Written questions by Lowe.

If she will make an estimate of the proportion of (a) Magistrate Court, (b) Crown Court and (c) County Court trials that have collapsed due to (i) delay and (ii) error by the Crown Prosecution Service in each of the last five years.

We have interpreted this question as an estimate of the proportion of ineffective trials at the criminal courts that have not gone ahead on the day as planned in the last 5 years. We do not hold data that details delay or error by the Crown Prosecution Service. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is also not involved in County Court proceedings and therefore the answer to this question covers the criminal jurisdiction only.There are multiple reasons why a trial may not go ahead on the day, as planned. These include other cases over-running and there being insufficient court time, prosecution or defence witnesses being absent, the defendant not attending when required and either the prosecution or defence not being ready to proceed.The Ministry of Justice publishes data on trial effectiveness for a wide range of reasons, up to and including data to December 2023, in the Trial Effectiveness at the Criminal Courts tool. This can be downloaded from the latest Criminal Court Statistics publication here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-court-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2023.Our latest published data at the end of December 2023 shows that the ineffective trial rate at the Crown Court sat at 27%. Similarly, the ineffective trial rate at the Magistrates’ Court sat at 22%.Across all jurisdictions, we are working closely with partners across the justice system to improve readiness of cases for hearing at court and reduce delays. This includes the use of Case Coordinators to improve adherence to the principles of Better Case Management. These principles link key initiatives to improve the way cases are processed through the system, covering areas such as robust case management, reduced but more effective hearings, and compliance with the rules and directions of the criminal court. The proof-of-concept is currently scheduled to conclude in August 2025, and the full evaluation at that point will test the business case for any further rollout.The Criminal Courts Improvement Group (CCIG), chaired by the Senior Presiding Judge, works to improve adherence to Better Case Management Principles. CCIG focuses on improving efficiency across the system and aims to improve case management practices.

Whether officials from her Department are responsible for collecting irregular migrants attending school at the end of each day.

No.

If she will take steps to ensure that asylum seekers do not fraudulently use sexual orientation as part of the basis of their claim.

If any individual Is found not to require the protection for which they have claimed asylum, then their claim will be refused.

What contractors provide what services related to irregular migration at what cost to the public purse.

Information about contracts worth over £12,000 (including VAT) agreed by the Government and its agencies is available at: Contracts Finder - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

What information her Department holds on the number of irregular migrants in (a) contingency and (b) dispersal accommodation broken down into (i) single and (ii) multiple occupancy rooms, in the latest period for which data is available.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, by local authority and accommodation type, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent stats release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab) (opens in a new tab). The Home Office does not publish data disaggregated by room type.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish a breakdown of planned foreign aid by country for 2025.

We are committed to transparency and will separately publish the FCDO's planned Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations for FY2024/25 and FY2025/26 in due course.The FCDO reports annually on the UK's calendar year ODA expenditure for the previous calendar year via the Statistics on International Development publication, available on gov.uk. Outturn data on the countries and multilateral organisations in receipt of the FCDO's ODA in 2025 will be published in autumn 2026.

What the cost is of (a) the National Child Measurement Programme and (b) feedback letters relating to that Programme.

The National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) is a mandatory public health function of local authorities, and collects data on the weight status of children aged four to five years old, who would be in reception, and 10 to 11 years old, who would be in Year 6. The data is used both nationally and locally, to inform child health and obesity policy planning and commissioning.The NCMP is funded through the Public Health Grant for local authorities, at a cost of £19,967,000 in 2023/24, the latest year for which data on cost is available. Local authorities determine the method and model of delivery. Local commissioning and delivery therefore varies between local authorities.Providing feedback to parents in the form of feedback letters is not a mandated component of the NCMP. It is a local authority’s decision on whether to notify parents of their children’s measurements, and what information and support is offered. The Department does not hold or have access to data on the costs of providing feedback letters to parents. The information is collected at a local authority level, and forms part of the local authority revenue expenditure and financing for social care and public health services on ‘obesity – children’.

How many calls to her Department on (a) universal credit and (b) Jobcentre Plus were translated by language code in each of the last 10 years; and what the cost to her Department was for each type of call in the same period.

The tables attachment shows the volume of calls translated by language code since 2021 together with the associated costs. Please note, this information is not available for the last 10 years and also the data is not available by (a) universal credit or (b) JobCentre Plus. 2021 2022 2023 Deliverable calls answeredCost for Telephone Interpreting Deliverable calls answeredCost for Telephone Interpreting Deliverable calls answeredCost for Telephone InterpretingJan56372£423,363.84 84377£449,734.87 68435£335,948.16Feb62083£519,333.68 81380£514,435.08 66693£405,578.24Mar77497£429,554.78 100223£473,036.50 79789£396,991.36Apr65215£476,330.52 83086£560,301.57 58822£468,493.76May62432£385,025.19 48612£450,943.38 64013£337,248.96Jun78102£362,537.22 64390£314,083.09 67090£341,527.04Jul78297£461,935.67 61484£402,505.71 62621£360,482.56Aug70124£473,769.82 60582£383,110.72 62589£342,224.96Sep77618£423,828.76 62005£386,230.72 64527£338,154.88Oct78399£457,728.59 66447£388,296.64 74288£360,275.63Now86701£478,442.90 72931£414,528.00 82226£418,088.00Dec72605£540,289.30 56186£438,235.20 64943£456,997.76The data shown is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard.

