Written questions by Fuller.

What categories of risk are defined by her Department for assessing the removal priority of people who have overstayed their visas.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.As set out in legislation at section 10 of the Immigration Act 1999, all individuals who “require leave to enter or remain in the UK but do not have it” are liable to removal. This will therefore include individuals who have overstayed and those who have had visas revoked, as well as any other individual who is found to not have leave to enter or remain in the UK, such as those who have entered clandestinely or those who have used deception to secure entry to the UK. These rules are applied equally across all categories of immigration offenders.

What categories of risk are defined by her Department for assessing the removal priority of people who have had their visas revoked.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.As set out in legislation at section 10 of the Immigration Act 1999, all individuals who “require leave to enter or remain in the UK but do not have it” are liable to removal. This will therefore include individuals who have overstayed and those who have had visas revoked, as well as any other individual who is found to not have leave to enter or remain in the UK, such as those who have entered clandestinely or those who have used deception to secure entry to the UK. These rules are applied equally across all categories of immigration offenders.

What the average cost of building a special educational needs school was in the last five years.

New school buildings are delivered by the department, local authorities, and other bodies.The average cost of building a special educational needs school can be found on pages 25-29 in the national cost benchmarking study published at: https://documents.hants.gov.uk/property-services/NationalSchoolDeliveryBenchmarkingreport.pdf.This report contains cost information on local authority delivered schools and department-delivered schools, the data has been collected since 2012.Standards for new school buildings change over time, for example to increase sustainability requirements, so care should be taken in comparing costs directly year to year.

What the average cost per pupil was to construct a special educational needs school in the last five years.

New school buildings are delivered by the department, local authorities, and other bodies.The average cost of building a special educational needs school can be found on pages 25-29 in the national cost benchmarking study published at: https://documents.hants.gov.uk/property-services/NationalSchoolDeliveryBenchmarkingreport.pdf.This report contains cost information on local authority delivered schools and department-delivered schools, the data has been collected since 2012.Standards for new school buildings change over time, for example to increase sustainability requirements, so care should be taken in comparing costs directly year to year.

When final disbursements will be made from the Woodford Equity Income Fund under the terms of the settlement scheme.

In December 2023, investors in the Woodford Equity Income Fund voted to accept a settlement scheme, and in February 2024 the High Court approved the scheme to make it binding on Link Fund Solutions and all creditors. The scheme came into force on 5 March 2024, with investors having received a first redress payment by April 2024. That first payment amounted to over £185 million, out of a settlement fund of up to £230 million. The rest of the settlement fund is being held as a reserve to enable Link Fund Solutions to meet any contingent liabilities. Any leftover money from the reserve will be distributed to investors covered by the scheme. The operation of the reserve is supervised by the scheme supervisors who are independent of Link Fund Solutions. The FCA are continuing to monitor the operation of the reserve and will monitor when and how distributions are being made.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contributions on provisional supply teachers.

Additional funding to support schools with NICs costs will be allocated through the NICs grant in 2025-26. Schools will have flexibility over how they use this grant funding to meet their costs, including those relating to supply teachers.

What initiatives her Department has considered to help encourage the conversion of buses to electric power.

The transition to zero-emission buses (ZEBs) represents a great opportunity for UK bus manufacturers and repowering companies, both to supply the electric buses needed here in the UK and to win export orders abroad as other countries upgrade their bus fleets. The Government recognises the value that repower conversion can provide to advancing the decarbonisation of the bus fleet. We are encouraged by recent developments in the sector, including continued orders placed by operators for repowered buses in depots that have been electrified under ZEBRA. Future bus funding is still being considered in the round as part of the Spending Review, including funding to support ZEBs.

Communities and Local Government, what consideration she has given to providing financial support to Bedford Borough Council for extraordinary expenses arising from the Cleat Hill gas explosion.

Bedford Borough Council submitted a formal request on 27th March 2025 for Bellwin Scheme financial support for their immediate response costs arising from the Cleat Hill gas explosion that occurred in October 2024. We will now review the information provided by the Council and then decide what if any financial assistance may be provided through the Bellwin Scheme for the Council’s eligible costs in respect of this tragic incident.

With reference to paragraph 2.43 of the Spring Statement of 26 March 2025, what the £150 million provided for government employee exit schemes will be spent on; and how much and what proportion of this is for redundancy payments.

As announced at Spring Statement the government has allocated £150 million for government employee exit schemes. Information can be found in the Spring Statement supporting documentation here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e3ec2df356a2dc0e39b488/E03274109_HMT_Spring_Statement_Mar_25_Web_Accessible_.pdf. This will be match-funded by a further £150 million from Departments. Exit schemes will enable delivery of leaner, smarter, more efficient government, whilst delivering savings over the medium term. Departments will bid for funding from this central pot in order to run exit schemes, and therefore the exact details of how this will be spent is not yet known.

How many Government Procurement cards have been issued to staff in her private office.

2 Government Procurement cards have been issued to Private Office staff.

Which government departments have undergone efficiency assessments by the Office for Value for Money.

