Lord Goddard of Stockport

The basic State Pension rate as a percentage of mean earnings is set out below.

Source: Abstract of DWP benefit ratestatistics 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings: Earnings and hours worked, all employees: ASHE Table 1 - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

The basic State Pension is payable to those who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016. It should be noted that some individuals may also be receiving the earnings-related additional State Pension (SERPS and/or State Second Pension (S2P)) or if they were contracted out of the additional State Pension, a private pension instead. Some individuals may also be receiving Graduated Retirement Benefit.

The government takes the issue of bank account access very seriously, and that is why the Chancellor asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help us collect evidence to understand where account closures or refusals are happening and why.

The FCA’s interim report (“UK Payment Accounts: Access and Closures”) set out areas for further consideration by government in relation to business accounts and we are continuing to explore this issue.

HM Treasury acknowledges concerns regarding how banks’ decisions affect access to accounts and consumer payments to cryptoasset firms. However, it would not be appropriate for the government to intervene in commercial decisions taken by banks.

The government is committed to supporting safe innovation within our financial technology sector; HM Treasury regularly engages with a range of stakeholders in the cryptoasset sector and is also progressing work on legislation to implement its proposals for the future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, which will bring a number of cryptoasset activities into the regulatory perimeter for financial services for the first time.

The government takes the issue of bank account access very seriously, and that is why the Chancellor asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help us collect evidence to understand where account closures or refusals are happening and why.

The FCA’s interim report (“UK Payment Accounts: Access and Closures”) set out areas for further consideration by government in relation to business accounts and we are continuing to explore this issue.

HM Treasury acknowledges concerns regarding how banks’ decisions affect access to accounts and consumer payments to cryptoasset firms. However, it would not be appropriate for the government to intervene in commercial decisions taken by banks.

The government is committed to supporting safe innovation within our financial technology sector; HM Treasury regularly engages with a range of stakeholders in the cryptoasset sector and is also progressing work on legislation to implement its proposals for the future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, which will bring a number of cryptoasset activities into the regulatory perimeter for financial services for the first time.

The government takes the issue of bank account access very seriously, and that is why the Chancellor asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help us collect evidence to understand where account closures or refusals are happening and why.

The FCA’s interim report (“UK Payment Accounts: Access and Closures”) set out areas for further consideration by government in relation to business accounts and we are continuing to explore this issue.

HM Treasury acknowledges concerns regarding how banks’ decisions affect access to accounts and consumer payments to cryptoasset firms. However, it would not be appropriate for the government to intervene in commercial decisions taken by banks.

The government is committed to supporting safe innovation within our financial technology sector; HM Treasury regularly engages with a range of stakeholders in the cryptoasset sector and is also progressing work on legislation to implement its proposals for the future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, which will bring a number of cryptoasset activities into the regulatory perimeter for financial services for the first time.

The government takes the issue of bank account access very seriously, and that is why the Chancellor asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help us collect evidence to understand where account closures or refusals are happening and why.

The FCA’s interim report (“UK Payment Accounts: Access and Closures”) set out areas for further consideration by government in relation to business accounts and we are continuing to explore this issue.

HM Treasury acknowledges concerns regarding how banks’ decisions affect access to accounts and consumer payments to cryptoasset firms. However, it would not be appropriate for the government to intervene in commercial decisions taken by banks.

The government is committed to supporting safe innovation within our financial technology sector; HM Treasury regularly engages with a range of stakeholders in the cryptoasset sector and is also progressing work on legislation to implement its proposals for the future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, which will bring a number of cryptoasset activities into the regulatory perimeter for financial services for the first time.

The government takes the issue of bank account access very seriously, and that is why the Chancellor asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help us collect evidence to understand where account closures or refusals are happening and why.

The FCA’s interim report (“UK Payment Accounts: Access and Closures”) set out areas for further consideration by government in relation to business accounts and we are continuing to explore this issue.

HM Treasury acknowledges concerns regarding how banks’ decisions affect access to accounts and consumer payments to cryptoasset firms. However, it would not be appropriate for the government to intervene in commercial decisions taken by banks.

The government is committed to supporting safe innovation within our financial technology sector; HM Treasury regularly engages with a range of stakeholders in the cryptoasset sector and is also progressing work on legislation to implement its proposals for the future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, which will bring a number of cryptoasset activities into the regulatory perimeter for financial services for the first time.

