Neil O'Brien MP: written questions
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Written questions
Financial Reporting Council: StaffDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 21 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107455More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, for what reason (a) the number of staff and (b) staff costs have increased at the Financial Reporting Council since April 2017.
Answer: The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has taken on several new responsibilities following its (2016) designation as competent authority for audit, and additional work resulting from the UK's exit from the European Union. These include the registration of ...
Answered 26 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordInsolvency Service: StaffDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 21 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107454More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, for what reason (a) the number of staff and (b) staff costs have increased at The Insolvency Service since April 2017.
Answer: The Insolvency Service has expanded its responsibilities in respect of resourcing the transfer of criminal enforcement functions from the Department, work to distribute payments to creditors from Payment Protection Insurance realisations, and the Insolven...
Answered 26 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordCompanies House: StaffDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 21 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107453More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, for what reason (a) the number of staff and (b) staff costs have increased at Companies House since April 2017.
Answer: Companies House’s staff numbers have increased in recent years as a result of its extensive transformation to strengthen the integrity and transparency of the UK corporate register. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 has significantly ...
Answered 26 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordCompetition and Markets Authority: StaffDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 21 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107452More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, for what reason (a) the number of staff and (b) staff costs have increased at the Competition and Markets Authority since April 2017.
Answer: Changes in staff numbers at the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) since 1 April 2017 have been affected by the expansion of its responsibilities in respect of competition enforcement and merger control following the UK’s departure from the EU; the...
Answered 30 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordCivil Aviation Authority: StaffDepartment for TransportTabled 21 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107451More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason (a) the number of staff and (b) and staff costs have increased at the Civil Aviation Authority since April 2017.
Answer: Since 2016, the CAA’s regulatory perimeter has expanded significantly. Following EU Exit, the CAA developed new rulemaking and regulatory oversight functions to replace those delivered by the European Aviation Safety Agency until 2020, including the creat...
Answered 9 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Business and Trade: Public ExpenditureDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 21 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107450More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to table SOPS 1.1 from the Department's 2024/5 Annual Report and Accounts, what categories of spending are covered by the total of £1,497,088,000 covering administration and programme ex
Answer: The breakdown of Estimate line ‘A DBT – Department for Business and Trade (DEL)’ for RDEL outturn of £1,497,088,000 for 2024-25 is: DBT Core (£000)Insolvency Service (£000)Companies House (£000)Total (£000)Current grants to persons and non-profit (net)113...
Answered 30 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordHousing Benefit and Universal CreditDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 20 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107137More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are claiming (a) housing benefit and (b) the housing element of universal credit in each broad rental market area (BRMA) and what was the average amount claimed in each BRMA in 2025.
Answer: Information on the number of households receiving the UC Housing Element in the Private Rented Sector by Broad Rental Market Area is available on Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/). Providing the rest of the information requested would incur di...
Answered 27 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordRented HousingMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 20 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107136More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish a lookup table matching census Output Areas to Broad Rental Market Areas.
Answer: The government has no plans to publish a lookup table matching census Output Areas to Broad Rental Market Areas. The Broad Rental Market Areas for a specific postcode or local authority area can be found using the Valuation Office Agency’s LHA Direct sear...
Answered 28 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Business and Trade: Public ExpenditureDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 20 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107135More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to table SOPS 1.2 from his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2024/5, if he will publish a breakdown of CDEL in Section A - Department for Business and Trade, covering both gross sp
Answer: The breakdown of Estimate line ‘A DBT – Department for Business and Trade (DEL)’ for CDEL outturn of £492,483,000 for 2024-25 is: DBT Core (£000)Insolvency Service (£000)Companies House (£000)Total (£000)Current grants to persons and non-profit (net)313,1...
Answered 28 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordReoffenders: SentencingMinistry of JusticeTabled 20 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107134More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were convicted or cautioned for an indictable offence did not receive an immediate custodial sentence and had a) one, b) two, c) three, d) four and e) five or more prior convictions for burglary i
Answer: The information requested is provided in the attached excel table. This table includes data covering the period 2020 – 2024 on:The number of offenders who were a) convicted and b) cautioned for an indictable offence who did not receive an immediate custod...
Answered 27 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordReoffenders: SentencingMinistry of JusticeTabled 20 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107133More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were convicted or cautioned for an indictable offence did not receive an immediate custodial sentence and had a) one, b) two, c) three, d) four and e) five or more prior convictions for violence a
Answer: The information requested is provided in the attached excel table. This table includes data covering the period 2020 – 2024 on:The number of offenders who were a) convicted and b) cautioned for an indictable offence who did not receive an immediate custod...
Answered 27 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordReoffenders: SentencingMinistry of JusticeTabled 20 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107132More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were convicted or cautioned for an indictable offence did not receive an immediate custodial sentence and had a) one, b) two, c) three, d) four and e) five or more prior convictions for theft or r
Answer: The information requested is provided in the attached excel table. This table includes data covering the period 2020 – 2024 on:The number of offenders who were a) convicted and b) cautioned for an indictable offence who did not receive an immediate custod...
Answered 27 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordReoffenders: SentencingMinistry of JusticeTabled 20 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 107131More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people who were (a) convicted and (b) cautioned for an indictable offence did not receive an immediate custodial sentence and had (i) one, (ii) two, (iii) three, (iv) four and (iv) five or more prior con
Answer: The information requested is provided in the attached excel table. This table includes data covering the period 2020 – 2024 on:The number of offenders who were a) convicted and b) cautioned for an indictable offence who did not receive an immediate custod...
