and Claimant)

£1.1bn

£1.1bn

£1.1bn

£1.0bn

£800m

The ‘rest of government’ (e.g. not HMRC and DWP) report detected fraud and recoveries through centrally and this is published in the Government’s Annual Fraud Landscape Report or Bulletin. Information on fraud recoveries was not collected until 2016/17. The rest of government figures are below:

15/16

16/17

17/18

18/19

19/20 (2)

Rest of Govt Detected Fraud

£73.6m

£119m

£151m

£99m

£227m

Rest of Govt Recovered Fraud

n/a

n/a

£12m

£22m

£26m

(1) The CCG (Customer Compliance Group) was created in 2017, hence the inability to report previous figures.

(2) The 19/20 figures largely predate Covid-related fraud.

11th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, to which domestic destinations Ministers in her Department and its predecessor Departments have attended overnight visits in each of the last three financial years.

The regions visited with an overnight stay over the last 3 financial years are as follows:

Financial Year

Regions visited

2021 – 2022

Scotland – 12 Northern Powerhouse – 4 Wales – 1 South West – 2 Jersey – 1 Northern Ireland – 2

2022 – 2023

Scotland – 3 Northern Ireland – 4 South West – 2 Northern Powerhouse – 2 Wales – 1

2023 – 2024

Northern Powerhouse – 3 Northern Ireland – 7 Midlands – 1 Scotland – 1 Channel Islands – 2 South West – 1

Nusrat Ghani
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
7th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many domestic overnight visits were undertaken by Ministers in (a) her Department and (b) its predecessor Department in each of the last three financial years; and what the cost of those visits was.

The number of overnight ministerial domestic visits undertaken over the last 3 financial years are as follows. The total costs provided are limited in scope, to only the Minister themselves, and to those booked through the Department's, and its predecessor's (the Department for International Trade), contracted travel provider, which covers costs of rail, air and hotel; where these costs were available.

Financial Year

Total number of overnight visits

Total Cost

2021 - 2022

22

£6,470.97

2022 - 2023

12

£4,493.86

2023 - 2024

15

£4,514.84

Nusrat Ghani
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
5th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate she has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by her Department in each of the last three financial years.

The Government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud in the system. We have established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits.

The PSFA produces a Fraud Landscape Report. This provides data on fraud and error detection, loss and recoveries in central government, outside of the tax and welfare system. The 2020/21 Report was published in March 2023.

Due to the recent Machinery of Government changes, the Department for Business and Trade have not yet published any fraud and error estimates.

The latest published figures available for the Department for International Trade are available in the 2022 Cross-Government Fraud Landscape Annual Report.

The latest Government figures made available in the BEIS Annual Report and Accounts (2022/2023), for all BEIS activities, indicated that estimated expected losses due to fraud and error within the Bounce Back Loan Scheme will be £1.74bn. There are not material levels of fraud and error within the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme or the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

Other losses include £4 million in relation to 2 suspected fraudulent payments within the Future Fund Scheme.

Nusrat Ghani
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
4th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what guidance her Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.

All departments in central government, including arms lengths bodies apply the published guidance: Using non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business). This was published by the Cabinet Office in March 2023.

It applies to all individuals in central government (ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers). The Department for Business and Trade uses the central guidance and has applied it since March 2023.

Nusrat Ghani
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
4th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what reports and guidance their Department and its predecessor Department has produced in the last three years; and how much was spent on their (a) printing and (b) distribution.

The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the Department. Reports and guidance that the Department has published can be found on gov.uk.

Nusrat Ghani
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
28th Feb 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much funding her Department and its predecessor Department (a) allocated for (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

The Department for Business and Trade has centrally managed subscriptions for the Economist and the Financial Times for financial years 2022/23 and 2023/24. Information on locally sourced and managed subscriptions is not routinely collected and to make it available could only be done at a disproportionate cost.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
27th Feb 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals her Department and its predecessor Department has paid for in each of the last three financial years.

The Department for Business and Trade has centrally managed subscriptions for the Economist and the Financial Times for financial years 2022/23 and 2023/24. Information on locally sourced and managed subscriptions is not routinely collected and to make it available could only be done at a disproportionate cost.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
26th Feb 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many and what proportion of digital posts in her Department were vacant on 26 February 2024.

As part of the 2022 to 2025 roadmap, all departments made a commitment to reduce their digital and data vacancies to under 10% of total Government Digital and Data headcount by 2025. This is to drive modernisation and digitisation in Government, improving public services for the British people and saving taxpayer money.

Overall, good progress has been made with total current vacancies in the Department for Business and Trade at 24% (91 vacancies). To further support recruitment, the department has an internal dedicated team to lead the end-to-end recruitment process and access recruitment agency support where required.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
11th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, to which domestic destinations Ministers in her Department and its predecessor Department have attended overnight visits in each of the last three financial years.

The Government publishes on GOV.UK details of the cost of overseas Ministerial trips, including costs of travel and other costs (visas, accommodation, and meals).

