Written questions by Lowe.

Whether her Department has commissioned public opinion polling on irregular migration in the last five years.

Contracts are in place for polling on a range of Home Office policy areas, including irregular migration.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2024 to Question 13562 on National Income, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of immigration numbers on recent trends in the rate of (a) economy growth and (b) GDP per capita.

The impact of migration on GDP and GDP per capita will depend, among other factors, on the age, education, skill level, and participation rate of migrants, as well as the investment response of businesses. The latest data indicates that net migration has fallen from a peak of 764,000 in the year ending December 2022 to 685,000 in the year ending December 2023. The independent OBR make a net migration forecast to underpin their economic and fiscal forecasts.

How many people from the EU without settled status have been paid benefits since the end of the transition period.

The requested information is not readily available. We are, however, exploring the feasibility of developing suitable statistics related to the immigration status of non-UK / Irish Universal Credit claimants. EU citizens present in the UK at the end of the Transition Period but with less than 5 year’s continuous residence have been able to apply for pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. They can access disability benefits and, if they are exercising a qualifying right to reside, for example as a worker or self-employed, they can access income related benefits. EU citizens who have arrived in the UK since the end of the Transition Period will be subject to the same rules as citizens from the rest of the world. They typically have no recourse to public funds for the first five years and cannot access income related, disability or carer benefits. Those who have made sufficient national insurance contributions can access contributory benefits.

What overpayments of benefits due to Departmental error there were in each of the last five financial years.

The Department publishes estimates of the levels of fraud and error in the benefit system by financial year. These statistics for the last five years are available at: Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK Below is an extract: OVERALL LEVELS OF MVFEFYE 24FYE 23FYE 22FYE21FYE 20All3.7%  (£9.7bn)3.6%  (£8.3bn)4.0%  (£8.7bn)3.9%  (£8.2bn)2.4%  (£4.5bn)Fraud2.8%  (£7.4bn)2.7%  (£6.3bn)3.0%  (£6.5bn)2.9%  (£6.2bn)1.4%  (£2.7bn)Claimant Error0.6%  (£1.6bn)0.6%  (£1.4bn)0.7%  (£1.5bn)0.6%  (£1.3bn)0.6%  (£1.1bn)Official Error0.3%  (£0.8bn)0.3%  (£0.7bn)0.3%  (£0.7bn)0.4%  (£0.8bn)0.4%  (£0.7bn)

With reference to item 29 of Table 5.1 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, what the evidential basis is for her Department's estimate that changes to inheritance tax will raise £520 million from 2028/29.

I refer the Honourable Member to the PQ referenced 13620 published on 11th November 2024 at https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-11-11/13620.

What steps she is taking to tackle illegal migration.

Mr Speaker, this Government came to office with a pledge to crack down on the organised crime gangs responsible for the vile trade in people-smuggling across the Channel, working with our counterparts in Europe and beyond, and I am pleased to report that those efforts have produced significant successes in recent weeks.Working with agencies across government and with international partners, our new Border Security Command will continue to lead the UK’s efforts to dismantle the smuggling gangs, and disrupt their supply chains, and I look forward to further successes resulting from that work in the weeks and months to come.

How much her Department has paid in benefits to people from the EU without settled status since the end of the transition period.

The requested information is not readily available. We are, however, exploring the feasibility of developing suitable statistics related to the immigration status of non-UK / Irish Universal Credit claimants. EU citizens present in the UK at the end of the Transition Period but with less than 5 year’s continuous residence have been able to apply for pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. They can access disability benefits and, if they are exercising a qualifying right to reside, for example as a worker or self-employed, they can access income related benefits. EU citizens who have arrived in the UK since the end of the Transition Period will be subject to the same rules as citizens from the rest of the world. They typically have no recourse to public funds for the first five years and cannot access income related, disability or carer benefits. Those who have made sufficient national insurance contributions can access contributory benefits.

How many staff of what grade her Department employed in non-customer engaging roles in each of the last five financial years.

The information you have requested is not held centrally and will have to be provided by operational teams. Gathering this data would incur disproportionate costs.

How many staff her Department employs at (a) SEO, (b) Grade 7 and (c) Grade 6.