Answered 27 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordResearch and Science: FinanceDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 19 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106585More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to table 1 of Annex A of the Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25, if he will publish a breakdown of the spending of Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (CDEL) spending
Answer: Please find below a breakdown of the Science and Research line outturn for FY 2024-25 per table 1 in Annex A of the DSIT Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25:British Academy£60.228mResearch Base£113.700mRoyal Academy of Engineering£41.971mRoyal Society£111....
Answered 23 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordEnergy Supply: ExpenditureDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 19 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106584More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to table 1 of Annex A of the Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25, if he will publish a breakdown of the spending of both (a) Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit and (b) Capi
Answer: A detailed breakdown of the Resource and Capital Departmental Expenditure limit spending in 2024-25 under Delivering Affordable energy for households and businesses and Ensuring that our energy system is reliable and secure is held on the HM Treasury data...
Answered 26 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordEnergy Supply: ExpenditureDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 19 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106583More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to table 1 of Annex A of the Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25, if he will publish a breakdown of the spending of both (a) Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit and (b) Capi
Answer: A detailed breakdown of the Resource and Capital Departmental Expenditure limit spending in 2024-25 under Delivering Affordable energy for households and businesses and Ensuring that our energy system is reliable and secure is held on the HM Treasury data...
Answered 26 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Culture, Media and Sport: Redundancy PayDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 19 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106582More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will review the Answer her Department provided to Question 99845 on 18 December 2025, with reference to the Answer provided to Question 99844 on 8 January 2026.
Answer: We have corrected the answer to PQ 99845 and apologise for the error.
Answered 22 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Performance AppraisalDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 19 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106581More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will review the incomplete Answer her Department provided to Question 97203 on 6 January 2026.
Answer: The incomplete answer to Question 97203 on 6 January 2026 was due to a processing and formatting error on the Written Parliamentary Questions website. This error has been corrected and the complete answer to Question 97203 is below: In core Defra, high pe...
Answered 24 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordHousing BenefitDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 15 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 106209More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households are claiming housing benefits, either housing benefit or the housing element of Universal credit, in each Broad Market Rental Area (a) in total, (b) in the private rented sector and
Answer: Information on the number of households receiving the Universal Credit (UC) Housing Element in the Private Rented Sector by Broad Rental Market Area (BRMA) is available on Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/). Information on Housing Benefit (HB) ...
Answered 28 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordHousing Benefit and Universal CreditDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 13 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105369More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what was the a) mean and b) median amount of housing support claimed by people in each local authority who were on i) Housing Benefit ii) the Housing Element of UC and iii) either Housing Benefit or the
Answer: I) The information requested for Housing Benefit (HB) mean amounts are available on Stat-Xplore (link below). II) Universal Credit (UC) is a single integrated benefit made up of different elements, such as Housing. Benefit units receive one combined month...
Answered 30 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordApprenticesDepartment for EducationTabled 13 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105368More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people started apprenticeships who were aged a) 16, b) 17, c) 18, d) 19, e) 20, f) 21, g) 22, h) 23, i) 24 in each year since 2017-18.
Answer: Apprenticeship starts in England for the individual ages requested are available in the accompanying file. Further information on apprenticeship starts can be found in the department’s apprenticeships statistics publication, which can be accessed here: ht...
Answered 4 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordErasmus+ ProgrammeDepartment for EducationTabled 13 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105349More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Answer of 12 January 2026 to WPQ 101070, of the over 100,000 people that the Government estimates could benefit from mobility and partnership opportunities from Erasmus+ participation in 2
Answer: Erasmus+ is open to learners, trainees and staff in higher education, further education, vocational education and training, schools, adult education, youth programmes and sport programmes. The department will have detailed information on the UK’s Erasmus+...
Answered 2 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Public ExpenditureMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 13 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105348More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to MHCLG's Annual Report 2024/5, if he will publish a breakdown of the Gross Outturn and Income of CDEL in the Housing and Planning Estimate Line in FY 2024/5.
Answer: Please see table below for a breakdown of income and expenditure on the requested estimate rows and DEL control totals. Estimate RowMain Expenditure StreamsGrossIncomeNetCommunities DEL Estimate Rows24/25 £k £k £kB: Housing and Planning CDEL Affordabl...
Answered 21 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Public ExpenditureMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 13 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105347More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for a breakdown of the programme spend and income of RDEL in the Local Growth and Devolution Estimate Line in FY 2024/5, with reference to MHCLG's Annual Report 2024/5, SoPS 1.1.
Answer: Please see table below for a breakdown of income and expenditure on the requested estimate rows and DEL control totals. Estimate RowMain Expenditure StreamsGrossIncomeNetCommunities DEL Estimate Rows24/25 £k £k £kB: Housing and Planning CDEL Affordabl...
Answered 21 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordInheritance TaxTreasuryTabled 13 Jan 2026AnsweredUIN 105327More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2026 to WPQ 104190, how many estates were liable to inheritance tax by constituency over the last five years aggregated.
Answer: As stated in my previous answer, these statistics are publicly available. The estimated number of estates liable to Inheritance Tax, broken down by UK (Westminster) Parliamentary Constituency, is published annually as part of HMRC’s Inheritance Tax Liabil...
Answered 20 Jan 2026
Original Parliament record
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