Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the impact of the current tobacco excise duty regime on the levels of illegal tobacco consumption.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Strong enforcement is essential in tackling the illicit tobacco market. HM Revenue and Customs and Border Force have had illicit tobacco strategies in place since 2000. Our latest strategy, “Stubbing out the problem”, was published in January 2024. The Department continues to investigate how the illicit tobacco market is evolving, including through its compliance activity, and the extent to which that may affect overall tax receipts seen.
The illicit tobacco market is dominated by organised crime groups that make money by smuggling and selling illicit tobacco products in the UK. Our latest estimate is that illicit tobacco costs the UK £1.8bn in lost revenue per year. HMRC recently published an updated version of their Measuring Tax Gaps publication which now includes tax gap estimates up to 2023/24. The illicit market volume for cigarettes is shown in Table 3.13 and the total consumption volume is shown in Table 3.12. The illicit market for hand rolling tobacco is shown in Table 3.17 and the total consumption volume is shown in Table 3.16.
Whilst tobacco duty has been progressively increased over time, successive illicit tobacco strategies have proven effective in tackling the size of the illicit tobacco market, reducing the tobacco duty tax gap from 21.7% in 2005/6 to 13.8% in 2023/24.
Tobacco duty raised almost £8 billion in 2024/25. High duty rates, making tobacco less affordable, have helped reduce smoking prevalence. ‘Cancer in the UK: Overview 2025’ published by Cancer Research cites an Office for National Statistics Adult Smoking Habits publication which shows that the percentage of adult smokers in the UK decreased from 20.2% in 2011 to 11.9% in 2023. The ONS smoking prevalence data shows the percentage of adults in the UK who smoke cigarettes but does not give any indication of how much or how often these adults smoke.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what power capacity upgrades will take place in Huntingdon constituency via the Rapid Charging Fund.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
A reliable, accessible public charging network to support EV drivers on long journeys is essential to support the EV transition.
The market has changed significantly since the Rapid Charging Fund was announced, with now over 6,000 open-access, rapid and ultra-rapid chargepoints within one mile of the Strategic Road Network – more than quadrupling in the last three years (July 2022 – July 2025, Zapmap). No grant funding was awarded via the Rapid Charging Fund to Huntingdon.
We are adapting our approach to meet the needs of industry today. The recent Spending Review announced £400m for charging infrastructure, including to support charging on the Strategic Road Network. We will use lessons from the Rapid Charging Fund pilot and continue working with industry to target financial support where it is needed most.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
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 request that the UK is able to diverge from the EU in relation to animal welfare standards in the dynamic alignment requirement of the EU-UK Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The agreement will cover SPS standards and controls and also wider agrifood rules related to food labelling, organics, and key marketing standards and compositional standards.
The EU has accepted there will need to be a number of areas where we need to retain our own rules. The details of these are subject to negotiation, but we have been clear about the importance of being able to set high animal welfare standards, support public health, and support the use of new and innovative technologies.
The Prime Minister announced that we will be publishing an animal welfare strategy later this year.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the EU-UK SPS agreement on (a) the Government's commitment to improve animal welfare and (b) the Government's forthcoming animal welfare strategy.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The agreement will cover SPS standards and controls and also wider agrifood rules related to food labelling, organics, and key marketing standards and compositional standards.
The EU has accepted there will need to be a number of areas where we need to retain our own rules. The details of these are subject to negotiation, but we have been clear about the importance of being able to set high animal welfare standards, support public health, and support the use of new and innovative technologies.
The Prime Minister announced that we will be publishing an animal welfare strategy later this year.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of residential properties built after 1 January 2009 in designated flood risk areas that are ineligible for support under the Flood Re scheme in (a) the UK and (b) Taunton and Wellington constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Flood Re does not apply to homes built after 2009, as that would be inconsistent with current planning policy. Planning policy is clear that inappropriate development in floodplains should be avoided. Where development is necessary in a flood risk area, it should be made flood resistant, resilient and safe for their lifetime, without increasing flood risk elsewhere.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Autumn Budget 2024, what the planned timetable is for payments to support electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are investing the £320 million announced at Autumn Budget 2024 to support electric vehicle uptake in the 2025/26 financial year.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of a Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement with the EU on enforcement of the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The agreement will cover SPS standards and controls and also wider agrifood rules related to food labelling, organics, and key marketing standards and compositional standards.
The EU has accepted there will need to be a number of areas where we need to retain our own rules. The details of these are subject to negotiation, but we have been clear about the importance of being able to set high animal welfare standards, support public health, and support the use of new and innovative technologies.
The Prime Minister announced that we will be publishing an animal welfare strategy later this year.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Autumn Budget 2024, what metrics her Department will use to assess the effectiveness of the funding allocated to accelerate the roll-out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government continually reviews its approach to EV charging interventions, working to address barriers that need to be resolved to meet consumer needs. Our approach is underpinned by evidence, including environmental and value for money assessments of interventions, evidence from a range of sources on the market failures that require government intervention, and evidence from the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of programmes to date.
More widely, we monitor the roll out of EV charging infrastructure through official chargepoint statistics, including chargepoint installations, types of chargepoint, and regional distribution.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2025 to Question 59664 on Large Goods Vehicles: Concrete, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reducing weight limits for volumetric concrete mixers on levels of frequently of repairs to (a) roads and (b) bridges; and what estimate she has made of levels of associated cost reductions for (i) local authorities and (ii) National Highways.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The National Highways’ report found that the load effects from heavier VCMs to be up to 17% higher than the load effects from the model for vehicles complying with the current weight limits. In addition to the impact on bridges, heavier vehicles also put more stress on roads, which impacts maintenance costs and safety. The department has not made a specific assessment on the impact on the frequency of repairs and cost reductions.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse was for the Independent Office for Police Conduct produce the Updated summary published for 2017 IOPC investigation linked to child sexual abuse in Rotherham.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
On 19 September 2025, following requests from complainants and other interested persons for further detail, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) published a further summary of the Operation Amazon investigation, which formed part of the series of investigations under Operation Linden.
The IOPC does not routinely publish the costs of individual investigations and reports. The Home Office holds no additional information.