Written questions by Lowe.

How much was spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation costs in (i) all courts and (ii) Great Yarmouth Magistrates court in each of the last five years.

This question has been interpreted to mean spend for all language services, both translation and interpretation provided in a court setting, and for printed materials available in HMCTS buildings.Information is not held disaggregated as (a) translation and (b) interpretation but has been provided in total.The total spend by HMCTS on translation and interpretation in each of the last five financial years was:Financial Year2018-192019-202020-212021-222022-232023-24Total Cost11,000,69113,007,4037,094,09310,788,20511,489,99712,774,105These figures do not include any translation or interpretation spend covered by Legal Aid Agency central funds as these are not included in the accounts for HM Courts and Tribunals Service. It is vital that victims, witnesses and defendants understand what is happening in court to ensure justice is done, and we will always take steps to ensure a qualified interpreter is provided when needed. The total spend by HMCTS on translation and interpretation for Great Yarmouth Magistrates Court in each of the last five financial years was:Financial Year2018-192019-202020-212021-222022-232023-24Total Cost8800000These figures do not include any translation or interpretation spend covered by Legal Aid Agency central funds as these are not included in the accounts for HM Courts and Tribunals Service.

How many people are claiming the enhanced mobility component of the personal independence payment by each eligible health condition.

The Department regularly publishes Personal Independence Payment (PIP) statistics. The 'PIP Cases with Entitlement' dataset on Stat-Xplore, which contains the number of people entitled to PIP by mobility award status and health condition, has been suspended due to technical issues which are adversely affecting the Stat-Xplore site itself. This data series will be re-instated as soon as this issue has been resolved. The ‘PIP Clearances’ dataset is unaffected and provides the number of people who were awarded PIP, by mobility award status and health condition, each month from April 2013 to July 2024.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the staff turnover rate in his Department was in each of the last five years.

Figures are taken from the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey for the core department. The data reference point in time is 31 March at each year. Reference PeriodCivil Service Turnover*Departmental Turnover**12 months up to 31 March 20247.4%14.3%12 months up to 31 March 20238.6%15.7%12 months up to 31 March 20227.3%13.7%12 months up to 31 March 20215.1%13.1%12 months up to 31 March 20208.1%14.6% * includes all moves out of the Civil Service over the specified year.**includes moves between Civil Service departments within the year, in addition to moves included under the Civil Service turnover rate.

If he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of (a) translation and (b) interpretation services provided by (a) all police forces and (b) Norfolk Constabulary each year for the previous five years.

The Home Office does not hold information relating to the proportion of budgets spent on translation and interpretation services for police forces.Decisions on how to use funding and resources are an operational matter for Chief Constables.Police and Crime Commissioners are best placed to make resourcing decisions within their communities based on their local knowledge and experience.

Communities and Local Government, what information her Department holds on the number of people who are not UK citizens that are on a waiting list for (a) social and (b) council housing (i) in the UK and (ii) for Great Yarmouth Borough Council.

The department will publish information on the number of households on the housing register in England by nationality of lead tenant alongside the Social Housing Lettings 2023-24 statistical release on 5 December 2024. The department has not previously collected this data.

Communities and Local Government, what guidance is available to Local Planning Authorities on lowering house building targets.

In our recent consultation on reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, we proposed making the standard method for assessing housing needs mandatory, requiring local authorities to plan for the resulting housing need figure, planning for a lower figure only when they can demonstrate hard constraints and that they have exhausted all other options

How many and what proportion of irregular migrants who claim to be under 18 have undergone age assessments since 2018; and how many and what proportion of those assessed were found to be 18 or over.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on age disputes raised and resolved is published in table Asy_D05 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’.The latest data relates to year ending June 2024. Note that the age disputes in Asy_D05 relate to people who have claimed asylum and will include people who did not arrive in the UK irregularly.

What the (a) average waiting time for people calling and (b) time people spent on hold for HMRC was in each of the last five years.

