Written questions by Lowe.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he takes steps to encourage local authorities to support local producers through food contracts for (a) care homes and (b) civic buildings.

We recognise the potential benefits of developing stronger ties between local authorities and food producers and support efforts from all parties in strengthening relationships across the supply chains, including into (a) care homes and (b) civic buildings. That is why our national procurement policy statement highlights the role of contracting authorities in driving economic growth and strengthening supply chains by giving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs) a fair chance.

Whether her Department plans to amend the guidance entitled School food standards practical guide, published on 13 February 2025, to encourage schools to buy British produce.

The department is acting quickly with experts across the sector to revise the school food standards, so every school is supported with the latest nutrition guidance. We are currently engaging with stakeholders on the school food standards to help us understand the challenges around school food.Schools are responsible for their school meals service and how and where they choose to buy their produce. Schools can voluntarily follow the government's buying standards.Additionally, the National Procurement Policy Statement, published in February 2025, underscores the government's commitment to increasing the procurement of food that meets higher environmental standards and upholding ethical sourcing practises across public sector contracts, which we believe our high quality British producers are well-placed to meet.Alongside this, the government’s wider food strategy will create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system, boosting our food security, improving our health, ensuring economic growth, and delivering environmental sustainability.As with all aspects of the school food standards review, the department will review our guidance and consider our approaches to procurement of UK-grown produce.

What steps her Department is taking to support schools to source (a) fresh and (b) seasonal food produced in the UK.

The department is acting quickly with experts across the sector to revise the school food standards, so every school is supported with the latest nutrition guidance. We are currently engaging with stakeholders on the school food standards to help us understand the challenges around school food.Schools are responsible for their school meals service and how and where they choose to buy their produce. Schools can voluntarily follow the government's buying standards.Additionally, the National Procurement Policy Statement, published in February 2025, underscores the government's commitment to increasing the procurement of food that meets higher environmental standards and upholding ethical sourcing practises across public sector contracts, which we believe our high quality British producers are well-placed to meet.Alongside this, the government’s wider food strategy will create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system, boosting our food security, improving our health, ensuring economic growth, and delivering environmental sustainability.As with all aspects of the school food standards review, the department will review our guidance and consider our approaches to procurement of UK-grown produce.

How many Palestinian nationals have entered the UK under (a) humanitarian and (b) asylum schemes since October 2023.

Data on asylum claims, by nationality, is published in table Asy_D01 of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions detailed datasets’.The latest data relates to the year ending March 2025. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks.

How many staff in her Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

No staff in my Department currently have permission to work remotely outside the UK.

How many staff in his Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

A total of 45 Ministry of Defence (MOD) Civil Servants have been permitted international remote working since the temporary concession was introduced in 2021. The vast majority were to accompany their partners/spouses who work in the Armed Forces and are posted abroad to NATO countries. This figure does not include MOD Civil Servants who are posted overseas on Government business. MOD Civil Servants are not normally allowed to work remotely overseas, unless they have been exceptionally approved for a temporary concession. The criteria for the temporary concession includes accompanying their spouse/civil partner/unmarried cohabiting partner who is a member of the Armed Forces who has been formally posted overseas, or exceptional personal/domestic reasons.

How many staff in her Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

The Home Office has a clear policy on International Remote Working (IRW), which is only permitted in very limited circumstances, either on compassionate grounds for up to four weeks where an employee has a seriously ill relative abroad, or to enable an employee to accompany their spouse/partner on a Diplomatic or other Government posting abroad. No other IRW is permitted.Since January 2025 9 employees have been allowed a period of remote working on compassionate grounds. We also have 11 employees currently working remotely while they accompany their spouse/partner on an international posting.

How many staff in her Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

Unless undertaking work in an official capacity, the department only permits overseas working in limited circumstances and for short periods of time. The department’s international remote working policy considers any country outside of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as overseas including all British Overseas Territories.In line with Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office guidance, the department has currently granted temporary permission to 24 staff to work outside the UK in the following countries: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Morocco, Spain, South Africa, and Turkey.

