Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the latest estimate of population growth over the most recent five year period in (1) England, (2) Wales, (3) Scotland and (4) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the Permanent Secretary for the Office for National Statistics.
The Rt Hon. the Lord Wigley
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
6 July 2026
Dear Lord Wigley,
As Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what is the latest estimate of population growth over the most recent five year period in (1) England, (2) Wales, (3) Scotland and (4) Northern Ireland (HL1519).
The most recent available population estimates(1) for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for the five-year period between mid-2019 and mid-2024 can be found in table 1 below.
Population estimates are regularly revised to incorporate new data and methods and should not be taken to be accurate to the level of precision provided.
On 29 July 2026, we will be publishing population estimates for England and Wales for mid- 2025. On 14 July 2026 the National Records for Scotland will be publishing population estimates for Scotland for mid-2025. In September/October 2026, the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency will publish population estimates for Northern Ireland for mid-2025.
Yours sincerely,
Darren Tierney
Table 1: Population estimates for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland from Mid-2019 to Mid-2024
| Mid-2019 | Mid-2024 | Change | Change (%) |
England | 56,230,056 | 58,620,101 | 2,390,045 | 4.3% |
Wales | 3,087,732 | 3,186,581 | 98,849 | 3.2% |
Scotland | 5,411,200 | 5,546,900 | 135,700 | 2.5% |
Northern Ireland | 1,898,519 | 1,927,855 | 29,336 | 1.5% |
Source: Population estimates from the ONS, the National Records of Scotland, and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the latest estimate of annual revenue to the Treasury from VAT collected in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the Permanent Secretary for the Office for National Statistics.
Lord Wigley
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0PW
18 June 2026
Dear Lord Wigley,
As Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I am responding to your
Parliamentary Question asking what the latest estimates of annual revenue to HM Treasury
from Value Added Tax (VAT) collected in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
are (HL847).
Certain public sector bodies can recover VAT incurred on selected purchases and
acquisitions made to support their non-business activities. The figures presented below in
Table 1 represent total VAT receipts, i.e. before any recoveries.
Table 1: Value Added Tax receipts for the financial year ending 31 March 2025
£ millions | UK | England | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland |
Revenue | 202,726 | 170,522 | 9,607 | 16,647 | 5,950 |
% 100 |
| 84.1 | 4.7 | 8.2 | 2.9 |
Source: Country and regional public sector finances[1], Office for National Statistics
Figures are estimates created by allocating total UK VAT revenue to countries. We allocate revenue to industry sectors using information from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC's) VAT theoretical tax liability model and apportion revenue from these sectors to countries of the UK using relevant demographic and expenditure Patterns.
Yours sincerely,
Darren Tierney
[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/countryandregionalpublicsectorfinances
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the outcomes of the recent elections in the devolved nations, what steps they plan to take to improve their capacity to "work closely with the devolved governments" as stated in the King's Speech made on 13 May.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This government has been clear since day one that rebuilding the country requires UK-wide delivery, working effectively with all levels of government. Good intergovernmental relations remain a priority.
The Prime Minister has spoken to the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales following the recent elections and noted his desire for continued positive engagement between the governments in the interests of citizens across the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and the Minister for Intergovernmental Relations will continue to engage with the heads of the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and their deputies on shared interests. This is in addition to ongoing regular intergovernmental engagement between ministers at departmental level.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many immigrants took residence in the UK in the latest year for which figures are available; and how many of those came to the UK by small boat crossing of the English Channel.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the Permanent Secretary for the Office of National Statistics.
Darren Tierney | Permanent Secretary
The Rt Hon. the Lord Wigley
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
15 April 2026
Dear Lord Wigley,
As Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how many immigrants took residence in the UK in the latest year for which figures are available; and how many of those came to the UK by small boat crossing of the English Channel (HL15948).
Based on our latest estimates[1] which look at long-term international migration (long-term is where people change their usual place of residence for a period of 12 months or more). In the year ending June 2025, we estimated that:
898,000 people came to the UK for 12 months or more
693,000 people left the UK for 12 months or more
Therefore, net migration was estimated at 204,000[2]
While these figures include those arriving for asylum, the ONS does not produce estimates on the number of arrivals by small boat. However, the Home Office and Border Force provide data on small boat arrivals for the last 7 days[3] and a timeseries updated weekly back to 2018. In year ending June 2025, the Home Office estimates that the number of people recorded as arriving in the UK on small boats was 43,309[4].
Those arriving in small boats who claim asylum would appear in our asylum estimates. In year ending June 2025, the ONS immigration estimate includes a total of 96,000 people that came to the UK for asylum.
Yours sincerely,
Darren Tierney
[2] Net migration is calculated by subtracting emigration estimates from immigration estimates. We do this with unrounded estimates so the rounded numbers may not always match this calculation exactly.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the latest figure for the gross domestic product per capita in Wales.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the gross domestic product per capita was in (1) Wales, (2) England, (3) Scotland, (4) Northern Ireland, and (5) the United Kingdom, in (a) 2000, (b) 2005, (c) 2010, (d) 2015, (e) 2020, and (f) 2025.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter below from the Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics.
