Written questions by Anderson.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of deporting all foreign criminals currently in prison.

The removal of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) is an important priority of this Government. We refer all FNOs in receipt of custodial sentences to the Home Office to consider deportation and we are taking decisive steps to increase removals.In the past year, 5,179 FNOs have been deported. This is a 14% increase in returns compared to the same period 12 months prior.We have accepted the recommendations of the sentencing review to enable earlier deportation of FNOs. On 25 June 2025, we laid legislation to expand the Early Release Scheme to allow FNOs to be removed up to 4 years before the earliest release point of their sentence (increased from 18 months now), subject to having served 30% of the custodial element of their sentence (allowing earlier removal compared to the 50% minimum time needed to serve now). This is estimated to further increase deportations and reduce demand by up to 500 prison places per year.

What meetings she has had with the victims of people released from prison through 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. SDS40 was a necessary measure introduced to relieve pressure on the prison estate. This involved changes to some offender’s automatic release dates.In designing SDS40, we carefully considered the impact on victims and public safety, ensuring that the most serious offenders were excluded from the scheme. The implementation of SDS40 was considered at a victim support sector roundtable, and then subsequently through meetings with a sector engagement group, which included a broad range of victims’ groups and representatives. We also published an explanation of the policy on GOV.UK and provided victim support organisations with frequently asked questions and answers to support them when engaging with victims who may be affected by the measure. Ministers regularly meet with victims and engage with the victims’ sector to inform relevant areas of policy.

Whether she has considered the potential merits of requiring prisoners convicted for (a) murder, (b) rape and (c) terrorism offences to work in prison to repay legal aid.

Legal aid is not paid directly to the defendant. It is paid to lawyers and ensures defendants have a fair trial and can be punished for their crimes.The Legal Aid Agency ensures public money is used efficiently by applying means and merits (the interests of justice test) tests, except where exempt by regulation, to all defendants before the magistrates’ and Crown courts, when they make an application for legal aid funding. Where a defendant’s income is above the minimum income threshold, they are required to pay contributions for up to six months during the case. If convicted, they may be required to pay contributions from their capital assets up to the full amount of their defence costs.The Court of Appeal can also make ‘Recovery of Defence Costs Order’ after upholding a conviction to recover legal aid costs where the defendant has been assessed to have the financial means to do so.

Whether she has considered the potential merits of a direct train service between stations on the Robin Hood Line and London.

There has been no consideration to East Midlands Railway providing a direct service between London and stations on the Robin Hood Line. However, the Department is happy to work with operators as they develop demand-led timetables that can adapt to passengers’ evolving needs, whilst also making the running of the railways financially sustainable, to ensure that taxpayers’ money is used in the most efficient way amid the current financial constraints.

How much was given in legal aid to foreign nationals accused of (a) murder, (b) rape and (c) terrorism offences in each of the last five years.

The requested information relating to legal aid expenditure in respect of specific criminal offences could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

How much was given in legal aid to foreign nationals in each of the last five years.

Legal aid expenditure since 2010 is published as part of the Legal Aid Agency’s official statistics. The most recent publication can be viewed here [see table 1.0] and includes expenditure up to 31 March 2025.Information about legal aid expenditure in respect of foreign nationals is not centrally recorded.

What the cost to the public purse was of legal aid in each of the last five years.

Legal aid expenditure since 2010 is published as part of the Legal Aid Agency’s official statistics. The most recent publication can be viewed here [see table 1.0] and includes expenditure up to 31 March 2025.Information about legal aid expenditure in respect of foreign nationals is not centrally recorded.

How many Iranian irregular migrants are currently being housed in hotel accommodation.

The Home Office publishes data on a quarterly basis on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation. The data, which can be broken down by nationality, UK region and accommodation type, is located within Asy_D09 tab of the Immigration statistics data tables - Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK

What information her Department holds on where Iranian migrants are being housed in asylum hotels.

The Home Office publishes data on a quarterly basis on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation. The data, which can be broken down by nationality, UK region and accommodation type, is located within Asy_D09 tab of the Immigration statistics data tables - Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to meet with his counterparts in (a) the EU and (b) Spain to discuss the status of Gibraltar.

