Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average cost per trip was for taxi journeys commissioned under asylum accommodation contracts in 2025 by purpose of journey.

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

The Home Secretary took immediate action to ensure public money is spent efficiently and fairly by ordering a review into the use of taxis for asylum seekers.

Home Office officials are working to implement a new approach that assumes public transport as the default mode for all funded transport for medical and other defined ad hoc appointments, with taxi or private hire vehicles permitted only in exceptional, clearly defined circumstances.

Contracted Accommodation Providers are yet to finalise the submission of invoices in respect of 2025 transport costs and these will require reconciliation and validation before payment is made and averages can be calculated.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the spend was on taxis and private transport services provided to illegal migrants in 2025 by region and supplier.

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

The Home Secretary took immediate action to ensure public money is spent efficiently and fairly by ordering a review into the use of taxis for asylum seekers.

Home Office officials are working to implement a new approach that assumes public transport as the default mode for all funded transport for medical and other defined ad hoc appointments, with taxi or private hire vehicles permitted only in exceptional, clearly defined circumstances.

Contracted Accommodation Providers are yet to finalise the submission of invoices in respect of 2025 transport costs and these will require reconciliation and validation before payment is made and averages can be calculated.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many penalty deductions, service credits and contractual remedies have been applied to suppliers under the Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract series since 1 March 2019 by supplier and year.

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

The Department has recovered £74 million in the current financial year through profit-share repayments and service credits – the largest restitution since the contracts were mobilised.

The information requested on how many penalty deductions, service credits and contractual remedies have been applied to suppliers under the Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract (AASC) series since 1 March 2019, broken down by supplier and by year, is considered commercially sensitive.

Regular disclosure of such detailed contractual performance data would prejudice the commercial interests of both the Home Office and its suppliers. For this reason, the Department does not routinely publicly release this information.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of asylum-related expenditure is delivered through outsourced contracts rather than in-house provision.

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

We do not report and hold data at this granularity and would only be obtainable at disproportionate cost.

The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office annual report and accounts: 2024 to 2025 - GOV.UK.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many nights were spent in hotels by Departmental staff in financial year 2024-25 by the star rating of the hotel.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

In financial year 2024-25, Corporate Travel Management (CTM) information shows 11,102 nights were spent in hotels by departmental staff. The range of hotels available for employees to book is limited by price on the specific date in line with department limits, star rating data is not captured.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many nights were spent in hotels by Departmental staff in financial year 2024-25 by the star rating of the hotel.

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

The Home Office Hotel booking operator is currently unable to provide star‑rating information for the hotels displayed within their booking tool.

This is because several external content providers do not supply star ratings consistently, which means the operator cannot offer accurate or reliable star‑rating data to its customers.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many nights were spent in hotels by Departmental staff in financial year 2024-25 by the star rating of the hotel.

Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Cabinet Office does not record individual hotel star ratings.

This is because the Cabinet Office’s travel policy prioritises specific amenities, like a workspace, and safety requirements within fixed nightly rate ceilings rather than subjective commercial gradings.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many nights were spent in hotels by Departmental staff in financial year 2024-25 by the star rating of the hotel.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department uses a travel management company to book hotel accommodation for staff. The star rating of the hotel is not recorded. The department’s travel and expenses policy ensures value for money by setting clear limits for hotel costs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2026 to Question 107846 on GP Practice lists, how many and what proportion of patients registered on 1 January 2026 were foreign nationals.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold data regarding the number and proportion of National Health Service general practice registrations that were for people not born in the United Kingdom.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to the public purse was of feasibility studies conducted by their Department for projects that did not proceed in the last five years.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The cost of feasibility studies conducted by the department on school building capital projects that did not proceed in the last 5 years is £8,689,888.

These costs are made up of capital funding, property costs, professional and technical services, staff and project management costs, and fees.

Between 2010 and 2024, over £300 million has also been spent on over 50 free schools that subsequently closed, money that could have been invested in places for children with special educational needs and disabilities or addressing urgent condition needs in existing schools.

This is why the department has taken action on the free schools pipeline. Projects that proceed will be those that meet the needs of communities, respond to demographic and housing demand, and raise standards without undermining the viability of existing local schools and colleges.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many nights were spent in hotels by Departmental staff in financial year 2024-25 by the star rating of the hotel.

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

The total number of nights spent by Departmental staff in all hotels in 2024-25 was 28,905. The information requested on hotel star ratings is not held and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many nights were spent in hotels by Departmental staff in financial year 2024-25 by the star rating of the hotel.

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

The requested information is not centrally collated by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many nights were spent in hotels by Departmental staff in financial year 2024-25 by the star rating of the hotel.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

In financial year 2024/25 there were 6,269 nights spent in hotels by Department staff. We are unable to provide the star ratings of the hotels associated with these stays, as this information is not captured by our service provider.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many nights were spent in hotels by Departmental staff in financial year 2024-25 by the star rating of the hotel.

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

DWP policy is clear that a hotel may only be booked for clear business reasons and with approval from the staff member’s manager. The policy also puts limits on the cost of hotels, which naturally excludes premium hotels.

The total number nights spent in hotels in 2024/25 was 73,893. Information on hotel star rating is not routinely recorded in our system, but any stays must comply with the relevant departmental cost limit.

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

Found: 47.0%) Chris Kane (Labour, Stirling and Strathallan) (added 28 Oct 2024) 45 of 83 (54.2%) Rupert Lowe

Found: Last, but by no means least, Rupert Lowe.

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