Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) undertaking an urgent review of all asylum claims approved in the last ten years and (b) removing protection status for all people who entered the UK illegally.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are committed to our international obligations under the Refugee Convention when someone claims asylum in the UK, which provide that we must not penalise an individual on account of their illegal entry or presence, if they come directly from a territory where their life or freedom was threatened, present themselves without delay to authorities and show good cause for their illegal entry or presence.

The Convention establishes the principle of ‘non-refoulement’, which means that refugees must not be removed to a place where “their life or freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion”.

Any application for further leave to remain in the UK at the end of a grant of asylum leave is considered on its merits. A review of all asylum grants over the past decade would be disproportionate.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total amount of Universal Credit was paid to deceased recipients in each of the last ten financial years.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP does not hold this information over the requested period. DWP has operational data used to identify and recover UC overpayments from deceased recipients, although this does not cover the full time period requested and is not considered to be of suitable quality to accurately answer the question.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued to police forces on maintaining political neutrality whilst on duty.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

All police officers are required by law to act with impartiality in discharging their duties, under the Police Regulations 2003. This is underlined in the oath of attestation that all police officers personally take on appointment and the Policing Protocol is clear that each Chief Constable is accountable for leading their force in a way that is consistent with that duty of impartiality.

The College of Policing sets standards and provides guidance for policing, including an updated Code of Ethics published in 2024 and a complementary statutory Code of Practice for Ethical Policing.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate she has made of the number of farms that could be affected by proposed changes to inheritance tax.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, fixing the public finances, and funding public services. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.

The Government has set out that the reforms are expected to result in up to 520 estates across the UK claiming agricultural property relief, including those also claiming business property relief, paying more inheritance tax in 2026-27. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief, including those that also claim for business property relief, will not pay any more tax as a result of the changes in 2026-27, based on the latest available data.

The Government published a tax information and impact note on 21 July 2025 and this is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.

The Government will invest more than £2.7 billion a year in sustainable farming and nature recovery from 2026-27 until 2028-29. This includes the largest financial investment into nature-friendly farming ever.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, How many hotels are being used as contingency accommodation for irregular migrants as at 20 October 2025.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has been clear that the use of hotels is a temporary and short-term measure to ensure we meet our statutory obligation to accommodate destitute asylum seekers, while we tackle the systemic challenges due to the previous government’s decisions.

Accommodation data is published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels which can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release. The data can also be broken down by local authority. Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has had (a) discussions and (b) correspondence with Oldham Council on the proposed grooming gang inquiry since January 2024; and whether her Department has issued any guidance to local authorities concerning the structure or format of such projects.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

In June this year, Baroness Casey published her independent audit into group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse, and the Government accepted every recommendation it made, including establishing a new national inquiry. The national inquiry, equipped with statutory powers under the Inquiries Act 2005, will direct targeted local reviews in specific areas.

The former Home Secretary previously committed in January to provide guidance and establish a £5 million fund which would have supported non-statutory local inquiries. Our new approach of establishing a national statutory inquiry, will be strengthened through its statutory powers – therefore, we have discontinued work related to the previously announced guidance and £5 million fund.

In relation to Oldham specifically, the former Home Secretary made a commitment to support Oldham Council in undertaking their own local inquiry. The Department has been in discussions with Oldham Council about the right approach for Oldham, in light of the Government’s commitment to a new national inquiry. We also intend to consult the prospective chair of the national inquiry once appointed. We therefore intend to confirm the proposed approach for Oldham alongside further details about the national inquiry in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a cross-party commission to progress the public inquiry into group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government is driving forward work to establish the National Inquiry into Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse under the Inquiries Act 2005. It will be overseen by an Independent Commission with statutory powers to compel evidence and testimony so that institutions can be held to account for current and historic failures.

To further strengthen this work, the Prime Minister has confirmed that Baroness Louise Casey will support the inquiry, bringing her extensive experience to help uncover the truth and drive meaningful change.

Cross-party collaboration is vital in tackling child sexual abuse, including group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse. We are committed to enhancing transparency, public confidence, and progress in this vital area.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was overpaid to Universal Credit recipients in each of the last ten financial years.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

This information was published earlier this year and can be found via the following link:

Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2024 to 2025 estimates - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the employment rate of refugees in each of the last ten years.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office recently published “Refugee Integration Outcomes (RIO) Insights: Embarks, Economic Activity, and Housing between 2015 and 2021” on GOV.UK. This article presents analysis—including employment rate—from linked Census 2021 and administrative data for asylum and resettled refugees in England and Wales who were granted refugee status between 2015 and 2021.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the initial grant rate of asylum applications by the (a) ethnicity (b) nationality of the decision makers.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collates and publishes diversity data on staff, this can be accessed via Home Office workforce diversity statistics - GOV.UK.

However, the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many compliance investigations were (a) opened and (b) closed by HM Revenue and Customs on businesses classified under Standard Industrial Classification codes (a) 96020 (hairdressing and barbering) and (b) 96090 (nail and beauty services) in each year since 2020; and what the total (A) number and (b) value was of (1) penalties issued, (2) cash seizures and (3) civil recovery actions taken under the Proceeds of Crime Act in those sectors.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC does not hold specific data showing the number of hairdressers and nail salons investigated for tax non-compliance.

HMRC’s approach to tax compliance includes a range of activities that aim to both detect and tackle current non-compliance and change future behaviours. HMRC aims to help and support customers to understand their tax obligations and provides clear guidance to make it easy for them to get things right.

HMRC is aware that some workers and businesses in the hairdressing and beauty sector find it hard to understand their tax obligations. To help support these customers, HMRC has worked with trade bodies for this sector to develop new educational material including a YouTube video and has published guidance on GOV.UK to better explain the employment status and tax implications of different business models. Details can be found at: https://youtu.be/5o3au6PyXG8 and https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-employment-status-if-you-work-in-hair-and-beauty

Closing the Tax Gap is one of HMRC’s three priorities. The government is committed to measures which will raise over £7.5 billion additional tax revenue per year by 2029 to 2030. This includes the package to close the tax gap at Autumn Budget 2024 (£6.5 billion) and further messages at Spring Statement 2025 (over £1 billion).

As part of these packages, HMRC will receive extra funding over the next five years to recruit an additional 5,500 compliance staff and to fund 2,400 debt management staff.

