Written questions by Lowe.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms he has visited since 5 July 2024.

Since 5 July the Secretary of State has had frequent engagement with the sector, including; attending the Great Yorkshire Agriculture Show in July 24; visiting a farm and meeting with a group of local farmers in Essex in September 24; meeting with the President of the CLA and speaking at the CLA Annual Conference last week, and; more broadly, continued frequent engagement, particularly with the NFU President Tom Bradshaw. Furthermore, Minister Zeichner has also spoken with the sector on numerous occasions since 5 July.

How many delegates the Government has sent to attend COP 29; and what the cost to the public purse is of the Government's involvement in COP 29.

The final list of COP29 delegates should be published by the UNFCCC shortly. The UK delegation includes officials (some already based in Baku) and Ministers as well as businesses, Arm’s Length Bodies, Devolved Administrations, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories, parliamentarians and civil society speakers. Many attended at their own cost, with the UK providing accreditation. The Government currently estimates that nearly 470 people have attended COP29 in person with UK accreditation. Until travel and expense claims are confirmed, the overall cost of Departmental attendance cannot be calculated. The Department will not hold this information for other Government departments. The UK Pavilion and Delegation Office are fully funded through private sector sponsorship.

What the total number of (a) air miles and (b) flights conducted by his Department's staff was in each of the last ten years.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) was created in February 2023, so no information is held for periods prior to that date. For the information requested, anything prior to January 2024 was all still recorded as BEIS, so it mixes all three departments together and is unable to be split. The total air miles conducted in DESNZ from January 2024 to September 2024 was 3,211,644 and the total number of flights was 1130. Some of these flights were single flights whilst others were round trips.

What data his Department holds on the number of NHS patients who have received (a) translation and (b) interpretation services in each of the last 10 years.

The Department does not hold this information centrally.

How many private provider contracts have been commissioned by the NHS to treat irregular migrants each of the last ten years; and what the cost to the public purse was of those contracts.

The Home Office and its contractors work closely with the National Health Service, local authorities, and non-governmental organisations to ensure that people can access the health care and support they need. All asylum seeker accommodation providers have a duty and requirement to assist people who need it to access healthcare systems in their local area. The Department of Health and Social Care does not hold information on the services commissioned by the Home Office.

How many deportations have been prevented through use of the European Convention on Human Rights in each of the last 10 years.

The Home Office does not regularly publish information about the basis of foreign national offender (FNO) appeals. However, in February 2022 an ad hoc study was published on FNO lodged and allowed appeals, covering some of the period covered in this question. This includes the number allowed at the First-tier Tribunal, pursuant to the European Convention on Human Rights.

How many individuals per nationality were convicted of child sex offences in each of the last ten years.

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of defendants convicted for sexual offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2023. However, it is not possible to identify an offender’s nationality from the centrally collated convictions data. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would incur disproportionate costs.Foreign national offenders 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. This will help to manage prison pressures, keep the public safe and reduce crime. We are currently on track to remove more foreign national offenders this year than at any time in recent years and we are working across government to explore the ways we accelerate this work further.

How many children in the care system are from non-UK citizenship families; and what the total cost to the public purse is of their care.

The information on the nationality of children looked after by local authorities in England is not held centrally by the department. Therefore, we are not able to provide the figures requested.

How many repeat deportations there were in each of the last ten years.

Available statistics on the returns of foreign national offenders (FNOs) are published on a quarterly basis in the Returns Detailed Datasets, and are currently available to the end of June 2024, which are available at: Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The next update will be published on 28 November 2024.A deportation order requires a person to leave the UK and prohibits them from lawfully entering the UK while it remains in force. Entering in breach of a deportation order is a criminal offence under section 24(1)(a) of the 1971 Act, with a maximum sentence of five years.Any FNO who enters the UK in breach of a deportation order will be returned to custody to finish any remaining time of their custodial sentence and will be swiftly removed on completion of their sentence.We have already begun delivering a major surge in immigration enforcement and returns activity to remove people with no right to be in the UK, with 9,400 people already being returned since the new government came into power.

