Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) transparency and (b) accountability in the administration of child maintenance services.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is committed to ensuring transparency and accountability in the administration of the Child Maintenance Service (CMS).
The Child Maintenance Decision Makers’ Guide is published on GOV.UK and provides transparency around CMS policy and guidance for both caseworkers and customers. This guidance is used alongside the Child Support Act 1991 and associated regulations, ensuring that all decisions comply with DWP policy and statutory requirements.
In addition, CMS issues operational instructions that support caseworkers in their day-to-day decision-making and promote the consistent and uniform application of rules.
The Department also publishes quarterly CMS statistics, with the most recent release covering data up to December 2025. These are supported by detailed breakdowns on Stat‑Xplore and a suite of tables within the national statistics.
Accountability is strengthened through independent external audits through National Audit Office and Government Internal Audit Agency.
External Audit reports are prepared every year and are included in the annual accounts: CMS Client Funds Accounts, providing assurance over the management of funds and enabling parliamentary and public scrutiny. For the year 25/26, going forward, Client Funds Accounts will be removed, and reporting of CMS funds will be included in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what information his Department holds on trends in the number of jobs in the oil and gas sector since 2023.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government holds information on employment trends in the oil and gas sector from a range of sources, including industry data and independent research.
The Office for National Statistics estimates that direct employment in the sector was around 27,000 in 2023 and around 28,000 in 2024 on a provisional basis.
Analysis shows strong skills transferability from oil and gas to offshore clean energy roles.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the longest time was that it has taken for a paid for priority and super priority application to be turned around and decided since 2000.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Statistics on UK Visas and Immigration applications is published in table VSI_01a on GOV.UK in the ‘Visas, status and immigration data: October to December 2025’, as part of the 'Migration Transparency data'. The information displayed goes back to 2021. For migration transparency data before 2021 please see the ‘Migration Transparency Data – March 2014 to December 2024’ on National Archives website.
The VSI_01a data table provides data on the volume of overseas and in-country applications received and input for each route and performance against service standard for each route including for Priority and Super Priority Services.
UKVI’s communications to visa customers applying for Priority and Super Priority Services set out that it can take longer to get a decision beyond the advertised waiting times for these services. For example, if the Home Office needs to ask for more information or check details with other government departments. Where an individual who has applied for these services may experience a delay beyond advertised times for these services, customers are notified by relevant UKVI caseworking teams.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2026, to Question 120066, on Electoral Register: EU Nationals, whether he has an estimate of the number of qualifying EU citizens in (a) England and (b) Northern Irelan who are eligible to register to vote, following the implementation of the Elections Act 2022, who are not otherwise entitled to be on the franchise by virtue of being Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizens.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government does not hold data on the number of qualifying EU citizens who are eligible to register to vote in England or Northern Ireland following the implementation of the Elections Act 2022.
As set out in the answer to Question UIN 120066 on 18 March 2026, the Office for National Statistics has not produced updated estimates of EU citizens eligible to vote following the changes to voting rights implemented through the Elections Act 2022.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of GP appointment systems for patients who do not have access to the internet.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We understand that not all patients have access to or want to use online services. The GP Contract is clear that patients should always have the option of telephoning or visiting their practice in person, and all online tools must always be provided in addition to, rather than as a replacement for, other channels for accessing a general practice (GP).
The 2026/27 GP Contract includes a new requirement for practices to enable online appointment requests throughout the duration of core opening hours, which will ease the pressure on phone lines for people who prefer to telephone.
The Office for National Statistics’ Health Insight Survey from March 2026 shows that 73.7% of patients reported it was “easy” to contact their GP, up from 60.9% in July 2024.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time is between (a) the issuing of a deportation order and (b) the removal of the individual from the UK in the most recent year for which data is available.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Some of the information that you have requested regarding FNOs is not available from published statistics.
The Home Office does publish data on FNO returns in the quarterly Immigration System Statistics release which can be viewed at, Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK. This publication includes quarterly data on enforced, voluntary and port FNO returns (of which ‘deportations’ are a legal subset) and are published in table ‘Ret_D03’ of the returns detailed datasets accompanying the release. The Home Office also recently published figures on FNO returns (which include both enforced and voluntary returns) between 1 December 2022 and 31 January 2026, which can be found here: Returns from the UK between 1 December 2022 and 31 January 2026 - GOV.UK.
Over 8,700 foreign national offenders (FNOs) have been returned from the UK under this government, and we will continue to do everything we can to remove these vile criminals from our streets.
The Home Office provides the data on FNOs who are subject to deportation action, living in the community. These are published quarterly in the Immigration Enforcement Data, which is available at, Migration transparency data - GOV.UK.