HMRC has led multiple operations in the hair and beauty sector, specifically barbers and nail bars. For example, during March 2025, HMRC undertook a series of unannounced visits (including Turkish style barbers) across the West Midlands as part of a three-week operation conducted jointly with the NCA and other agencies. This exercise resulted in Police seizures under Proceeds of Crime provisions of more than £500k in cash and illegal funds.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has undertaken any formal risk assessments which have concluded that the disclosure of meeting records with NGOs on asylum accommodation policy would endanger the safety of (a) NGO staff and (b) Government officials.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

When engaging with the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum (NASF) and Strategic Engagement Group (SEG), minutes are taken at these meetings. There are no criteria defining ‘constructive dialogue’ with NGOs.

A list of non-governmental organisations who attended NASF and SEG since January 2023 is provided below:

Micro Rainbow

The No Accommodation Network (NACCOM)

British Red Cross

Refugee Action

Asylum Matters

Scottish Refugee Council

Refugee Council

Asylum Support Appeals Project (ASAP)

Freedom from Torture

Rainbow Migration

Helen Bamber Foundation

Migrant Help

Immigration Law Practitioners Network (ILPA)

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

No formal risk assessment has been undertaken. The disclosure of meeting records is handled in the usual way taking into account the wider Home Office risk assessment framework, disclosure and data protection provisions, and, where applicable, Freedom of Information guidance.

The Home Office publishes Freedom of Information (FOI) performance data, including the number of times exemptions under sections 36 and 38 of the FOI Act have been applied. This information is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics

Establishing whether these exemptions were applied for reasons relating to asylum policy or stakeholder engagement could only be obtained for the purposes of this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many freedom of information requests have been refused by her Department under section (a) 36 (b) 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on grounds relating to (i) asylum policy and (ii) stakeholder engagement since January 2023.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

When engaging with the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum (NASF) and Strategic Engagement Group (SEG), minutes are taken at these meetings. There are no criteria defining ‘constructive dialogue’ with NGOs.

A list of non-governmental organisations who attended NASF and SEG since January 2023 is provided below:

Micro Rainbow

The No Accommodation Network (NACCOM)

British Red Cross

Refugee Action

Asylum Matters

Scottish Refugee Council

Refugee Council

Asylum Support Appeals Project (ASAP)

Freedom from Torture

Rainbow Migration

Helen Bamber Foundation

Migrant Help

Immigration Law Practitioners Network (ILPA)

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

No formal risk assessment has been undertaken. The disclosure of meeting records is handled in the usual way taking into account the wider Home Office risk assessment framework, disclosure and data protection provisions, and, where applicable, Freedom of Information guidance.

The Home Office publishes Freedom of Information (FOI) performance data, including the number of times exemptions under sections 36 and 38 of the FOI Act have been applied. This information is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics

Establishing whether these exemptions were applied for reasons relating to asylum policy or stakeholder engagement could only be obtained for the purposes of this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish a list of non-governmental organisations who attended meetings of the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum and Strategic Employment Group since January 2023.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

When engaging with the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum (NASF) and Strategic Engagement Group (SEG), minutes are taken at these meetings. There are no criteria defining ‘constructive dialogue’ with NGOs.

A list of non-governmental organisations who attended NASF and SEG since January 2023 is provided below:

Micro Rainbow

The No Accommodation Network (NACCOM)

British Red Cross

Refugee Action

Asylum Matters

Scottish Refugee Council

Refugee Council

Asylum Support Appeals Project (ASAP)

Freedom from Torture

Rainbow Migration

Helen Bamber Foundation

Migrant Help

Immigration Law Practitioners Network (ILPA)

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

No formal risk assessment has been undertaken. The disclosure of meeting records is handled in the usual way taking into account the wider Home Office risk assessment framework, disclosure and data protection provisions, and, where applicable, Freedom of Information guidance.

The Home Office publishes Freedom of Information (FOI) performance data, including the number of times exemptions under sections 36 and 38 of the FOI Act have been applied. This information is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics

Establishing whether these exemptions were applied for reasons relating to asylum policy or stakeholder engagement could only be obtained for the purposes of this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department keeps formal (a) minutes and (b) other records of meetings of the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum and Strategic Engagement Group.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

When engaging with the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum (NASF) and Strategic Engagement Group (SEG), minutes are taken at these meetings. There are no criteria defining ‘constructive dialogue’ with NGOs.

A list of non-governmental organisations who attended NASF and SEG since January 2023 is provided below:

Micro Rainbow

The No Accommodation Network (NACCOM)

British Red Cross

Refugee Action

Asylum Matters

Scottish Refugee Council

Refugee Council

Asylum Support Appeals Project (ASAP)

Freedom from Torture

Rainbow Migration

Helen Bamber Foundation

Migrant Help

Immigration Law Practitioners Network (ILPA)

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

No formal risk assessment has been undertaken. The disclosure of meeting records is handled in the usual way taking into account the wider Home Office risk assessment framework, disclosure and data protection provisions, and, where applicable, Freedom of Information guidance.

The Home Office publishes Freedom of Information (FOI) performance data, including the number of times exemptions under sections 36 and 38 of the FOI Act have been applied. This information is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics

Establishing whether these exemptions were applied for reasons relating to asylum policy or stakeholder engagement could only be obtained for the purposes of this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria her Department uses to define constructive dialogue with NGOs in relation to the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

When engaging with the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum (NASF) and Strategic Engagement Group (SEG), minutes are taken at these meetings. There are no criteria defining ‘constructive dialogue’ with NGOs.

A list of non-governmental organisations who attended NASF and SEG since January 2023 is provided below:

Micro Rainbow

The No Accommodation Network (NACCOM)

British Red Cross

Refugee Action

Asylum Matters

Scottish Refugee Council

Refugee Council

Asylum Support Appeals Project (ASAP)

Freedom from Torture

Rainbow Migration

Helen Bamber Foundation

Migrant Help

Immigration Law Practitioners Network (ILPA)

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

No formal risk assessment has been undertaken. The disclosure of meeting records is handled in the usual way taking into account the wider Home Office risk assessment framework, disclosure and data protection provisions, and, where applicable, Freedom of Information guidance.

The Home Office publishes Freedom of Information (FOI) performance data, including the number of times exemptions under sections 36 and 38 of the FOI Act have been applied. This information is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics

Establishing whether these exemptions were applied for reasons relating to asylum policy or stakeholder engagement could only be obtained for the purposes of this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) average waiting time for people calling and (b) time people spent on hold for HMRC was in the last year.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC telephony performance data, including the average speed of answering a customer’s call, is published on a regular basis and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates

The definition of ‘average speed of answering a customer’s call’ is the average time spent waiting in the queue for an adviser. This is from the time that the customer finished listening to HMRC’s automated messages and completed their selection from HMRC’s automated menu to the time when they get to speak to an adviser.

