Written questions by Timothy.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2024 to Question 8195, on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: HOPE not hate, what the forums were at which departmental officials were present; and on what reports generated by Hope not Hate officials have been sighted.

MHCLG officials have engaged with Hope Not Hate on various issues related to departmental policy interests, from incidents of unrest or community tensions, to hate crime and beyond.Officials can and do access publicly available reports generated by Hope Not Hate, but do not routinely get access to such reports prior to public release, contribute to their development, or engage directly in other ways on the production of such reports.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he made of the potential implications for his policies of Iran’s (a) compliance with United Nations Security Council resolutions, (b) attempts to develop its military nuclear programme and (c) deployment of missiles against civilian targets in Israel before the vote in the UN General Assembly on draft decision A/C.1/79/L.32 on missiles.

The UK supported draft decision A/C.1/79/L.32 alongside international partners to ensure missiles remained on the agenda of the 81st session of the UN 1st Committee. We are clear that Iran continues to destabilise the region through its political, financial, and military support for its proxies and partners - in direct contravention of multiple UNSCRs. Iran also continues to escalate its nuclear programme, which has no credible civilian justification. We will continue to tackle this destabilising behaviour by holding Iran to account at the UN and in other multilateral fora. The UK is also prepared to use all diplomatic levers to ensure that Iran never develops a nuclear weapon.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with the Government of Mauritius in relation to Sri Lankan nationals located on Diego Garcia.

The Government discussed a wide range of issues with Mauritius during the negotiations over the exercise of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, including the migrant situation on Diego Garcia. The agreement reached between the UK and Mauritius on 3 October will shut down any possibility of the Indian Ocean being used as a dangerous illegal migration route to the UK, with Mauritius taking responsibility for any future arrivals once the treaty underpinning the agreement enters into force. Any further arrivals before the treaty comes into force will be handled in line with the recent agreement with St Helena.

How many asylum claims of Sri Lankan nationals located on Diego Garcia are being considered by her Department.

None. I refer the Hon Member to PQ 12545.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on whether any Sri Lankan nationals on Diego Garcia hold criminal records.

The FCDO does not have any information about Sri Lankan migrants' criminality that pre-dates their arrival on British Indian Ocean Territory. Any criminality on BIOT has been dealt with and recorded as appropriate by the BIOT police and BIOT Courts.

If she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of Sri Lankan nationals located on Diego Garcia that will be eligible to claim asylum in the UK.

This Government inherited a deeply troubling situation that remained unresolved under the last administration for years after the migrants’ arrival on Diego Garcia.Arrangements are being made for the temporary relocation, subject to entry clearance applications and biometrics being submitted and there being no adverse information found as result, of 61 individuals located in Diego Garcia, given serious welfare and safeguarding concerns including for children on the island. Those with criminal convictions or under investigation will be excluded.Any asylum claims made in the UK and admitted to the UK asylum system, will be carefully considered in line with our international obligations.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to decolonise the artwork or heritage assets in (a) his Department, (b) its Embassies and High Commissions overseas and (c) each of its Arm’s Length Bodies.

The FCDO continues to look at how best to engage with the historic artwork in its Grade One listed joint headquarters in King Charles Street, a process started under previous Foreign Secretaries. Works of art from the Government Art Collection are also selected for display in representational areas of UK and international Government buildings by Ministers, Diplomats and other Senior Civil Servants in consultation with Government Art Collection staff. This ensures that high-profile visitors experience British art that showcases the culture, creativity and values of contemporary Britain.Artwork in Embassies, High Commissions and Residences overseas is the responsibility of our Ambassadors and High Commissioners who work closely with the Government Art Collection to best reflect the United Kingdom overseas. Similarly, the artwork in arms-length bodies of the FCDO is the responsibility of the chief executives of those organisations.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what industrial disputes are ongoing within (a) his Department and (b) each of the arm’s length bodies connected to his Department; how many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute; what the form of industrial action is in each dispute; which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute; what the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps he plans to take to end each dispute.

PCS Union members are taking industrial action affecting the FM services at FCDO's facility in East Kilbride, known as Abercrombie House. The FM services affected include Soft Services and Security Guarding contracted by the Landlord: The Government Property Agency. The FCDO do not hold any contractual relationship with the employers of the PCS Union members, either OCS or G4S to influence negotiations regarding industrial action.

What industrial disputes are ongoing within (a) his Department and (b) each of the arm’s length bodies connected to his Department; how many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute; what the form of industrial action is in each dispute; which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute; what the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps he plans to take to end each dispute.

There are currently no ongoing industrial disputes with Cabinet Office employees within the Cabinet Office or any of its arms length bodies. There are, however, ongoing disputes between PCS and G4S Security Company (G4S) and International Services System - Facilities Management Services (ISS) who provide facilities management services to the Cabinet Office. The hard work of security guards and other staff keeps the government running. As is longstanding practice under successive administrations, the Government does not provide a running commentary on ongoing disputes.

Whether he plans to decolonise the (a) artwork and (b) heritage assets in (i) his Department and (ii) each of it's Arm's Length Bodies; and what the policy of the Government Property Agency is on this.

