Written questions by Anderson.

If she will make an estimate of the total cost of (a) translations and (b) interpretation services in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in each of the last three years.

The schools national funding formula (NFF) allocates core funding to local areas for mainstream schools. The NFF includes an English as an additional language (EAL) factor. Pupils attract this funding to their school if their first language is not English and if they entered the state education system in England in the past three years. The table below shows the total funding allocated through the EAL factor from the 2021/22 to 2025/26 financial years:Financial YearPrimary EAL fundingSecondary EAL fundingTotal EAL fundingEAL funding as a proportion of total NFF funding2021/22£311 m£108 m£420 m1.1%2022/23£307 m£105 m£412 m1.1%2023/24£318 m£116 m£434 m1.0%2024/25£343 m£141 m£484 m1.1%2025/26£365 m£173 m£539 m1.1%

What criteria the Government has when choosing appropriate hotels for asylum seeker accommodation.

I refer the Hon Member to the Answer I gave to Question 71421 on 4 September.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help tackle dog on dog attacks.

Defra is working with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to encourage responsible dog ownership, to ensure dog control issues are addressed before they escalate and to make sure the full force of the law is applied. As part of this work, we have reconvened the Responsible Dog Ownership taskforce to explore measures to promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog. The taskforce is considering four themes: education, training for both dogs and their owners, enforcement, and improving data on dog attacks. We look forward to receiving the findings and recommendations from the taskforce in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure British (a) embassies and (b) consulates are adequately resourced to support British citizens when abroad.

Ensuring that we have the right people in the right places to support those who require consular services is a top priority for the UK Government. We regularly review how we resource consular services to ensure we are providing the right support to British people overseas. Our Consular staff are contactable 24/7, 365 days a year, providing help to more than 25,000 British people a year around the globe, and issuing more than 30,000 emergency travel documents.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to bring people into high streets.

This Government is taking several steps to regenerate high streets to make them attractive to businesses, communities and visitors. The Government has announced communities funding for up to 350 places, including the 75 places named in the Plan for Neighbourhoods in March 2025. The Plan for Neighbourhoods will provide £1.5bn to some of the most left-behind communities in the United Kingdom over ten years – including Kirkby-in-Ashfield. Places will be able to use their £20m to enrich their town centre offering and revive footfall in their high streets. Additionally, the Government is tackling vacancy with High Street Rental Auctions, giving local authorities the power to auction rental rights of persistently vacant commercial properties. We are also legislating through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill for a new Community Right to Buy, enabling communities to acquire valued assets. These measures will help revive footfall, boost local economies, and empower communities.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of releasing the location of asylum seeker accommodation at the local authority level.

The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

What steps her Department is taking to support regional airports.

Regional airports are vital in addressing transport inequity by connecting all regions of the UK to national and international opportunities. They serve our local communities by supporting thousands of jobs while maintaining social and family ties and strengthening the bonds between the four nations. Government supports connectivity across the union through our joint funding of three Public Service Obligation (PSO) routes into London from Newquay, Dundee and Derry/Londonderry. The UK aviation market operates predominantly in the private sector. Airports invest in their infrastructure to attract passengers and airlines, while airlines are well placed to deliver services to their customers by responding to demand for different routes. Ministers and officials at the Department meet regularly with regional airports to discuss issues such as regional air connectivity.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure immigration status is recorded on digital systems when Universal Credit claims are processed.

Universal Credit records the immigration status of a claimant.

If she will make it her policy to prevent irregular migrants who are living in hotels from being able to go out into the community freely.

Asylum seekers living in asylum accommodation are not detained and are free to come and go from their accommodation as they wish.

How many and what proportion of applicants for (a) asylum or (b) refugee status who have had their application refused have been granted humanitarian leave to remain in the last 2 years.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on outcomes of claims, including those granted humanitarian leave, is published in table Asy_D02 of the asylum detailed datasets. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to 2025 Q2 (April to June).

What estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of traffic congestion on the economy.

The Department for Transport publishes transport analysis guidance to help assess the economic cost of congestion associated with different policy interventions. It also regularly publishes statistics on speeds, delay and reliability on different types of roads. However, it does not routinely assess the economic cost of congestion on the road network as a whole.

What the estimated cost of (a) fraud and (b) error in Universal Credit claims was in each of the last five years.