The below table shows the average amount of time people spent on hold with HMRC – this is when a call has been answered by an adviser and the individual has subsequently been put on hold. The data covers the past year, broken down by quarter:

HMRC are taking steps to make sure more of their services are digital, so customers can self-serve online. HMRC online services and the HMRC app are convenient to access and receive high customer satisfaction ratings. As more people use HMRC online services, advisers are freed up to support those with more complex queries and those who are digitally excluded.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has paid to Serco in each of the last ten years.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer provided in PQ 15558.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an estimate of reoffending rates for prisoners released under the early release scheme.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We have had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe.

Whilst this change provided the intended medium-term relief, it was only ever a temporary change to bridge to a more sustainable solution. The Sentencing Bill has now been introduced to ensure we never run out of prison space again.

Our initial operational insights suggested there was not a significant change to the use and application of recall since the implementation of SDS40. We will, however, continue to monitor this.

The requested information cannot be provided because it would form a subset of the data that underpins future versions of these Official Statistics.

Proven reoffending rates are published regularly on an annual and quarterly basis. The most recent rates are available at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/collections/proven-reoffending-statistics.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refugees there are by nationality.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The information you have requested is published in the Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK. Data on asylum seekers who have been granted refugee permission at initial decision is published in table Asy_D02 of the asylum detailed datasets. Data on resettled refugees is published in table Res_D02 of the resettlement detailed datasets. The latest data is available up to the end of June 2025 and includes breakdowns by nationality. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many irregular migrants are housed in the Great Yarmouth Borough Council area; what accommodation is used to house those migrants; and what the cost is of housing those migrants.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in different areas is routinely published by the Government in table ASY D_11 here:

Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)

The Home Office does not publish asylum support data disaggregated by method of arrival.

Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system. Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential. Therefore, the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent on translation and interpretation in Jobcentres in the last financial year.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department carefully monitors the provision of translation and interpretation services for customers. It has not been possible to disaggregate expenditure on services for Jobcentres alone.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Ministry of Defence on the use of surplus military infrastructure for temporary detention and processing.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

As part of our commitment to close all asylum hotels, we are looking at a range of more appropriate sites including disused accommodation, industrial and ex-military sites so we can reduce the impact on communities.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the public purse was of Universal Credit payments made to people with refugee status in each of the last ten financial years.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to introduce English language learning as a condition of benefit receipt for foreign nationals.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department can require that claimants attend English language courses as a work preparation activity if this will make them more likely to find work, or to increase the hours they work. A sanction - which is a reduction in the amount of Universal Credit paid - is applicable where a claimant fails to meet a work preparation requirement without good reason.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department requires (a) Jobcentre staff and (b) benefits advisers to demonstrate English language proficiency as a condition of employment.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP complies with the requirement of the Immigration Act 2016 in requiring all of its employees in public-facing roles to speak English fluently, as outlined in the Government’s code of practice at www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-language-requirement-for-public-sector-workers-code-of-practice. This includes jobcentre staff and benefits advisers.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to allow Immigration Enforcement to issue immediate civil fines for non-compliance with Right to Work or Right to Rent requirements.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

In some areas where access to work, services or benefits is regulated, the measures require a third party to take action such as checking an individual’s eligibility to access work or rent a property. Sanctions exist where these requirements are not complied with.

In 2024 the Right to Rent Order amended the Immigration Act 2014 (the 2014 Act) to increase the maximum penalty that may be imposed on a landlord or agent who contravenes section 22 of that Act. The civil penalty was raised to £5,000 per lodger and £10,000 per occupier for a first breach, with repeat breaches set at £10,000 per lodger and £20,000 per occupier up from £500 and £3,000 respectively. There is no upper limit to the penalty amount, it is calculated on a per-person basis.

The Immigration Act 2016 introduced the criminal offence of leasing a property whilst knowing or having ‘reasonable cause to believe’ the tenant does not have the right to rent’, which supplements the 2014 Act and is aimed at targeting criminally intent landlords who continue to flout the rules.

In tandem, changes also came into force to reflect that the civil penalty for employers, was increased to £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach from £15,000, and up to £60,000 for repeat breaches, from the previous level of £20,000. There is no upper limit to what an employer could be penalised, penalties are imposed on a per-person basis. In criminal cases, a conviction for illegal employing a person carries a sentence of up to 5 years and/or an unlimited fine, for the most serious cases, those exploiting migrants could face criminal conviction for facilitation or trafficking offences and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The Government is leading a UK-wide crackdown on illegal working as part of a whole system approach to tackle illegal migration and to ensure fairness, order and control within the immigration and asylum system. This includes measures in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to clamp down on illegal working, Home Office Immigration Enforcement teams intensifying operational activity across the UK as well as the recently announced introduction of digital ID by the end of this Parliament.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reintroducing a hostile environment policy for people without a legal immigration status in relation to access to public services.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

In-country controls, introduced over many decades, regulate a migrant's access to public services and deny access to those in the UK with no lawful status. These policies and checks form part of the UK's domestic compliance and enforcement arrangements, aimed at deterring illegal migration, promoting compliance with immigration laws and supporting enforcement whilst protecting vulnerable migrants from exploitation.

Only those ordinarily resident in the UK are eligible for free healthcare. Non-urgent secondary healthcare, unless it has been paid for, is denied to all migrants who are not ordinarily resident or who have not paid the Immigration Health Surcharge. Migrants without lawful status can be charged for treatment. The relevant legislation in England is the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015.

Immigration status data is already shared with the NHS in England and Wales via the Home Office Right to Healthcare Application Programming Interface (API) to enable the determination of who is eligible for free NHS treatment and who is chargeable for treatment.

In some areas where access to services is regulated, the measures require a third party to take action such as checking an individual's eligibility to access work or rent a property. Sanctions exist where these requirements are not complied with.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to require proof of legal immigration status when registering with a GP or dentist.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

In-country controls, introduced over many decades, regulate a migrant's access to public services and deny access to those in the UK with no lawful status. These policies and checks form part of the UK's domestic compliance and enforcement arrangements, aimed at deterring illegal migration, promoting compliance with immigration laws and supporting enforcement whilst protecting vulnerable migrants from exploitation.

