Written questions by Lowe.

How much was spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation in HMP (i) Maidstone, (ii) Huntercombe and (iii) Morton Hall in each of the last ten years.

To provide data on prisoners remaining in custody beyond their sentence date would require a search of individual records, which could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.Information on interpretation and translation costs covering the time period specified is not available. Expenditure interpretation and translation in the current financial year to date is shown in the table below. As both types of expenditure are accounted for under the same budget item, it is not possible to provide a further breakdown.EstablishmentInterpretation and translation costs, Apr-Sept 2024 (£)HMP Maidstone41,230.97HMP Huntercombe1,890.87HMP Morton Hall8,575.63“Drug-related incident” is not a discrete category within the data collected. A variety of different types of incidents could potentially be drug related. It would therefore be necessary to make a detailed search of individual records to establish which incidents could be categorised in that way. This could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.The latest published breakdown of offences for which prisoners at the three establishments have been imprisoned can be found via the following link (under the ‘PT’ tab): Prison_Population_data_tool_2024-09-30.xlsx.

If she will provide a breakdown of the offences inmates are serving time for in (a) HMP Maidstone, (b) HMP Huntercombe and (c) HMP Morton Hall.

To provide data on prisoners remaining in custody beyond their sentence date would require a search of individual records, which could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.Information on interpretation and translation costs covering the time period specified is not available. Expenditure interpretation and translation in the current financial year to date is shown in the table below. As both types of expenditure are accounted for under the same budget item, it is not possible to provide a further breakdown.EstablishmentInterpretation and translation costs, Apr-Sept 2024 (£)HMP Maidstone41,230.97HMP Huntercombe1,890.87HMP Morton Hall8,575.63“Drug-related incident” is not a discrete category within the data collected. A variety of different types of incidents could potentially be drug related. It would therefore be necessary to make a detailed search of individual records to establish which incidents could be categorised in that way. This could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.The latest published breakdown of offences for which prisoners at the three establishments have been imprisoned can be found via the following link (under the ‘PT’ tab): Prison_Population_data_tool_2024-09-30.xlsx.

If she will make an estimate of the total number of drug related incidents in (a) HMP Maidstone, (b) HMP Huntercombe and (c) HMP Morton Hall in each of the last five years.

To provide data on prisoners remaining in custody beyond their sentence date would require a search of individual records, which could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.Information on interpretation and translation costs covering the time period specified is not available. Expenditure interpretation and translation in the current financial year to date is shown in the table below. As both types of expenditure are accounted for under the same budget item, it is not possible to provide a further breakdown.EstablishmentInterpretation and translation costs, Apr-Sept 2024 (£)HMP Maidstone41,230.97HMP Huntercombe1,890.87HMP Morton Hall8,575.63“Drug-related incident” is not a discrete category within the data collected. A variety of different types of incidents could potentially be drug related. It would therefore be necessary to make a detailed search of individual records to establish which incidents could be categorised in that way. This could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.The latest published breakdown of offences for which prisoners at the three establishments have been imprisoned can be found via the following link (under the ‘PT’ tab): Prison_Population_data_tool_2024-09-30.xlsx.

How many (a) foreign national offenders have been deported and (b) UK citizens have been returned following imprisonment abroad for each country with which the UK has a prisoner transfer agreement in each of the last 10 years.

Data on returns of foreign national offenders are regularly published in the Home Office’s quarterly release “Immigration Systems Statistics”.Statistics on UK citizens who were returned to England and Wales following imprisonment abroad are provided in the table attached. To prevent disclosure that could identify individuals, as required under the data protection principles, the symbol * is used for suppressed values of five or fewer.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.

How many prisoners remained in prison beyond the end of their sentence in HMP (a) Maidstone, (b) Huntercombe and(c) Morton Hall in each of the last ten years.

To provide data on prisoners remaining in custody beyond their sentence date would require a search of individual records, which could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.Information on interpretation and translation costs covering the time period specified is not available. Expenditure interpretation and translation in the current financial year to date is shown in the table below. As both types of expenditure are accounted for under the same budget item, it is not possible to provide a further breakdown.EstablishmentInterpretation and translation costs, Apr-Sept 2024 (£)HMP Maidstone41,230.97HMP Huntercombe1,890.87HMP Morton Hall8,575.63“Drug-related incident” is not a discrete category within the data collected. A variety of different types of incidents could potentially be drug related. It would therefore be necessary to make a detailed search of individual records to establish which incidents could be categorised in that way. This could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.The latest published breakdown of offences for which prisoners at the three establishments have been imprisoned can be found via the following link (under the ‘PT’ tab): Prison_Population_data_tool_2024-09-30.xlsx.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 December to Question 16095 on Reoffenders: Foreign Nations, what was the (a) total number of reoffences and (b) nationality of the five reoffenders with the highest number of reoffences.

Regarding (a), the total number of reoffences for all adult foreign national offenders who received a court or custody order, I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 11 November to Question 12200.We have provided data for (b), the nationalities of the five foreign national reoffenders with the highest number of reoffences, in the attached table.We refer all foreign national offenders in receipt of custodial sentences to the Home Office. Those sentenced to 12 months, or more are automatically considered for deportation.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.

How many crimes were committed by people with refugee status in the UK in each of the last 10 years; and what those crimes were.