We have no plans to meet with the EU, Spain, or any other party to discuss the status of Gibraltar. This Government is fully committed to the double lock: we will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another State against their freely and democratically expressed wishes. And we will never enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content. The Foreign Secretary and I continue, side by side with the Government of Gibraltar, to work with the EU and Spain to finalise a Treaty governing Gibraltar's relationship with the EU. Political agreement, including on a clause which safeguards Gibraltar's sovereignty, was reached on 11 June and all sides are working together to finalise the Treaty as soon as possible.

What data his department holds on how much health tourism has cost the NHS in each of the last 5 years.

The Department does not currently hold data on the overall cost to the National Health Service of treating complications arising from procedures carried out overseas. However, we are actively exploring ways to better understand the scale and impact of these costs on NHS services.

How much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.

Spend: YearTotal2023£ 707,777.122024£ 882,118.002025£ 546,323.38 Languages: AlbanianHebrewCroatianAmharicTamilSomaliArabicUrduItalianBahasa IndonesiaNepaliCatalanBengaliFarsi (Persian)SwedishBSL (British Sign Language)SomaliPortuguese (Brazilian)BulgarianRomanianLithuanianCroatianJapaneseSerbianCzechNorwegianUkrainianDanishUkrainianNorwegianDariWelshEstonianDutchBulgarianFrenchEstonianTraditional ChineseThaiFarsi (Persian)BengaliFarsi (Persian)FinnishLatvian (Lettish)HungarianFrenchFrenchRomanianGermanGermanGermanGreekSwedishTurkishGujaratiPashtuBahasa IndonesiaHebrewDariDariHindiVietnameseVietnameseHungarianHungarianRussianIcelandicCatalanHebrewIndian PunjabiIcelandicGujaratiItalianItalianUrduJapaneseEstonianIndian PunjabiKoreanHindiWelshKurdish / Kurdish SoraniSinhaleseKoreanKurdish KurmanjiSlovenianGeorgianLatvian (Lettish)TurkishDanishLithuanianPortuguesePortugueseMacedonianBosnianOromo ( Afan)Malay (Malaysian)Kurdish / Kurdish SoraniAlbanianMalteseAmharicKazakhNorwegianDutchCzechOromo ( Afan)Bahasa IndonesiaKinyarwandaPakistani PunjabiIndian PunjabiPakistani PunjabiPashtuGujaratiMalay (Malaysian)PolishPolishPolishPortugueseLithuanianBulgarianPortuguese (Brazilian)Braille (Unified English)MacedonianRomanianDanishGreekRussianPortuguese (Brazilian)Traditional ChineseSerbianCastilianNepaliSimplified ChineseSimplified ChineseBosnianSinhaleseCroatianKurdish / Kurdish SoraniSlovakSlovakSlovakSomaliPakistani PunjabiPashtuSpanishSpanishSpanishSwedishGreekLatvian (Lettish)TamilBSL (British Sign Language)Simplified ChineseThaiRussianJapaneseTigrinyaEnglish (Easy Read)SlovenianTraditional ChineseThaiBengaliTurkishFinnishFinnishUkrainianArabicArabicUrduCzechDutchVietnameseSerbianSinhaleseWelshAlbanianBSL (British Sign Language) FlemishTagalog (Filipino) GalicianTamil KoreanTanzanian Swahili MacedonianUzbek Malay (Malaysian) Sindhi Spanish (LatAm) Tagalog (Filipino) Tanzanian Swahili Tigrinya

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) operates across 282 posts worldwide and has a wide range of translation and interpretation requirements across multiple foreign languages. While some translation services are specifically contracted, much of this work is likely to be part of larger programmes or ad hoc, making it very difficult to provide specific data in response to this question.The FCDO does however procure essential translation services from FCDO Services. In the financial year 2024-25, the FCDO spend with FCDO Services on translations from English into languages other than Welsh was £133,000 (in 2023-24, it was £118,000). These translation services were used for approximately 30 different languages, predominantly for translations into Arabic, French, Spanish and the Afghan languages - Dari and Pashto.In addition, the FCDO uses its own staff overseas or local suppliers to provide translation services when required. Machine translation, such as Google, and Artificial Intelligence are now also used.

Innovation and Technology, how much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology have awarded two contracts for the total value of £97,848.94 since 2023 on translating documents into languages other than English and other native UK languages.These languages were: French, Korean, Arabic and MandarinThese translation services related to research on AI and Large Language Models and the material was not published.

