Every parliamentary written question tabled by Lee Anderson this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 761–780 of 1,340 · this parliament
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 information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department provides on the assessments used to decide whether to return a dangerous dog to its owner after it has been seized.
Dogs that are prohibited under section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and which do not have a valid certificate of exemption could be seized by the Police. In these cases, there is an interim exemption scheme which allows suspected prohibited dogs to remain with their owners in advance of a court hearing. It is for the Police to determine whether to make use of this scheme on a case-by-case basis.
What recent estimate her Department has made of the proportion of Universal Credit claims made by foreign nationals (a) since July 2024 and (b) in each of the last three years.
The Department publishes Universal Credit (UC) immigration status and nationality statistics as part of the Universal Credit statistics publication. The latest release of these statistics is included in the latest Universal Credit statistical bulletin
What estimate she has made of the cost of employment (a) services and (b) training for foreign nationals in each of the last five years.
The Department considers migration trends when planning resources for delivering support including employment services and training to ensure that all claimants, regardless of their nationality or immigration status, can access this support if they are entitled to it. The Department does not collect information on or hold a record of the nationality or immigration status of claimants at the point of referral to specific employment services and training.
What estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of Universal Credit claims made by foreign nationals in each of the last five years.
Universal Credit awards are paid to households, which may include both British and foreign nationals who are eligible. Therefore, the information requested is not readily available at the required quality and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
What assessment she has made of the long term financial sustainability of the (a) eligibility criteria for foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit and (b) the number of foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit.
The Department takes into account migration trends and benefit entitlement conditions when producing twice-yearly benefit expenditure and caseload forecasts as part of the fiscal event process, but these forecasts do not break down expenditure by nationality. These were last updated in 23 April 2025. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-expenditure-tables
What steps her Department is taking to evaluate demographic trends by nationality of Universal Credit claimants.
The Department regularly monitors demographic trends including publishing statistics on Universal Credit claims by Immigration Status and Nationality. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics
What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit on levels of public funds.
The Department takes into account migration trends and benefit entitlement conditions when producing twice-yearly benefit expenditure and caseload forecasts as part of the fiscal event process, but these forecasts do not break down expenditure by nationality. These were last updated in 23 April 2025. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-expenditure-tables
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of trends in the number of foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit on future (a) public spending and (b) taxation.
The Department takes into account migration trends and benefit entitlement conditions when producing twice-yearly benefit expenditure and caseload forecasts as part of the fiscal event process, but these forecasts do not break down expenditure by nationality. These were last updated in 23 April 2025. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-expenditure-tables
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, 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 Department does not centrally record the number of remote workdays completed. However, building occupancy data is published monthly by the Cabinet Office and provides an indicative measure of office attendance across government departments. The latest figures are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-hq-occupancy-data/monthly-average-hq-building-occupancy.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which countries were the top 5 recipients of international climate finance from the UK in each of the last 3 years; and how much each of these countries received.
For detail on live programme information please refer to the UK Government's Development Tracker or for the official source of information on UK Official Development Assistance spend covering previous calendar years, the Statistics on International Development publication.
Communities and Local Government, what information they hold on the number of workdays that were completed remotely in their Department in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.
This information is not held centrally and can only be collated at a disproportionate cost to the department.
What discussions he has had with the Food Standards Agency on increasing the frequency of food hygiene assessments.
The Food Law Code of Practice (the Code), which is prepared by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and issued by my rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, provides statutory guidance to local authorities and Port Health Authorities responsible for the delivery of official food controls and other official activities. Within the Code is guidance for authorities on how to determine the frequency of official controls using a risk-based approach. Higher risk or non-compliant establishments receive a higher frequency of official control than lower risk, compliant establishments.The FSA has recently consulted upon a revised Code which included proposals to introduce and develop flexibilities available to authorities. These can help support more focus on higher risk or non-compliant food establishments. The FSA aims to lay the revised Code in autumn 2025. The FSA also continues to work across Government and with local authority partners to ensure food safety regulation remains proportionate and effective.
