Written questions by Timothy.

How many people have been (a) investigated, (b) arrested and (c) charged following work by the Grooming Gangs Taskforce by (i) category of offence, (ii) police officers, (iii) local councillors, (iv) council officials and (v) social workers.

The Child Sexual Exploitation (or 'Grooming Gangs') Police Taskforce provides expert, on the ground support for local forces investigating child sexual abuse and exploitation, with a particular focus on complex and organised child sexual exploitation, including grooming gangs. Responsibility for those investigations remains with the relevant local police force, but the Taskforce continues to advise the relevant police force on how to manage any specific lines of investigation appropriately.The Taskforce supported forces in making 807 arrests for group-based child sexual exploitation in 2024. The data held centrally does not allow individual cases to be tracked through the criminal justice system.Further information on the Taskforce is available online at: https://www.hydrantprogramme.co.uk/cse-taskforce.

Whether the Grooming Gangs Taskforce will investigate (a) police officers, (b) local councillors, (c) council officials and (d) social workers.

The Child Sexual Exploitation (or 'Grooming Gangs') Police Taskforce provides expert, on the ground support for local forces investigating child sexual abuse and exploitation, with a particular focus on complex and organised child sexual exploitation, including grooming gangs. Responsibility for those investigations remains with the relevant local police force, but the Taskforce continues to advise the relevant police force on how to manage any specific lines of investigation appropriately.The Taskforce supported forces in making 807 arrests for group-based child sexual exploitation in 2024. The data held centrally does not allow individual cases to be tracked through the criminal justice system.Further information on the Taskforce is available online at: https://www.hydrantprogramme.co.uk/cse-taskforce.

If her Department will take steps to improve the accuracy of (a) identifying and (b) reporting data on fraud as distinct from administrative error.

As with other parts of the tax system, the term ‘error and fraud’ includes this full range of behaviours, from mistakes and failure to take reasonable care, through to deliberate non-compliance. The Government is committed to further enhancing the administration of R&D tax reliefs. To support this, HMRC published a consultation on 26 March to explore widening the use of advance clearances in the reliefs to help further reduce error and fraud, while also improving the customer experience and providing certainty to businesses.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of increasing the Autonomous Tariff Quota on the domestic sugar beet industry.

The Government recognises the importance of the domestic sugar beet industry and is carefully considering the potential impacts of any changes to the Autonomous Tariff Quota (ATQ) on raw cane sugar following an engagement exercise which closed in March 2025.We will aim to strike the right balance between supporting our domestic sugar beet and raw cane refining industries, alongside a range of other factors including the UK’s wider strategic trade objectives. The outcome of this review will be announced in due course.

Whether his Department has conducted an impact assessment for the introduction of a youth mobility scheme with the European Union.

We have agreed that we will work towards the establishment of a balanced youth experience scheme with the EU. We have agreed that any scheme will be time-limited and capped, and we have also been clear that it should be in line with the UK’s existing schemes with countries like Australia and New Zealand. The exact parameters will be subject to negotiation

Pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2025 to Question 41176 on Research: Tax Allowances, if she will publish a breakdown of the data provided for (a) error and (b) fraud.

As with other parts of the tax system, the term ‘error and fraud’ includes this full range of behaviours, from mistakes and failure to take reasonable care, through to deliberate non-compliance. The Government is committed to further enhancing the administration of R&D tax reliefs. To support this, HMRC published a consultation on 26 March to explore widening the use of advance clearances in the reliefs to help further reduce error and fraud, while also improving the customer experience and providing certainty to businesses.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 1 May 2025 to Question 41542 on Packaging: Recycling, which stakeholders his Department plans to engage with to discuss changes to the Package Recovery Note system.

We intend to seek views from all those who may impacted by any of the proposed changes, including producers, compliance schemes, waste management companies, local authorities and reprocessors and exporters of packaging waste.

What steps his Department is taking to prevent anti-competitive practices in the domestic beet sugar industry.

The Competition and Markets Authority, the “CMA”, is responsible for investigating anti-competitive practices. As an independent authority, the CMA has discretion to investigate competition cases which, according to its prioritisation principles, it considers most appropriate.Any concerns regarding anti-competitive conduct can be raised directly with the CMA. Details of how to submit information, along with general guidance, can be found on Gov.uk.

If she will publish the terms of reference for the Grooming Gangs Taskforce.

The Child Sexual Exploitation (or 'Grooming Gangs') Police Taskforce provides expert, on the ground support for local forces investigating child sexual abuse and exploitation, with a particular focus on complex and organised child sexual exploitation, including grooming gangs. Responsibility for those investigations remains with the relevant local police force, but the Taskforce continues to advise the relevant police force on how to manage any specific lines of investigation appropriately.The Taskforce supported forces in making 807 arrests for group-based child sexual exploitation in 2024. The data held centrally does not allow individual cases to be tracked through the criminal justice system.Further information on the Taskforce is available online at: https://www.hydrantprogramme.co.uk/cse-taskforce.

Communities and Local Government, how much her Department has spent on homelessness and rough sleeping in each year since 2020.

The Department’s spending for each year is published through annual reports. You can find links to these here: 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24. The 2024/25 annual report will be published in due course. The Government spent over £873 million on homelessness and rough sleeping in 2024/25.You can find details of homelessness and rough sleeping allocations for 2025/26 here.

What discussions (a) ministers, (b), special advisors and (c) officials in her Department have had with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on the implementation of the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate.