HMRC telephony performance data, including the average speed of answering a customer’s call, is published on a quarterly basis and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates The definition of ‘average speed of answering a customer’s call’ is the average time spent waiting in the queue for an adviser. This is time that the customer finished listening to HMRC’s automated messages and completed their selection from HMRC’s automated menu to the time when they get to speak to an adviser. The below table shows the amount of time people spent on hold with HMRC – this is when a call has been answered by an adviser and the individual has subsequently been put on hold. The data covers the last five years, broken down by quarter: 2019 Q12019 Q22019 Q32019 Q41min 21s1min 6s1min 14s1min 6s2020 Q12020 Q22020 Q32020 Q41min 2s1min 9s1min 19s1min 28s2021 Q12021 Q22021 Q32021 Q41min 22s1min 25s1min 43s1min 33s2022 Q12022 Q22022 Q32022 Q41min 17s1min 8s1min 11s1min 10s2023 Q12023 Q22023 Q32023 Q41min 6s1min 6s1min 20s1min 12s

How many crimes were committed by undocumented migrants by each crime committed in each year since 2018.

The information requested is not available from published statistics.Any foreign national who is convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence is considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity.Under the UK Borders Act 2007, a deportation order must be made where a foreign national has been convicted of an offence and received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more. A foreign national who has been convicted of an offence that has caused serious harm, who is a persistent offender or who represents a threat to national security may also be considered for deportation under the Immigration Act 1971, where it is conducive to the public good.We are committed to delivering justice for victims and safer streets for our communities. Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will pursue their deportation, and they will be swiftly removed from the country.

What the (a) average waiting time for people calling and (b) time people spent on hold for her Department was in each of the last five years.

The table below shows the Average Speed of Answer and Total Hold Time for all people calling DWP for the last 5 business years, with 2024 to 2025 being to 20th Oct’ 2024* only, that being the last date for which data is available. Average Speed of Answer (hh:mm:ss)Average Hold Time (hh:mm:ss)2020 – 202100:08:3300:00:322021 – 202200:09:3900:00:362022 – 202300:08:2200:00:282023 – 202400:08:3400:00:262024 to date*00:07:58*00:00:25*To date Please note, the data shown is unpublished management information, collected and intended for internal departmental use. The figures provided may therefore be subject to retrospective change and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standards.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the Government's policy is on paying reparations to countries impacted by the UK's historic involvement in slavery.

The government's position on this has not changed - we do not pay reparations. We are committed to working with affected countries on the most pressing challenges of today (including security, growth, education, health, climate), and to build partnerships on those areas in the future. We fully recognise the horrific impacts and the understandable, ongoing strength of feeling on the issue across communities in the UK and across the Commonwealth family.

What the (a) average waiting time for people calling and (b) time people spent on hold for the DVLA was in each of the last five years.

The table below provides the average waiting time, over the last five years, for someone who calls the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to be connected to an advisor. Please note that the figures for the various years are not directly comparable as the DVLA has moved to a new telephony platform which allows them to manage customer demand in different ways.Fiscal YearAverage waiting time in minutes2020-202107:162021-202210:122022-202309:182023-202412:552024-24 Oct 2413:22

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help improve internet connections in Great Yarmouth constituency.

According to the independent website ThinkBroadband.com, over 98% of premises in the Great Yarmouth constituency have access to superfast broadband speeds (>=30 Mbps) and 75% can access a gigabit-capable (>1000 Mbps) connection.To extend gigabit-capable coverage further, CityFibre is delivering a £114.2 million contract under Project Gigabit, to bring gigabit-capable broadband to around 62,000 premises across Norfolk that would otherwise miss out, including in Great Yarmouth.

How many terrorist plots there have been by the ideology of the perpetrators in each of the last five years.

On 08 October, DG MI5 gave his latest update on the current national security threats facing the UK.During his annual threat report, he outlined that since March 2017, MI5 and the police have together disrupted 43 late-stage attack plots.

How often her Department reviews the eligibility of foreign nationals for (a) Universal Credit and (b) other benefits.

