Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department is taking steps to support the competitiveness of UK automotive manufacturers and supply chains in response to the European Commission’s proposal for an Industrial Accelerator Act and the inclusion of Made in EU requirements on the sector.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My department is looking carefully at the proposed measures in the EU’s Industrial Accelerator Act. Where these measures, as currently drafted, could disadvantage the UK’s automotive sector, or UK-EU integrated automotive supply chains, the Secretary of State, Minister Bryant, and I have and are continuing to engage positively with EU member states, Commission counterparts, and MEPs.
We continue to engage industry to assess potential impacts to business.
This Government is supporting investment into the transformation of our automotive industry through DRIVE35, a £4 billion programme to 2035. This is in addition to wider interventions to improve competitiveness and attract investment. From 2027, a new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will reduce electricity costs by c.£35-40/MWh and support thousands of businesses, including those in the automotive sector.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions his Department has had with the European Commission on ensuring that UK-built vehicles and components are treated as equivalent to EU-origin content under future “Made in Europe” automotive policies.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My department is looking carefully at the proposed measures in the EU’s Industrial Accelerator Act. Where these measures, as currently drafted, could disadvantage the UK’s automotive sector, or UK-EU integrated automotive supply chains, the Secretary of State, Minister Bryant, and I have and are continuing to engage positively with EU member states, Commission counterparts, and MEPs.
We continue to engage industry to assess potential impacts to business.
This Government is supporting investment into the transformation of our automotive industry through DRIVE35, a £4 billion programme to 2035. This is in addition to wider interventions to improve competitiveness and attract investment. From 2027, a new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will reduce electricity costs by c.£35-40/MWh and support thousands of businesses, including those in the automotive sector.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for sexual offences committed in nursery, pre-school or other early years settings, broken down by (i) sex of the offender, (ii) offence type and (iii) age of the victim in each of the last five years.
Answered by Catherine Atkinson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is resolutely committed to delivering meaningful change for victims of child sexual abuse and will do everything in its power to prevent the horrors of these appalling crimes. Cases of such abuse committed in nurseries and early years settings are particularly shocking.
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions and convictions for a wide range of offences, including sexual offences in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK. It is not possible to identify where sexual offences have been committed nor the exact age of the victim. This information may be held in court records, but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.
The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress Update, published in April 2025, sets out clearly the actions the Government is taking to respond to the final recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), alongside broader measures to address the evolving threat from child sexual abuse and exploitation.
For the Ministry of Justice, this includes:
Introducing a new mandatory reporting duty under the Crime and Policing Act 2026. This requires individuals undertaking key roles with responsibility for children in England to report sexual abuse and creates a new criminal offence of obstructing an individual from making a report under the duty.
Making it easier for victims to pursue justice by removing the three-year time limit for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse to bring personal injury claims through the civil courts.
Providing funding for the Centre for Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse to develop a directory of child sexual abuse support services across England and Wales.
This sits alongside a broader programme of cross-government work on CSA, including the creation of a new Child Protection Authority to make the child protection system clearer and more joined up, and the rollout of the multi-agency Child House model across all NHS regions in England to provide survivors with specialist, trauma informed care.
More widely, the Ministry of Justice is investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date. This includes ringfenced funding for Police and Crime Commissioners for community-based domestic abuse and sexual violence services, including Children’s Independent Sexual Violence Advisers.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the level of threat posed by long-range drones to UK military bases and critical national infrastructure.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Strategic Defence Review considered all aspects of Defence, including the capabilities required by the UK to meet the challenges, threats, and opportunities of the twenty-first century. The Strategic Defence Review also highlighted the importance of autonomous systems both within the UK’s Integrated Force and the threats they pose, building upon ongoing threat assessments and learning lessons from our partners and allies. Decisions on our equipment requirements, including artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, will be set out in the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress has been made on allocating the funding announced for air and missile defence; and what capabilities that funding is expected to deliver.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Strategic Defence Review announced up to £1 billion for UK air and missile defence. Work to deliver the Strategic Defence Reviews recommendations, including on the allocation for Integrated Air and Missile Defence, will be set out in the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has identified which categories of critical national infrastructure should be prioritised for protection under the UK’s integrated air and missile defence planning.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Defence is working with the Cabinet Office to prioritise and protect Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). Defence is capturing data on a CNI knowledge base, which helps government understand the priorities and vulnerabilities between the 13 CNI sectors. This tool is contributing to Defence work to refresh our homeland defence plan as a priority for 2026.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to increase the number of Sky Sabre air defence missile systems in service.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
A doubling of the number of deployable Sky Sabre systems operated by the Armed Forces is already on contract and due to deliver by 2027.
