Written questions by Timothy.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) manufactured components and (b) raw materials imported from China for the domestic production of electric vehicles in the last five years.

Over the last five years the UK has, on average, annually imported China-origin goods worth a) £1.9bn of components (automotive parts, batteries, and motors) and b) £9.7m of minerals that are typically used for batteries and traction motors. These imports may have been used for non automotive uses. The Department does not have the precise value that went into UK automotive production. This information is commercial and therefore can only be provided by individual companies.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure all solar developments do not include components linked to forced or slave labour.

The Government is committed to eradicating forced labour in supply chains, and we expect solar developers to do everything in their power to remove any instances of it that they find. Legislation and guidance are already in place to help businesses take action against modern slavery. However, we are working across government to see where we can go further, keeping all potential policy options under review. We are closely monitoring the industry-led supply chain assurance scheme, the Solar Stewardship Initiative. Further information on the actions needed to develop supply chains that are resilient and free from forced labour will be set out in the Solar Roadmap, to be published shortly.

How many (a) police officers, (b) local councillors, (c) council officials and (d) social workers have been (i) investigated, (ii) arrested, and (iii) charged in connection to crimes committed by grooming gangs.

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.

What discussions (a) ministers, (b) special advisors and (c) officials in her Department have had with (i) Distribution Network Operators and (ii) National Grid on the power capacity of grid infrastructure to support charging points for electric vehicles.

In line with our ambitions for a zero emission car, van, and HGV fleet, the Government is working with industry to make all charging easy, fast and reliable. The Department for Transport regularly engages with Distribution Network Operators, and with National Grid on work related to accelerating the delivery of chargepoint infrastructure. This includes discussions on power capacity and grid infrastructure required to meet growing demand for EV charging. In March, I met with Distribution Network Operators, along with other industry groups, such as motorway service area operators and chargepoint operators, to understand industry’s perspective on improving charging on the Strategic Road Network (England’s motorways and major A roads).

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

How many prosecutions have been carried out as a result of arrests made by 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.

What was the Child Maintenance Service helpline's performance in responding to phone calls against its service level standards.

The Child Maintenance Service are committed to delivering the best possible service to all customers. We continuously monitor telephony performance and through this fully recognise that call waiting times are at times longer than we would like. To address this, we are working extensively to improve the efficiency of our customer interactions through both telephone and digital channels. We introduced the Digital Assist Telephony Service September 2024, which has been a significant step forward in our mission to support and encourage customers to use our online services. We restructured our call routing October 2024 to make more caseworkers available to answer telephone calls. By promoting self-service options online and efficient call routing, we have freed up valuable resources to deliver a more responsive service and allow caseworkers more time to better assist customers who need to reach out to us via telephone. Additionally, we have extended the telephony service to 6pm on weekdays to meet demand. and our online services are available to all customers 24/7. The Department publishes quarterly statistics for the Child Maintenance Service and the latest statistics are currently available to December 2024. Table 12 of the latest National tables shows the percentage of calls to the CMS that were answered each quarter, from January 2015 to December 2024. Latest published quarterly telephony performance for the period Oct to December 2024 was 75% for Percentage of calls answered.

How much her Department has spent on contingency accommodation for (a) asylum seekers, (b) people granted asylum and (c) people in the country illegally in each year since 2020.

The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts at Home Office annual report and accounts: 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK.

Communities and Local Government, how much her Department has spent on contingency accommodation for (a) asylum seekers, (b) those granted asylum, and (c) those in the country illegally in each year since 2020.

My department has not provided any funding for contingency accommodation for asylum seekers, those granted asylum or those in the country illegally as the Home Office has departmental responsibility for the asylum system and irregular migration.

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.