There has been no change in the Cabinet Office’s management of artwork or heritage assets since the previous administration. As separate entities, the responsibility for creating policy and guidance for artwork sits with each individual Arm’s Length Body, rather than with the Department. The Government Property Agency does not have a national policy on this topic and will follow any policy and/or guidance provided by relevant client departments.

Whether (a) guidance has been issued and (b) training courses have been delivered to staff in her Department on (i) unconscious bias, (ii) critical race theory and (iii) decolonisation since January 2024.

In 2021-2022, in response to Recommendation 6 of the Windrush Report, the previous government commissioned the introduction of a new training course for Home Office staff on the ‘History of the UK and its relationship with the rest of the world’, created from a wide field of academic and non-academic sources, including academic experts, psychologists, behavioural scientists, sociologists, and historians from outside the Home Office.The training material for this course includes content related to the history and legacy of decolonisation, but does not include any material focused on critical race theory, or unconscious bias. The Home Office has no plans to commission the preparation of any additional training materials in this area.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2024 to Question 7600 on Asylum: Finance, whether her Department holds data on the lifetime fiscal (a) cost of and (b) income generated by those granted asylum in the UK.

The information requested is not currently available. The information is currently an active piece of our research programme, which includes working with relevant government departments to ensure all the impacts relating to granting a person asylum are identified and measured as accurately as possible. I refer the Honourable Gentleman to PQ 5435.

What his planned timescale is for (a) commencing and (b) completing upgrades to Ely and Haughley junctions.

This government is committed to delivering economic growth, and projects such as the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement and upgrades to Haughley Junction have the potential to contribute to this. While the previous government made public statements of support for both projects, no funding was provided to allow either to progress. The Chancellor has been clear about the state of the nation's finances and has launched a multi-year Spending Review. Decisions and timescales about individual projects will be informed by the review process and confirmed in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2024 to Question 8515 on Home Office: Art Works and Cultural Heritage, if she will publish the correspondence regarding the formulation of the answer given.

A Freedom of Information request was submitted to the Home Office on 22 October on this matter.We will be happy to share a copy of the response to that request with the Hon. Gentleman once it has been published to the requester.

Pursuant to the Answer of 7 October 2024 to Question 7600 on Asylum: Finance, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing an estimate of the lifetime fiscal (a) cost of and (b) income generated by people granted asylum.

As has been the case under successive governments, there is no published estimate available of the requested information.

Whether she plans to reform business rates.

The government is creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment, and is fit for the 21st century. Autumn Budget 2024 announced the government’s first steps, including an intention to introduce permanently lower multipliers for high street retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties from April 2026. The government intends to fund this sustainably via a higher multiplier on properties with Rateable Values (RV) of £500,000 or more. During the interim period, for 2025-26, RHL properties will receive a 40% relief on business rates bills up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business. The small business multiplier paid by properties with RVs below £51,000 will also be frozen for a further year. The government has published a discussion paper which sets out priority areas for further reform and invites stakeholders to a conversation about transforming the system over the Parliament.

How many claims for Research and Development tax credits were made (a) fraudulently and (b) in error since 2010

Estimates of the level of error and fraud in research and development tax credits are published in HMRC’s Annual Report and Accounts. The latest publication can be found on Gov.uk at: HMRC Annual Report and Accounts 2023 to 2024 . The methodology used to calculate the level of error and fraud for 2020-2021 was significantly improved for the 2022-2023 Annual Reports and Accounts. Estimates of the level of error and fraud in research and development tax credits for earlier years are not available on a comparable basis.

How many asylum applications were completed on average per caseworker per week in each month of each year since 2010.

The Home Office publishes quarterly data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum applications and initial decisions are available in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. The latest data relates to the year ending June 2024. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook.Monthly data on the number of initial decisions and asylum caseworkers is published in table Asy_05(M) of the ‘Immigration and Protection Data’ as part of the ‘Migration Transparency Data release’. The data covers the period from January 2020 to June 2024. Please note that the number of initial decisions will not match the number of decisions in table Asy_D02 as the figures in Asy_05(M) have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. The number of asylum caseworking staff by financial year is available in table Asy_04 with data available from 2011/12 to 2023/24.

How many asylum applications were (a) made and (b) concluded in each month of each year since 2010.

The Home Office publishes quarterly data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum applications and initial decisions are available in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. The latest data relates to the year ending June 2024. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook.Monthly data on the number of initial decisions and asylum caseworkers is published in table Asy_05(M) of the ‘Immigration and Protection Data’ as part of the ‘Migration Transparency Data release’. The data covers the period from January 2020 to June 2024. Please note that the number of initial decisions will not match the number of decisions in table Asy_D02 as the figures in Asy_05(M) have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. The number of asylum caseworking staff by financial year is available in table Asy_04 with data available from 2011/12 to 2023/24.

What (a) guidance and (b) training her Department provides to caseworkers handling asylum applications.

Asylum decision-makers receive extensive training on interviewing and considering asylum claims.https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/asylum-decision-making-guidance-asylum-instructionsAsylum decision-makers carefully consider the claimant’s protection needs by assessing all the evidence provided by the claimant in light of published asylum and country information guidance.https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/country-policy-and-information-notes