Written questions by Lowe.

Communities and Local Government, how many people with refugee status are resident in (a) council and (b) social housing by local authority.

My Department does not hold information on people claiming council or social housing who were formally granted refugee status and/or settlement. Our social housing lettings in England statistical series, which can be found on gov.uk here, includes information on new social lettings only, based on the tenant’s self-reported main reason for leaving their last settled home. It shows that 2.0% of all new social housing lettings in 2023/24 were to households who self-reported as refugees (4,100 households). Care should be taken when considering figures for new social lettings to refugees. The data is based on specific definitions and there may be overlaps and households missing from the statistics presented above.

What information her Department holds on the (a) age, (b) religion, (c) ethnicity and (d) country of birth of people (i) referred to the Prevent programme and (ii) convicted of terrorism-related offences in the UK in each of the last five years.

Prevent aims to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It works to ensure that people who are susceptible to radicalisation are offered appropriate interventions and support, and that communities areWe have provided data for the financial years 2019/20 to 2023/24. Data for the latest financial year 2024/25 will be released 6th November 2025 at Gov.uk.Information on individuals convicted of terrorism-related offences in the UK is published quarterly by the Home Office in the statistical release titled Operation of Police Powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent legislation. This includes detailed data tables for Great Britain, covering a range of individual and offence-related characteristics, such as:Age (Table A.10)Data on religion is not available for all convicted individuals. However, religious affiliation is reported for those held in custody for terrorism-related offences in England and Wales and Scotland at the time of publication. (Table P.04)Ethnicity (Table A.11)Data on country of birth is not held by the Home Office. However, information on nationality is available. (Table A.12c)Annual and quarterly breakdowns for the last five years and prior and are accessible via Operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 statistics - GOV.UK.

Whether her Department has provided any (a) grants, (b) contracts and (c) other funding to (i) Stand Up to Racism, (ii) Unite the Union,(ii) Migrants Organise, (iv) the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, (v) the Refugee Council and (vi) Care4Calais since 2020; and how much funding was provided to each for what purposes.

Home Office made grant payments to the Refugee Council totalling £ 3.2m for the purpose of Children’s Advisory Projects to support Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC) through the asylum process., with a further £ 215,244 for Asylum Seeker Mental Health and Wellbeing Grant to provide assistance to vulnerable adult asylum seekers.The figures represent budgeted values which may not have been spent in full.Since 2020 the Home Office has provided contract and other funding payments to the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants totalling £47,015.Further, the Home Office provided contract and other funding to the Refugee Council totalling £8,026,673 for the same time period.Information on purpose has been withheld and related contracts as it would only be available at disproportionate cost.Outside of Home Office funding, for the period FY 21/22 to FY 24/25 inclusive Home Office facilitated £5.37m of EU financed AMIF Integration Funding to the Refugee Council.

How many slaughterhouses were (a) suspended and (b) permanently closed due to breaches of animal welfare regulations in each calendar year from 2015 to 2025; how many (i) improvement notices, (ii) formal warnings, (iii) prosecutions and (iv) other enforcement actions were issued to slaughterhouses for animal welfare breaches in each of those years; and how many site inspections were carried out by the Food Standards Agency in each year over the same period.

In 2015, two slaughterhouses had approval withdrawn. In 2016, one slaughterhouse had approval withdrawn. In 2017, one slaughterhouse had approval withdrawn and two had approval suspended.The reasons for the withdrawals and suspensions between 2015 and 2017 are no longer retained. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) retains approval documents of establishments for up to six years beyond their closure.In 2020, one slaughterhouse had approval suspended for welfare concerns. In 2025, two slaughterhouses had approval withdrawn for non-compliances, which included welfare concerns.The following table shows the number of formal warnings issued to business operators and plant operatives following investigation by the FSA into alleged animal welfare offences at approved slaughterhouses, from 2015 to 2024:YearFormal warning to business operatorFormal warning to plant operatives201520201611201776201832201955202010202111202210202300202400 In addition, the following table shows the number of prosecution cases and the number of business operators and plant operatives convicted following investigations undertaken by the FSA into alleged animal welfare offences at approved slaughterhouses, from 2015 to 2024:YearProsecution casesBusiness operators convictedPlant operatives convicted2015000201643220172202018317201911420201012021316202242220234382024433 Improvement notices and other enforcement action over the 10 year period is included in open data published quarterly by the FSA, and available at the following link:https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/92ee0c84-d680-400c-a560-94a3a1a100a6/animal-welfare-enforcement-non-complianceThe FSA has a presence at every site during processing hours. To complement the inspections carried out by official veterinarians and veterinary auditors, the Welfare Assurance Team carries out welfare-themed inspections across all operating plants in England and Wales. Similar to the veterinary auditors, the frequency of these inspections depends upon the previous inspection outcome. It is not possible to confirm how many site inspections were undertaken specifically on animal welfare grounds over this period.