Innovation and Technology, what information they hold on the number of workdays that were completed remotely in their Department in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.
Hybrid working is an informal, discretionary, non-contractual arrangement that enables employees to work partly in the workplace and partly at home. Employees are expected to spend a minimum of 40% of their working hours in the office. Office attendance requirements are managed locally to ensure the minimum requirement is met, and no central data is held on this.
What data her Department holds on the proportion of foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit who are exempt from the habitual residence test.
This information is not readily available and to identify, collate and provide it would incur disproportionate cost. British and foreign nationals who are fleeing persecution and humanitarian crises overseas are exempt from the normal requirement to be habitually resident so that they can access support quickly on arrival. Those who stay in the UK are likely to meet the requirement one to three months later, without the aid of an exemption. People covered by the exemptions at the time they claim must still meet all the other eligibility criteria before they can receive Universal Credit, including being in Great Britain and, if they are a foreign national, having an immigration status that permits access to public funds.
Whether her Department holds data on the number of people who were (a) referred to the Prevent programme for an initial assessment and (b) did not live in the UK (i) 3 and (ii) 5 years ago in the latest period for which data is available.
Prevent aims to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It works to ensure that people who are susceptible to radicalisation are offered appropriate interventions and support, and that communities are protected against radicalising influences.The Home Office produces annual statistics on GOV.UK and provides official statistics on the number of individuals recorded as having been referred to and supported through the Prevent programme in England and Wales, from 1 April to 31 March each year which can be found here: Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme statistics - GOV.UK.
What steps his Department is taking to help support pubs.
The Government recognises the vital role pubs play in supporting local economies and fostering community cohesion, as well as the pressures they face.That is why we established the Licensing Taskforce in April, bringing together representatives from the hospitality sector to help shape reforms. We published the Government’s response on 31 July, setting out a new National Licensing Policy Framework to simplify outdated rules and protect long-standing venues from noise complaints. These reforms form part of the recently announced Small Business Strategy, which aims to tackle late payments, boost access to finance, and remove red tape to enable small businesses, including pubs, grow and thrive.Additionally, we’re creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street and supports investment, including permanently lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties under £500,000 rateable value. We’ve also launched a Hospitality Support Scheme to co-fund projects aligned with DBT and Hospitality Sector Council priorities such as Pub is The Hub to encourage local investment.
Communities and Local Government, if she will publish data on the number of foreign nationals residing in the UK and living in social housing.
Housing is a devolved matter, with each of the four nations of the UK developing their own policies and data collections to monitor the impact of them. The English Housing Survey published by my Department, which can be found on gov.uk here, shows that there were 431,000 households whose lead tenant was a non-UK national living in social housing in England in 2023/24. This represents 10.4% of all households living in social housing in England at that time (4.1 million households). It is important to note that such households can contain UK nationals as well as non-UK national lead tenants.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much the UK has spent in (a) foreign aid or (b) international development funding on projects on improving equality, diversity and inclusion overseas in the last two years.
Data on Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend is available in the Statistics on International Development publications, which are available for 2023 and provisionally for 2024. Data is available broken down by sector for the 2023 publication, including social sector spending on health and education, and humanitarian aid.Further information on specific programmes, including those with a specific focus on equalities, can be found on GOV.UK's Development Tracker.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to review his Department's policies on distributing foreign aid to India.
We are currently working through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used from 2026/27 to 2028/29. We will publish indicative ODA programme allocations for the next three years in due course.The UK has transformed its relationship with India from donor to investor and partner. Investing the UK's ODA budget in supporting India's transition to clean energy helps mitigate the worsening impacts of climate change through bolstering the development of clean technology. Through UK investments and sharing expertise, we are also creating jobs, opportunities and inward investment for the UK.This is a strategic investment in our partnership with the Indian Government, which we can make a return on. Last year our ODA spend in India was negative: we received more money back from investments made than we invested that year.