Only those ordinarily resident in the UK are eligible for free healthcare. Non-urgent secondary healthcare, unless it has been paid for, is denied to all migrants who are not ordinarily resident or who have not paid the Immigration Health Surcharge. Migrants without lawful status can be charged for treatment. The relevant legislation in England is the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015.

Immigration status data is already shared with the NHS in England and Wales via the Home Office Right to Healthcare Application Programming Interface (API) to enable the determination of who is eligible for free NHS treatment and who is chargeable for treatment.

In some areas where access to services is regulated, the measures require a third party to take action such as checking an individual's eligibility to access work or rent a property. Sanctions exist where these requirements are not complied with.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make English language proficiency a mandatory condition for (a) police recruits, (b) community support officers and (c) detention custody staff.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is committed to ensuring consistent, high standards for entry into the police, including for police staff. As set out in Regulations, police officers must demonstrate competence in written and spoken English.

We are working closely with the College of Policing to ensure that forces continue to make improvements to all entry routes. As part of this work, the College of Policing is currently consulting police leaders to assess and determine the appropriate English language standard required for all policing roles.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Justice on the potential merits of increasing the range of (a) financial penalties and (b) custodial sentences available to courts for (i) landlords who repeatedly house and (ii) employers who repeatedly employ irregular migrants.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

In some areas where access to work, services or benefits is regulated, the measures require a third party to take action such as checking an individual’s eligibility to access work or rent a property. Sanctions exist where these requirements are not complied with.

In 2024 the Right to Rent Order amended the Immigration Act 2014 (the 2014 Act) to increase the maximum penalty that may be imposed on a landlord or agent who contravenes section 22 of that Act. The civil penalty was raised to £5,000 per lodger and £10,000 per occupier for a first breach, with repeat breaches set at £10,000 per lodger and £20,000 per occupier up from £500 and £3,000 respectively. There is no upper limit to the penalty amount, it is calculated on a per-person basis.

The Immigration Act 2016 introduced the criminal offence of leasing a property whilst knowing or having ‘reasonable cause to believe’ the tenant does not have the right to rent’, which supplements the 2014 Act and is aimed at targeting criminally intent landlords who continue to flout the rules.

In tandem, changes also came into force to reflect that the civil penalty for employers, was increased to £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach from £15,000, and up to £60,000 for repeat breaches, from the previous level of £20,000. There is no upper limit to what an employer could be penalised, penalties are imposed on a per-person basis. In criminal cases, a conviction for illegal employing a person carries a sentence of up to 5 years and/or an unlimited fine, for the most serious cases, those exploiting migrants could face criminal conviction for facilitation or trafficking offences and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The Government is leading a UK-wide crackdown on illegal working as part of a whole system approach to tackle illegal migration and to ensure fairness, order and control within the immigration and asylum system. This includes measures in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to clamp down on illegal working, Home Office Immigration Enforcement teams intensifying operational activity across the UK as well as the recently announced introduction of digital ID by the end of this Parliament.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) average waiting time for people calling and (b) time people spent on hold for her Department was in each of the last five years.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The table below shows the Average Time to Answer and the Average Hold Time, in an hours, minutes and seconds (hh:mm:ss) format, for all people calling DWP for the last 5 business years, with 2025 to 2026 being to 12^th Oct’ 2025* only, that being the last date for which data is available.

DISCLAIMER Please note this information is derived from the Department’s management information, designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As such, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics. As DWP holds the information internally, we have released it. However, it is possible information held by DWP may change due to operational reasons and we recommend that caution be applied when using it.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has considered publishing annual performance metrics for local Immigration Compliance and Enforcement teams in the public domain.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Since this government came into office we have delivered results: we promised to deliver the highest rate of returns since 2018 and that has been achieved. We will continue to maximise the return of people, at the earliest opportunity, with no right to be in the UK. Those who undermine our border security and risk lives in an attempt to reach the UK should expect to face removal.

The performance metrics for individual ICE teams will not be published. To do so could provide insight into operational practices that could then be used to avoid enforcement action. Further, the publication of any metrics would fail to account for the fast moving nature of the work.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average (a) waiting time for people calling and (b) time spent on hold to the Universal Credit helpline was in the last year.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The table below shows the Average Time to Answer and the Average Hold Time, in an hours, minutes and seconds (hh:mm:ss) format, for all people calling Universal Credit for each of the last twelve complete reporting months.

DISCLAIMER Please note this information is derived from the Department’s management information, designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As such, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics. As DWP holds the information internally, we have released it. However, it is possible information held by DWP may change due to operational reasons and we recommend that caution be applied when using it.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many people with refugee status are resident in (a) council and (b) social housing by local authority.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My Department does not hold information on people claiming council or social housing who were formally granted refugee status and/or settlement.

Our social housing lettings in England statistical series, which can be found on gov.uk here, includes information on new social lettings only, based on the tenant’s self-reported main reason for leaving their last settled home. It shows that 2.0% of all new social housing lettings in 2023/24 were to households who self-reported as refugees (4,100 households).

Care should be taken when considering figures for new social lettings to refugees. The data is based on specific definitions and there may be overlaps and households missing from the statistics presented above.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department records the (a) nationality and (b) immigration status of tenants who purchase their homes under the Right to Buy scheme; and how many Right to Buy sales have been made by non-British nationals in each of the last five years.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My Department does not record the nationality or immigration status of tenants who have purchased their homes under the Right to Buy scheme, nor how many Right to Buy sales have been made to non-British nationals.

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.

On 2 July, the government announced further reforms to the Right to Buy, including increasing the length of time someone needs to have been a public sector tenant to qualify for Right to Buy from 3 to 10 years. Further detail can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement made on that day (HCWS771).

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) ministers and (b) special advisers from her Department have received briefings on analyses of (a) tax contributions and (b) benefits of people by (i) ethnicity, (ii) nationality and (iii) country of birth since 2020.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Treasury does not routinely publish information which is released in response to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. The FOI was answered in accordance with the Freedom of Information principles.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish the (a) figures, (b) charts and (c) underlying data tables on (i) income tax and (ii) indirect tax contributions by ethnicity referenced in her Department's Freedom of Information response FOI2025/18562.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Treasury does not routinely publish information which is released in response to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. The FOI was answered in accordance with the Freedom of Information principles.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative assessment her Department has made of (a) tax and (b) benefit contributions of people by (i) nationality and (ii) country of birth since 2020.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HM Treasury does not routinely publish information which is released in response to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. The FOI was answered in accordance with the Freedom of Information principles.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions there have been for crimes committed against (a) churches and (b) other Christian places of worship in England and Wales since 2010; and what proportion of all religious-premises offences this represents.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences, including violence against the person by defendant’s age, sex and ethnicity, in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.

