Asked by: Lord Agnew of Oulton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, for each grant scheme currently operated by the Department for Business and Trade, what is the most recent reported fraud and error rate; whether they undertook post-payment assurance, forensic sampling or risk-based audit to support that rate in the financial period that rate relates to; what is the proportion of total expenditure currently subject to recovery proceedings in each grant scheme; and how much has been recovered to date.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Department for Business and Trade reports fraud and error to the Public Sector Fraud Authority, and data for 2022-23 and 2023-24 will be published in the Annual Fraud Landscape Report. The Department has set up a Grants Delivery Directorate, staffed by grant specialists to ensure professional delivery and compliance with Cabinet Office Functional Standards. This includes ensuring effective monitoring and post payment assurance. New grants will have an initial Fraud Risk Impact Assessment, with Fraud Risk Assessments agreed as appropriate.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the impact of the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme on operational costs for pubs and brewers.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has worked closely with industry, including the brewing and hospitality sectors, throughout development of Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR). In October 2024, the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on packaging producers as a whole. This impact assessment did not split the assessment by sector.
Since Autumn 2024, the Government has been working with stakeholders, including representatives of the brewing and hospitality sector, to consider potential amendments to the definition of household packaging. Despite considering multiple approaches, a consensus on a single approach that works for all sectors and within the bounds of legal and regulatory requirements, was not reached.
We are continuing to explore options with producers and will bring forward a consultation as soon as possible. We recognise the strength of feeling but also the need for a system that can be effectively monitored and enforced, given the impact on the pEPR fees for the packaging remaining in scope of fees.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average processing time was for applications to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme by people living in Rotherham in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The table below shows the average time for decisions to be made on applications* for criminal injuries compensation by people resident in Rotherham**.
Financial Year of CICA decision | Average time (days) |
2020-21 | 292 |
2021-22 | 337 |
2022-23 | 463 |
2023-24 | 363 |
2024-25 | 367 |
* The table does not include archived bereavement applications because the address of the applicant is not retained. In most cases, applications are archived three years after the case has been closed.
** The above table includes all awards where the applicant named Rotherham as the town in their home address in their application.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what budget has been allocated to Project Eve; what the (a) current and (b) anticipated future spend are for that project; and what steps he is taking to ensure interoperability with the (i) Army’s and (ii) Royal Navy’s communications systems.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As part of the Commando Force (CF) Programme, £99.78 million has been spent on spiral development and fielding of the EVE digital backbone capability. A further £56 million budget for EVE is approved as future spend, to enable interoperable development and scaling to Littoral Strike Group level by December 2030.
EVE, developed by the Royal Navy, has been a pathfinder in Defence digital innovation. EVE has been fielded by the Army’s Very High Readiness forces, as part of the Land Environment Tactical Communications and Information Systems programme. EVE is an integral part of the wider Royal Navy Strike Network design.
Asked by: Julia Buckley (Labour - Shrewsbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department collects on how children travel to school.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The National Travel Survey, conducted by the Department for Transport, includes data about how children travel to school and is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/nts03-modal-comparisons.
In February 2025, the department launched a data collection about the home to school travel arrangements local authorities make for eligible children. We are currently analysing the data. Information about home to school travel for eligible children is available in the statutory guidance for local authorities, which can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost is of the Crye Precision uniform programme; and whether a replacement combat uniform programme is planned.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Navy have spent £15.803 million to date regarding the total procurement of Crye Precision uniforms. A future uniform programme is in development.
Asked by: Satvir Kaur (Labour - Southampton Test)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department is taking steps to financially compensate historic survivors of child sexual abuse who are affected by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority's same-roof rule.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We recognise the importance of effective support and redress for victims of sexual abuse. Criminal injuries compensation is part of a wider package of government-funded general and specialist support for victims of crime. Victims, including children, who suffer serious physical or mental injury as a direct result of a violent crime such as sexual abuse, may be able to access compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (the Scheme).
The first Scheme, dating from 1964, included an eligibility rule, commonly known as the ‘same roof’ rule. This rule prevented some victims of violent crime from receiving compensation if their assailant was a family member living with them at the time of the incident. The rule was changed in 1979 so that child victims of incidents that occurred on/after 1 October 1979 were no longer affected by it.