We have provided the information requested in the table below. Staffing figures (as of 31st October 2024) are provided as Full Time Equivalence (FTE): GradeFTESEO4099.3G73069.8G61146.0

Pursuant to Answer of 19 November 2024 to Question 13879 on Sexual Offences: Languages, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing registered sex offender nationality data stored on the ViSOR database.

ViSOR is the information-sharing system that the police, probation and prison services use to manage the risks posed by violent and sexual offenders managed under multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA). The categorisation of those offenders on the system is based on the level of risk they are assessed to represent, not their nationality.

How many farmers her Department consulted on changes to agricultural property relief before the Autumn Budget 2024.

The Government takes into account all representations made ahead of the Budget, and meets with stakeholders on a regular basis.

How much her Department spent on staff (a) travel, (b) subsistence and (c) stays in hotels in each of the last five years.

The Department does not keep this information centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.Information on annual DWP spend can be found here.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing daily numbers of irregular migrants housed in (a) hotels and (b) other accommodation.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms he has visited since 5 July 2024.

Since 5 July the Secretary of State has had frequent engagement with the sector, including; attending the Great Yorkshire Agriculture Show in July 24; visiting a farm and meeting with a group of local farmers in Essex in September 24; meeting with the President of the CLA and speaking at the CLA Annual Conference last week, and; more broadly, continued frequent engagement, particularly with the NFU President Tom Bradshaw. Furthermore, Minister Zeichner has also spoken with the sector on numerous occasions since 5 July.

How many delegates the Government has sent to attend COP 29; and what the cost to the public purse is of the Government's involvement in COP 29.

The final list of COP29 delegates should be published by the UNFCCC shortly. The UK delegation includes officials (some already based in Baku) and Ministers as well as businesses, Arm’s Length Bodies, Devolved Administrations, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories, parliamentarians and civil society speakers. Many attended at their own cost, with the UK providing accreditation. The Government currently estimates that nearly 470 people have attended COP29 in person with UK accreditation. Until travel and expense claims are confirmed, the overall cost of Departmental attendance cannot be calculated. The Department will not hold this information for other Government departments. The UK Pavilion and Delegation Office are fully funded through private sector sponsorship.

What data his Department holds on the number of NHS patients who have received (a) translation and (b) interpretation services in each of the last 10 years.

The Department does not hold this information centrally.

How many individuals with Application Registration Cards were (a) arrested and (b) convicted in the last 12 months.

Available information on arrests for notifiable offences in England and Wales is published annually and the latest available data covering the year ending March 2024 can be found here: Stop and search, arrests and mental health detentions, March 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)It is not possible from this data to identify whether someone has an Application Registration Card.Prosecutions are a matter for the Ministry of Justice.

How many and what proportion of convictions for child sex offences did not result in a custodial sentence in in each of the last ten years.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the sentencing outcomes for offences at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offence data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.Although child sex offences is not a defined category within the tool, you can filter offences using the HO Offence code to select the specific offences of interest.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of homeless veterans.

This is a Government of service that will always stand up for those who serve our country. I am working across Government and with civil society to ensure veterans across the UK have access to the support they need with regard to housing, as well as health, employment and other areas. According to data collected by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), in 2023-24, there were 2,270 households in England where someone that had served in the Armed Forces were assessed as being owed a homelessness prevention or relief duty. This represents 0.7% of all households in England who were assessed as being owed a prevention or relief duty, a similar proportion to previous years. To ensure veterans have access to housing support, the Government has committed a further £3.5 million to the Reducing Veteran Homelessness Programme. This includes Op FORTITUDE, the single referral pathway for veterans at risk of or experiencing homelessness.Veterans represent the very best of our country. The government is committed to honouring their sacrifices and ensuring homes will be there for heroes across the UK.

How many individuals per nationality were convicted of child sex offences in each of the last ten years.

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of defendants convicted for sexual offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2023. However, it is not possible to identify an offender’s nationality from the centrally collated convictions data. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would incur disproportionate costs.Foreign national offenders who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. This will help to manage prison pressures, keep the public safe and reduce crime. We are currently on track to remove more foreign national offenders this year than at any time in recent years and we are working across government to explore the ways we accelerate this work further.