But as has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
7th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many domestic overnight visits were undertaken by Ministers in (a) her Department and (b) its predecessor Department in each of the last three financial years; and what the cost of those visits was.

The Government publishes on GOV.UK details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (visas, accommodation, meals).

But as has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
5th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate she has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by her (a) her Department and (b) the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in each of the last three financial years.

The Government proactively investigates and prevents fraud in the system. We have established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits.

Due to the Machinery of Government changes, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has not yet produced fraud and error estimates but this will be published in the 23/24 annual report and accounts.

The latest Government figures for the former department BEIS can be found in the BEIS Annual Report and Accounts (2022/2023).

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
4th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what reports and guidance her Department and its predecessor Department has produced in the last three years; and how much was spent on their (a) printing and (b) distribution.

The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the Department.

Reports and guidance that the Department has published can be found on GOV.UK.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
4th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what guidance her Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.

All departments in central government, including arms lengths bodies apply the published guidance: Using non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business, which was published by Cabinet Office in March 2023. It applies to all individuals in central government (ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers). The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero uses the central guidance and has applied it since March 2023.

The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero provides additional advice to the central guidance in its internal non-corporate communications guidance.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
28th Feb 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much funding her Department and its predecessor Department (a) allocated for (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
27th Feb 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals her Department and its predecessor Department paid for in each of the last three financial years.

This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
26th Feb 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many and what proportion of digital posts in her Department were vacant on 26 February 2024.

There are 19 vacancies in the digital directorate among 178 posts. We do not centrally hold information on Digital posts and vacancies around the Department.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
12th Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much money has been paid to non-domestic customers in the automotive industry under the Energy Bill Relief Scheme since its introduction.

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) discount is applied directly to the energy bills of eligible non-domestic customers by their energy providers. Therefore the Government does not have the data available at industry level.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
12th Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in which sectors have non-domestic customers received funding under the Energy Bill Relief Scheme since its introduction.

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) is available to eligible non-domestic customers in all sectors, including businesses, charities and the public sector. The EBRS discount is applied directly to the energy bills of eligible non-domestic customers by their energy providers.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
12th Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much money has been paid under the Energy Bill Relief Scheme since its introduction.

The Energy Prices Act 2022 enacted the legislation for the Energy Bill Relief Scheme. Under this legislation, the Secretary of State is required to report expected expenditure as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of any quarter. Energy Bill Relief Scheme expenditure will be included in the next report.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
12th Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much money was been awarded to non-domestic customers in the hospitality industry under the Energy Bill Relief Scheme since its introduction.

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) discount is applied directly to the energy bills of eligible non-domestic customers by their energy providers. Therefore the Government does not have the data available at industry level.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
12th Jan 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much money has been paid to non-domestic customers in energy-intensive industries under the Energy Bill Relief Scheme since its introduction.

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) discount is applied directly to the energy bills of eligible non-domestic customers by their energy providers. Therefore the Government does not have the data available at industry level.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
26th May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy or Industrial Strategy, when prepayment meter customers will receive vouchers under the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

Energy suppliers will deliver this support to households with a domestic electricity meter over six months from October. Customers with pre-payment meters will have the money applied to their meter or paid via a voucher.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
26th May 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy or Industrial Strategy, what proportion of a default energy tariff at the April 2022 price cap the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme represents for customers that pay via (a) prepayment meters and (b) direct debit at typical usage levels.

The proportion for prepayment meters as well as direct debit would be 20%. This calculation is for an average household with a due fuel tariff which uses 12,000 kWh of gas and 2,900 kWh of electricity and what proportion of this the £400 grant would thus make up.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
28th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the British Business Bank's performance targets are for lenders loan recovery in coronavirus business support loan schemes.

The Bounce Back Loan Scheme Guarantee Agreement and subsequent recovery principles document outline the Bank’s requirements and expectations for lenders participating in the scheme, including in terms of recoveries. The overall approach is that recoveries should be pursued in line with the lender’s existing standards for its own commercial lending. Under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme, lenders are expected to follow their own commercial procedures.

The ongoing lender audit assurance programme assesses the performance of lenders including in relation to their recovery activities. Where issues are identified the Bank can take remedial action.

28th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many businesses that received (a) bounce back loans, (b) coronavirus business interruption loans, and (c) coronavirus large business interruption loans are no longer trading.

The British Business Bank does not capture this information as part of its data recording. However, the Department has been objecting to strike-off proposals from companies that have outstanding government-backed loans. This policy was launched on the Bounce Back Loan Scheme in April 2021 and was extended to include CBILS, CLBILS and RLS in August 2021.

Through the bulk objection scheme, 63,968 companies have been prevented from striking off whilst holding a BBLS, CBILS, RLS or Future Fund facility. These facilities are worth £2.2 billion in total.

22nd Mar 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will list the amount and recipient of each loan made by Greensill Capital under the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

Details of facilities made available under the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme will be published where required via the European Commission’s Transparency Aid Module.