Written questions by Lowe.

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

In line with wider Government policy, the Department policy allows spouses of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials to work abroad when their spouses have been posted overseas. The Department allows working abroad when officials are overseas on official business, typically to support Ministers. If there is a clear business need, the Department allows officials to take equipment abroad to keep in touch whilst on leave. The Department also allows working overseas for up to two weeks for exceptional welfare reasons The numbers of staff with equipment oversees varies during the year. On 9 July, seven officials were working overseas on official business in Italy. 10 officials had equipment overseas allowing them to work if there was a need to keep in touch in, variously, Belgium, Bulgaria, France (three), Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States of America (three).

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

Information on civil servants employed by Defra based overseas is publicly available.

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

The Department approves temporary international remote working for staff to work remotely overseas for short defined periods of time where there is critical business need or unforeseen personal circumstances that require immediate attention outside of the United Kingdom. The Department approved 73 cases of international remote working for Department staff between 4 July 2024 and 4 July 2025. The destinations that we have approved for international remote working cases are as follows Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and USA. The Department has no approved permanent postings outside of the UK.

⁠what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on checking for overseas criminal records for prospective (a) taxi and (b) private hire vehicle licence holders who were born overseas.

The Policing and Crime Act 2017 enables the Secretary of State for Transport to issue statutory guidance to licensing authorities on exercising their taxi and private hire vehicle licensing functions to protect children and vulnerable adults. Statutory guidance was published in 2020 under these powers. This statutory guidance includes a recommendation that when an applicant has previously spent an extended period living or working overseas (3 or more continuous months), licensing authorities should seek or require applicants to provide where possible criminal records information or a certificate of good character from overseas.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation or guidance to centralise data collection on licensed drivers' (a) immigration status and (b) criminal history.

The Immigration Act 2016 prevents illegal working in the taxi and private hire vehicle sector, as either a driver or an operator. Licensing authorities are prohibited from issuing a licence to anyone who is disqualified by reason of their immigration status, and they discharge their duty by conducting immigration checks. Being disqualified from holding a licence by reason of their immigration status means that the person is in the UK illegally, is not permitted to work, or is permitted to work, but is subject to a condition that prohibits them from holding a licence in this sector. The requirement to check the immigration status of licence applicants is in addition to the ‘fit and proper’ test. The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) provides access to criminal record information through its disclosure service. As at 1 April 2024, all authorities in England required an enhanced DBS security check for all drivers as part of their ‘fit and proper’ test. The statutory guidance issued by the Department for Transport to licensing authorities in 2020 recommends that when an individual has spent an extended period (3 or more continuous months) outside the UK, licensing authorities should seek or require applicants to provide where possible criminal records information or a certificate of good character from overseas to properly assess risk and support its decision-making process. This enables licensing authorities to make an informed decision when considering if a person is ‘fit and proper’ to hold a taxi or private hire vehicle driver.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation to ensure all (a) taxis and (c) private hire vehicles are fitted with CCTV.

In response to Baroness Casey’s report on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, the Government committed to legislate to address the important issues raised, tackling the inconsistent standards of taxi and private hire vehicle driver licensing. We will work as quickly as possible and consider all options – including national standards – seeking the best overall outcomes for passenger safety. CCTV in vehicles will naturally be explored as part of these considerations.

What information her Department holds on the number of foreign nationals who hold (a) taxi and (b) private hire vehicle licences who have been deported due to criminal convictions in the last decade.

The Department for Transport does not hold information on the number of deportations due to criminal convictions.

What information her Department holds on the number of (a) taxi and (b) private hire vehicle drivers that have (i) an overseas criminal conviction and (ii) been granted a licence in each of the last five years.