It is not possible to disaggregate the data to identify individuals who were convicted of offences committed against a person from specific religious backgrounds including Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian churches/other places of worship nor the nationality of the offender. This information may be held in court records but to examine individual court records would incur disproportionate costs.

We are committed to creating a more stable and sustainable criminal justice system, in which victims and the public can have confidence. In December 2024, Government commissioned the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, led by Sir Brian Leveson, to propose reform to improve timeliness in the courts and deliver swift justice for victims.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether (a) his Department and (b) other Government departments distinguish between offences committed against (i) Christian, (ii) Muslim, (iii) Jewish and (iv) other places of worship in its (A) crime and (B) conviction data collections.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences, including violence against the person by defendant’s age, sex and ethnicity, in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.

It is not possible to disaggregate the data to identify individuals who were convicted of offences committed against a person from specific religious backgrounds including Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian churches/other places of worship nor the nationality of the offender. This information may be held in court records but to examine individual court records would incur disproportionate costs.

We are committed to creating a more stable and sustainable criminal justice system, in which victims and the public can have confidence. In December 2024, Government commissioned the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, led by Sir Brian Leveson, to propose reform to improve timeliness in the courts and deliver swift justice for victims.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department holds data on the (a) age, (b) sex, (c) ethnicity and (d) nationality of offenders convicted of criminal offences against Christian places of worship since 2010.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences, including violence against the person by defendant’s age, sex and ethnicity, in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.

It is not possible to disaggregate the data to identify individuals who were convicted of offences committed against a person from specific religious backgrounds including Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian churches/other places of worship nor the nationality of the offender. This information may be held in court records but to examine individual court records would incur disproportionate costs.

We are committed to creating a more stable and sustainable criminal justice system, in which victims and the public can have confidence. In December 2024, Government commissioned the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, led by Sir Brian Leveson, to propose reform to improve timeliness in the courts and deliver swift justice for victims.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve the (a) recording and (b) categorisation of crimes against (i) Christian churches and (ii) other religious sites.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences, including violence against the person by defendant’s age, sex and ethnicity, in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.

It is not possible to disaggregate the data to identify individuals who were convicted of offences committed against a person from specific religious backgrounds including Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian churches/other places of worship nor the nationality of the offender. This information may be held in court records but to examine individual court records would incur disproportionate costs.

We are committed to creating a more stable and sustainable criminal justice system, in which victims and the public can have confidence. In December 2024, Government commissioned the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, led by Sir Brian Leveson, to propose reform to improve timeliness in the courts and deliver swift justice for victims.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many immigration enforcement raids have taken place in each of the last five years.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The relevant statistical figures can be accessed via the official government website at the following link: Illegal working and enforcement activity to the end of September 2025 - GOV.UK

The government takes illegal working very seriously, and we are determined to clamp down on the employment of individuals with no right to work in the UK.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personal data breaches were reported by his Department to the Information Commissioner’s Office in each year since 2020; and how of those resulted in enforcement action.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

22 personal data incidents have been reported by the Ministry of Defence to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) since 2020.

Three of those resulted in enforcement action.

The personal data incidents reported to the ICO are listed in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts:

The Annual Report and Accounts for 2024-2025 has not yet been published. This report will include an additional incident identified in 2023 which happened in February 2022 but was not reported previously due to an injunction being in place.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of benefits claimants who require translation support during appointments; and at what cost to the public purse.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department does not hold data on the number of individual claimants who require interpreter support.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date (a) Ministers in his Department were informed of the data breach affecting Afghan nationals who worked with UK forces and (b) that breach was escalated to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Officials were alerted to the data incident on 14 August 2023, and it was reported the next day to Ministry of Defence (MOD) Head Office and Ministers in the previous Government. Immediate action was taken to ensure that the compromised dataset, which had appeared online, was removed and an internal investigation was conducted. The incident was reported to the Metropolitan Police and the Information Commissioner’s Office on 17 August 2025, within 72 hours of first learning about the data incident. The Information Commissioner’s Office has continued to work with the Department on this matter and on improvements to MOD data handling and protection.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether officials in her Department have had (a) meetings and (b) correspondence with (i) the Carbon Trust, (ii) MyEmissions, (iii) Raynor Foods Ltd. and (iv) UK food retailers on the (A) development and (B) testing of (1) carbon scores and (2) carbon ratings on food packaging.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Eco-labels on food are used by some businesses on a voluntary basis to help consumers make more sustainable choices.

Eco-labels based on robust environmental impact data could support informed consumer choices and business competition based on sustainability. Through the Food Data Transparency Partnership, Defra have conducted engagement on eco-labelling across the food and drink sector, including the Carbon Trust and MyEmissions as well as retailers. Minutes of meetings with our industry groups can be found on Food Data Transparency Partnership - GOV.UK.

The feedback helped identify two fundamental data challenges to address. The first challenge is how to accurately quantify product level environmental impacts. The second is the insufficient availability and quality of data used to inform these assessments from product supply chains. Defra-commissioned research has therefore focused on solving these two fundamental data challenges through the LED 4 Food project.  We continue to support new and existing industry-led initiatives to develop the evidence base in these areas. There are currently no plans for Government to make eco-labelling mandatory or to develop a Government eco-label.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many habitual residence tests related to Universal Credit assessments have been granted in each of the last five years.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The table below gives the number of Universal Credit (UC) Habitual Residence Test (HRT) assessments that resulted in a ‘pass’ decision in the past five years.

(Source: DWP UC HRT Administrative data)

Notes:

• The Habitual Residence Test (HRT) is nationality blind. It is applied to British citizens returning from abroad to check for factual habitual residency in the UK, as well as to foreign nationals to check they have an immigration status permitting access to public funds and that they are factually habitually resident.
• Not all HRT passes lead to a UC award as claimants need to meet all eligibility criteria.
• All figures are rounded to the nearest thousand decisions.
• An individual may have multiple HRT assessments and multiple passes.
• These figures are not Official Statistics. These figures stem from administrative data and represent the best estimates using current methodologies and assumptions about the data. Future improvements in methodology may lead to different subsequent estimates.
• Figures are for the UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will commission a review into the equality of protections for white British victims of hate crimes.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is determined to tackle all forms of hate crime wherever in the country it occurs, and whoever is responsible for committing it.

