Written questions by Trickett.

How many staff her Department has seconded from Palantir since July 2024.

There have been no staff working in the department since July 2024 who were seconded from Palantir.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many staff his Department has seconded from Palantir since July 2024.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has not seconded any staff from Palantir into the FCDO since July 2024.

How many staff his Department has seconded from Palantir since July 2024.

Thank you to my Hon. Friend for his question. I can inform him that the Department for Business and Trade has hosted no secondees from Palantir.

How many staff her Department has seconded from Palantir since July 2024.

None.

Communities and Local Government, how many staff her Department has seconded from Palantir since July 2024.

There have been no secondments from Palantir into the Department since 5 July 2024.

How many staff his Department has seconded from Palantir since July 2024.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has not seconded any staff from Palantir since July 2024.

Innovation and Technology, how many staff his Department has seconded from Palantir since July 2024.

Since July 2024, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has had no secondees from Palantir.

How many staff his Department has seconded from Palantir since July 2024.

Secondments are organised - and data is held - at Business Unit Level. Under the Plan for Change, the Cabinet Office is drawing together multi-disciplinary teams across the country including front line public service workers, policy officials and those with digital and data skills to pioneer public service reform. This does not currently include employees from Palantir.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the cost of Direct Procurement for Customer schemes were included in water company business plans.

The development costs of funding Direct Procurement for Customer (DPC) schemes and Specified Infrastructure Project Regulations (SIPR) projects have been included in company business plans, as set out in Ofwat’s Major Projects Appendix. Funding is set out at individual project level and is identified as a DPC or SIPR (please see page 9). Almost all the schemes are funded via DPC and these account for £2.1 billion of development funding in PR24, and circa £50 billion whole life costs. DPC is funded separately to enhancement expenditure. The capital costs of DPC will be spread over time and funded in addition to customer bill impacts forecast through the business plan submissions. DPC costs in the main will not occur in the next investment period (2025-2030), as DPC costs are passed through to customers once assets become operational. Customer bills between 2025 and 2030 will include funding for the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme for United Utilities (delivered via DPC) and the Thames Tideway Tunnel (delivered via SIPR). Thames Water customer bills have included impacts from this scheme since 2015.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether Direct Procurement for Customer schemes are included in each water company PR24 planned enhancement.

The development costs of funding Direct Procurement for Customer (DPC) schemes and Specified Infrastructure Project Regulations (SIPR) projects have been included in company business plans, as set out in Ofwat’s Major Projects Appendix. Funding is set out at individual project level and is identified as a DPC or SIPR (please see page 9). Almost all the schemes are funded via DPC and these account for £2.1 billion of development funding in PR24, and circa £50 billion whole life costs. DPC is funded separately to enhancement expenditure. The capital costs of DPC will be spread over time and funded in addition to customer bill impacts forecast through the business plan submissions. DPC costs in the main will not occur in the next investment period (2025-2030), as DPC costs are passed through to customers once assets become operational. Customer bills between 2025 and 2030 will include funding for the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme for United Utilities (delivered via DPC) and the Thames Tideway Tunnel (delivered via SIPR). Thames Water customer bills have included impacts from this scheme since 2015.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether the headline water bill for the 2024 price review period includes the cost of (a) direct procurement for customer and (b) specified infrastructure projects regulations schemes.

The development costs of funding Direct Procurement for Customer (DPC) schemes and Specified Infrastructure Project Regulations (SIPR) projects have been included in company business plans, as set out in Ofwat’s Major Projects Appendix. Funding is set out at individual project level and is identified as a DPC or SIPR (please see page 9). Almost all the schemes are funded via DPC and these account for £2.1 billion of development funding in PR24, and circa £50 billion whole life costs. DPC is funded separately to enhancement expenditure. The capital costs of DPC will be spread over time and funded in addition to customer bill impacts forecast through the business plan submissions. DPC costs in the main will not occur in the next investment period (2025-2030), as DPC costs are passed through to customers once assets become operational. Customer bills between 2025 and 2030 will include funding for the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme for United Utilities (delivered via DPC) and the Thames Tideway Tunnel (delivered via SIPR). Thames Water customer bills have included impacts from this scheme since 2015.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether Ofwat's final determination for each company separates out anticipated spend on (a) direct procurement for customer projects and (b) specified infrastructure project regulations projects.