Sky Sabre represents a step change in the UK’s ground-based air defence capability. As the Army’s most advanced air defence system, it provides a powerful shield against modern airborne threats, from fast jets to precision-guided weapons and drones.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for each prison construction project affected by the administration of ISG Construction and related contractors, whether a replacement contractor has been appointed and what the expected date is for construction work to recommence.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Following the collapse of ISG Construction Limited, the Ministry of Justice activated contingency plans for affected projects. We remain committed to continuing the prison build programmes and to continuing to invest in prison maintenance so that existing places remain in use and are safe.
Construction projects to deliver maintenance and additional prison places were planned for completion by ISG Construction Limited at the following prisons:
HMP Birmingham
HMP Brinsford
HMP Bristol
HMP Bullingdon
HMP Cardiff
HMP Coldingley
HMP Dartmoor
HMP Durham
HMP Erlestoke
HMP Featherstone
HMP Ford
HMP Fosse Way
HMP Foston Hall
HMP Guy’s Marsh
HMP Hatfield
HMP Hewell
HMP Highpoint
HMP Humber
HMP Huntercombe
HMP Kirkham
HMP Kirklevington Grange
HMP Lancaster Farms
HMP Leeds
HMP Lewes
HMP Leyhill
HMP Liverpool
HMP Long Lartin
HMP Maidstone
HMP Manchester
HMP North Sea Camp
HMP Preston
HMP Prescoed
HMP Risley
HMP Rochester
HMP Send
HMP Springhill
HMP Standford Hill
HMP Stoke Heath
HMP Sudbury
HMP Swaleside
HMP The Verne
HMP Usk
HMP Warren Hill
HMP Winchester
HMP Wymott
The planned new prison in Buckinghamshire
Replacement contractors have been appointed on projects previously supplied by ISG and ESS, in line with contingency plans, with pre-construction work either now complete or ongoing.
The planned Category D Expansion at HMP Leyhill has since been descoped from the Prison Supply Programmes, but we continue to deliver c.100 Rapid Deployment Cells (RDCs) at this site. The planned Category D Expansion at HMP Springhill has also been descoped from the Prison Supply Programmes. The RDCs at HMP Erlestoke and HMP The Verne that ISG were contracted to deliver are now complete.
As set out in the 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy, published December 2024, the initial assessment indicates that ISG’s administration is expected to result in delays of between three to 18 months for the affected maintenance and prison expansion programmes timelines. We continue to work with new contractors to minimise delay and accelerate delivery wherever possible, and we remain on track in our aim to deliver 14,000 additional prison places by 2031. We have already delivered c.3,100 new prison places since taking office.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the impact of delays to prison construction projects on the delivery of the Government’s target of 14,000 additional prison places by 2031.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Following the collapse of ISG Construction Limited, the Ministry of Justice activated contingency plans for affected projects. We remain committed to continuing the prison build programmes and to continuing to invest in prison maintenance so that existing places remain in use and are safe.