Race is already a protected characteristic in hate crime legislation in England and Wales - for example, the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 creates specific racially-aggravated offences, and defines a “racial group” as “a group of persons defined by reference to race, colour, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origins”, which covers white British individuals.

Accordingly, if someone commits a crime against a white British person and the perpetrator is motivated by - or demonstrates - racial hostility, the crime can be prosecuted as a hate crime. As such, the Government does not consider it necessary to commission a review into the equality of protections for white British victims of hate crimes.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's Prevent learning review, whether her Department plans to change to the definition Islamic terrorism to international terrorism.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Independent Review of Prevent recommended that the Government should keep the current terminology to describe Islamist and Extreme Right-Wing ideology to ensure language was accurate and accessible.

The Government has accepted this recommendation and will retain the current terminology. The UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, CONTEST, is kept under constant review to ensure our approach remains fit for purpose in response to emerging risks and challenges.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 81590 on Medical Treatments: Gaza, how many (a) children and (b) dependants have entered the UK under that scheme.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The information requested is not available from published statistics. 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.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people that entered the UK under the Gaza medical evacuation scheme have applied for asylum.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The information requested is not available from published statistics. 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.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October to Question 81590 on Medical Treatments: Gaza, whether routes for (a) extension and (b) variation of leave have been specified under the Immigration Rules.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Should individuals wish to remain in the UK beyond the initial 24 months, they can apply for further permission to stay under existing routes within the Immigration Rules, before their current permission to stay expires. Details about the criteria and how to apply are available on the GOV.UK website: Visas and immigration - GOV.UK.

The Home Secretary has agreed to grant leave to stay for up to two years with the ability to access public funds, including treatment and wraparound support in the UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether people who have entered the UK under the Gaza medical evacuation scheme have recourse to non-medical public funds.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Should individuals wish to remain in the UK beyond the initial 24 months, they can apply for further permission to stay under existing routes within the Immigration Rules, before their current permission to stay expires. Details about the criteria and how to apply are available on the GOV.UK website: Visas and immigration - GOV.UK.

The Home Secretary has agreed to grant leave to stay for up to two years with the ability to access public funds, including treatment and wraparound support in the UK.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of food consumed in the UK that is produced domestically.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The food production to supply ratio compares all domestic food production to supply, including food that the UK exports instead of consuming. In 2024, the production to supply ratio was 65%. When food exports are taken into account, Defra estimates that in 2024 57% of food consumed in the United Kingdom was domestically produced. Defra publishes both of these figures annually, in its Agriculture in the UK publication.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the total cost of (a) translation and (b) interpretation for services related to social housing in each of the last ten financial years.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My Department does not hold data on the cost of translation and interpretation for services related to social housing.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how questions were provided to the Prime Minister in advance of Prime Minister's questions since 5 July 2025, broken down by party.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

In line with long-standing convention, MPs are responsible for what they say in the chamber.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will assess the potential merits of barring non-UK nationals from (a) being the lead tenant for social housing (b) living in social housing.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 19776 on 20 December 2024.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information the Department holds on the number of Somali citizens living in social housing as a proportion of the Somali population living in the UK for which the latest data is available.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

My Department does not hold data on the type of housing tenure in which Somali nationals living in the UK reside.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will set out the labelling requirements that apply at point-of-sale in Defence Academy catering outlets to identify halal-certified meat; and whether customers are informed when certification involves specific slaughter methods.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

There is no requirement in law to inform customers of specific slaughter methods, and this practice is not commonplace within the Ministry of Defence (MOD). At the Defence Academy catering outlets, all halal-certified meat is explicitly labelled at the point of sale as ‘Halal Friendly’. Catering staff are also trained to provide dietary information upon request.

Halal meat is not supplied by default across Defence contracts. The unit price, supply chain and wastage of supplying halal-certified or any other meat at the Defence Academy is not held by the MOD, as this is a matter for our contractors. Information on the audit and traceability checks undertaken to verify Halal certification is also the responsibility of the providing contractor.

All halal meat supplied to the Defence Academy must comply with UK animal welfare legislation, including the requirement for pre-slaughter stunning. Certification bodies are not centrally mandated, but suppliers must meet MOD food safety and assurance standards.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the Government collects data on complaints of racial discrimination made by white British employees in the public sector.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are committed to upholding Britain’s long-standing record of protecting the rights of individuals against unlawful discrimination, and ensuring the Equality Act 2010 protects everyone.

The government does not hold this data centrally. The Courts and Tribunal Service collects data on claims made to Employment Tribunals relating to discrimination in the workplace, including racial discrimination. However, it is not possible to disaggregate this by the specific ethnic group of complainants in the public sector.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether her Department provides guidance to public bodies on ensuring that positive action does not result in unlawful discrimination against white applicants.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Section 158 of the Equality Act 2010 permits the use of positive action measures to alleviate disadvantages experienced by people who share a protected characteristic, reduce their under-representation in relation to particular activities, and meet their particular needs. It allows measures to be targeted to particular groups, including internships and training, to enable them to gain employment.

Section 159 permits an employer to take a protected characteristic into consideration when deciding whom to recruit or promote, where people who hold the protected characteristic are at a disadvantage or are under-represented. This can only be done where the candidates are as qualified as each other. The question of whether one person is as qualified as another is not a matter only of academic qualification, but a judgement based on the criteria the employer uses to establish who is best for the job. This could include matters such as suitability, competence and professional performance. Section 159 does not allow employers to have a policy or practice of automatically treating people who share a protected characteristic more favourably than those who do not have it in these circumstances; each case must be considered on its merits.

Any action taken in light of either Section 158 or 159 must be a proportionate means of addressing such disadvantage or under-representation. The Equality Act 2010 provides protections for people from discrimination in the workplace and in society which make it unlawful to treat someone unfairly or discriminate against anyone based on certain personal characteristics. This includes race and ethnicity. Guidance to help employers understand the difference between positive action and positive discrimination is available on gov.uk at www.gov.uk/government/publications/positive-action-in-the-workplace-guidance-for-employers.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) audit and (b) traceability checks are conducted to verify halal (i) certification and (ii) segregation in the Defence Academy catering supply chain; and how often compliance is reviewed.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

There is no requirement in law to inform customers of specific slaughter methods, and this practice is not commonplace within the Ministry of Defence (MOD). At the Defence Academy catering outlets, all halal-certified meat is explicitly labelled at the point of sale as ‘Halal Friendly’. Catering staff are also trained to provide dietary information upon request.

