Written questions by Cleverly.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the withdrawal of funding for AI auto-contouring technology on patient care.

We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new capacity, including artificial intelligence where it is beneficial to do so.As the Department focuses on shifting from analogue to digital, we will continue to review opportunities to utilise artificial intelligence to speed up diagnostic performance, bring down waiting times, and ultimately improve patient care and outcomes.Furthermore, any future spending commitments beyond 2025/26 will be determined through the next phase of the Spending Review process, which will conclude in June.

What steps his Department is taking to help mitigate the loss of the AI auto-contouring technology tool for cancer treatment planning.

We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new capacity, including artificial intelligence where it is beneficial to do so.As the Department focuses on shifting from analogue to digital, we will continue to review opportunities to utilise artificial intelligence to speed up diagnostic performance, bring down waiting times, and ultimately improve patient care and outcomes.Furthermore, any future spending commitments beyond 2025/26 will be determined through the next phase of the Spending Review process, which will conclude in June.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact in changes to Official Development Assistance provided to Jordan on regional stability.

The UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) supports Jordan's transition towards economic self-sufficiency, helps reduce the drivers of migration and has supported Jordan as it delivered humanitarian assistance to Gaza. The Minister for International Development made Jordan her first official visit overseas in her new role from 23-25 March. She announced that UK funding for the Global Concessional Financing Facility will support Jordan's efforts to host its 3.5 million refugee population. Reducing the overall size of our ODA budget will necessarily have an impact on the scale and shape of the work we do globally. Decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review and resource allocation processes, based on various factors including impact assessments.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the effectiveness of Official Development Assistance provided to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

We continue to assess all overseas development assistance robustly against government priorities. In line with standard practice, the UK conducts an Annual Review of UK funding to The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East to assess performance in key areas including service delivery and reforms. All annual reviews are published on DevTracker.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in Official Development Assistance on the operations of the World Food Programme.

The Minister for Development met Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), during her recent trip to Paris, and recognises the important work of the WFP. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance was allocated to the World Food Programme in each of the last five financial years.

Headline Measure of ODA to WFP:YearODA (£1,000s)2019512,4972020484,0312021205,7292022207,8772023172,325The Statistics on International Development (SID) National Statistics report, published on the gov.uk website, provides an overview of all official UK spend on Official Development Assistance (ODA). ODA is an international measure and is collected and reported on a calendar year basis. Final UK ODA figures for 2024 will be published in Autumn 2025, via Statistics on International Development: Final UK Aid Spend 2024.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in Official Development Assistance on the humanitarian response capability of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

As the Prime Minister stated, the UK will continue to play a key humanitarian role in Gaza. We cannot yet confirm funding allocations for financial year 2025-26, but continue to assess all overseas development assistance robustly against government priorities. The UK provided £41 million in financial year 2024/25 for United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This supports delivery of UNRWA's vital work, ensuring that Palestinians have access to humanitarian assistance, education and healthcare in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the region.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in Official Development Assistance on UNICEF’s ability to deliver services to vulnerable children.

The United Nations Children's Fund remains a key partner for delivery of the Foreign Secretary's priorities such as education, health, and humanitarian, including Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in Official Development Assistance funding on UNICEF programmes supported by the UK.

The United Nations Children's Fund remains a key partner for delivery of the Foreign Secretary's priorities such as education, health, and humanitarian, including Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in Official Development Assistance on UK strategic interests in the Middle East.

Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review and resource allocation processes, based on various factors including impact assessments. Parliament will be informed of the bilateral country budget allocations in the normal way when the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Annual Report and accounts are laid before Parliament. The Middle East remains vital to achieving our priorities which include preventing further conflict, supporting stability, and lifting vulnerable people out of crisis, and the UK continues to be a trusted and reliable partner across the region.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance was allocated to UNICEF in each of the last five financial years.

Based on the most recent "Statistics on International Development" publications, the total amount of UK Official Development Assistance allocated to the United Nations Children's Fund is as follows:YearAmount2023£351,078,0002022£210,240,0002021£225,541,0002020£460,739,0002019£477,217,000

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance was allocated to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in each of the last five financial years.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) plays a vital role in delivering humanitarian assistance in Gaza and enabling the broader international response through its logistics and distribution network. Figures for the UK Funding to UNRWA for the last five financial years can be found below. The decrease in funding from the Financial Year 2020/21 to Financial Year 2021/22 was due to the move from 0.7 per cent to 0.5 per cent Official Development Assistance.Financial YearTotal Funding2024/25£41,000,0002023/24£35,000,0002022/23£18,700,0002021/22£15,920,0002020/21£63,685,574

What steps her Department is taking to reduce small boat crossings.