How many staff in her Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

The Ministry of Justice uses the term international remote working (IRW) to describe working remotely outside the UK. IRW is defined as when an employee wants to undertake the full responsibilities of their role remotely from abroad, for a short-term and fixed period. Employees may request to work their full responsibilities from abroad in exceptional circumstances e.g. supporting a family member overseas who needs urgent and immediate help, for a maximum of 30 calendar days in a rolling 12-month period.On 3 July 2025, the Ministry of Justice had 11 employees who had permission to work remotely outside the UK. These are for the following countries:British Virgin IslandsGermanyGreeceHungaryItalyLithuaniaNetherlandsPolandRepublic of IrelandUnited States of America

How many staff in her Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

We have provided a response based on the number of accepted requests via the Departments Working Remotely Overseas policy. This does not include staff working overseas on official business postings, with the Departments Working Remotely Overseas policy focusing on staff who are assigned to offices within the UK but have sought permission to temporarily work remotely overseas for exceptional reasons. The response to this question also only refers to DfT core, rather than wider group DfT. On 3rd July 2025, DfTc had 4 members of staff with permission through our Working Remotely Overseas Policy to temporarily work outside of the UK. These members of staff are working from the Netherlands, India, Malawi and the United States of America.

How many staff in his Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

Cabinet Office staff may apply for permission to temporarily work remotely overseas in exceptional circumstances. Examples of this might include when accompanying a Civil Service or Armed Forces partner on an official posting. There are <5 staff registered on payroll whose permanent working location is abroad. On security and data protection grounds, we are not able to share their location/s. Separately, there is also a process for staff to request to take their IT overseas with them while on leave, for example if they believe they may need to be contacted during that time.

How many staff in his Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

The Scotland Office has no staff working remotely from a non-UK location.

How many staff in his Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

Standard DBT policy is that staff should not normally be allowed to work remotely overseas however the department do permit this under exceptional personal circumstances and following/preceding a period of annual leave when visiting family or friends overseas.As of 4th July there are 16 approved applications across DBT to temporarily work overseas for a set period of time. All 16 are contractually are based in the UK.

How many staff in his Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

The Northern Ireland Office does not have any employees working remotely from outside the UK. All staff are based within the UK.

How many staff in her Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) does not have any staff working permanently outside the UK.

How many staff in her Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

HM Treasury's international remote working policy permits certain staff to work remotely overseas in order to accompany a partner posted abroad on HMG business. There are two members of staff who each have permission to work remotely from a European country. For UK GDPR purposes we are not able to share the countries where staff are located since they are there for personal circumstances.

Innovation and Technology, how many staff in his Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

As at 2 July 2025, 7 DSIT employees, who are all UK-based, have exceptionally been given permission to work remotely outside of the UK for a limited period. The countries are: Ghana, United States of America, Italy, Belgium, Sweden and Germany. Permission was granted for various reasons, including to accompany a partner posted overseas on official government business.International remote working is separate from and does not include employees who are conducting official business abroad. DSIT’s international remote working policy allows staff to make an application to work remotely overseas for a short period of time for a number of limited reasons. Approval of such a request is subject to the employee having the legal right to work in the country and the necessary security and other clearances.

How many staff in her Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

DWP has no employees who are temporarily working outside the UK. The DWP policy does not permit overseas homeworking as per our Contractual Homeworking Policy.

How many staff in his Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

As at 2 July 2025, 10 DESNZ employees, who are all UK-based, have exceptionally been given permission to work remotely outside of the UK for a limited period. The countries are Thailand, Botswana, Barbados, India, Slovenia, United States of America, France, Belgium and Ireland. Permission is granted for various reasons, including to accompany a partner posted overseas on official government business. International remote working is separate from and does not include employees who are conducting official business abroad. DESNZ’s international remote working policy allows staff to make an application to work remotely overseas for a short period of time for a number of limited reasons. Approval of such a request is subject to the employee having the legal right to work in the country and the necessary security and other clearances.

Media and Sport, how many staff in her Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based.

DCMS does not allow any staff to work remotely outside of the UK on a permanent basis. Staff may be given time-limited permission to work overseas. Short term overseas approval granted from 1st January - 4th July 2025 are as follows:Travelling for business reasons: 103 instancesAccompanying a spouse on an overseas military posting: 0 instancesOn-call during annual leave: 12 instancesTemporary short term remote working overseas: 9 instances