Halal meat is not supplied by default across Defence contracts. The unit price, supply chain and wastage of supplying halal-certified or any other meat at the Defence Academy is not held by the MOD, as this is a matter for our contractors. Information on the audit and traceability checks undertaken to verify Halal certification is also the responsibility of the providing contractor.

All halal meat supplied to the Defence Academy must comply with UK animal welfare legislation, including the requirement for pre-slaughter stunning. Certification bodies are not centrally mandated, but suppliers must meet MOD food safety and assurance standards.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on (a) the unit price (b) the supply chain and (c) wastage of supplying halal-certified meat by default at the Defence Academy.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

There is no requirement in law to inform customers of specific slaughter methods, and this practice is not commonplace within the Ministry of Defence (MOD). At the Defence Academy catering outlets, all halal-certified meat is explicitly labelled at the point of sale as ‘Halal Friendly’. Catering staff are also trained to provide dietary information upon request.

Halal meat is not supplied by default across Defence contracts. The unit price, supply chain and wastage of supplying halal-certified or any other meat at the Defence Academy is not held by the MOD, as this is a matter for our contractors. Information on the audit and traceability checks undertaken to verify Halal certification is also the responsibility of the providing contractor.

All halal meat supplied to the Defence Academy must comply with UK animal welfare legislation, including the requirement for pre-slaughter stunning. Certification bodies are not centrally mandated, but suppliers must meet MOD food safety and assurance standards.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) animal welfare and (b) assurance standards are required of halal-certified meat supplied at the Defence Academy; whether stunning is mandated; and which certification bodies are recognised.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

There is no requirement in law to inform customers of specific slaughter methods, and this practice is not commonplace within the Ministry of Defence (MOD). At the Defence Academy catering outlets, all halal-certified meat is explicitly labelled at the point of sale as ‘Halal Friendly’. Catering staff are also trained to provide dietary information upon request.

Halal meat is not supplied by default across Defence contracts. The unit price, supply chain and wastage of supplying halal-certified or any other meat at the Defence Academy is not held by the MOD, as this is a matter for our contractors. Information on the audit and traceability checks undertaken to verify Halal certification is also the responsibility of the providing contractor.

All halal meat supplied to the Defence Academy must comply with UK animal welfare legislation, including the requirement for pre-slaughter stunning. Certification bodies are not centrally mandated, but suppliers must meet MOD food safety and assurance standards.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to (a) initiate and (b) publish the findings of an emergency census in 2026.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

In July the Government confirmed the next census of England and Wales will take place in 2031.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data the DLVA records on where a driver passed their driving test when exchanging a non-UK licence for a UK licence.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

When a GB driving licence is issued in exchange for a licence issued in a non-GB country, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) add a ‘Code 70’ to the driver’s record to indicate that the driving licence was obtained through an exchange. Also, the driver record and the photocard driving licence display the country in which the exchanged licence was issued, the driving categories that the licence holder is entitled to drive and the start dates for each category.

To be eligible to exchange a foreign licence for a GB equivalent, the applicant would have to have passed their test in a European Union/European Economic Area country or a country designated for driving licence exchange.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the (a) age, (b) religion, (c) ethnicity and (d) country of birth of people (i) referred to the Prevent programme and (ii) convicted of terrorism-related offences in the UK in each of the last five years.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

Prevent aims to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It works to ensure that people who are susceptible to radicalisation are offered appropriate interventions and support, and that communities areWe have provided data for the financial years 2019/20 to 2023/24. Data for the latest financial year 2024/25 will be released 6^th November 2025 at Gov.uk.

Information on individuals convicted of terrorism-related offences in the UK is published quarterly by the Home Office in the statistical release titled Operation of Police Powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent legislation. This includes detailed data tables for Great Britain, covering a range of individual and offence-related characteristics, such as:

1. Age (Table A.10)

1. Data on religion is not available for all convicted individuals. However, religious affiliation is reported for those held in custody for terrorism-related offences in England and Wales and Scotland at the time of publication. (Table P.04)

1. Ethnicity (Table A.11)

1. Data on country of birth is not held by the Home Office. However, information on nationality is available. (Table A.12c)

Annual and quarterly breakdowns for the last five years and prior and are accessible via Operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 statistics - GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the value was of student loans that were written off in the last year; and what this was as a proportion of all outstanding student loans, by nationality.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The requested information can be found in the Student Loans Company’s Student loans in England publication, updated in July each year. The publication, ‘Student loans in England: 2024 to 2025’ can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loans-in-england-2024-to-2025.

The amount that has been cancelled or written off during the 2024/25 financial year, the total amount outstanding at the start of the financial year including interest and loans not yet due for repayment (after adjustments), and the proportion that write offs or cancellations make out of the starting balance can be found at: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fmedia%2F684c16b8da3d1b49e6797046%2Fslcsp012025.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK.

These statistics are not broken down by borrower nationality. This information is not readily available and cannot be obtained within the timeframe given to respond. Figures for the 2025/26 financial year will be available in the July 2026 publication.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has had correspondence with Wandsworth Council on external-speaker sessions in local schools on (a) migration and (b) asylum since January 2024.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Under sections 406 and 407 of the Equality Act 1996, schools must not promote partisan political views and should ensure that pupils are provided with a balanced treatment of political issues.

To support this, the department has published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools.

The guidance states that all schools should thoroughly assess external agencies before agreeing to work with them, ensuring that the external agencies used, including materials and communication with pupils, are appropriate and adhere to schools’ legal duties on political impartiality.

The guidance also sets out that most issues can be resolved locally through their existing processes for engaging with parents, carers and the wider school community, and that schools should treat concerns seriously.

Additionally, all schools and colleges must have regard to the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ statutory guidance when carrying out their duties, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

The department has not had any contact with Quality First Education Trust or Wandsworth Council on these issues.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides to schools on obtaining parental consent before children participate in classroom sessions involving external speakers discussing their personal experiences of (a) irregular and (b) illegal migration.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Under sections 406 and 407 of the Equality Act 1996, schools must not promote partisan political views and should ensure that pupils are provided with a balanced treatment of political issues.

To support this, the department has published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools.

The guidance states that all schools should thoroughly assess external agencies before agreeing to work with them, ensuring that the external agencies used, including materials and communication with pupils, are appropriate and adhere to schools’ legal duties on political impartiality.