How many and what proportion of convictions for child sex offences did not result in a custodial sentence in in each of the last ten years.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the sentencing outcomes for offences at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offence data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.Although child sex offences is not a defined category within the tool, you can filter offences using the HO Offence code to select the specific offences of interest.

How many individuals with Application Registration Cards were (a) arrested and (b) convicted in the last 12 months.

Available information on arrests for notifiable offences in England and Wales is published annually and the latest available data covering the year ending March 2024 can be found here: Stop and search, arrests and mental health detentions, March 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)It is not possible from this data to identify whether someone has an Application Registration Card.Prosecutions are a matter for the Ministry of Justice.

How many and what proportion of people who took an English for Speakers of Other Languages class claimed Universal Credit in the last 12 months; and what the cost to the public purse was of the provision of those classes in the same period.

The information requested is not held by the Department for Work and Pensions. English for Speakers of Other Languages and other skills data is held by Department for Education for England only. Devolved administrations will hold data on participants on ESOL courses.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of homeless veterans.

This is a Government of service that will always stand up for those who serve our country. I am working across Government and with civil society to ensure veterans across the UK have access to the support they need with regard to housing, as well as health, employment and other areas. According to data collected by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), in 2023-24, there were 2,270 households in England where someone that had served in the Armed Forces were assessed as being owed a homelessness prevention or relief duty. This represents 0.7% of all households in England who were assessed as being owed a prevention or relief duty, a similar proportion to previous years. To ensure veterans have access to housing support, the Government has committed a further £3.5 million to the Reducing Veteran Homelessness Programme. This includes Op FORTITUDE, the single referral pathway for veterans at risk of or experiencing homelessness.Veterans represent the very best of our country. The government is committed to honouring their sacrifices and ensuring homes will be there for heroes across the UK.

If he will make an estimate of the (a) total number and (b) cost to the public purse per Department of Government bonuses in each of the last 10 years.

Departments have published aggregated annual information on their bonus spend on their own websites since 2011. This data includes information on total bonus spend, the number of civil servants receiving bonuses, and the size of payments.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a department for government efficiency.

There are currently no plans for a Department for Government Efficiency. The Budget set out plans for an Office for Value for Money which will work alongside other reforms such as the 2% Efficiency target aimed at improving savings, efficiency and productivity for all government departments by using technology more effectively and joining up services. Together, these reforms will deliver change for working people.

How many companies were (a) registered and (b) liquidated on each day in 2024.

Official statistics on company incorporation and liquidation are published quarterly. These are made publicly available online by Companies House. We have excerpted and reproduced the relevant figures for your convenience below: DateIncorporationsTotal Liquidations2024 Jan-Mar244,7177,6222024 Apr-Jun217,8159,1152024 Jul-Sep191,6838,658 The most recent complete datasets can be found here:Incorporated companies in the UK July to September 2024 - GOV.UK Statistics for previous periods are available here.

How many under-18's were investigated for non-crime hate incidents in each of the last five years.

The Home Office does not at present centrally hold or collate this information.

What guidance is available to immigration staff for dealing with irregular migrants found to have given false information about their age; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of deporting those migrants.

If there is a discrepancy between the information someone provides at any stage in the asylum process, and any related facts subsequently established, this will be taken into account alongside any other underlying factors when assessing their credibility in line with section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004 and the relevant policy guidance.

What the total number of nights spent in hotels by irregular migrants is by constituency.

Available 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). The Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly. This includes identifying a range of options to end the use of hotels over time and ensuring efficiency and value for money across all accommodation arrangements.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2024 to Question 11414 on Undocumented Migrants: Crimes of Violence, whether her Department collects data on incidents of assault by irregular migrants against Departmental staff.

Immigration Enforcement capture all recorded incidents of assault against staff, regardless of the immigration status.