How many calls within the NHS were translated by each language code in each of the last ten years; and what the cost was to the public purse in each of those years.

The Department does not hold this information centrally.

With what companies for what services at what cost to the public purse her Department has contracts relating to (a) dispersal and (b) contingency accommodation for asylum seekers.

Information about contracts worth over £12,000 (including VAT) agreed by the Government and its agencies is available at: Contracts Finder - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

How many people whose application for asylum was initially refused were subsequently granted asylum in the last 15 years.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on initial and latest outcomes of asylum claims is published annually in table Asy_D04 of the ‘Outcome analysis of asylum applications detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to claims made up to the end of 2023 with the latest case outcomes recorded as at July 2024. Please note that many claims, particularly from more recent years, will still be awaiting an initial decision or the outcome of an appeal or review and their latest case outcome will be subject to change.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that no foreign aid is spent on overseas farmers.

Internationally, agriculture and food systems play an important role in tackling poverty and hunger, addressing climate change and driving economic growth. They contribute to global food security and help ensure stable, sustainable and resilient global food markets to the benefit of British farmers, exporters and consumers.Official Development Assistance (ODA) brings other direct benefits to UK farmers. For example, for each £1 the UK invests in CGIAR, the world's leading agricultural innovation organisation, UK farmers receive between £1.60 and £2.40 in benefits from the increased productivity of of the farming of wheat, dairy, beef and pulses.

Pursuant to the answer of 14 November to Question 14378 on NHS Translation Services what the (a) cost for translation of and (b) percentage of communications in each language in e-RS communication letters was in each of the last five years.

The e-RS translated letters are based on standard templates, so NHS England only pays translation costs when the templates change, or when they add additional languages. The cost incurred in the last five years is £4,213, which breaks down as:¾ £780 as of June 2019, with 10 languages;¾ £1,593 as of June 2023, with 25 languages; and¾ £1,840 as of January 2024, with 25 languages.In addition, the following table shows the total letters sent and the proportion of translated letters sent each year since April 2019, at a summary level:YearTotal e-RS lettersTotal translated2019/203,050,5463.88%2020/211,056,2183.78%2021/221,454,0614.24%2022/231,496,4274.45%2023/241,147,5436.92%2024/25689,9348.09%Note: for 2024, the data is not for the whole year, but for the year to date.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2024 to Question 14365 on Hospital Beds: Foreign Nationals, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of collecting data on the occupation of hospital beds by chargeable overseas visitors.

There are no plans to collect this data centrally; it is for National Health Service trusts to manage bed occupancy regardless of whether the patient is chargeable or not.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2024 to Question 13915 on Protective Clothing: Storage, which companies have contracts to store personal protective equipment unsuitable for National Health Service use.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave the Hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon on 15 November 2024, to Question 12461.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2024 to Question 14367 on Non-Crime Hate Incidents, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of collecting data on non-crime hate incidents.

The Government is carefully considering next steps relating to the recording of non-crime hate incidents.

How much the Prime Minister has spent on foreign travel since taking office.

As is longstanding practice, information about official overseas ministerial travel will be published as part of the Cabinet Office transparency returns and made available on the GOV.UK website.

How much was spent on food for irregular migrants housed in hotels in each year since 2018.

The Home Office has a statutory obligation to support and accommodate asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute. It does not collect or publish a breakdown of the resulting costs by type.The total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at HO annual reports and accounts: Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

What the total amount of fines collected for taking children out of school during term time was in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.

The department collects information from local authorities on penalty notices issued for unauthorised absence, including numbers of penalty notices issued, paid within 21 days, paid within 28 days, and other outcomes. This is published in the statistical release ‘parental responsibility measures’ and can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/parental-responsibility-measures.The amount payable was £60 if paid within 21 days of receipt, rising to £120 if paid between 22 and 28 days. From August 2024, the fine for school absences is £80 if paid within 21 days, or £160 if paid within 28 days. In the case of repeated fines, if a parent receives a second fine for the same child within any three-year period, this will be charged at the higher rate of £160.The number of penalty notices issued, paid within 21 days, paid within 28 days, and other outcomes, by local authorities and for England, can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/3d370ede-53eb-454f-f8ae-08dd0adc50ad.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2024 to Question 14197 on General Practitioners: Translation Services, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of collecting data on the cost of translation and interpretation services incurred by GPs.

The Department has not made, and has no plans to make, an assessment of the potential merits of collecting data on the cost of translation and interpretation services incurred by general practices (GPs).The Department has also not made, and has no plans to make, an assessment of the potential merits of collecting data on the number of GP and outpatient appointments conducted in a language other than English and British Sign Language.