The guidance also sets out that most issues can be resolved locally through their existing processes for engaging with parents, carers and the wider school community, and that schools should treat concerns seriously.

Additionally, all schools and colleges must have regard to the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ statutory guidance when carrying out their duties, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

The department has not had any contact with Quality First Education Trust or Wandsworth Council on these issues.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has issued guidance to schools on ensuring that classroom discussions involving people who have entered the UK illegally do not (a) compromise safeguarding standards and (b) expose pupils to political messaging.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Under sections 406 and 407 of the Equality Act 1996, schools must not promote partisan political views and should ensure that pupils are provided with a balanced treatment of political issues.

To support this, the department has published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools.

The guidance states that all schools should thoroughly assess external agencies before agreeing to work with them, ensuring that the external agencies used, including materials and communication with pupils, are appropriate and adhere to schools’ legal duties on political impartiality.

The guidance also sets out that most issues can be resolved locally through their existing processes for engaging with parents, carers and the wider school community, and that schools should treat concerns seriously.

Additionally, all schools and colleges must have regard to the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ statutory guidance when carrying out their duties, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

The department has not had any contact with Quality First Education Trust or Wandsworth Council on these issues.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with the Quality First Education Trust regarding (a) classroom sessions and (b) external speaker events addressing (i) migration and (ii) asylum issues in the 2024/25 academic year.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Under sections 406 and 407 of the Equality Act 1996, schools must not promote partisan political views and should ensure that pupils are provided with a balanced treatment of political issues.

To support this, the department has published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools.

The guidance states that all schools should thoroughly assess external agencies before agreeing to work with them, ensuring that the external agencies used, including materials and communication with pupils, are appropriate and adhere to schools’ legal duties on political impartiality.

The guidance also sets out that most issues can be resolved locally through their existing processes for engaging with parents, carers and the wider school community, and that schools should treat concerns seriously.

Additionally, all schools and colleges must have regard to the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ statutory guidance when carrying out their duties, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

The department has not had any contact with Quality First Education Trust or Wandsworth Council on these issues.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what oversight her Department exercises over academy trusts that invite external speakers to address pupils on politically sensitive issues.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Under sections 406 and 407 of the Equality Act 1996, schools must not promote partisan political views and should ensure that pupils are provided with a balanced treatment of political issues.

To support this, the department has published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools.

The guidance states that all schools should thoroughly assess external agencies before agreeing to work with them, ensuring that the external agencies used, including materials and communication with pupils, are appropriate and adhere to schools’ legal duties on political impartiality.

The guidance also sets out that most issues can be resolved locally through their existing processes for engaging with parents, carers and the wider school community, and that schools should treat concerns seriously.

Additionally, all schools and colleges must have regard to the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ statutory guidance when carrying out their duties, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

The department has not had any contact with Quality First Education Trust or Wandsworth Council on these issues.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Office for National Statistics has provided (a) data, (b) technical support and (c) modelling assistance her Department in connection with analyses of (i) tax contributions and (ii) benefit claims by (A) ethnicity, (B) nationality, and (C) country of birth.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces the Living Costs and Food survey which is one of the household microdata sets used regularly for analysis of tax and welfare measures by protected characteristics to fulfil the requirements under the Public Sector Equality Duty in the Equality Act 2010. The ONS has not provided any technical support or modelling assistance.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) average waiting time for people calling and (b) time people spent on hold to Jobcentres was in the last year.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

We cannot provide the data requested for this Parliamentary Question. Jobcentres span multiple benefit streams and business functions and therefore we do not retain telephony data specifically relating to Jobcentres.

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department has spent on social media advertising by (a) influencer and (b) organisation in each of the last five financial years.

Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)

The Scotland Office has not spent on social media advertising with influencers in the last five financial years.

The Office has spent the following on social media advertising over the past five financial years.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2025 to Question 82834 on Social Security Benefits: English Language, what the total cost was for English language courses as a work preparation activity in each of the last five years.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

This information is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which UK-registered (a) non-Governmental organisations, (b) charities and (c) UN agencies have received more than £10 million in funding for projects involving (i) norm change, (ii) gender ideology and (iii) climate justice since 2021.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Since 2021, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has used the Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) to guide decisions on how UK foreign aid is spent effectively. The PrOF sets out mandatory rules and principles to ensure programmes align with strategic priorities, deliver measurable impact, and represent value for money. The latest edition of the PrOF is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-programme-operating-framework/fcdo-programme-operating-framework-overview.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will take steps to ensure that overseas aid funding is not used to promote (a) social transformation, (b) gender ideology, (c) climate justice and (d) other ideological or political objectives.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Since 2021, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has used the Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) to guide decisions on how UK foreign aid is spent effectively. The PrOF sets out mandatory rules and principles to ensure programmes align with strategic priorities, deliver measurable impact, and represent value for money. The latest edition of the PrOF is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-programme-operating-framework/fcdo-programme-operating-framework-overview.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department undertakes (a) risk and (b) equality impact assessments on aid projects whose stated objectives include (i) influencing norms and (ii) gender ideology.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Since 2021, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has used the Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) to guide decisions on how UK foreign aid is spent effectively. The PrOF sets out mandatory rules and principles to ensure programmes align with strategic priorities, deliver measurable impact, and represent value for money. The latest edition of the PrOF is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-programme-operating-framework/fcdo-programme-operating-framework-overview.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much overseas aid funding has been allocated to projects or programmes aimed at promoting (a) climate justice, (b) social transformation and (c) norm change since 2021.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Since 2021, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has used the Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) to guide decisions on how UK foreign aid is spent effectively. The PrOF sets out mandatory rules and principles to ensure programmes align with strategic priorities, deliver measurable impact, and represent value for money. The latest edition of the PrOF is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-programme-operating-framework/fcdo-programme-operating-framework-overview.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what strategic reasons aid is used to fund projects described as aiming to (a) influence social norms and (b) achieve social transformation overseas.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Since 2021, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has used the Programme Operating Framework (PrOF) to guide decisions on how UK foreign aid is spent effectively. The PrOF sets out mandatory rules and principles to ensure programmes align with strategic priorities, deliver measurable impact, and represent value for money. The latest edition of the PrOF is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-programme-operating-framework/fcdo-programme-operating-framework-overview.

Death of Wayne Broadhurst

English language and translation policy in the NHS

Cost of asylum seeker accommodation

Support for pubs

Found: Warrington South) Lloyd Hatton (Labour; South Dorset) Chris Kane (Labour; Stirling and Strathallan) Rupert Lowe