Ministers from across Government regularly meet to discuss the transition to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs), including policies to increase levels of ZEV ownership and the ZEV Mandate. The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles is a joint office between the Department for Transport and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and reports to Ministers in both departments in relation to the transition to zero emission vehicles.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect the domestic beet sugar industry from (a) tariff and (b) non-tariff barriers.

The Government has made clear commitments to uphold our standards in trade deals and protect our sensitive sectors. The recently agreed trade agreement with India will fully exclude sugar from the UK's tariff reductions. We will continue to do what is right for the UK sugar sector in our trade policy.

Which early adopter schools have opted out of the free breakfast club pilot programme.

The department had over 3,000 schools apply to be part of the early adopter scheme, so as expected there has been some movement in the schools taking part as we finalised the 750 running from April, but that has been minimal.The list of schools taking part in the breakfast clubs early adopter scheme can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/breakfast-clubs-early-adopters-schools-in-the-scheme.The department has used existing programmes and costs to determine the funding rates, and this has been tested and refined with a range of schools. We are confident that the total funding will enable schools to meet the minimum expectations, which is a 30-minute club with breakfast meeting the school food standards, based on existing provision operating in schools.One function of the early adopters is to test how schools utilise the funding, and the department has a robust strategy to capture and analyse this data. Decisions about the overall budget envelope for breakfast clubs national rollout is subject to the next spending review.

What representations she has received from schools on the adequacy of funding for the breakfast clubs early adopters scheme.

The department had over 3,000 schools apply to be part of the early adopter scheme, so as expected there has been some movement in the schools taking part as we finalised the 750 running from April, but that has been minimal.The list of schools taking part in the breakfast clubs early adopter scheme can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/breakfast-clubs-early-adopters-schools-in-the-scheme.The department has used existing programmes and costs to determine the funding rates, and this has been tested and refined with a range of schools. We are confident that the total funding will enable schools to meet the minimum expectations, which is a 30-minute club with breakfast meeting the school food standards, based on existing provision operating in schools.One function of the early adopters is to test how schools utilise the funding, and the department has a robust strategy to capture and analyse this data. Decisions about the overall budget envelope for breakfast clubs national rollout is subject to the next spending review.

What information her Department holds on the proportion of imports from China that were worth less than £135 in each year since 2015.

Goods valued at £135 or less imported into the UK are not subject to customs duty and are predominantly imported through a simplified customs declaration. As part of this simplified declaration multiple goods can be bulk declared without providing the total number of consignments or country of origin - in other words, the importer is not asked the specific country where the goods were manufactured or wholly obtained. HMRC therefore does not routinely collect customs data on the proportion of imports from China that are worth less than £135. On April 23rd the Government announced a review of the customs treatment of Low Value Imports valued below £135. We intend to engage a broad range of stakeholders over the Spring to further understand their views and gather evidence, including on the volume and nature of low value imports, to support our analysis.

What information his Department holds on the proportion of imports worth less than £135 that did not meet UK safety standards by country of origin in each year since 2015.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) works with local authorities and border forces to detect, deter and disrupt the flow of unsafe and non-compliant goods as they are imported into the UK. Risk-based and intelligence-led approaches are used to target the most high-risk goods for inspection at the border. Therefore, the Government does not hold the information in the form requested. In 2023/24 the targeted approach resulted in checks on consignments covering over 15 million goods at the border, with 2.4 million goods (16%) refused entry to the UK.

What the average value of shipments worth less than £135 to the UK was in each year since 2015, by country of origin.

Goods valued at £135 or less imported into the UK are not subject to customs duty and are predominantly imported through a simplified customs declaration.As part of this simplified declaration, HMRC does not collect information on the origin of the goods – in other words, the importer is not asked the specific country where the goods were manufactured or wholly obtained.On April 23rd the Government announced a review of the customs treatment of Low Value Imports valued below £135. We intend to engage a broad range of stakeholders over the Spring to further understand their views and gather evidence, including on the volume and nature of low value imports, to support our analysis.

What the total value of shipments worth less than £135 to the UK was in each year since 2015, by country of origin.

Goods valued at £135 or less imported into the UK are not subject to customs duty and are predominantly imported through a simplified customs declaration.HMRC can only provide the overall value of shipments containing goods under £135, as data on country of origin is not collected as part of the simplified customs declaration - in other words, the importer is not asked the specific country where the goods were manufactured or wholly obtained.It was not mandatory to provide the total aggregate value as part of the simplified customs declaration until 2023. In 2024, £5.8bn worth of goods under £135 were declared through the Customs Declarations System (CDS).On April 23rd the Government announced a review of the customs treatment of Low Value Imports valued below £135. We intend to engage a broad range of stakeholders over the Spring to further understand their views and gather evidence, including on the volume and nature of low value imports, to support our analysis.

Whether her Department plans to increase funding for asylum dispersal to (a) West Suffolk District Council, and (b) other local authorities.

Current accommodation funding arrangements are published on GOV.UK: Asylum Dispersal Grant: funding instruction - GOV.UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with Natural England on the potential impact of issuing a GL43 on the shooting season this year.

In considering the issue of GL43 for this year’s shooting season, Defra took into account Natural England’s statutory advice, noting that the national transmission risk status of avian influenza in wild birds continues to be very high. This included a recommendation to exclude the Lundy Special Area of Conservation (SAC) from the scope of the licence and to include an additional licence condition, requiring best practice biosecurity measures to be undertaken and recorded when managing gamebirds, and those records be produced if requested by a wildlife inspector. The licence was published on 2 May.