In order to receive taxpayer-funded benefits (public funds benefits) such as Universal Credit or Personal Independence Payments, an individual must either be a British or Irish citizen or hold a valid UK immigration status that allows them to access such benefits. Whether someone holds a valid immigration status or is a British or Irish citizen is tested at the outset of a customer’s claim through DWP residency tests and verified through information from the Home Office. If a foreign national customer reports a change of circumstances which could affect their eligibility for benefits, or DWP is made aware of such a change in circumstances by another government department (such as the Home Office), then the relevant claim will be reviewed and a decision made accordingly. This includes, for example, if a customer’s immigration status changes and they no longer have recourse to public funds – in which case, their claim will be closed. If a customer has a time-limited immigration status which allows them access to public funds benefits then this will be marked on the claim and checked accordingly in future to ensure they are still eligible to receive benefits. For DWP contributory benefits, customers will need to satisfy other eligibility criteria such as having sufficient employment periods and national insurance contributions. For a customer to have been employed and therefore meet the contributory benefits criteria, a valid National Insurance number is required, meaning their identity and valid immigration status will have been verified separately.

What discussions she has had with local authorities on tackling youth unemployment in Great Yarmouth constituency.

Our plan to Get Britain Working includes a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work in their local area. This will sit alongside; a new national jobs and careers service to help get more people into work, and work health and skills plans for the economically inactive, to open new opportunities for young people. We will set out further detail in the upcoming Labour Market White Paper. The department recognises that the needs of young people will vary depending on where they live and their own individual circumstances. The broad national reach of Jobcentres and its network of Partnership Managers means the Department for Work and Pensions is in regular contact with local stakeholders including working closely with Local Authorities. This joint working approach is at the core of the Department for Work and Pensions Youth Offer. A recent example of collaboration in Great Yarmouth includes a multi-agency Great Yarmouth Skills Taskforce involving the Jobcentre and stakeholders from Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Norfolk County Council, East Coast College and the Universities of East Anglia and Suffolk in tandem with training providers such as Access Community Enterprises, business and community organisations. The immediate focus is on youth to support to entry and progression in the labour market.

How much has been spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation by (i) all NHS Trusts, (ii) James Paget University Hospitals Trust and (iii) the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust in each of the last five years.

It is important for translation services to be provided so that all patients can access safe healthcare. The Department does not hold this information for all provider trusts; rather it is held by the relevant integrated care boards.The following table shows how much has been spent on translation and interpretation services by Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT):Financial yearNSFT total2020/21£126,0002021/22£211,0002022/23£266,0002023/24£321,000 The following table shows how much has been spent on translation and interpretation services by James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (JPUH):Financial yearJPUH total2019/20£68,0952020/21£37,3522021/22£46,6802022/23£71,5012023/24£85,671 Notes:The figures provided above are for both translation and interpretation, as they are coded the same on their financial systems.NSFT is unable to provide figures for 2019/2020 due to a change in their financial system meaning they cannot access the records.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to maintain relations with the (a) Republican and (b) Democrat (i) candidate and (ii) Party (A) during and (B) after the US Presidential election.

The US is an indispensable ally. Our special relationship is crucial for security and prosperity and transcends whatever political parties and individuals are in office across and at all levels of the US system, from the White House to Congress and at State level. It is a core part of the FCDO's work to engage individuals from across the US political spectrum, including the Presidential campaigns. We have shared values and interests and will continue to work with the US on issues including economic co-operation, defence, intelligence and as key NATO allies.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the system of standing charges for utilities.

The Government has worked constructively with the regulator on the issue of standing charges, and we are committed to lowering the cost of them. The setting of standing charges is a commercial matter for suppliers. Ofgem’s recently published discussion paper sets out the options for how standing charges could be reduced, including by moving supplier operational costs off standing charges onto the unit rate, increasing the variety of tariffs available for consumer in the market, and in the longer term, reviewing how system costs are allocated. We will continue to support Ofgem in this work and ensure that standing charges are reduced.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) mass immigration and (b) population increase on the road system.

The Department for Transport published the latest National Road Traffic Projections in 2022. These are projections of road traffic, congestion and emissions for England and Wales. These include outputs for the Common Analytical Scenarios, a set of seven standardised, off-the-shelf, cross-modal scenarios exploring national level uncertainties for use in transport forecasting and appraisal. A full description of the scenarios can be found in the DfT Uncertainty Toolkit.