Whether any NHS Trusts (a) employ specialist staff or (b) operate dedicated services to address genetic disorders associated with consanguinity.

The National Health Service in England supports patients with a variety of conditions related to genetics. NHS England is piloting and evaluating new models of care to improve the equity of access to genetic services for the small proportion of couples at increased genetic risk due to close relative marriage. NHS England is funding additional capacity in several professions, including midwifery, genomics associates, and neonatal nurses, in nine pilot sites through the Genetic Risk Equity Project. 3.8 whole time equivalent (WTE) midwives and one WTE neonatal nurse were in post in 2024/25 to deliver the Genetic Risk Equity Project.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many visits to farms have been undertaken by (a) the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (b) the Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs since their appointments.

Defra Ministers regularly visit a range of farms across the UK, and meet with farming stakeholders in London and on site to hear directly from industry.

How many people are claiming Universal Credit by their preferred language.

The information is not held. Universal Credit claims can only be made in English and Welsh.

What the average (a) waiting time for people calling and (b) time spent on hold to the Personal Independence Payment helpline was in the last year.

The table below shows the Average Time to Answer and the Average Hold Time, in an hours, minutes and seconds (hh:mm:ss) format, for all people calling Personal Independence Payment lines for each of the last twelve complete reporting months. Month / YearProduct LineAverage Time to Answer (hh:mm:ss)Average Hold Time (hh:mm:ss)Oct-2024Personal Independence Payment00:10:1900:00:34Nov-2024Personal Independence Payment00:11:4700:00:33Dec-2024Personal Independence Payment00:09:5500:00:36Jan-2025Personal Independence Payment00:17:3800:00:32Feb-2025Personal Independence Payment00:12:4100:00:31Mar-2025Personal Independence Payment00:14:1000:00:31Apr-2025Personal Independence Payment00:09:0700:00:34May-2025Personal Independence Payment00:10:1400:00:36Jun-2025Personal Independence Payment00:09:3700:00:35Jul-2025Personal Independence Payment00:10:4200:00:36Aug-2025Personal Independence Payment00:11:5900:00:35Sep-2025Personal Independence Payment00:10:3300:00:34 DISCLAIMER Please note this information is derived from the Department’s management information, designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As such, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics. As DWP holds the information internally, we have released it. However, it is possible information held by DWP may change due to operational reasons and we recommend that caution be applied when using it.

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

HMRC telephony performance data, including the average speed of answering a customer’s call, is published on a regular 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 from the 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 average 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 past year, broken down by quarter: 2024-25 Q12024-25 Q22024-25 Q32024-25 Q41min 4s1min 25s1min 16s1min 15s HMRC are taking steps to make sure more of their services are digital, so customers can self-serve online. HMRC online services and the HMRC app are convenient to access and receive high customer satisfaction ratings. As more people use HMRC online services, advisers are freed up to support those with more complex queries and those who are digitally excluded.

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 Time to Answer and the Average Hold Time, in an hours, minutes and seconds (hh:mm:ss) format, for all people calling DWP for the last 5 business years, with 2025 to 2026 being to 12th Oct’ 2025* only, that being the last date for which data is available. Reporting YearAverage Time to Answer (hh:mm:ss)Average Hold Time (hh:mm:ss)2021-202200:09:3900:00:362022-202300:08:2200:00:282023-202400:08:3400:00:262024-202500:07:2200:00:232025 to date*00:05:50*00:00:18 DISCLAIMER Please note this information is derived from the Department’s management information, designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As such, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics. As DWP holds the information internally, we have released it. However, it is possible information held by DWP may change due to operational reasons and we recommend that caution be applied when using it.

What the average (a) waiting time for people calling and (b) time spent on hold to the Universal Credit helpline was in the last year.

The table below shows the Average Time to Answer and the Average Hold Time, in an hours, minutes and seconds (hh:mm:ss) format, for all people calling Universal Credit for each of the last twelve complete reporting months. Month / YearDirectorateAverage Time to Answer (hh:mm:ss)Average Hold Time (hh:mm:ss)Oct-2024Universal Credit00:02:3200:00:09Nov-2024Universal Credit00:02:2300:00:09Dec-2024Universal Credit00:01:3600:00:09Jan-2025Universal Credit00:01:1000:00:08Feb-2025Universal Credit00:02:0300:00:08Mar-2025Universal Credit00:02:1600:00:08Apr-2025Universal Credit00:03:2700:00:09May-2025Universal Credit00:03:2700:00:08Jun-2025Universal Credit00:01:5100:00:07Jul-2025Universal Credit00:02:4400:00:06Aug-2025Universal Credit00:01:5500:00:07Sep-2025Universal Credit00:01:3700:00:07 DISCLAIMER Please note this information is derived from the Department’s management information, designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As such, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics. As DWP holds the information internally, we have released it. However, it is possible information held by DWP may change due to operational reasons and we recommend that caution be applied when using it.

