Written questions by Anderson.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit on levels of public funds.

The Department takes into account migration trends and benefit entitlement conditions when producing twice-yearly benefit expenditure and caseload forecasts as part of the fiscal event process, but these forecasts do not break down expenditure by nationality. These were last updated in 23 April 2025. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-expenditure-tables

What steps her Department is taking to evaluate demographic trends by nationality of Universal Credit claimants.

The Department regularly monitors demographic trends including publishing statistics on Universal Credit claims by Immigration Status and Nationality. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics

What assessment she has made of the long term financial sustainability of the (a) eligibility criteria for foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit and (b) the number of foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit.

The Department takes into account migration trends and benefit entitlement conditions when producing twice-yearly benefit expenditure and caseload forecasts as part of the fiscal event process, but these forecasts do not break down expenditure by nationality. These were last updated in 23 April 2025. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/benefit-expenditure-tables

What estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of Universal Credit claims made by foreign nationals in each of the last five years.

Universal Credit awards are paid to households, which may include both British and foreign nationals who are eligible. Therefore, the information requested is not readily available at the required quality and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

What estimate she has made of the cost of employment (a) services and (b) training for foreign nationals in each of the last five years.

The Department considers migration trends when planning resources for delivering support including employment services and training to ensure that all claimants, regardless of their nationality or immigration status, can access this support if they are entitled to it. The Department does not collect information on or hold a record of the nationality or immigration status of claimants at the point of referral to specific employment services and training.

What recent estimate her Department has made of the proportion of Universal Credit claims made by foreign nationals (a) since July 2024 and (b) in each of the last three years.

The Department publishes Universal Credit (UC) immigration status and nationality statistics as part of the Universal Credit statistics publication. The latest release of these statistics is included in the latest Universal Credit statistical bulletin

What information they hold on the number of workdays that were completed remotely in their Department in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.

The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of illegal cross-Channel migration on the safety of women and girls living in the UK.

The Government’s Plan for Change sets out our ambition to secure borders and control immigration. We have introduced the Border Security Asylum and Immigration Bill which will give law enforcement counter terror-style powers to identify and disrupt people smuggling gangs. It will introduce a new measure whereby those who commit sexual offences which give rise to the notification requirement in Schedule 3 of the Sexual offences Act 2023 will be excluded from being granted asylum protections in the UK.We recognise the devastating impact of sexual violence on victims and our communities and are absolutely committed to tackling sexual offences with a manifesto mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade. We will deliver a cross-government transformative approach to relentlessly pursue all VAWG perpetrators in this country, under-pinned by a new strategy which we aim to publish in the autumn.

What recent discussions she has had with (a) the Secretary of State for the Home Department and (b) the Chancellor of the Exchequer on removing the current eligibility criteria for foreign nationals to claim Universal Credit.

The Department is playing an active role in work across Government connected to the Home Office’s recent White Paper ‘Restoring Control Over the Immigration System’. This includes membership in the Labour Market Advisory Group alongside the Migration Advisory Committee, Industrial Strategy Advisory Council and Skills England and devolved equivalents. The White Paper sets out ambitious changes including plans to increase the standard qualifying period for settlement and access to public funds benefits from five to ten years.

What recent steps he has taken to improve access to new treatments for patients with secondary breast cancer.

The Department is committed to ensuring that the National Health Service diagnoses cancer earlier and treats it faster so that more patients, including those with breast cancer, survive.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the NHS on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on their costs and benefits. Cancer medicines are eligible for funding from the Cancer Drugs Fund from the point of a positive NICE recommendation. Since January 2022, NICE has recommended all but one of the treatments for breast cancer that it has assessed, including treatments for secondary breast cancer such as Truqap and Korserdu, which are now available to eligible NHS patients.The National Cancer Plan for England will be published later this year and will set out further details on how we will improve outcomes for all cancer patients, including those with secondary breast cancer. The National Cancer Plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and aftercare.

What steps he is taking to help reduce the number of GP visits before diagnosis for patients with blood cancer.

The Department continues to support the National Health Service to diagnose and treat cancer as early and fast as possible. However, because of the state of the NHS this Government inherited, we recognise that patients with cancers with non-specific symptoms such as blood cancer, are waiting too long for diagnosis and subsequent treatment.To help prevent multiple general practice (GP) visits and emergency setting diagnoses of blood cancers, the NHS is implementing non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type. There are currently 115 NSS services operating in England with blood cancers being one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.The Department recently hosted a roundtable with industry experts to discuss the proposal for Jess’s Rule. Outcomes and further steps will be confirmed in due course.

What steps he is taking with the Food Standards Agency to help increase levels of public awareness of dangerous food product recalls.

Food recalls and allergy alerts often receive a high level of engagement depending on the scale and risk associated with each recall. It is the responsibility of businesses to reach the public through displaying in-store notices and notifying consumers through their own communication channels. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) amplifies recalls to reach a wider audience and those most vulnerable.The FSA works with national and regional media outlets, and shares recall information across its social media channels. This strategy achieves regular national coverage, plus targeted regional coverage. Targeted advertising campaigns on social media encourage the public to sign up for the food alerts and recalls service. Promoting the alerts and recall service is a key objective of our current business campaign. Safer food means better business, which aims to support small and micro businesses in protecting their customers.Targeted partnerships with healthcare providers, charities and organisations that represent vulnerable consumers facilitate direct access to those who are most at risk to food borne diseases. This includes immunocompromised groups or those living with an allergy.The FSA carried out a key review of the recall process in 2017 with the strengthened processes in place by 2019, and an evaluation of improvements carried out in 2022. At the heart of this work is making sure that as much as possible the system works smoothly across all those involved so that consumers are aware when unsafe foods are recalled.