Following a Court of Appeal judgment in 2018, the Scheme was amended to remove the pre-1979 same roof rule. In addition, provision was made for new applicants and applicants who had previously been refused an award under the rule to submit a claim. The amended Scheme came into force in June 2019. More than £21 million compensation has been paid to those affected by the rule since the amendments came into effect.
There are time limits to apply for compensation under the Scheme. Following removal of the pre-1979 same roof rule, the time limit to apply was two years from the date the amended Scheme came into force. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, which administers the Scheme, has discretion to consider applications made outside of the time limit in exceptional circumstances. This includes applications relating to the same roof rule and where the applicant was a child at the time of the incident giving rise to the injury.
Having concluded the previous administration’s review of the Scheme in April 2025, this Government is now considering how it can best provide the support that victims need and deserve. We are also driving other improvements for victims, including working on a new Victims’ Code, to raise awareness of compensation.
Asked by: Satvir Kaur (Labour - Southampton Test)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to support survivors of child sexual abuse who are affected by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority's same-roof rule.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We recognise the importance of effective support and redress for victims of sexual abuse. Criminal injuries compensation is part of a wider package of government-funded general and specialist support for victims of crime. Victims, including children, who suffer serious physical or mental injury as a direct result of a violent crime such as sexual abuse, may be able to access compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (the Scheme).
The first Scheme, dating from 1964, included an eligibility rule, commonly known as the ‘same roof’ rule. This rule prevented some victims of violent crime from receiving compensation if their assailant was a family member living with them at the time of the incident. The rule was changed in 1979 so that child victims of incidents that occurred on/after 1 October 1979 were no longer affected by it.
Following a Court of Appeal judgment in 2018, the Scheme was amended to remove the pre-1979 same roof rule. In addition, provision was made for new applicants and applicants who had previously been refused an award under the rule to submit a claim. The amended Scheme came into force in June 2019. More than £21 million compensation has been paid to those affected by the rule since the amendments came into effect.
There are time limits to apply for compensation under the Scheme. Following removal of the pre-1979 same roof rule, the time limit to apply was two years from the date the amended Scheme came into force. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, which administers the Scheme, has discretion to consider applications made outside of the time limit in exceptional circumstances. This includes applications relating to the same roof rule and where the applicant was a child at the time of the incident giving rise to the injury.
Having concluded the previous administration’s review of the Scheme in April 2025, this Government is now considering how it can best provide the support that victims need and deserve. We are also driving other improvements for victims, including working on a new Victims’ Code, to raise awareness of compensation.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information her Department holds on the number and proportion of applications for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme made to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority outside the two-year time limit for which discretion was applied in (a) 2020, (b) 2021, (c) 2022, (d) 2023, (e) 2024 and (f) 2025.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The table below shows the number and proportion of resolved applications in each calendar year where the two-year time limit was extended.
Column A: Calendar year of decision | Column B: Total resolved applications | Column C: Resolved applications received outside time limit | Column D: Resolved applications where time limit was extended | Column E: Resolved applications where time limit was extended as a proportion of all applications received outside the time limit |
2020 | 27,866 | 4,139 | 3,615 | 87.3% |
2021 | 28,471 | 5,223 | 4,391 | 84.1% |
2022 | 33,843 | 6,352 | 5,257 | 83.8% |
2023 | 36,783 | 6,846 | 5,279 | 77.1% |
2024 | 35,279 | 7,102 | 4,750 | 66.9% |
2025 to date | 14,207 | 3,235 | 1,971 | 60.9% |
The above information relates to applications made to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (the Scheme) only. For minor applicants, the two-year time limit depends on when the incident was reported to the police. We have taken that into account in the above response.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will review the UK Export Finance model to ensure that financial support available to overseas critical minerals projects is accessible to UK-based critical minerals producers.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
In addition to its critical minerals supply finance facility, which guarantees a commercial loan to an overseas project which has an offtake agreement in place with a UK exporter, UK Export Finance (UKEF) can support UK-based critical minerals producers in a variety of ways. These include through its Export Development Guarantee and General Export Facility if the company is an exporter, and also in certain circumstances where the producer in question supplies UK exporters.
Through these two products, UKEF can provide guarantees to commercial loans for working capital, which can be used to pay suppliers or staffing costs, invest in research and development or support bids for higher value contracts.