Licensing authorities may hold this information. As at 1 April 2024, all authorities in England reported that they required an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) security check for all drivers. The statutory guidance issued by the Department for Transport in 2020 to taxi and private hire vehicle licensing authorities recommends that when an individual has spent an extended period (3 or more continuous months) outside the UK, licensing authorities should seek or require applicants to provide where possible criminal records information or a certificate of good character from overseas to properly assess risk and support its decision-making process. This enables licensing authorities to make an informed decision when considering if a person is ‘fit and proper’ to hold a taxi or private hire vehicle driver licence.

What information her Department holds on the number of licensed (a) taxi and (b) private hire drivers who are foreign nationals, broken down by their country of origin.

The Department for Transport does not collect that data. Licensing authorities may hold this information as part of the application processes to prevent illegal working as taxi or private hire vehicle drivers.

What data her Department holds on the convictions of licensed taxi drivers for (a) grooming, (b) sexual exploitation and (c) trafficking offences.

Available data on the age, ethnicity, gender and region of individuals prosecuted and convicted at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Ministry of Justice Outcomes by Offences data tool, can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page, which is available online here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statisticsHowever, this data is not broken down by employment status.

⁠what information her Department holds on the number of (a) taxi and (b) private hire drivers who have had their licences revoked due to a criminal conviction in the last 10 years.

All licensing authorities in England have a duty to ensure that any person to whom they grant a taxi or private hire vehicle driver’s licence is a fit and proper person to be a licensee and that they remain so throughout the duration of the licence. Licensing authorities make decisions based on “the balance of probability”, so when determining whether a driver remains fit and proper to hold a licence, a driver should not be given the benefit of doubt. If a licensing authority is only fifty percent certain as to whether a licensee is fit and proper, they should not hold a licence. The threshold used here is lower than for a criminal conviction (that being beyond reasonable doubt). This means that driver licences may be revoked even if any safety concerns do not result in a criminal conviction. Since 27 April 2023, all licensing authorities in England have been required to use a national database to record instances where a taxi or private hire vehicle driver’s licence is refused, revoked or suspended because of safeguarding, road safety or equality concerns. The Department has published data about licensing authorities’ use of the database. Between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, 3117 revocations were recorded on the database.

What her Department's process is for sharing intelligence with licensing authorities when a foreign national taxi driver is arrested.

As set out in the Department for Transport’s Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards, all applicants for a taxi or PHV driver’s licence, irrespective of nationality, should undergo an enhanced DBS check including a check of the children’s and adults’ barred lists every six months. The enhanced check includes any police information which the chief officer believes to be relevant and ought to be disclosed.In addition, the police may proactively share information using common law police disclosure (CLPD) powers. If there is pressing social need, CLPD allows forces to proactively provide personal data or sensitive personal data to a third party such as licensing authorities using common law powers. It is for chief officers to determine the implementation of CLPD provisions locally, in accordance with guidance published by the College of Policing and National Police Chiefs’ Council.

What information her Department holds on the number of (a) unlicensed and (b) illegal taxi drivers operating in major cities.

The Department for Transport does not hold this data, as such vehicles are not operating within a legal framework.

What information her Department holds on the number of councils that do not require enhanced DBS checks for (a) taxi and (b) private hire vehicle drivers.

As at 1 April 2024, all authorities in England reported that they required an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) security check for taxi and private hire vehicle drivers.

What checks her Department carries out to verify the identity documents of migrants applying for taxi licences.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer sent on the 20 May 2025 to UIN 51642.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much his Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office combines all Advertising & Publicity costs in its financial reporting system. The information required to delineate between social media promotions, influencer marketing and online advertising is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

How much her Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.

Commercial sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.

How much his Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.

Commercial sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.

How much her Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.

The Government develops wide-ranging national and international campaigns which are delivered through tailored communication strategies aimed at reaching target audiences across the UK. Campaigns span owned, earned and paid-for channels to maximise reach, engagement and compliance.The Government remains committed to scrutiny, transparency and best value for taxpayer money.

How much her Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.

No money has been spent by HM Treasury on social media promotions, influencer marketing or online advertising in the last 12 months.