The development costs of funding Direct Procurement for Customer (DPC) schemes and Specified Infrastructure Project Regulations (SIPR) projects have been included in company business plans, as set out in Ofwat’s Major Projects Appendix. Funding is set out at individual project level and is identified as a DPC or SIPR (please see page 9). Almost all the schemes are funded via DPC and these account for £2.1 billion of development funding in PR24, and circa £50 billion whole life costs. DPC is funded separately to enhancement expenditure. The capital costs of DPC will be spread over time and funded in addition to customer bill impacts forecast through the business plan submissions. DPC costs in the main will not occur in the next investment period (2025-2030), as DPC costs are passed through to customers once assets become operational. Customer bills between 2025 and 2030 will include funding for the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme for United Utilities (delivered via DPC) and the Thames Tideway Tunnel (delivered via SIPR). Thames Water customer bills have included impacts from this scheme since 2015.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the planned spend on Direct Procurement for Customer schemes is for each water company.

The development costs of funding Direct Procurement for Customer (DPC) schemes and Specified Infrastructure Project Regulations (SIPR) projects have been included in company business plans, as set out in Ofwat’s Major Projects Appendix. Funding is set out at individual project level and is identified as a DPC or SIPR (please see page 9). Almost all the schemes are funded via DPC and these account for £2.1 billion of development funding in PR24, and circa £50 billion whole life costs. DPC is funded separately to enhancement expenditure. The capital costs of DPC will be spread over time and funded in addition to customer bill impacts forecast through the business plan submissions. DPC costs in the main will not occur in the next investment period (2025-2030), as DPC costs are passed through to customers once assets become operational. Customer bills between 2025 and 2030 will include funding for the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme for United Utilities (delivered via DPC) and the Thames Tideway Tunnel (delivered via SIPR). Thames Water customer bills have included impacts from this scheme since 2015.

How many A&E Departments have permanently closed since 2010; and if he will list them.

The information requested is not held centrally.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of the UN's proposed global tax convention.

The UK is committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure inclusive and effective international tax cooperation, and has been actively engaging in negotiations at the UN over a future Framework Convention. The UK believes that a UN Tax Framework Convention has the potential to further advance international tax cooperation, but to be successful, it needs to be clear in its aims, avoid duplicating initiatives, and seek to secure the broad support and participation of members.

How much her Department spent on in-work benefits in the last 12 months.

There are no DWP benefits remaining that are solely payable to claimants in-work. Many allow for some element of earnings to be combined with benefit receipt, and the level of this spend on working as opposed to non-working claimants varies across different benefits.

How many pension credit applications made before 21 December 2024 are waiting to be resolved.

61,866 claims made before 22nd December remained outstanding as of 19 January 2025. This includes 6,712 advanced claims. Advanced claims are where the application can be started up to 4 months before reaching State Pension age. Please note, the data shown is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.

How many and what proportion of pension credit cases have not been cleared within 50 days since September 2024.

The most recent information on processing times for Pension Credit was published in the DWP annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK (ARA) on 22nd July 2024. This shows that in 2023/24 DWP cleared 192,000 Pension Credit claims within the planned 50 working day timescale, equating to 77.7%. The next publication of the ARA will include claims processed in the Financial Year 2024 to 2025, which is due for publication in the summer.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Airbus not completing the takeover of the Spirit AeroSystems site in Belfast on jobs (a) at Airbus and (b) throughout the supply chain in (i) Northern Ireland and (ii) Britain.

My Department and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is fully aware of the commercial discussions taking place about the potential acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems business. The Government is working with the Northern Ireland Executive to help ensure the best outcome for Spirit and all its skilled and hard working staff.DBT continues to be in contact with Spirit, Airbus, Boeing and other potential buyers. We want to see an outcome for Spirit that includes a commitment to develop Spirit and its supply chain as part of any acquisition and provides the best possible opportunity for growth and jobs in Northern Ireland.The UK Government is aware Spirit employs nearly five thousand staff at its sites in Northern Ireland and Scotland supplying world-class aerospace products across the globe. It is for this reason, and its contribution to the UK’s economy, that UKG has a keen interest in seeing that any acquisition provides the best opportunity for growth and investment.

What steps he is taking to support Spirit AeroSystems (a) production and (b) jobs.

The Government is working with the Northern Ireland Executive to help ensure the best outcome for Spirit Aerosystems and all its skilled and hardworking staff.The Northern Ireland Office and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) are fully aware of the commercial discussions taking place about the potential acquisition of the Spirit business. DBT continues to be in contact with Spirit, Airbus, Boeing and other potential buyers, and we want to see an outcome that includes a commitment to develop Spirit and its supply chain as part of any acquisition and provides the best possible opportunity for growth in Northern Ireland.DBT continues to provide support for Spirit’s Research and Development activity through the Aerospace Technology Institute programme.