How much her Department has paid to Serco in each of the last ten years.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer provided in PQ 15558.

How many irregular migrants are housed in the Great Yarmouth Borough Council area; what accommodation is used to house those migrants; and what the cost is of housing those migrants.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in different areas is routinely published by the Government in table ASY D_11 here:Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)The Home Office does not publish asylum support data disaggregated by method of arrival.Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system. Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential. Therefore, the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

How many habitual residence tests related to Universal Credit assessments have been granted in each of the last five years.

The table below gives the number of Universal Credit (UC) Habitual Residence Test (HRT) assessments that resulted in a ‘pass’ decision in the past five years. Date Decision Entered on Admin SystemNumber of UC HRT 'Pass' DecisionsApril 2020 to March 2021912,000April 2021 to March 20221,029,000April 2022 to March 2023527,000April 2023 to March 2024524,000April 2024 to March 2025798,000April 2025 to September 2025400,000 (Source: DWP UC HRT Administrative data) Notes:The Habitual Residence Test (HRT) is nationality blind. It is applied to British citizens returning from abroad to check for factual habitual residency in the UK, as well as to foreign nationals to check they have an immigration status permitting access to public funds and that they are factually habitually resident.Not all HRT passes lead to a UC award as claimants need to meet all eligibility criteria.All figures are rounded to the nearest thousand decisions.An individual may have multiple HRT assessments and multiple passes.These figures are not Official Statistics. These figures stem from administrative data and represent the best estimates using current methodologies and assumptions about the data. Future improvements in methodology may lead to different subsequent estimates.Figures are for the UK.

How much was spent on translation and interpretation in Jobcentres in the last financial year.

The Department carefully monitors the provision of translation and interpretation services for customers. It has not been possible to disaggregate expenditure on services for Jobcentres alone.

Whether he has made an estimate of reoffending rates for prisoners released under the early release scheme.

This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We have had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe.Whilst this change provided the intended medium-term relief, it was only ever a temporary change to bridge to a more sustainable solution. The Sentencing Bill has now been introduced to ensure we never run out of prison space again.Our initial operational insights suggested there was not a significant change to the use and application of recall since the implementation of SDS40. We will, however, continue to monitor this.The requested information cannot be provided because it would form a subset of the data that underpins future versions of these Official Statistics.Proven reoffending rates are published regularly on an annual and quarterly basis. The most recent rates are available at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/collections/proven-reoffending-statistics.

What the (a) average waiting time for people calling and (b) time people spent on hold to Jobcentres was in the last year.

We cannot provide the data requested for this Parliamentary Question. Jobcentres span multiple benefit streams and business functions and therefore we do not retain telephony data specifically relating to Jobcentres.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of food consumed in the UK that is produced domestically.

The food production to supply ratio compares all domestic food production to supply, including food that the UK exports instead of consuming. In 2024, the production to supply ratio was 65%. When food exports are taken into account, Defra estimates that in 2024 57% of food consumed in the United Kingdom was domestically produced. Defra publishes both of these figures annually, in its Agriculture in the UK publication.

What the value was of student loans that were written off in the last year; and what this was as a proportion of all outstanding student loans, by nationality.

The requested information can be found in the Student Loans Company’s Student loans in England publication, updated in July each year. The publication, ‘Student loans in England: 2024 to 2025’ can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loans-in-england-2024-to-2025.The amount that has been cancelled or written off during the 2024/25 financial year, the total amount outstanding at the start of the financial year including interest and loans not yet due for repayment (after adjustments), and the proportion that write offs or cancellations make out of the starting balance can be found at: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fmedia%2F684c16b8da3d1b49e6797046%2Fslcsp012025.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK.These statistics are not broken down by borrower nationality. This information is not readily available and cannot be obtained within the timeframe given to respond. Figures for the 2025/26 financial year will be available in the July 2026 publication.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the proportion of food served in his Department that is British.

The Government, in line with manifesto commitments, is considering all lawful means of achieving its ambition that half of all food purchased across the public sector should be locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards. In order to understand where we are starting from, we are currently assessing what food the public sector buys and where it comes from. In due course, this will tell us the proportion of food served by public sector organisations, including Defra, that is British.