Lord Wigley
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
28 January 2026
Dear Lord Wigley,
As Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what the gross domestic product per capita was in (1) Wales, (2) England, (3) Scotland, (4) Northern Ireland, and (5) the United Kingdom, in (a) 2000, (b) 2005, (c) 2010, (d) 2015, (e) 2020, and (f) 2025 (HL13812).
The figures requested, shown in Table 1, are taken from the Regional economic activity by gross domestic product, UK 1998 to 2023 release, which is the latest annual publication of regional gross domestic product (GDP) estimates. We are unable to provide figures for 2025 currently, so we have given estimates for 2023 instead.
All the estimates in our regional GDP release are consistent with those for the UK published in the preceding UK National Accounts, the Blue Book. The current edition is consistent with Blue Book 2024, and for comparability we have reported UK figures from that edition in this response. Please note that more recent estimates for the UK have subsequently been published by the UK National Accounts, but those estimates will lack direct comparability with the estimates we have for nations of the UK.
GDP per capita is calculated by dividing the total GDP for a nation by its total resident population, using the ONS mid-year population estimates. GDP for the UK includes some activity that cannot be assigned to any region, which we call extra-regio. This activity includes offshore oil and gas extraction, the activities of UK embassies abroad and UK armed forces posted overseas. For direct comparability with estimates for individual UK nations we advise use of GDP per capita for the UK less extra-regio, which removes this unallocated element of UK GDP.
Yours sincerely,
Darren Tierney
Table 1: Gross domestic product per capita (£ pounds)
| 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2023 |
Wales | 13,709 | 17,094 | 18,649 | 21,979 | 23,883 | 29,316 |
England | 18,933 | 23,389 | 25,933 | 30,045 | 32,153 | 40,382 |
Scotland | 16,455 | 21,387 | 24,076 | 27,797 | 28,996 | 37,192 |
Northern Ireland | 15,086 | 18,949 | 19,857 | 22,830 | 25,040 | 32,944 |
UK less extra-regio | 18,352 | 22,784 | 25,249 | 29,273 | 31,308 | 39,403 |
United Kingdom | 18,693 | 23,153 | 25,630 | 29,434 | 31,491 | 39,845 |
Source: ONS, Gross domestic product per capita in current market prices
2. GDP for the UK includes some activity that cannot be assigned to any region, which we call extra-region.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their most recent estimate of the total number of positions in the home civil service; and how many of these posts fall under the UK Government, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and the Northern Ireland executive respectively.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The table below shows the number of home civil servants on a headcount and FTE basis as at 30 June 2025 by UK central government departments, Scottish Government and Welsh Government. The Northern Ireland Executive is supported by the Northern Ireland Civil Service which is not part of the home civil service.
| Headcount | Full-time equivalent (FTE) |
UK Central Government Departments | 516,005 | 483,980 |
Scottish Government | 28,730 | 27,325 |
Welsh Government | 5,995 | 5,660 |
Home Civil Service Total | 550,730 | 516,950 |
Source: Public Sector Employment Statistics, ONS
Notes:
Numbers may not sum to total due to rounding
Figures include Diplomatic Service.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to rejoin the EU’s Erasmus+ Programme.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
At the UK-EU Summit in May, the UK agreed to work towards association to the Erasmus+ programme on financial terms to be mutually agreed, which should ensure a fair balance as regards the contributions of and benefits to the UK. Negotiations are ongoing, and the timelines for any association are subject to further discussion.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will allow representatives of political parties from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to discuss their legislative programmes with UK civil servants in the event that there is a realistic prospect of those parties entering government in their respective devolved administrations.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The approach to any discussions between opposition parties and officials of the devolved governments of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for those governments. The Cabinet Manual sets out that it is for the Prime Minister to authorise contact between UK Government civil servants and opposition parties ahead of a general election.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the latest figure for the total number of people employed in the Civil Service, and how many of those people are employed in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, (4) Northern Ireland, and (5) overseas.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Headline information on the number of civil servants are published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics as part of the accredited official statistics release ‘Public Sector Employment Statistics’. Latest data as at June 2025 shows that there are 550,730 civil servants on a headcount basis and 516,950 on a FTE basis.
More detailed information on employment numbers by region including overseas are published annually by the Cabinet Office as part of the accredited official statistics release ‘Civil Service Statistics’. Latest information as at 31 March 2025 can be found at table 1 below:
Table 1: Regional distribution of Civil Service employment, as at 31 March 2025
Country | Headcount | FTE |
England | 440,845 | 413,970 |
Northern Ireland | 4,880 | 4,640 |
Scotland | 56,675 | 53,275 |
Wales | 41,155 | 38,220 |
Overseas | 3,760 | 3,740 |
Unknown | 2,345 | 2,300 |
Total | 549,660 | 516,150 |
Source: Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES), Cabinet Office