Estimates of the overpayment cost of fraud and error in the benefit system for the past five financial years can be found at: Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with stakeholders from the fishing industry.

The Fisheries Minister and officials regularly engage with stakeholders across the UK fishing industry through established forums and working groups, including producer organisations, trade associations, and Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities. The Department also works closely with the devolved governments and Arms’ Length Bodies to ensure a joined-up approach to fisheries management. Most recently, the Secretary of State and the Fisheries Minister visited Newlyn at the end of July to meet representatives of the Cornish fishing sector, and the Fisheries Minister visited Northern Ireland on 20 and 21 August, which included discussions with fishermen, processors and industry leaders in Portavogie, Ardglass and Kilkeel.

How many migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats have been found carrying (a) drugs and (b) weapons upon arrival in the UK in the last year.

All migrants arriving by small boats are subject to physical searches upon arrival, and clothing is removed and replaced as part of initial reception processing.Some small weapons – for example, knives – have occasionally been seized as a result of those searches over the past seven years, but we have no record of any attempts to struggle illicit drugs into the UK via this route or any firearms.

What assessment she has made of the potential risk of Class A drug smuggling across the English Channel in migrant small boats.

All migrants arriving by small boats are subject to physical searches upon arrival, and clothing is removed and replaced as part of initial reception processing.Some small weapons – for example, knives – have occasionally been seized as a result of those searches over the past seven years, but we have no record of any attempts to struggle illicit drugs into the UK via this route or any firearms.

What search procedures are conducted on migrants immediately upon arrival from a small boat.

All migrants arriving by small boats are subject to physical searches upon arrival, and clothing is removed and replaced as part of initial reception processing.Some small weapons – for example, knives – have occasionally been seized as a result of those searches over the past seven years, but we have no record of any attempts to struggle illicit drugs into the UK via this route or any firearms.

What information they hold on the number of workdays that were completed remotely in their Department in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.

The Northern Ireland Office follows the cross Civil Service expectation that everyone spend at least 60% of their time at a Government building or on official business, such as visiting stakeholders, unless they have an agreed adjustment or exception. Deputy Directors monitor records of team office attendance and therefore data is not held centrally.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure compliance with benefit eligibility rules by foreign nationals.

The Department applies strict compliance and benefit eligibility checks to all claimants regardless of their nationality. In addition to verifying a claimant’s identity, DWP checks that claimants are habitually resident here before they can receive public funds benefits including Universal Credit. DWP also applies strict past presence requirements to ensure that claimants of disability and carer benefits have a substantial and recent connection to this country before they can claim. In addition, DWP always checks a person’s immigration status before paying them benefits if they are a foreign national. We verify this information with the Home Office, including through automatic system-to-system checks. This Government takes all cases of fraud seriously and has introduced the biggest package of measures in recent history to reduce welfare fraud, error and debt, which includes new legislation, the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill. This contains new powers to modernise our defences and is currently progressing through Parliament.

If her Department will consider the potential merits of extending the validity period for driving theory tests to three years.

The maximum duration of two years between passing the theory test and a subsequent practical test is in place to ensure a customer’s road safety knowledge and ability to identify developing hazards is current. This validity period is set in legislation, and the Government has no current plans to lay further legislation to extend it. It is important road safety knowledge and hazard perception skills are up to date at the critical point a person drives unsupervised for the first time. Ensuring learner drivers have current relevant knowledge and skills is a vital part of the learning to drive process as new drivers are disproportionately casualties on our roads. Learners therefore need to pass another theory test if their two-year theory test certificate expires.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing mixed-mode integrated public transport ticketing across the UK.

The government recognises the value of greater integration between public transport modes, including in relation to ticketing, and will continue to work with local transport authorities, operators and passengers to improve the fares and ticketing offer for passengers across England. Programmes currently under development in England recognise the aspiration for smart, multi-modal ticketing. This includes the Department for Transport working with representatives from the bus industry, Transport for West Midlands and Midlands Connect to develop a national technology solution to facilitate multi-operator ticketing on buses and trams, focusing on contactless bank card payments and enabling fares capping outside of London. In addition, the Fares, Ticketing, and Retail Programme is delivering two new Pay As You Go schemes for the West Midlands and Greater Manchester, and expanding an existing one in the South East. Transport is a devolved matter, and the UK government has policy responsibility for public transport ticketing in England only.