Written questions by Davis.

What data her Department holds on the number of times UK police forces have authorised targeted surveillance of journalists and lawyers.

Powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA) contain additional safeguards and protections, where the intention is for relevant public authorities to acquire sensitive material, such as information relating to confidential journalistic material, journalists' sources and matters subject to legal professional privilege. Further specific detail is set out in the statutory codes of practice pursuant to the powers under these Acts.The Investigatory Powers Commissioner provides oversight of the use of investigatory powers and publishes annual reports which provide statistical information relating to the operation of powers.

What guidance her Department has issued to police forces on the use of surveillance powers to carry out surveillance on journalists and lawyers.

Powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA) contain additional safeguards and protections, where the intention is for relevant public authorities to acquire sensitive material, such as information relating to confidential journalistic material, journalists' sources and matters subject to legal professional privilege. Further specific detail is set out in the statutory codes of practice pursuant to the powers under these Acts.The Investigatory Powers Commissioner provides oversight of the use of investigatory powers and publishes annual reports which provide statistical information relating to the operation of powers.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2024 to Question 10678 on Deportation and Detainees, if she will issue cross-Departmental guidance on the public disclosure of unpublished data.

The Statement of Compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics sets out how the Home Office and all Government departments should comply with the Code of Practice agreed by the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) and Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).As referenced in the Ministerial Code, Ministers are mindful of the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice which defines good practice in relation to official statistics, though it is not for the Home Secretary to offer guidance to government on the public disclosure of unpublished data.Our Head of Profession for Statistics meets regularly with the OSR to discuss statistics matters, including the department’s approach to handling requests for operational data that might not be routinely published. OSR have been supportive of the general approach this department has taken. In the note on embedding transparency in government written by the OSR Director General and published on 14th October, the Home Office was cited as having demonstrated good practice in this regard.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2024 to Question 10678 on Deportation and Detainees, what steps she takes to ensure that her Department follows the Office for Statistics Regulation's guidance on data transparency.

The Statement of Compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics sets out how the Home Office and all Government departments should comply with the Code of Practice agreed by the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) and Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).As referenced in the Ministerial Code, Ministers are mindful of the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice which defines good practice in relation to official statistics, though it is not for the Home Secretary to offer guidance to government on the public disclosure of unpublished data.Our Head of Profession for Statistics meets regularly with the OSR to discuss statistics matters, including the department’s approach to handling requests for operational data that might not be routinely published. OSR have been supportive of the general approach this department has taken. In the note on embedding transparency in government written by the OSR Director General and published on 14th October, the Home Office was cited as having demonstrated good practice in this regard.

What steps she is taking to ensure that her Department publishes the statistics it collects on detention and returns promptly.

The Home Office publishes quarterly data on detention and returns in the “Immigration system statistics release”. Data up to the end of June 2024 was published on 22nd August 2024 following our usual publication cycle. The Home Office pre-announces these statistical releases in the “Research and statistics calendar”, in accordance with its Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics.Publishing timescales for returns and detention statistics are in line with other statistical indicators published in the Immigration system statistics release. For information about our statistics, and our quality assurance processes, please see the user guide.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, as well as quality and availability of data.