Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many UK-based companies produce batteries for electric vehicles; and what is their collective capacity.

Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

AESC currently has a 1.9GWh facility operational in Sunderland. The UK has a further 52GWh per annum battery capacity committed – 12GWh from the AESC Gigafactory under construction in Sunderland and a further 40GWh from the planned Agratas Gigafactory. This is over half the capacity needed to meet industry demand forecasts of around 90GWh by 2030.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government why OFWAT calculate gearing levels of water companies by using a debt-to-assets ratio as opposed to a debt-to-equity ratio.

Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

It is standard practice for regulated sectors to calculate gearing by reference to Regulator Capital Value (RCV). This is because there exists an RCV which represents costs incurred to date which can be recovered from customers in the future. This approach to calculating Regulatory Gearing is used by Ofgem and the Civil Aviation Authority and is recognised by the Rating Agencies.

As the RCV represents the net stock of investment that has been contributed by debt and investors over time, it grows with net levels of investment. This provides the capacity against which companies may raise debt and equity to finance investment programmes.

There is no equivalent to an RCV for companies operating in a competitive market. Gearing measured by reference to RCV is a more useful metric than standard accounting measure of gearing in a utility sector because future revenue streams are more certain than they would be for companies operating in a competitive market.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many advance transfer pricing agreements have been signed by HM Revenue and Customs in each of the past five years.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Revenue and Customs has entered into the following number of advance pricing agreements in the past five tax years:

• 2018 to 2019: 30
• 2019 to 2020: 26
• 2020 to 2021: 24
• 2021 to 2022: 20
• 2022 to 2023: 15

This information is included in the Transfer Pricing and Diverted Profits Tax Statistics 2022 to 2023 which are publicly available and published on gov.uk[1].

[1] Transfer Pricing and Diverted Profits Tax statistics 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many liquidations began (1) five, (2) 10, and (3) 15, years ago but are still not finalised.

Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The figures show when the most recent liquidation process began for distinct entities. These figures include liquidations notified to the Registrar of Companies up to 31 December 2023.

These figures are being provided as management information and are unaudited and are subject to change. They should only be used for indicative purposes.

Further information about companies in liquidation is available in the statistical tables published by Companies House on a quarterly basis.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Financial Reporting Council in relation to external audits of the Post Office.

Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry continues to gather evidence about the Horizon scandal. The Government will consider any lessons learned in respect of audit and other matters once the Inquiry has reported.

We have regular discussions with the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) regarding its regulation of statutory audit, while recognising its role as an independent regulator. The FRC is monitoring developments in relation to the Post Office.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) financial, and (2) legal, support they will provide to sub-postmasters to bring private prosecutions against past directors of the Post Office for concealing faults in the Horizon IT system and falsely prosecuting them.

Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry continues to gather evidence about the Horizon scandal. The Metropolitan Police are a core participant in the Inquiry; it will be for them and the Crown Prosecution Service to consider any prosecutions. The Government does not fund private prosecutions.

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