Written questions by Lowe.

How many child benefit claims were cancelled because the claimant was found to be living abroad in each year since 2020.

From administrative data, the number of Child Benefit awards terminated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) through compliance activity per year, due to customers no longer meeting the Child Benefit residency criteria is provided below: ·- 2020-21 = 113 awards- 2021-22 = 269 awards- 2022-23 = 762 awards- 2023-24 = 1,030 awards- 2024-25 = 3,017 awardsThe increase in terminated awards over this period has resulted from incremental improvements in HMRC’s utilisation of available data sources. In 2024-25 a proof of concept used Home Office travel data as a risk indicator for when customers may no longer satisfy Child Benefit residence criteria. Following the success of this exercise, the government announced at Autumn Budget 24 investment in an additional 180 welfare counter fraud staff in HMRC to tackle fraud and error in Child Benefit. This is expected to save £350 million over the next five years.

What the total cost to the public purse is for the evacuation of children from Gaza as of 2 September 2025.

I refer the Hon. Member to my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s written statement to the House on 1 September 2025, which is available at the following link:https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-09-01/hcws899 No children have been evacuated as of 2 September 2025. The Government has therefore not incurred any costs outside of the costs associated with the teams in various Government departments overseeing the evacuation arrangements.

How many people have been (a) arrested, (b) charged and (c) convicted for social media posts in each of the last five years.

The Ministry of Justice does not collect data on arrests or charging decisions. This is a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences in England and Wales within the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics. However, data centrally held does not specify whether an offence relates to social media posts.

If she will provide an estimate of the total number of Gazans that will enter the asylum system following medical treatment in the UK.

As the Home Secretary said in her statement to the House on 1 September, the Foreign Secretary will set out further details of the planned medical evacuations of children from Gaza in the near future.

How many and what proportion of prisoners released under the early release scheme have subsequently been (a) rearrested, (b) charged and (c) convicted of other offences.

This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. We publish data on convictions as part of our reoffending rates which are published regularly on an annual and quarterly basis. The most recent rates are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/proven-reoffending-statistics.We have also published SDS40 release data alongside the quarterly Offender Management Statistics: Standard Determinate Sentence 40 (SDS40) : September 2024 to March 2025 - GOV.UK.The Ministry of Justice does not hold data on arrests or charges.

How much was spent on legal aid for asylum cases in each year since 2019.

Legal aid is available to fund legal advice and representation provided to individuals seeking asylum in England and Wales, subject to an assessment of merits and financial eligibility.The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) publishes information regarding the cost of legal aid provided in respect of asylum matters funded as Controlled Work. The information requested can be found at column G of table 5.3. Controlled Work covers the provision of legal advice regarding asylum matters and representation before the First Tier (Immigration and Asylum) Tribunal.The LAA also publishes information about the cost of Legal Representation pertaining to immigration and asylum matters (see table 6.5). However, due to the way in which this information is recorded on LAA systems expenditure specifically in relation to asylum cases could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Food and Rural Affairs, what the cost to the public purse was of investigating unlicensed fishing by the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.

The investigation and subsequent enforcement outcome took two days of work. The specific costs associated with each investigation and enforcement outcome can vary based on a number of factors. Data for this specific case is not held centrally but the average cost for two days of work would usually be approximately £500.

If she will publish a breakdown of Personal Independence Payment claimants by (a) nationality and (b) immigration status in each year since 2020.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Whether her Department has provided funding to the Centre for Hate Studies at the University of Leicester.

The department has not provided funding to the Centre for Hate Studies at the University of Leicester.

If she will publish the number of staff working in her Department, broken down by nationality.

Nationality can be taken upon recruitment and on occasion where it is required for internal procedures.However, these are not in a retrievable format and can only be obtained via disproportionate effort. In any case, due to the low numbers held by the Home Office, this would not be a true representation of the nationalities employed.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the projected cost to the public purse is of Chevening scholarships awarded to students from Gaza for 2025-26.

All costs will be covered under the normal Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Chevening Scholarship Programme.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing English language requirements for non-UK staff within the NHS.

Where legally required, healthcare professionals must be registered with the appropriate United Kingdom healthcare regulator to be able to practise. Professionals who qualified outside the UK must demonstrate they have the necessary knowledge of English as part of the regulator’s assessment of their healthcare qualifications, knowledge, and skills. The process and accepted evidence for demonstrating English language proficiency varies according to regulator, the healthcare role and the circumstances of applicants.The healthcare regulators are independent of Government, and it is for regulators to determine the required processes and thresholds in relation to English language competence for registrants.General practitioners, dentists and opticians delivering National Health Service primary care must also be on the relevant NHS performers list. Applicants’ ability to communicate effectively and safely with patients and colleagues is assessed as part of the performers list application process.For the performers lists in England, it is NHS England policy that the required level of English language competence for admission to the list is the same as that required by the relevant healthcare regulator. If there are concerns about an applicant’s English language competence, they will be required to demonstrate competence by further assessment. This may be an oral exam with an assessor from NHS England or satisfactory completion of the International English Language Test System or the Occupational English Test.

What assessment she has has made of the potential impact of the the suspension of refugee family reunion route on number of visa applications.

The suspension of the refugee family reunion route is temporary while the Government undertakes a full review and reform of the current family rules to ensure we have a fair and properly balanced system. In the meantime, those with protection status can use other family routes to sponsor a partner and child to come to the UK. Information relating to these changes are published on gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/statement-of-changes-to-the-immigration-rules-hc-1298-4-september-2025.

What the cost to the public purse was of the (a) evacuation and (b) relocation of Palestinian students from Gaza to the UK in 2025.

There is no published data for the costs of the evacuation and relocation of Palestinian students from Gaza to the UK in 2025.

How many pubs have closed each year since 2015.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon Gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 2nd September is attached.

For what reason her Department is advertising a role in Manchester Community Centre for a Sharia Law Administrator.

This was a position advertised on the Find A Job portal by an independent charity, registered with the Charity Commission, and was not a role within DWP. Find A Job is a free platform to help jobseekers find vacancies with employers from various sectors. The employer had been verified as legitimate and the advertisement did not breach Find a Job website terms and conditions.

How many employees in his Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

Based on pro rate salary and allowances data for the Department, 92 employees earn between £100,00 and £165,999, and 11 earn £166,000 or more.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many employees in his Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

Defra publishes organogram data for Senior Civil Servants here: Organogram of Staff Roles & Salaries - data.gov.uk.

Innovation and Technology, how many employees in his Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

The published 'DSIT Organogram of Staff Roles and Salaries' provides information on the number of civil servants earning over £100,000 and in other bandings. The latest information can be found here: DSIT Organogram of Staff Roles & Salaries - data.gov.uk.

How many employees in her Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

Please see below for the number of employees with an annual salary of (a) £100,000 or more and (b) £166,000 or more.Remuneration BandsNo of Employees(a) £100,000 or more109Remuneration BandsNo of Employees(b) £166,000 or more6