The specific information requested is not readily available from published statistics, and could only be obtained for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.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 that, where appropriate, we will pursue their deportationAll foreign nationals, including asylum seekers and refugees, can and will face prosecution for criminal offences in the same way as any other individual in the UK, and will have their immigration status reviewed if convicted.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 December 2024 to Question 16633 on Department for Work and Pensions: Freedom of Information, if he will publish a breakdown of refugees in receipt of Universal Credit in 2023 by nationality.

The Department is exploring the feasibility of developing suitable official statistics related to the immigration status of non-UK / Irish Universal Credit customers including refugees.

How many teachers have had their employment terminated, broken down by reason, for each year in the last five years.

Information on the school workforce is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, accessible here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.The attached table provides details of the reported reason teacher contracts were terminated in the 2018/19 to 2022/23 academic years, which reflects the latest data available.Teachers may have more than one contract, therefore individuals may be counted more than once. Figures for ‘Other reasons’ includes teachers who had a change of contract but remained at the school. Figures differ to the published number of teachers leaving service, which are based on the full-time equivalent number of qualified teachers who are not employed in a state-funded school the following year.

What steps she is taking to prevent the teaching of gender ideology in schools.

Compulsory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) should help pupils to understand that society consists of a diverse range of people. By the end of their secondary education, pupils are taught about equality and the law relating to protected characteristics, which includes sex and gender reassignment. It is important that the content schools teach is factual, age-appropriate and presents political issues in a balanced way.The department is currently reviewing the RSHE statutory guidance. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of both the RSHE and gender questioning guidance for schools. The government is looking carefully at the public consultation responses for both sets of guidance and discussing with stakeholders. We will consider all the relevant evidence, including the Cass Review which has since been published, before setting out next steps.

What proportion of irregular migrants that entered via small boats have received refugee status in each year since 2018.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum claims and initial decisions on asylum claims by age group is published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. Data on asylum-related returns is published in table Ret_05 of the ‘Returns summary tables’ and initial decisions on asylum claims from small boat arrivals is published in table Irr_D03 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed tables’.Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relates to year ending September 2024.

How many people were granted asylum by the reason for which asylum was granted in each of the last 10 years.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum claims and initial decisions on asylum claims by age group is published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. Data on asylum-related returns is published in table Ret_05 of the ‘Returns summary tables’ and initial decisions on asylum claims from small boat arrivals is published in table Irr_D03 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed tables’.Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relates to year ending September 2024.

How many people were granted asylum by age in each of the last 10 years.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum claims and initial decisions on asylum claims by age group is published in tables Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. Data on asylum-related returns is published in table Ret_05 of the ‘Returns summary tables’ and initial decisions on asylum claims from small boat arrivals is published in table Irr_D03 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed tables’.Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relates to year ending September 2024.

Whether her Department takes steps to communicate with the country of origin of asylum seekers to verify the validity of asylum claims.

Every asylum claim admitted to the UK asylum system is carefully considered on its individual merits by assessing all the evidence provided by the claimant against a background of published country information and a wide range of recognised and publicly available sources. In accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention and domestic law, we do not disclose information about an individual’s asylum claim to their home country or seek information in a way that could expose them, or any family who remain in that country, to serious risk. We take any breach of this principle extremely seriously.

What the total cost to the public purse was of English language courses for refugees in each of the last ten years.

Home Office does not hold the information requested.

How many prisoners (a) have been released under the early release scheme and (b) are housed in (i) hotels and (ii) other contingency accommodation.

There were 1,889 SDS40 ‘Tranche 1’ prisoner releases on 10 September 2024 (day one of tranche 1). There were 1,223 SDS40 ‘Tranche 2’ prisoner releases on 22 October 2024 (day one of tranche 2).The number of people released in total so far under SDS40 and the number housed in hotels and other contingency accommodation forms a subset of prison releases data which is scheduled for future publication.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's statistics entitled Social housing lettings in England, tenancies: April 2023 to March 2024, published on 5 December 2024, what the ten most common non-UK nationalities were in social housing since 2007.

The Department does not hold this data.While the accredited official statistics, Social Housing Lettings in England 2023/24, published on 5 December 2024, provides information on the nationality of the lead tenant in new social lettings grouped by UK, Republic of Ireland, Other EEA, Rest of world, data is not collected on individual nationalities.

What proportion of Foreign National Offenders have held refugee status in each of the last five years.

The specific information requested is not readily available from published statistics, and could only be obtained for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.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 that, where appropriate, we will pursue their deportationAll foreign nationals, including asylum seekers and refugees, can and will face prosecution for criminal offences in the same way as any other individual in the UK, and will have their immigration status reviewed if convicted.

What steps her Department takes to determine the nationality of irregular migrants who do not have documentation.

A range of methods are used to determine the nationality of such individuals, including checking the person’s claimed biographic details and biometrics against immigration databases (including records of previous immigration and visa applications), police records, and in some cases international partners.Where appropriate, the Home Office may also use language analysis testing, in which a person’s speech is examined by experts to determine their likely linguistic origin, which can help determine nationality where it is unclear.

How many family visas have been granted where the sponsor holds refugee status, broken down by nationality, in each of the last ten years.

UKVI do not publish data on the immigration status of sponsors for family visa applications. Details of applications issued and refused by nationality and immigration route can be found here: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).