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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of cash losses incurred by his Department arising from (a) theft, (b) fraud, (c) arson, (d) sabotage and (e) gross carelessness in the last 12 months.

Estimates and actual losses for 2023-24 are currently in the process of being finalised and will be published in our Annual Report and Accounts. Losses from theft and fraud are expected to be in the region of losses incurred in previous years. The figures for 2021-22 and 2022-23 may be found in the following reports: Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22 and Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23. The level of detected fraud across Defra in 2021-22 may also be found in the cross-Government Fraud Landscape Report. We are unable to provide any estimates regarding arson, sabotage and gross carelessness as our losses data is aggregated and it is not possible to easily report this level of detail.