Written questions by Cocking.

How many and what proportion of people who arrived in the UK illegally were granted leave to remain in the last 12 months.

The Home Office publishes statistics on detected irregular arrivals to the UK in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on outcomes of asylum claims from small boat arrivals is published by arrival date in table Irr_D03 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’, and by initial decision date in table Asy_02c of the ‘asylum summary tables’, with the latest data up to the end of March 2025. Data on asylum outcomes for people who arrived irregularly by other routes is not published.

What assessment has he made of the potential financial impact of net zero policies on people in poverty.

The net zero transition will not only be the economic opportunity of the century, but it will also support the creation of hundreds of thousands of good jobs across the UK, protect our economy from future price shocks that reliance on fossil fuels create, while delivering a range of social and health benefits. The Warm Homes Plan, for example, will transform homes across the country, from installing new insulation to rolling out solar and heat pumps, helping households make their homes cleaner and cheaper to run. As the OBR has noted [July 2021 Fiscal Risks Report], the costs of failing to get climate change under control would be much larger than those of bringing emissions down to net zero.

Whether she has had recent discussions with relevant stakeholders on amending eligibility for education, health and care plans.

Ministers and departmental officials engage with a wide range of experts on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The government has established and are working with an Inclusion Expert Advisory Group and a Neurodiversity Task and Finish Group, set up by Ministers to advise on steps needed to improve mainstream education outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND.In addition to regular engagement with parents across the country, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education met recently with members of the Disabled Children’s Partnership (a coalition representing more than 120 organisations who support families of children and young people with SEND) and the department continues to have ongoing conversations with parents and other key stakeholders.

How many and what proportion of people who arrived in the UK by small boat in the last 12 months have criminal records in their countries of origin.

Security and identity checks are carried out in respect of all small boat arrivals including criminality checks on UK databases for, amongst other things, convictions, pending prosecutions and wanted or missing reports. Further checks on criminality depend on the circumstances of each case.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle the use of (a) electric bikes and (b) e-scooters by youth gangs involved in (i) drug dealing, (ii) theft and (iii) anti-social behaviour.

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission to take back our streets.Our Crime and Policing Bill will give the police greater powers to clamp down on all vehicles involved in anti-social behaviour including street racing, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles.On 28 May, the Government launched a 6-week consultation on proposals to allow the police to dispose of seized vehicles which have been used anti-socially from 14 days to 48 hours. Combined, these proposals will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially and illegally by sending a clear message to would be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we are targeting exploitative drug dealing gangs and breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade. This includes funding the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC), to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2025 to Question 46919 on Environment Agency: Lobbying and with reference to the guidance entitled May 2025 Elections: guidance on conduct for civil servants, published on 20 March 2025, which section of that document provides guidance on holding meetings with hon. Members during a pre-election period.

Section 29 of the guidance entitled “May 2025 Elections: guidance on conduct for civil servants” outlines that it is for individual public bodies to apply the guidance within their own organisations. Environment Agency staff follow all relevant sections of the guidance to ensure that their activities do not call into question their political impartiality.

What steps her Department is taking to support young people into work.

DWP provides 16-24-year-olds with labour market support through an extensive range of interventions at a national and local level. As part of the plan to Get Britain Working we will launch a Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. Eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers to test and learn before further roll out of the Youth Guarantee have launched in April.

What steps she is taking to help ensure increased prosecution rates for retail crime.

This Government’s Safer Streets Mission will drive forward the change we need to crack down on shoplifting – a crime that is blighting our communities.As Solicitor General, I superintend the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which prosecutes shoplifting and attempted shoplifting in England and Wales.The CPS increased prosecutions for shoplifting and attempted shoplifting in 2024. In 2024, the CPS prosecuted 113,624 cases of shoplifting, up from 56,986 in 2022. In 2024, the CPS prosecuted 2,025 cases of attempted shoplifting, up from 1,074 in 2022.However, more needs to be done.Under the previous government, shoplifting hit a record high, with more and more offenders using appalling violence and abuse against shopworkers.This Government will not stand for that level of lawlessness and criminality. New money will be invested in prevention, training the police and retailers on specific retail crime tactics to stop crime before it happens.We’re also putting a stop to the effective immunity for shoplifting of goods below £200 and bringing in a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect those who face unacceptable abuse in their roles serving the public.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 April 2025 to Question 44030 on Prisoners: Repatriation, whether (a) her Department and (b) HM Prisons and Probation Service have targets for the efficiency of the Early Removal Scheme process.