The Office for Value for Money is working with departments to root out waste and inefficiency. It will do this by working with departments to agree stretching and realistic technical efficiency targets, underpinned by robust delivery plans.All departments and their arm's-length bodies are in scope for this piece of work.The Office will target areas where it can have the most impact, rather than duplicating the work of others. It is the role of the Crown Commercial Service to review framework agreements.

What role the Office for Value for Money plays in assessing the efficiency of government procurement processes; and whether it has been involved in reviewing framework agreements.

The Office for Value for Money is working with departments to root out waste and inefficiency. It will do this by working with departments to agree stretching and realistic technical efficiency targets, underpinned by robust delivery plans.All departments and their arm's-length bodies are in scope for this piece of work.The Office will target areas where it can have the most impact, rather than duplicating the work of others. It is the role of the Crown Commercial Service to review framework agreements.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the suitability of adopting similar international government models including the (a) US Office of Management and Budget and (b) Department for Government Efficiency in the UK.

Departments have agreed a 2% productivity, efficiency and savings target in the first phase of the Spending Review and have been set a stretching 5% target in the second phase. This target is to be delivered via efficiencies and savings from innovative technology-driven approaches, such as Artificial Intelligence; more effectively joining up services; and a more strategic approach to government processes, including procurement. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury has also asked each department to carry out a line-by-line review of existing day-to-day budgets to identify where spending is no longer aligned with this government’s priorities or is poor value for money. The Office for Value for Money, led by an independent Chair, will work with departments to assess where and how to root out waste and inefficiency, including agreeing plans to deliver technical efficiencies through the Spending Review period. It will also develop recommendations for system reform, informed by lessons learned from the past, international best practice, and the views of external organisations. This will underpin a ruthless focus within government on realising benefits from every pound of public spending.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing structural changes to efficiency oversight as part of the 2025 Spending Review.

This government is committed to spending taxpayers’ money efficiently. At the first phase of the Spending Review for 2025-26 it set a 2% target for efficiency, productivity and savings for all departments. Phase 2 of the Spending Review (2026-2029) goes further with departments undertaking a line-by-line review of existing day-to-day budgets for the first time in 17 years. Departments are expected to identify a minimum of 5% savings and efficiencies against their current budgets freeing up funding to achieve the government’s priorities. The Office for Value for Money is also advising the Chancellor and me on decisions for the Spending Review, which will include conducting an assessment of where and how to root out waste and inefficiency. The government will set out its plans on efficiencies at the conclusion of the Spending Review.

Whether the Government has plans to introduce a Minister for Government Efficiency in the Cabinet Office to oversee cross-departmental efficiency initiatives.

The Cabinet Office is driving reform to deliver cross-departmental efficiencies, including through better use of data and technology. I have ministerial responsibility for public sector reform, which includes driving cross-departmental work to improve efficiency in government.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) inheritance tax payments on Defined Contribution pensions and (b) the loss of the Residence Nil Rate Band on marginal tax rates.

The Government considers inheritance tax policy carefully and has due regard to several factors, including marginal inheritance tax rates.

With reference to the report by the NAO entitled The Administrative Cost of the Tax system, published on 10 February 2025, what steps she plans to take to reduce the annual cost to VAT registered traders.

HMRC have acknowledged the findings of the NAO report and emphasised the ongoing efforts to modernise and streamline tax administration. An HMRC Transformation Roadmap will be published in 2025. This will set out HMRC’s vision to be a digital first organisation and outline our plans to extend digital services and tools to provide better customer service for customers, including small businesses, and agents.

With reference to page 4 of the report by the NAO entitled The Administrative Cost of the Tax System, published on 10 February 2025, if she will instruct HMRC to update its £15.4bn estimate of the cost to businesses of complying with the tax system.

The £15.4bn estimate of the cost to businesses of complying with the tax system contains in the NAO report comes from HMRC’s Standard Cost Model (SCM). This uses an internationally recognised approach to estimating these costs. The SCM contains data on approximately 2,500 obligations across 27 policy areas, and is largely based on data collected from businesses and agents on the time and costs of complying with regulations. HMRC is looking to reduce the complexity of the model so it is easier to update which may enable it to produce a more timely estimate of the cost to business.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed discontinuous electrification of East West Rail on (a) capital costs and (b) operating costs of the railway.

The cost of discontinuous electrification is already included in the publicised capital cost range of the project and the option of full electrification is still under consideration. However, electrification (discontinuous or full) is expected to significantly reduce operating costs for the line over its whole life.

If she will publish the sources of funding for each public sector pension scheme including balancing payments made by her Department for each fiscal year between 2020-21 and 2023-24.

Figures showing the net Exchequer balancing payments for unfunded Public Service Pension Schemes (PSPS), along with details on contribution income and scheme expenditure, are regularly published as part of the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO), including outturn figures for the previous fiscal year. For example, the March 2022 EFO includes Exchequer balancing figures for each major PSPS for 2020-21 in the table labelled “March 2022 Economic and fiscal outlook – supplementary fiscal tables: expenditure”: Economic and fiscal outlook - March 2022 - Office for Budget Responsibility The latest publication is included in the October 2024 EFO.