Written questions by Lowe.

How much NHS funding has been spent on the treatment of children brought from Gaza under the medical evacuation scheme since its launch; and what proportion of this expenditure has been reimbursed by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

The Government is committed to funding the costs associated with evacuating Gazan children for treatment in the United Kingdom. Departments will share the costs for the process by funding their specific areas of responsibility from their existing budgets.

How many sexual assaults there were in NHS hospitals by staff by the nationality of the assailant in each of the last ten years.

The Government is committed to tackling the appalling crimes of rape and sexual assault. NHS England has introduced a comprehensive package of measures to improve sexual safety across the National Health Service. NHS England has made tackling sexual misconduct in the NHS a priority, with all trusts and integrated care boards (ICBs) now signed up to the Sexual Safety Charter for the NHS.NHS England is investing in improving the collection and analysis of sexual violence data to support organisations to implement policies that reduce incidents of sexual misconduct in the NHS. NHS providers have a mandatory duty to notify the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of all incidents that affect the health, safety, and welfare of people who use services, including allegations of sexual assault. The provider must also notify the police if a crime has been committed. The CQC uses the information to monitor the safety of services and to ensure that providers have dealt with incidents appropriately. The CQC publishes reports about the services they inspect on their website.Data relating to sexual assault in NHS hospitals is currently held at NHS trust level. Local police forces hold data where there has been a report to the police of sexual assault. For assaults on NHS staff, the NHS Staff Survey now includes questions about staff experiences of sexual misconduct. Results from the 2024 staff survey show 3.66% experienced unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature from colleagues.

If he will ensure that halal food is not the default option in (a) his Department, (b) military academies and (c) the armed forces.

It is current Defence policy that Halal food is not the default option for the Ministry of Defence (MOD), military academies, or the Armed Forces. There are currently no Defence institutions where Halal food is the only option. Suppliers are required to enable the MOD inclusive Dining Offer by accommodating catering requests for all personnel, irrespective of gender, race, religious beliefs and committed lifestyle choices. Food products used by ethnic groups following traditional dietary practices associated with their cultural background and religious beliefs, shall be sourced, prepared, processed and packaged in accordance with the requirements of the relevant religious law.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 September 2025 to Question 74856 on Deportation: Sanctions, what sanctions have been applied under sections 70-74 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 in each year since 2022.

Sections 70-74 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 refer to the power to impose visa penalties on countries who, in the opinion of the Home Secretary, are a) uncooperative on the return of any its nationals or citizens, or b), pose a risk to international peace and security. These provisions have not been used since their introduction in 2022. But we will use all levers available to ensure the removal of those with no right to remain in the UK, including visa penalties where necessary, and will do whatever it takes to secure the UK’s border.

Whether her Department has made an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse of implementing and maintaining a Digital ID system.

The government will cost and publish costings of policies it chooses to introduce in the usual way at fiscal events.

How many detainees have absconded from immigration detention in each year since 2020.

Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) are used flexibly to detain foreign nationals liable for removal from the UK. This includes time-served foreign national offenders, immigration offenders and those who have arrived in the UK illegally. As of 1 September, the Home Office has the capacity to detain around 2,400 people in IRCs, including time-served foreign national offenders awaiting deportation. The Government takes the protection of the public and escapes from immigration detention extremely seriously. There are robust security measures in all IRCs to prevent residents from escaping. The Home Office releases data on escapes from immigration detention on an annual basis. The latest published statistics are for 2024. These are available at: Immigration system statistics, year ending June 2025 - GOV.UK.

How many detention places are currently available for foreign nationals awaiting deportation.

Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) are used flexibly to detain foreign nationals liable for removal from the UK. This includes time-served foreign national offenders, immigration offenders and those who have arrived in the UK illegally. As of 1 September, the Home Office has the capacity to detain around 2,400 people in IRCs, including time-served foreign national offenders awaiting deportation. The Government takes the protection of the public and escapes from immigration detention extremely seriously. There are robust security measures in all IRCs to prevent residents from escaping. The Home Office releases data on escapes from immigration detention on an annual basis. The latest published statistics are for 2024. These are available at: Immigration system statistics, year ending June 2025 - GOV.UK.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the risk of digital identity systems being used for surveillance of people.

The Government is committed to making the state more efficient and easier to interact with through harnessing technology. We want to learn from countries who have digitised government services for the benefit of their citizens.We are looking at whether a new digital ID could help tackle illegal immigration, transform public services, and bring benefits to people’s everyday lives. No firm decision, estimate or assessment has yet been made.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the value for money of a digital ID system compared to existing forms of identification.

