Written questions by Lowe.

How many 17 year old irregular migrants there are in schools, broken down by local authority.

The Home Office publishes data on irregular arrivals in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK release’. Data on irregular arrivals broken down by age group are published in table Irr_D01 of the 'Irregular migration detailed datasets'. The Home Office does not publish data on individual ages of irregular arrivals to the UK, or a breakdown of irregular migrants by local authority, or whether they attend a school. Data on asylum seekers in receipt of support by local authority is published in table Asy_D11 of the 'Asylum seekers in receipt of support by local authority detailed datasets' as part of the 'Immigration system statistics quarterly release'. Please note that not all asylum seekers arrived via irregular means and that not all irregular migrants are asylum seekers in receipt of support. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data refers to arrivals up to and people supported as on 30 June 2024.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2024 to Question 12574 on Undocumented Migrants: English Channel, how many irregular migrants aged (a) 14, (b) 15, (c) 16, (d) 17, (e) 18 and (f) 19 crossed the Channel in each year since 2018.

The Home Office does not publish data on individual ages of small boat arrivals to the UK.Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.

If she will list the number of passports issued in each of the last 10 years, broken down by (a) place of and (b) nationality at birth.

His Majesty’s Passport Office does not hold data in a reportable format relating to an individual’s place or country of birth, and this information could therefore only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2024 to Question 12491 on Crime: Undocumented Migrants, if she will publish the statistics that her Department holds on that matter.

The Home Office does not publish data on individual ages of small boat arrivals to the UK.Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.

What the total cost has been of providing private healthcare to irregular migrants in each year since 2018.

Asylum seekers are not provided with private healthcare.

How many and what proportion of (a) asylum seekers and (b) undocumented migrants were eligible for support under (i) Section (A) 95 and (B) 98 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and (ii) Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 in each of the last ten years; and if she will make an estimate of the total cost to the public purse of that support in the same period.

As has long been the case. the Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide accommodation support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute before their claim is decided and those without a valid claim can be removed. By clearing the backlog and increasing removals of those with no right to stay, we can end the use of asylum hotels. Data on the number of asylum seekers in receipt of support, can be found within the Asy_D09 tab for our most recent stats release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab) (opens in a new tab). The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)(opens in a new tab). The Home Office does not have, and therefore cannot discharge, duties under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989. It is for the local authority where an unaccompanied child is located to consider its duties under the Children’s Act 1989.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a curfew on irregular migrants housed in (a) hotels and (b) other types of accommodation.

I refer the Hon. Member to PQ 13616.

If she will provide a breakdown of the primary language of registered sexual offenders.

Qualifying offenders (i.e., those convicted for an offence in Schedule 3 to the Sexual Offences Act 2003) are required to notify personal details to the police. This system is often referred to as the ‘sex offenders’ register’ and requires offenders to provide specified details, including their passport (or passports, if they are dual nationals), on an annual basis and whenever those details change.In addition, the data provided to the police, and other relevant information is stored on the ViSOR database which allows for the recording and sharing of biographical information and information relevant to the offender’s risk between the police and other relevant agencies. MAPPS is a Home Office-led project to replace the ViSOR database to improve multi-agency information sharing. Information about the languages spoken by registered sex offenders is not collated centrally.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of collecting data on the nationality at birth of people on the sex offenders register.

Qualifying offenders (i.e.those convicted for an offence in Schedule 3 to the Sexual Offences Act 2003) are required to notify personal details to the police. This system is often referred to as the ‘sex offenders’ register’ and requires offenders to provide specified details, including their passport (or passports, if they are dual nationals) details annually and whenever those details change.In addition, the data provided to the police, and other relevant information, is on stored on the ViSOR database which allows for the recording and sharing of biographical information and information relevant to their risk between the police and other relevant agencies. MAPPS is a Home Office-led project to replace the ViSOR database to improve multi-agency information sharing.

Whether her Department places limits on the movements of irregular migrants housed in (a) hotels and (b) other accommodation.

The Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide support and accommodation to destitute asylum seekers while their claim for asylum is being considered.Asylum seekers housed in asylum accommodation are not detained but are subject to the same laws as UK citizens throughout their time in this country

With reference to the transparency data published by her Department entitled Small boat arrivals: last 7 days, if she will make it her policy to include information on the sex of migrants in this data.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.The Home Office publishes quarterly statistics on detected small boat arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK statistics’ release. Quarterly data on detected small boat arrivals by sex is published in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’ with the latest data up to the end of June 2024. Data for July to September 2024 will be published on 28 November 2024.

How much was paid by her Department to Serco in each of the last 10 years.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer provided in PQ 15558.

How many irregular migrants are in hotel accommodation.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, by local authority and accommodation type, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent stats release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab) (opens in a new tab).

What proportion of reported retail thefts have resulted in a charge in each of the last five years.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of shoplifting offences and their investigative outcomes recorded by the police in England and Wales on a quarterly basis.The proportion of shoplifting offences which resulted in a “Charge/Summonsed” outcome can be derived from the Outcomes Open Data tables, which can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tablesRetail theft reached record levels under the previous Government and while the latest figures show a rise in the proportion of retail thefts resulting in a charge or summons there is more to be done.This Government will end the effective imunity, introduced by the previous Government, granted to shop theft of goods under £200 and will introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect hardworking and dedicated staff who work in stores.

How many citizenship applications were granted in each of the last 20 years by original nationality.

This data is published online quarterly and for the period in question can be found under the heading ‘Citizenship’ at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables#citizenship.The relevant table is called Citizenship detailed data sets, year ending June 2024 and the tab on the spreadsheet is Data-Cit_D02.

How many irregular migrants were housed in hotels of each star rating in each year since 2018.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, by local authority and accommodation type, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent stats release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly, and fairly, ensuring the best value for money for the British taxpayer.

Whether her Department provides free English lessons for irregular migrants.

The Home Office does not provide English Language lessons as part of the provision of Asylum Support.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2024 to Question 11395 on Undocumented Migrants: Offenders, if she will publish information on the proportion of irregular migrants who have (a) previous criminal convictions and (b) subsequently obtained a criminal record.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, as well as quality and availability of data.

How many irregular migrants have crossed the Channel by (a) age and (b) sex in each year since 2018.

The Home Office publishes statistics on irregular arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK statistics’ release on gov.uk. Data on arrivals by arrival method, sex, and age are published in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’, with the latest data up to the end of June 2024.The Home Office does not publish arrival method breakdowns by vehicle type.

What her department's policy is on (a) engines, (b) boats and (c) life jackets recovered from irregular migrant arrivals; and what the cost to the public purse was of the (i) storage of, (ii) destruction of and (iii) other process applied to such equipment in each year since 2018.

All vessels that have been subject to seizure are held by Border Force until completion of any criminal investigation activities. The majority of boats are not fit for re-sale or to ever go to sea again, as they arrive in very poor condition and may be damaged during the recovery process.The boats are disposed of by Border Force’s approved contractors and, where appropriate, any suitable materials are recycled. Regarding the costs of storage, destruction and other process applied to the equipment listed, this information is not available in an accessible format and can therefore not be provided.