Written questions by Bedford.

Media and Sport, whether her Department is using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

No, DCMS has not used AI software to respond to written parliamentary questions.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department is using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

No, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has not used AI software to respond to written parliamentary questions.

Whether her Department is using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

DWP has access to AI software tools to support day-to-day workings such as the drafting process for responding to written parliamentary questions. The terms of use are clear that the license holder must review the content provided by the tool. All responses are drafted and reviewed by policy officials to ensure accuracy and consistency with government policy, and are signed off by Ministers.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has made Microsoft Copilot available to staff as part of a trial. It is therefore possible that officials have used Copilot to assist them when drafting replies to written parliamentary questions. All responses are reviewed by policy officials to ensure accuracy and consistency with government policy, and are signed off by Ministers.

Whether her Department is using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

The Ministry of Justice has not used AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

Whether his Department is using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

The Department does not formally use AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

Innovation and Technology, whether his Department is using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not have a specific policy on the use of AI for responding to written parliamentary questions. However, staff do have access to AI software tools to support the drafting process. All responses are reviewed by policy officials to ensure accuracy and consistency with government policy, and are signed off by Ministers.

Whether her Department is using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

No, the Attorney General's Office has not used AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

Whether his Department is using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

A small proportion of staff in the Department for Business and Trade have access to AI software tools at the moment. These tools may be used to support the drafting process for responding to written parliamentary questions. All responses are reviewed by policy officials to ensure accuracy and consistency with government policy, and are signed off personally by Ministers.

Whether her Department is using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

No, Home Office has not used AI software to respond to written parliamentary questions..

Whether his Department is using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

I can reassure the hon. Member that all parliamentary questions are personally signed off by a Minister. I signed this one off at my desk in the Ministry of Defence at 3.07pm on 4 March 2025 for instance.

Whether her Department is using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

The Department for Transport is not currently using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

Whether her Department is using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

In HM Treasury, written parliamentary questions are drafted by civil servants and answered by ministers. For information on the use of AI in HM Treasury, I refer the member to the answer given to UIN 23715 on 22 January 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

No, Defra has not used AI software to respond to written parliamentary questions.

Whether her Department is using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.

The department sometimes uses Artificial Intelligence software tools to support the drafting process for responding to written parliamentary questions. All responses are reviewed by policy officials to ensure accuracy and consistency with government policy and are signed off by Ministers.

What recent estimate his Department has made of the number and proportion of civil servants who work from home every day in each Department.

Central data on Civil Service Headquarters (HQ) occupancy is collected and published quarterly on GOV.UK for all HQ buildings of Whitehall Departments, Office for Scotland, Office for Wales and Northern Ireland Office. The latest data for the period October to December 2024 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-hq-occupancy-data.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of irregular migrants that will enter the UK via the English Channel in each of the next five years following the passing of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.

An impact assessment of the Bill is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-security-asylum-and-immigration-bill-2025-impact-assessment. This includes analysis of how the new powers in the Bill could achieve the intended impacts, including by leading to more effective interventions in disrupting and prosecuting those who seek to facilitate irregular migration to the UK. The Home Office will continue to monitor and evaluate measures within the Bill once they have been implemented, subject to Parliament’s approval.

If she will make an estimate of the number of illegal migrants arrested by the Border Force in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) Leicestershire and (c) Mid Leicestershire constituency in the last 12 months.

The requested information is not available in our published data, but our published national data on enforcement is available at the following link and includes data on detected irregular arrivals to the UK: Immigration system statistics, year ending September 2024 - GOV.UK

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to business property relief on the (a) construction and (b) plant-hire sector in (i) the UK, (ii) Leicestershire and (iii) Mid Leicestershire constituency.

The Government has received representations, including from the construction and plant hire sector, about the reforms to both agricultural property relief and business property relief. The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses and fixing the public finances. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Information from claims is not recorded to enable regional breakdowns of the number of estates expected to be affected. However, the Government has set out that around 1,500 estates across the UK only claiming business property relief are expected to be affected in 2026-27, with around 1,000 of these expected to only hold shares designated as “not listed” on the markets of recognised stock exchanges, such as the Alternative Investment Market. The remaining 500 estates will include business assets from sectors across the economy that are eligible for business property relief. These reforms mean that around three-quarters of estates claiming business property relief in 2026-27 (excluding those only relating to holding shares designated as “not listed”) will not pay any more inheritance tax in 2026-27.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed increase in employer National Insurance contributions on recent trends in employment numbers on the high street.

An assessment of the changes to Employers’ National Insurance has been published by HMRC in their Tax Information and Impact Note, including impacts on the exchequer, the economy, individuals, households and families, equalities, and businesses including civil society organisations, alongside details on monitoring and evaluation. After accounting for the Autumn Budget 2024, the independent Office for Budget Responsibility expect the employment level will increase from 33.1 million in 2024 to 34.3 million in 2029.