Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There has been no expenditure by the Department on translating documents into any languages other than English and other languages native to the United Kingdom since 2023.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The total cost incurred by the department in providing translation services from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, other than English and languages native to the UK, is £16,594.18 and these are broken down as follows:
Language | Total |
Arabic | 10,904.45 |
Bangla (Bangladesh) | 536.45 |
Gujarati (India) | 536.45 |
Lithuanian | 447.74 |
Pashto (Afghanistan) | 536.45 |
Polish | 447.74 |
Punjabi | 536.45 |
Romanian | 447.74 |
Somali | 680.07 |
Ukrainian | 447.74 |
Urdu | 536.45 |
Yiddish | 536.45 |
| 16,594.18 |
The total cost incurred by the department in providing translation services for the period 01/04/2024 to 25/03/2025 is £25,286.79. This is split between £24,820.60 for British sign language and braille support and £318.57 for other translation services.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of levels of immigration on the availability of (a) social housing and (b) private rental housing stock over the next Parliament.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government is determined to address the dire inheritance left by its predecessor and restore order to the asylum and immigration systems, delivering lower net migration.
The factors affecting supply and demand in the private rented sector are complex and difficult to disentangle. As well as demographic change, they include house prices, rent levels, taxation policy, interest rates, and the movement of tenants into homeownership and social rented housing. It is not possible to isolate the specific impact of each of these factors.
Eligibility for social housing is already tightly controlled. If a person’s visa means that they cannot access state benefits or local authority housing assistance, they are not eligible for an allocation of social housing. Migrants arriving in the UK on student or work visas are not eligible and nor are those who arrive in the country illegally with no leave to remain.
The most sustainable long-term method to improve housing availability and affordability is to increase the supply of housing. That is why the government’s Plan for Change includes a hugely ambitious milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England in this Parliament.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has considered the potential merits of requiring prisoners convicted for (a) murder, (b) rape and (c) terrorism offences to work in prison to repay legal aid.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Legal aid is not paid directly to the defendant. It is paid to lawyers and ensures defendants have a fair trial and can be punished for their crimes.
The Legal Aid Agency ensures public money is used efficiently by applying means and merits (the interests of justice test) tests, except where exempt by regulation, to all defendants before the magistrates’ and Crown courts, when they make an application for legal aid funding. Where a defendant’s income is above the minimum income threshold, they are required to pay contributions for up to six months during the case. If convicted, they may be required to pay contributions from their capital assets up to the full amount of their defence costs.
The Court of Appeal can also make ‘Recovery of Defence Costs Order’ after upholding a conviction to recover legal aid costs where the defendant has been assessed to have the financial means to do so.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to recommendation 8 of part 1 report of the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, published on 9 July 2025, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of adopting the recommendation on trends in the level of (a) theft and (b) drug dealing.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government will carefully consider Sir Brian’s recommendations in detail before setting out a full response to the report in the autumn.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was given in legal aid to foreign nationals accused of (a) murder, (b) rape and (c) terrorism offences in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The requested information relating to legal aid expenditure in respect of specific criminal offences could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost to the public purse was for legal aid for cases in relation to immigration offences in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The requested information relating to legal aid expenditure in respect of specific criminal offences could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been given legal aid for cases in relation to immigration offences in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The requested information relating to legal aid expenditure in respect of specific criminal offences could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will consider the potential merits of conducting a review of the legal aid policy.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The previous Government commissioned the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review (CLAIR), chaired by Lord Bellamy KC in 2021, to provide analysis of the criminal legal aid system and explore the ways in which the Government could support its long-term sustainability. This Government continues to keep the Review’s findings under consideration as we look at options for reform in the criminal legal aid sector.
On 19 December 2024, we announced that criminal legal aid solicitors will receive up to £92 million more a year, subject to consultation, to help address the ongoing challenges in the criminal justice system. The consultation for this has now closed. Additionally, in November 2024, we announced our response to the Crime Lower consultation, confirming an uplift to the lowest police station fees, introducing a new Youth Court fee scheme, and paying for travel in certain circumstances. Together, these changes amounted to a £24 million investment for criminal legal aid providers.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was given in legal aid to foreign nationals in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Legal aid expenditure since 2010 is published as part of the Legal Aid Agency’s official statistics. The most recent publication can be viewed here [see table 1.0] and includes expenditure up to 31 March 2025.
Information about legal aid expenditure in respect of foreign nationals is not centrally recorded.