If she will make it her policy to house irregular migrants only in secure detention centres.

Immigration detention plays a key role in maintaining effective immigration controls and securing the UK’s borders. The Home Office detains people initially for examination purposes and for the purpose of removing people who have no right to remain in the UK but refuse to leave voluntarily. A person may be detained for a period that the Secretary of State reasonably considers necessary to carry out the examination or removal, make a decision, or directions to be given.There is limited detained accommodation. The Home Office currently operates seven Immigration Removal Centres, three residential Short-Term Holding Facilities and one Pre-Departure Accommodation for families. These house a mixture of time-served foreign national offenders and immigration offenders. A number of factors go into deciding who to detain and determining whether detention is appropriate. All decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.Separately, the Home Secretary is legally required to support those seeking asylum in the UK who would otherwise be destitute. This obligation is fulfilled through the provision of appropriate non-detained accommodation. The Home Office remains committed to reducing reliance on hotel accommodation and is actively pursuing alternative solutions to meet our statutory obligations.

Whether her Department holds data on the number of people who were (a) referred to the Prevent programme for an initial assessment and (b) did not live in the UK (i) 3 and (ii) 5 years ago in the latest period for which data is available.

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 are protected against radicalising influences.The Home Office produces annual statistics on GOV.UK and provides official statistics on the number of individuals recorded as having been referred to and supported through the Prevent programme in England and Wales, from 1 April to 31 March each year which can be found here: Individuals referred to and supported through the Prevent Programme statistics - GOV.UK.

What data her Department holds on the proportion of foreign nationals claiming Universal Credit who are exempt from the habitual residence test.

This information is not readily available and to identify, collate and provide it would incur disproportionate cost. British and foreign nationals who are fleeing persecution and humanitarian crises overseas are exempt from the normal requirement to be habitually resident so that they can access support quickly on arrival. Those who stay in the UK are likely to meet the requirement one to three months later, without the aid of an exemption. People covered by the exemptions at the time they claim must still meet all the other eligibility criteria before they can receive Universal Credit, including being in Great Britain and, if they are a foreign national, having an immigration status that permits access to public funds.

Communities and Local Government, if she will publish data on the number of foreign nationals residing in the UK and living in social housing.

Housing is a devolved matter, with each of the four nations of the UK developing their own policies and data collections to monitor the impact of them. The English Housing Survey published by my Department, which can be found on gov.uk here, shows that there were 431,000 households whose lead tenant was a non-UK national living in social housing in England in 2023/24. This represents 10.4% of all households living in social housing in England at that time (4.1 million households). It is important to note that such households can contain UK nationals as well as non-UK national lead tenants.

Innovation and Technology, what information they hold on the number of workdays that were completed remotely in their Department in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.

Hybrid working is an informal, discretionary, non-contractual arrangement that enables employees to work partly in the workplace and partly at home. Employees are expected to spend a minimum of 40% of their working hours in the office. Office attendance requirements are managed locally to ensure the minimum requirement is met, and no central data is held on this.

What steps his Department is taking to help support pubs.

The Government recognises the vital role pubs play in supporting local economies and fostering community cohesion, as well as the pressures they face.That is why we established the Licensing Taskforce in April, bringing together representatives from the hospitality sector to help shape reforms. We published the Government’s response on 31 July, setting out a new National Licensing Policy Framework to simplify outdated rules and protect long-standing venues from noise complaints. These reforms form part of the recently announced Small Business Strategy, which aims to tackle late payments, boost access to finance, and remove red tape to enable small businesses, including pubs, grow and thrive.Additionally, we’re creating a fairer business rates system that protects the high street and supports investment, including permanently lower rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties under £500,000 rateable value. We’ve also launched a Hospitality Support Scheme to co-fund projects aligned with DBT and Hospitality Sector Council priorities such as Pub is The Hub to encourage local investment.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to review his Department's policies on distributing foreign aid to India.

We are currently working through detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used from 2026/27 to 2028/29. We will publish indicative ODA programme allocations for the next three years in due course.The UK has transformed its relationship with India from donor to investor and partner. Investing the UK's ODA budget in supporting India's transition to clean energy helps mitigate the worsening impacts of climate change through bolstering the development of clean technology. Through UK investments and sharing expertise, we are also creating jobs, opportunities and inward investment for the UK.This is a strategic investment in our partnership with the Indian Government, which we can make a return on. Last year our ODA spend in India was negative: we received more money back from investments made than we invested that year.

Innovation and Technology, if he will hold a consultation on the introduction of a digital ID system; and if she will publish the results.

The Government is committed to making the state more efficient and easier to interact with through harnessing technology. We want to learn from countries who have digitised government services for the benefit of their citizens.We are looking at whether a new digital ID could help tackle illegal immigration, transform public services, and bring benefits to people’s everyday lives. No firm decision, estimate or assessment has yet been made.