Between 5 July 2024 and 22 March 2025, there were 1,848 Early Removal Scheme (ERS) returns, which is a 15% increase compared to 1,610 in the same period 12 months prior. As part of the government’s Plan for Change and mission to create safer streets, we are building on the existing co-operation between the Home Office and HMPPS (HM Prisons and Probation Service) with a £5 million government investment in prisons across England and Wales which will assist in speeding up returns under the ERS. This money will fund the deployment of specialist frontline staff to 80 jails to speed up the removal of prisoners who have no right to be in this country.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help ensure that residential freeholders are notified of future liability for charges during the conveyancing process.

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (“the 2024 Act”) contains measures to improve the home buying and selling process for homeowners to ensure perspective homeowners receive relevant and timely information at a reasonable cost.We will be consulting on the secondary legislation that is required to switch on these measures in due course.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department issues guidance to the Environment Agency on holding meetings with hon. Members during a pre-election period.

The Cabinet Office publishes guidance to civil servants in UK Government departments and staff and members of non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and other arm’s-length bodies (ALBs) on their role and conduct during pre-election periods. The most recent guidance was updated on 20 March 2025 ahead of the May 2025 local elections. Environment Agency (EA) staff follow this guidance to ensure that their activities do not call into question their political impartiality.

If she will bring forward legislative proposals to require LINK to amend its assessment criteria for establishing new banking hubs.

While the Government has no current plans to amend legislation, we continue to work closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK. The UK banking sector has committed to deliver these hubs by the end of this Parliament. Over 220 hubs have been announced so far, and over 140 are already open. Any decisions on changes to LINK’s independent assessment criteria are a matter for LINK, the financial services sector, and for the Financial Conduct Authority, which oversees the access to cash regime.

What steps he is taking to ensure hospital transport providers are meeting the needs of patients and their families.

It is the responsibility of local commissioners and providers to work together to ensure that hospital patient transport services are meeting the needs of their populations locally. National guidance for non-emergency patient transport services, to support them in becoming consistently more responsive, fair, and sustainable, is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/improving-non-emergency-patient-transport-services/

Whether her Department has a target for the removal of foreign national offenders from prisons.

HMPPS (HM Prisons and Probation Service) are working closely with the Home Office to ensure the Early Removal Scheme process runs as efficiently as possible by driving up foreign national offender (FNO) returns directly from prison. Between 5 July 2024 and 22 March 2025, there have been 1,848 ERS returns, which is a 15% increase compared to 1,610 in the same period 12 months prior. The ERS remains the most effective mechanism for removing eligible FNOs as quickly as possible, freeing up prison beds and saving money.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that adequate infrastructure is in place before new housing is built.

The government recognises the importance of ensuring that new housing development is supported by appropriate infrastructure. The revised National Planning Policy Framework published 12 December included changes designed to improve the provision and modernisation of various types of public infrastructure. The government is also committed to strengthening the existing system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide the necessary infrastructure communities expect.

If she will make it her Department's policy to remove all foreign national offenders from UK prisons.

The removal of foreign national offenders (FNOs) is an important priority of this Government. FNOs 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.After sentencing, FNOs are considered for removal under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) subject to the Home Office issuing a deportation order. The ERS enables the removal of FNOs up to 18 months before the end of their custodial sentence. FNOs deported under the ERS are barred from returning to the UK.Between 5 July 2024 and 31 January 2025, 2,925 FNOs have been returned from prison and the community - 21% more than the 2,422 in the same period under the previous Government, 12 months prior. This includes 1,557 ERS removals from prison - a 26% increase compared to the same period under the previous Government 12 months prior.We have invested £5 million for 82 new FNO Specialist roles in prisons to speed up the removal of prisoners who have no right to be in this country. Staff will be in post by April 2025. We will also fast-track removals through a new returns and enforcement unit, with an additional 1,000 Home Office staff.

