Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research into pulmonary fibrosis her Department is supporting; and what steps her Department is taking to improve the diagnosis, treatment and outcomes for people living with the condition.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Department funds a broad portfolio of research into pulmonary fibrosis (PF) and interstitial lung disease (ILD), investing £11.86 million in research, training and infrastructure over the past five financial years. This includes research to improve early diagnosis, develop new treatments and support symptom management, including studies exploring the use of artificial intelligence, biomarkers and remote monitoring technologies to identify disease earlier and personalise care, as well as clinical research evaluating new therapeutic approaches to improve outcomes and quality of life for patients.
To support people living with PF, NHS England has established 13 respiratory clinical networks, which provide clinical leadership for respiratory services and support primary care, including the restoration of spirometry services used in diagnosis. In addition, specialist National Health Service ILD clinics provide expert multidisciplinary care, access to diagnostic testing and opportunities to participate in research. The NHS also offers pulmonary rehabilitation, which plays an important role in helping patients manage their condition and should be available to all those who may benefit from it.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many mutual legal assistance requests received by the UK Central Authority related to money laundering for each year from 2018 to 2025.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Home Office is the central authority for Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland except for tax and fiscal customs criminal matters, which are coordinated by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Requests seeking assistance solely from Scotland are sent directly to the Crown Office in Edinburgh.
This is a breakdown of the number of MLA requests received for the offence of money laundering by calendar year:
Year | Requests |
2018 | 487 |
2019 | 491 |
2020 | 582 |
2021 | 546 |
2022 | 562 |
2023 | 584 |
2024 | 690 |
2025 | 707 |
Please note that these figures are taken from a local case management system, therefore this data has come from a live operational system and is subject to change as records in that system are updated as cases progress
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what was the (a) annual budget, broken down by core budget and external funding lines and (b) headcount FTE in each of the past 5 years for the National Crime Agency’s (i) National Economic Crime Command, (ii) National Economic Crime Centre, (iii) Proceeds of Crime Centre, (iv) Financial Intelligence Unit, (v) Civil Recovery and Tax team, (vi) Combating Kleptocracy Cell and (vii) International Corruption Unit, separating overseas development assistance funding and non-aid funding for (vii).
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
As a matter of longstanding policy, the National Crime Agency does not provide breakdowns and estimates on the specific budget allocations to target particular crime types.
Details about the Agency’s budgets can be found online in our Annual Report and Accounts https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications/757-nca-annual-report-accounts-2024-25/file.
The FTE counts for the teams requested are:
| May 2022 | May 2023 | May 2024 | May 2025 | May 2026 |
National Economic Crime Centre | 89.98 | 94.12 | 110.04 | 121.69 | 121.12 |
UK Financial Intelligence Unit | 149.07 | 173.55 | 178.79 | 178.41 | 187.57 |
Proceeds of Crime Centre | 19.26 | 16.99 | 22.2 | 21.6 | 22.6 |
We are unable to provide FTE figures for all requested teams due to reasons of operational sensitivity.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the percentage of the National Crime Agency’s core annual budget for each of the last five years that was spent on tackling economic crime and corruption.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
As a matter of longstanding policy, the National Crime Agency does not provide breakdowns and estimates on the specific budget allocations to target particular crime types.
Details about the Agency’s budgets can be found online in our Annual Report and Accounts https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications/757-nca-annual-report-accounts-2024-25/file.
The FTE counts for the teams requested are:
| May 2022 | May 2023 | May 2024 | May 2025 | May 2026 |
National Economic Crime Centre | 89.98 | 94.12 | 110.04 | 121.69 | 121.12 |
UK Financial Intelligence Unit | 149.07 | 173.55 | 178.79 | 178.41 | 187.57 |
Proceeds of Crime Centre | 19.26 | 16.99 | 22.2 | 21.6 | 22.6 |
We are unable to provide FTE figures for all requested teams due to reasons of operational sensitivity.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when the next 5-year business case for the UK Action to Support Developing Countries Fighting Corruption programme will be published.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The business case for the current UK Action Against Corruption programme, covering 2025 to 2030, is available on Dev Tracker at the following link - https://iati.fcdo.gov.uk/iati_documents/S40031011.odt
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the annual budget for the UK Action Against Corruption programme is for (a) 2024-25, and (b) 2025-26.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The spend for the UK Action Against Corruption programme was £6,524,964 in 2024-25 and £6,739,378 in 2025-26.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when the annual review of the UK Action to Support Developing Countries Fighting Corruption programme for the 2024/25 financial year will be published.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The relevant report has been prepared for publication and should be available on the Development Tracker website shortly.
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what was the annual a) budget, and b) headcount FTE for HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service for each of the years 2024/25 and 2025/26.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
I refer the hon member to the answer on 17 April 2026 to UIN124027 Fraud Investigation Service
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what percentage of the annual budget for HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service was allocated to its Proceeds of Crime division in each of the previous 5 years.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
I refer the hon member to the answer on 17 April 2026 to UIN124027 Fraud Investigation Service
Asked by: Phil Brickell (Labour - Bolton West)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what the (a) total headcount and (b) annual budget was for the Serious Fraud Office’s Proceeds of Crime and International Assistance Division in each of the years from 2021-22 up to 2025-26.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Attorney General
The information requested is detailed in the following table:
Financial year | Budgeted headcount (FTE*) | Annual budget (£m) |
2021-22 | 47 | £3.0 |
2022-23 | 47 | £3.2 |
2023-24 | 47 | £3.2 |
2024-25 | 47 | £3.1 |
2025-26 | 52 | £4.3 |
* Full Time Equivalent
The Division’s staffing and budget (which covers staffing and wider operational costs) was increased in 2025-26 to strengthen its ability to recover criminal assets, including the creation of a new asset confiscation enforcement team.