Written questions by Lowe.

Whether planned updates to hospital food standards will include a requirement to prioritise British sourcing.

All National Health Service trusts are expected to follow NHS England’s guidance, National standards for healthcare food and drink, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/national-standards-for-healthcare-food-and-drink/The guidance promotes the use of healthier, seasonal, and locally sourced food that can cut emissions and the wider environmental impact related to agriculture, transport, storage, and waste across the supply chain and on the NHS estate, while also supporting the local economy.

What proportion of food served in military catering contracts was sourced from the UK, in the latest period for which data is available.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 March 2025 to Question 36360 to the hon. Member for South Holland and the Deepings (Sir John Hayes MP).

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of sourcing British food for hospitals on levels of (a) hospital food quality and (b) patient recovery.

All National Health Service trusts are expected to follow NHS England’s guidance, National standards for healthcare food and drink, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/national-standards-for-healthcare-food-and-drink/The guidance promotes the use of healthier, seasonal, and locally sourced food that can cut emissions and the wider environmental impact related to agriculture, transport, storage, and waste across the supply chain and on the NHS estate, while also supporting the local economy.

What proportion of food served in NHS hospitals was sourced from British farms in the latest period for which data is available; and what steps he is taking to encourage NHS hospitals to buy food sourced from British farms.

All National Health Service trusts are expected to follow NHS England’s guidance, National standards for healthcare food and drink, which is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/national-standards-for-healthcare-food-and-drink/The guidance promotes the use of healthier, seasonal, and locally sourced food that can cut emissions and the wider environmental impact related to agriculture, transport, storage, and waste across the supply chain and on the NHS estate, while also supporting the local economy.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the (a) number of food miles and (b) level of carbon emissions generated through catering provided by the public sector in the most recent period for which data is available.

The Government is currently considering policy options, including how best to demonstrate the beneficial impacts of the new national procurement policy statement, which sets out expectations for Government contracts to favour products certified to high environmental standards.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has considered providing fiscal incentives to local authorities that prioritise British food in their catering contracts.

The Government is open to considering all lawful means of achieving its ambition that half of all food purchased across the public sector should be locally produced or certified to higher environmental standards. We have already published a new national procurement policy statement. It sets expectations for government contracts to favour products certified to high environmental standards that we think high-quality British producers are well-placed to meet.

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 Departments are required to report on the origin of food purchased through public procurement contracts.

Departments are not currently required to report on the origin of food served in their canteens. In January the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced that the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs would be undertaking a review of public sector food procurement to better understand what food the public sector buys and where it comes from. As part of this review, the Government will be reviewing food provenance across all public sector settings, including Government departments.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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 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 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.