I refer the Rt Hon Gentleman to the Statements made by the Home Secretary when moving the Border Security Asylum and Immigration Bill for its second reading on 10 February 2025, and when reporting on the UK’s hosting of the Organised Immigration Crime summit on 31 March 2025.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the withdrawal of funding for AI auto-contouring technology on (a) cancer treatment waiting times, (b) patient outcomes and (c) the workload of NHS cancer specialists; and whether he has considered alternative funding mechanisms for the rollout of that technology.

The Department supports the National Health Service in reviewing opportunities to utilise artificial intelligence (AI) to transform diagnostic performance, bring down waiting times, and support staff with their workload.Furthermore, the Department is carrying out work to assess the barriers of effective adoption and improve the way AI tools are deployed across the NHS through a number of initiatives, including the NHS AI Lab’s Ethics Initiative, which invests in research and practical interventions that could strengthen the ethical adoption of AI within health and care, and addresses risks and concerns over their use.

What recent estimate she has made of the total cost of providing accommodation for asylum seekers in hotels in each of the next five years; and what these costs were in each of the past five years.

The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

What discussions she has had with her international counterparts on third-country processing arrangements for people seeking to claim asylum in the UK.

The Government will continue to work with international partners to tackle the global migration crisis. The Home Secretary has convened an international summit focussed on Organised Immigration Crime, bringing together Interior ministers and law enforcement experts from across the world to develop our combined response to the gangs who facilitate this vile trade in human lives.

How many asylum seekers who have had their applications rejected have been deported from the UK since July 2024; and what steps is she taking to increase such deportations in the next six months.

The Home Office has recently published the number of asylum related returns between 05 July 2024 and 22 March 2025 in Returns from the UK from 5 July 2024 to 22 March 2025 - GOV.UK.

With reference to her Oral Statement of 22 July 2024 on Border Security and Asylum, Official Report, columns 384-387, how many people who would have been eligible for (a) processing and (b) relocation to Rwanda have remained in the UK.

I refer the Rt Hon Gentleman to the Statement form the Home Secretary on 22 July 2024, to which this question refers, and which explains the fundamental flaw in the premise of his question, namely that – during his own time as Home Secretary, he was unable to establish a way to make the Rwanda scheme operational, and as such, the categories referred to in this question do not exist.Nevertheless, the Rt Hon Gentleman will be pleased to note that – since coming to office – this Government has ensured the removal of more than 24,000 people with no right to be in the UK, the highest nine-month total for returns since January to September in 2017.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to support farmers to remain (a) competitive, (b) resilient, and (c) sustainable after the end of the Sustainable Farming Incentive.

The primary responsibility for being competitive, resilient and sustainable rests with farm businesses themselves. The Sustainable Farming Incentive is an important offer, but it is part of a wider package. We remain committed to investing in environmental land management schemes. We plan to launch the new Higher Tier scheme later this year; Capital Grants will re-open in summer 2025; we continue to move forward with Landscape Recovery; and we are increasing payment rates for Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) agreement holders to recognise their ongoing commitment to delivering environmental outcome. Funding from the farming budget also supports the provision of advice within the sector. The Farming Advice Service can assist farmers to review what advice and guidance is available to meet their business needs.

What steps he is taking to help improve early breast cancer diagnosis.

Improving early diagnosis of cancer, including breast cancer, is a priority for the Government. The National Health Service will hit all cancer waiting time targets, so that no patient waits longer than they should.As the first step to ensure faster diagnosis, the NHS is delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week. To support early detection and diagnosis, the NHS in England carries out approximately two million breast cancer screens each year in hospitals and mobile screening vans, usually in convenient community locations.All women between 50 and 71 years old have the opportunity to be screened every three years for breast cancer, to help detect abnormalities and intervene early to reduce the number of lives lost. Additionally, United Kingdom guidelines recommend that women with a moderate or high risk of breast cancer, because of their family history, should start having screening mammograms every year in their forties.On World Cancer Day, the Government announced a major world-leading trial to demonstrate whether artificial intelligence (AI) can help doctors catch breast cancer earlier to enable faster treatment and save more lives, while freeing up valuable resources and capacity. Thirty testing sites across the country will be enhanced with the latest digital AI technologies, ready to invite women already booked in for routine screenings on the NHS to take part.