Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department holds information on the number of UK road traffic accidents caused by immigrants driving without a valid full or provisional UK driving licence.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
This information is not held by the Department for Transport.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that immigrants in the UK do not drive on public roads under a non-GB issued licence for longer than 12 months.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
While the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is responsible for issuing driving licences, enforcement of the law is a matter for the police.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has considered the potential merits of cutting VAT for food and drink served in pubs, social clubs and brewery taprooms.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the significant contribution made by hospitality businesses to economic growth and social life in the UK.
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK's second largest tax, forecast to raise £180 billion in 2025/26. Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer.
Where pubs incur VAT in producing the food they sell, this can be claimed back in the normal way, provided that they are registered for VAT. Businesses with a turnover below the £90,000 per year threshold may choose not to register for VAT, in which case they do not charge VAT on their sales and cannot reclaim it on their input costs.
HMRC estimate that the cost of a 5 per cent reduced rate for accommodation, hospitality and tourist attractions would be around £13 billion this financial year. If the scope were also to include alcoholic beverages, the cost would be approximately £3 billion greater.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her department monitors the whereabouts of people in the UK who overstay their visa.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We expect people with no right to be here to leave the country voluntarily but, where they do not, Immigration Enforcement will seek to enforce their departure.
The Home Office does not routinely categorise immigration offenders by the manner in which they became irregular. The Home Office monitors those individuals in the UK that are here on a temporary visa and, where we know or suspect that they have overstayed, they become liable for enforcement action.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department holds information on the number of immigrants granted asylum or indefinite leave to remain that have a criminal record either in the UK or abroad.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The requested information is not in a reportable format and can only be collated at disproportionate cost.
As explained in this note published in April 2025, systems for collecting and compiling data related to foreign national offenders in the immigration system are currently undergoing a transition to improve the quality of information held by the department. The Home Office proposes to publish more detailed statistical reporting on FNOs subject to deportation and those returned to countries outside of the UK once system developments are complete.
Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.