How much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero does not record this data in a way in which we can determine what proportion of the spend on translation services was for translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.

How much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.

The Department has spent £212,027.69 on translation services since 2023 (this covers the period from 1st January 2023 to 18 July 2025). The table below outlines the split of costs by calendar year.It should be noted that information is not held at the level requested. Translation ServicesAmountCalendar Year 2023£73,719.18Calendar Year 2024£79,893.56Calendar Year 2025£58,414.95Total£212,027.69

How much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.

The Department for Business and Trade does not routinely record the costs for translation of documents into other languages separately from other translation and interpretation costs. We can confirm the Department for Business and Trade spent £14,085.54 on translating documents into other languages from April 2023 - July 2025. Other expenses may be excluded from this as they are not recorded at this level of detail.As the department for economic growth, we support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country. DBT employs teams based in priority markets around the world and those teams often use local language skills to help UK businesses access opportunities to export their goods and services globally. Likewise, they will use local language skills to promote the UK to a global audience, and in particular to attract high value investment to the UK.Language service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.

How much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 61621.

How much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.

The Ministry of Justice has a statutory duty to provide Language Services to enable access to justice for users for whom English is not their first language and those who require visual and tactile services, under the provision of the Equality Act.Language Service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.In FY 23/24 the total contracted spend was £915,037.52.In FY 24/25 the total contracted spend was £1,003,283.32.In FY 25/26 so far, the total contracted spend is £256,707.82.The languages in this data exclude written translations into English, Welsh and Braille.The languages translated into from English (United Kingdom) are:Albanian (Albania)Amharic (Ethiopia)Arabic (Classical)Arabic (Egypt)Arabic (Modern Standard) Middle EasternArabic (Modern Standard) North AfricanArabic (Morocco)Armenian (Armenia)Bangla (Bangladesh)Bosnian (Latin, Bosnia and Herzegovina)Bulgarian (Bulgaria)BurmeseBurmese (Myanmar)Catalan (Catalan)Chinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)Croatian (Latin, Bosnia and Herzegovina)Czech (Czech Republic)Danish (Denmark)Dari (Afghanistan)Dutch (Netherlands)Estonian (Estonia)Filipino (Philippines)Finnish (Finland)French (Belgium)French (France)Georgian (Georgia)German (Austria)German (Germany)Greek (Greece)Gujarati (India)Hebrew (Israel)Hindi (India)Hungarian (Hungary)Icelandic (Iceland)Indonesian (Indonesia)Italian (Italy)Japanese (Japan)Kinyarwanda (Rwanda)Kiswahili (Kenya)Korean (Korea)Kurdish (Bahdini)Kurdish (Sorani)Latvian (Latvia)Lingala (Congo DRC)Lithuanian (Lithuania)Macedonian (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia)Malay (Malaysia)Malayalam (India)Maltese (Malta)Mirpuri (Central Asia)Mongolian (Cyrillic, Mongolia)Nepali (Nepal)Norwegian, Bokmål (Norway)Norwegian, Nynorsk (Norway)Oromo (Ethiopia)PahariPotwari (Central Asia)Pashto (Afghanistan)Persian (Afghanistan)Persian (Iran)Polish (Poland)Portuguese (Brazil)Portuguese (Portugal)Punjabi (India)Punjabi (Pakistan)Romanian (Romania)Romany (Europe)Russian (Russia)Serbian (Cyrillic, Serbia)Serbian (Latin, Serbia)Shona (Latin, Zimbabwe)Sinhala (Sri Lanka)Slovak (Slovakia)Slovenian (Slovenia)Somali (Somalia)Spanish (Argentina)Spanish (Latin America)Spanish (Mexico)Spanish (Spain)Swedish (Sweden)Tajik (Cyrillic, Tajikistan)Tamazight (Latin, Algeria)Tamil (India)Tetum (Timor)Thai (Thailand)Tigrinya (Eritrea)Turkish (Turkey)Ukranian (Ukraine)Urdu (Islamic Republic of Pakistan)Uzbek (Latin, Uzbekistan)Vietnamese (Vietnam)Wolof (Senegal)Yoruba (Nigeria) The Languages translated into from English (United States) are:Arabic (Egypt)Hungarian (Hungary)Polish (Poland)Romanian (Romania)

Media and Sport, how much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.

DCMS does not hold information to the level of detail requested within its finance system or procurement system.Language service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.