For what reasons will the renaming of civil injunctions as housing injunctions help housing associations tackle anti-social behaviour.

Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a top priority for this government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.We will crack down on those making neighbourhoods feel unsafe and unwelcoming by bringing forward new Respect Orders, which will carry tough sanctions and penalties for persistent adult offenders. These were introduced as part of the Crime and Policing Bill on 25 February.The Respect Order partially replaces the existing Civil Injunction power for the most persistent and serious adult ASB offenders, carrying with it a power of arrest and sentencing in the criminal courts for breach. It is a broad power for use in situations where behaviour had caused or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.Practitioners who use the Civil Injunction for housing-related ASB have told us the power works well for those purposes. The element of the Civil Injunction that pertains to housing related ASB will therefore be retained, and re-named the 'housing injunction' for clarity, to distinguish it from the Respect Order and the Youth Injunction. The legal test for this is behaviour causing, or capable of causing, housing-related nuisance or annoyance. If agencies consider that ASB committed in the context of neighbour disputes meets the legal test for a Respect Order (behaviour causing harassment, alarm or distress), they may determine a Respect Order is the most appropriate option instead.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 33105 on Banking Hubs, whether she has the power to change the assessment criteria used by LINK to establish new banking hubs.

Banking has changed significantly in recent years with many customers benefitting from the ease and convenience of remote banking. While branch closures are commercial decisions for banks, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) guidance expects firms to carefully consider the impact of planned branch closures on their customers’ everyday banking and cash access needs and put in place alternatives where reasonable. This seeks to ensure that branch closures are implemented in a way that treats customers fairly. Where firms fall short of expectations, the FCA may ask for closures to be paused or other options to be put in place. Where alternative services have been recommended, a branch cannot close until any recommended services are in place. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 granted the FCA the responsibility and powers to seek to ensure the reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities. Under the FCA’s regime, LINK, the operator of the UK’s ATM network, is responsible for undertaking access to cash assessments. When a cash service such as a bank branch closes, or if LINK receives a request directly from a community, LINK assesses a community’s access to cash needs and can recommend a new service, such as a banking hub. The Government has no powers to intervene in decisions to open new banking hubs, and the criteria for access to cash assessments is a matter for LINK, the financial services sector and the FCA. The FCA is required by law to keep its access to cash rules under review and is monitoring the impact of these rules on an ongoing basis to ensure they deliver the right outcomes for businesses and consumers.

With reference to the press release entitled Biggest employment reforms in a generation unveiled to Get Britain Working again, published on 26 November 2024, what steps her Department is taking to implement the youth guarantee.

Our plan to get Britain working includes a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work. The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education are working closely with the eight Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England who will begin delivering the Youth Guarantee Trailblazers announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper from Spring 2025. To tackle the rising number of young people who are not participating in education, employment or training, these Trailblazers will test how new local leadership, accountability structures and existing provision can be integrated into a cohesive education, training and employment support for young people. More broadly, we will work closely with mayoral authorities on a range of wider initiatives such as developing national and local partnerships to support the Youth Guarantee. The Trailblazers will run for 12 months, and we will use the learning to inform the future design and development of the Youth Guarantee as it rolls-out across the rest of England. Additionally, Department for Education are also developing new foundation apprenticeships to give more young people a foot in the door at the start of their working lives whilst supporting the pipeline of new talent that employers will need to drive economic growth. The Department for Work and Pensions are also working to develop proposals for reform to the system of health and disability benefits and will set them out in a Green Paper in the Spring. The Government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do, so we will consult on these proposals with disabled people and representative organisations.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to encourage public participation in Devolution Priority Programme consultations.

On 17th February, the government launched six consultations, one for each area on Devolution Priority Programme. The government is encouraging everyone who lives and works within these areas to participate and make their voices heard. The government has brought the consultation to the attention of a variety of local stakeholders, including local councils, community groups, and businesses, to ensure the consultation reaches the widest possible audience. We are utilising a range of communication methods, including social media and physical promotional materials to publicise this activity, which is also being reported by local media. Engagement is being actively monitored and we are putting in place plans to encourage maximum participation across all communities in these areas.