In your question we have interpreted ‘undocumented’ as meaning people who are detected entering the UK who do not carry valid documentation which entitles them to come to the UK, and therefore are termed ‘irregular’ arrivals.

The Home Office publishes data on irregular arrivals to the UK in the quarterly Irregular Migration to the UK release which can be found on gov.uk. Data on small boat arrivals by nationality are published on gov.uk.

If by ‘undocumented’ arrivals you meant undetected arrivals, we cannot provide this as by the very nature of these individuals going undetected, we hold no information on them. Please see the ‘About the statistics’ section of the Irregular Migration to the UK release on gov.uk for more information on what the statistics do and do not include.

Information on asylum cases is published in the Immigration statistics quarterly release on gov.uk.

In your question we have interpreted ‘undocumented’ as meaning people who are detected entering the UK who do not carry valid documentation which entitles them to come to the UK, and therefore are termed ‘irregular’ arrivals.

The Home Office publishes data on irregular arrivals to the UK in the quarterly Irregular Migration to the UK release which can be found on gov.uk. Data on small boat arrivals by nationality are published on gov.uk.

If by ‘undocumented’ arrivals you meant undetected arrivals, we cannot provide this as by the very nature of these individuals going undetected, we hold no information on them. Please see the ‘About the statistics’ section of the Irregular Migration to the UK release on gov.uk for more information on what the statistics do and do not include.

Information on asylum cases is published in the Immigration statistics quarterly release on gov.uk.

Afghan families are provided with safe and clean accommodation in hotels, which are procured through Crown Commercial and contracting partners, whilst officials work to source appropriate settled accommodation for them. Those temporarily living in a hotel have access to healthcare, education, any essential items they need, as well as employment opportunities or Universal Credit.

Whilst we cannot comment on individual contracts, please be assured that the Home Office works hard to secure contracts that offer the best value for money, whilst providing an appropriate level of support to those under our care.

Mastiff, Ridgback, Wolfhound (MRW), High Mobility Tactical Vehicle (Jackal, Coyote), Foxhound and Husky are all protected mobility platforms procured for operations in Afghanistan.

Husky is no longer an in-service platform and is held entirely within the disposals fleet. I am withholding the numbers of the remaining in-service platforms held in storage as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness, or security of the Armed Forces.

Granting in Kind activity has considered each of the above platforms in detail, with Mastiff, Wolfhound and Husky forming significant elements of the UK's first two tranches of support to Ukraine.

408 Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks were originally procured for the Army in the 1990s. 227 platforms remain in the Army's current active fleet.

Withdrawing the Tranche 1 Typhoon aircraft enables the reinvestment required in the rest of the Typhoon fleet out to its out of service date. There are 30 Typhoon in Tranche 1. On current plans, the bulk of the Typhoon Tranche 1 aircraft will go out of service on 31 March 2025, whilst four will be retained until 2027.

In July 2022, the Ministry of Defence announced a further £2.35 billion investment in Typhoon, including fitting an electronically scanned radar, the European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk2, as well as other improvements under the Phase 4 Enhancement aircraft upgrade package.

On current planning the bulk of the Typhoon Tranche 1 aircraft will go out of service on 31 March 2025, whilst four will be retained until 2027. As the Tranche 1 fleet draws down, aircraft will undergo a Reduce To Produce programme to strip them of useable parts after which they will be sent for disposal action.

The retirement of Typhoon Tranche 1 will enable further investment in Typhoon Tranche 2 and 3.

The number of hours flown by the RAF Typhoon fleet is given below:

1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
2. 1 April to 31 December 2022.

The Government is committed to ensuring funding allocations are based on an up-to-date assessment of councils’ needs and resources. We will always work with local partners, including Fire and Rescue Authorities, to take stock of the challenges and opportunities they face as part of any potential reforms to local authority funding.

In July 2021 the Government issued a Written Ministerial Statement, which can be found (attached) here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-07-01/hcws140 , on reducing demand for water in response to the Defra consultation on 'measures to reduce personal water consumption'. Within this statement, we committed to developing a roadmap towards greater water efficiency in new developments and retrofits, including the exploration of revised building regulations and how the development of new technologies can contribute to meeting these standards. We will ensure that the underlying legislation can, where appropriate, accommodate any potential future expansion of rainwater harvesting, water re-use and storage options. We plan to publish this roadmap by the end of 2022.