The Government is committed to making the state more efficient and easier to interact with through harnessing technology. We want to learn from countries who have digitised government services for the benefit of their citizens.We are looking at whether a new digital ID could help tackle illegal immigration, transform public services, and bring benefits to people’s everyday lives. No firm decision, estimate or assessment has yet been made.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of digital identity services for (a) individual freedom and (b) personal privacy.

The Government is committed to making the state more efficient and easier to interact with through harnessing technology. We want to learn from countries who have digitised government services for the benefit of their citizens.We are looking at whether a new digital ID could help tackle illegal immigration, transform public services, and bring benefits to people’s everyday lives. No firm decision, estimate or assessment has yet been made.

Innovation and Technology, what estimate he has made of the number of additional (a) civil servants and (b) contractors required to administer a digital ID system.

The Government is committed to making the state more efficient and easier to interact with through harnessing technology. We want to learn from countries who have digitised government services for the benefit of their citizens.We are looking at whether a new digital ID could help tackle illegal immigration, transform public services, and bring benefits to people’s everyday lives. No firm decision, estimate or assessment has yet been made.

How many staff her Department employs to organise deportation flights.

Staff working on deportation flights are often deployed flexibly across broader returns and enforcement workstreams. As such, it is not possible to disaggregate staffing figures to isolate those solely focused on deportation flights and obtaining the specific information requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple systems owned by multiple teams across the Home Office and, therefore, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The Home Office does not hold any central record of the requested information.

What the cost of private security contractors used in deportations has been in each of the last five years.

The Home Office uses its Escorting and Related Services Contract with Mitie Care and Custody to effect Returns of persons with no right to remain within the UK. The costs of this contract are routinely published as part of the Home Office Transparency data, and can be found at Home Office spending - GOV.UK.

What the top five reasons are for deportation flights being cancelled.

The information you have required is not available from published statistics.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of leaving European Convention on Human Rights on the ability of the UK to deport foreign nationals.

We set out in our Immigration White Paper our intention to bring forward legislation to allow us to more easily remove foreign national offenders.Later this year we will set out more detailed reforms and stronger measures to ensure our laws are upheld, including streamlining and speeding up the removals process. That will include establishing new procedures so that the Home Office can more easily take enforcement and removal action and revoke visas in a much wider range of crimes where noncustodial sentences have been given, not just cases which are sent to prison.The Government is fully committed to complying with international law and the protection of human rights. Work is underway on reviewing the application of Article 3 and Article 8 in immigration cases.

What estimate she has made of the number of foreign nationals who have abscond after being served with a deportation order.

Obtaining the specific information requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple systems and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The Home Office does not hold any central record of the requested information.

How many people received (a) warnings and (b) punishment for underpaying stamp duty in the last financial year.

HMRC charges penalties in line with its legislation and guidance, according to what behaviour led to an inaccuracy. In 24/25, HMRC issued 116 SDLT inaccuracy penalties.

What estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of legal aid support in deportation cases in the last 12 months.

Expenditure relating to deportation and removal appeals is published as part of the Legal Aid Agency’s Official Statistics as part of its ‘detailed civil data’ collection. Due to the way information is recorded it is not possible to distinguish between costs relating to deportation matters and those relating to removal matters. The total legal aid expenditure for financial year 24/25 relating to deportation and removal matters is £1,007,833, which represents 0.05% of total legal aid expenditure in the same period. Advice and representation in connection with an appeal against deportation is not within the scope of services funded under Schedule, 1 Part 1 to the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) unless the applicant is claiming asylum. This means many deportation cases would not be funded under legal aid. Where legal aid is available this would be subject to an assessment of the merits of the case and the individual’s financial eligibility for legal aid.

Whether her Department applies sanctions to countries that refuse to accept deported nationals.

Where cooperation with countries on returns falls below the levels expected, and where appropriate, we will use all levers available to us.Sections 70-74 the new Nationality and Borders Act 2022 (NABA) gives HMG the ability to impose visa penalties where countries are deemed to be uncooperative on returns. The full provision can be found here: Nationality and Borders Act 2022.

What estimate she has made of the number of deportations that have failed due to a lack of cooperation from foreign governments.

The UK has returns agreements with these four countries that facilitate the return of individuals with no legal basis to remain in the UK. We continue to work with each of these countries on returns and to manage irregular migration.This Government is committed to maintaining and improving returns cooperation with all countries to which we are seeking to remove those with no legal basis to remain in the UK. Most people return voluntarily without their return needing to be enforced but for some enforced returns, confirmation of identity and nationality, including for the provision of travel documentation, needs to be obtained before removal can be affected. There is a limited number of countries where this process can be challenging. We continue to seek opportunities to build returns co-operation with these four countries through official and ministerial engagement, operational returns arrangements and agreements.