Work is currently underway to publish more detailed information on FNOs subject to deportation. Further information on this work can be found at: Statistics on foreign national offenders and the immigration system - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign national offenders subject to a deportation order remain in the UK for which the latest data is available.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Some of the information that you have requested regarding FNOs is not available from published statistics.
The Home Office does publish data on FNO returns in the quarterly Immigration System Statistics release which can be viewed at, Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK. This publication includes quarterly data on enforced, voluntary and port FNO returns (of which ‘deportations’ are a legal subset) and are published in table ‘Ret_D03’ of the returns detailed datasets accompanying the release. The Home Office also recently published figures on FNO returns (which include both enforced and voluntary returns) between 1 December 2022 and 31 January 2026, which can be found here: Returns from the UK between 1 December 2022 and 31 January 2026 - GOV.UK.
Over 8,700 foreign national offenders (FNOs) have been returned from the UK under this government, and we will continue to do everything we can to remove these vile criminals from our streets.
The Home Office provides the data on FNOs who are subject to deportation action, living in the community. These are published quarterly in the Immigration Enforcement Data, which is available at, Migration transparency data - GOV.UK.
Work is currently underway to publish more detailed information on FNOs subject to deportation. Further information on this work can be found at: Statistics on foreign national offenders and the immigration system - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many deportation orders issued against foreign national offenders resulted in (a) enforced removals, (b) voluntary departures and (c) no removal in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Some of the information that you have requested regarding FNOs is not available from published statistics.
The Home Office does publish data on FNO returns in the quarterly Immigration System Statistics release which can be viewed at, Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK. This publication includes quarterly data on enforced, voluntary and port FNO returns (of which ‘deportations’ are a legal subset) and are published in table ‘Ret_D03’ of the returns detailed datasets accompanying the release. The Home Office also recently published figures on FNO returns (which include both enforced and voluntary returns) between 1 December 2022 and 31 January 2026, which can be found here: Returns from the UK between 1 December 2022 and 31 January 2026 - GOV.UK.
Over 8,700 foreign national offenders (FNOs) have been returned from the UK under this government, and we will continue to do everything we can to remove these vile criminals from our streets.
The Home Office provides the data on FNOs who are subject to deportation action, living in the community. These are published quarterly in the Immigration Enforcement Data, which is available at, Migration transparency data - GOV.UK.
Work is currently underway to publish more detailed information on FNOs subject to deportation. Further information on this work can be found at: Statistics on foreign national offenders and the immigration system - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many deportation orders were issued against foreign national offenders in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Some of the information that you have requested regarding FNOs is not available from published statistics.
The Home Office does publish data on FNO returns in the quarterly Immigration System Statistics release which can be viewed at, Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK. This publication includes quarterly data on enforced, voluntary and port FNO returns (of which ‘deportations’ are a legal subset) and are published in table ‘Ret_D03’ of the returns detailed datasets accompanying the release. The Home Office also recently published figures on FNO returns (which include both enforced and voluntary returns) between 1 December 2022 and 31 January 2026, which can be found here: Returns from the UK between 1 December 2022 and 31 January 2026 - GOV.UK.
Over 8,700 foreign national offenders (FNOs) have been returned from the UK under this government, and we will continue to do everything we can to remove these vile criminals from our streets.
The Home Office provides the data on FNOs who are subject to deportation action, living in the community. These are published quarterly in the Immigration Enforcement Data, which is available at, Migration transparency data - GOV.UK.
Work is currently underway to publish more detailed information on FNOs subject to deportation. Further information on this work can be found at: Statistics on foreign national offenders and the immigration system - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Peter Prinsley (Labour - Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what action is the Home Secretary taking to implement the recommendations of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration report on age assessments to ensure that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are properly safeguarded.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office accepted all eight of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) age assessment recommendations which were designed to improve training, guidance, assurance, resources and communication.
Initial age decisions were a primary focus of the report and, to date, the Home Office has:
The National Age Assessment Board (NAAB) was also a key focus of the inspection and improvements have been made to assurance frameworks to further ensure age assessments are conducted consistently, robustly and in line with both legislative requirements and best practice.
We have also focused on improving our use of technology. The NAAB online referral portal will also be going live in the next few months which will improve access for local authorities by providing a new, streamlined route for referring age assessment cases to the NAAB. This new technology will deliver operational efficiencies and enable referrals to be made more easily and quickly.
The Home Office has improved the quality of age assessment data. To strengthen transparency, the publication of age assessment official statistics will resume as part of the Immigration Statistical Release scheduled for 21 May 2026. This release will include new disaggregated data on the outcomes of age disputes. Over time, this will provide a more complete national picture, make clearer distinctions between stages of the process and allow improved monitoring.
We continue to develop proposals on how we can share more information with local authorities, where appropriate to support effective planning and safeguarding. We are also engaging directly with stakeholders on progress made against the recommendations to ensure they are delivered in a way that continues to strengthen protections for children.