Construction projects to deliver maintenance and additional prison places were planned for completion by ISG Construction Limited at the following prisons:
HMP Birmingham
HMP Brinsford
HMP Bristol
HMP Bullingdon
HMP Cardiff
HMP Coldingley
HMP Dartmoor
HMP Durham
HMP Erlestoke
HMP Featherstone
HMP Ford
HMP Fosse Way
HMP Foston Hall
HMP Guy’s Marsh
HMP Hatfield
HMP Hewell
HMP Highpoint
HMP Humber
HMP Huntercombe
HMP Kirkham
HMP Kirklevington Grange
HMP Lancaster Farms
HMP Leeds
HMP Lewes
HMP Leyhill
HMP Liverpool
HMP Long Lartin
HMP Maidstone
HMP Manchester
HMP North Sea Camp
HMP Preston
HMP Prescoed
HMP Risley
HMP Rochester
HMP Send
HMP Springhill
HMP Standford Hill
HMP Stoke Heath
HMP Sudbury
HMP Swaleside
HMP The Verne
HMP Usk
HMP Warren Hill
HMP Winchester
HMP Wymott
The planned new prison in Buckinghamshire
Replacement contractors have been appointed on projects previously supplied by ISG and ESS, in line with contingency plans, with pre-construction work either now complete or ongoing.
The planned Category D Expansion at HMP Leyhill has since been descoped from the Prison Supply Programmes, but we continue to deliver c.100 Rapid Deployment Cells (RDCs) at this site. The planned Category D Expansion at HMP Springhill has also been descoped from the Prison Supply Programmes. The RDCs at HMP Erlestoke and HMP The Verne that ISG were contracted to deliver are now complete.
As set out in the 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy, published December 2024, the initial assessment indicates that ISG’s administration is expected to result in delays of between three to 18 months for the affected maintenance and prison expansion programmes timelines. We continue to work with new contractors to minimise delay and accelerate delivery wherever possible, and we remain on track in our aim to deliver 14,000 additional prison places by 2031. We have already delivered c.3,100 new prison places since taking office.
Asked by: Rebecca Paul (Conservative - Reigate)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for each prison construction project affected by the administration of ISG Construction and related contractors, what the expected completion date was before those administrations; and what the latest expected completion date is.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Following the collapse of ISG Construction Limited, the Ministry of Justice activated contingency plans for affected projects. We remain committed to continuing the prison build programmes and to continuing to invest in prison maintenance so that existing places remain in use and are safe.
Construction projects to deliver maintenance and additional prison places were planned for completion by ISG Construction Limited at the following prisons:
HMP Birmingham
HMP Brinsford
HMP Bristol
HMP Bullingdon
HMP Cardiff
HMP Coldingley
HMP Dartmoor
HMP Durham
HMP Erlestoke
HMP Featherstone
HMP Ford
HMP Fosse Way
HMP Foston Hall
HMP Guy’s Marsh
HMP Hatfield
HMP Hewell
HMP Highpoint
HMP Humber
HMP Huntercombe
HMP Kirkham
HMP Kirklevington Grange
HMP Lancaster Farms
HMP Leeds
HMP Lewes
HMP Leyhill
HMP Liverpool
HMP Long Lartin
HMP Maidstone
HMP Manchester
HMP North Sea Camp
HMP Preston
HMP Prescoed
HMP Risley
HMP Rochester
HMP Send
HMP Springhill
HMP Standford Hill
HMP Stoke Heath
HMP Sudbury
HMP Swaleside
HMP The Verne
HMP Usk
HMP Warren Hill
HMP Winchester
HMP Wymott
The planned new prison in Buckinghamshire
Replacement contractors have been appointed on projects previously supplied by ISG and ESS, in line with contingency plans, with pre-construction work either now complete or ongoing.
The planned Category D Expansion at HMP Leyhill has since been descoped from the Prison Supply Programmes, but we continue to deliver c.100 Rapid Deployment Cells (RDCs) at this site. The planned Category D Expansion at HMP Springhill has also been descoped from the Prison Supply Programmes. The RDCs at HMP Erlestoke and HMP The Verne that ISG were contracted to deliver are now complete.
As set out in the 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy, published December 2024, the initial assessment indicates that ISG’s administration is expected to result in delays of between three to 18 months for the affected maintenance and prison expansion programmes timelines. We continue to work with new contractors to minimise delay and accelerate delivery wherever possible, and we remain on track in our aim to deliver 14,000 additional prison places by 2031. We have already delivered c.3,100 new prison places since taking office.