Written questions by Lowe.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the fishing industry in Great Yarmouth constituency following the UK’s departure from the EU.

As an independent coastal state, we have been able to progress our fisheries management in a way that better supports the needs of our own fishing industry. This includes reforming the way we manage our fisheries, such as through fisheries management plans which will play a crucial role in supporting the long-term sustainability of fishing businesses and delivering growth in coastal communities such as Great Yarmouth. We are also making progress on a wider set of fisheries management reforms, including for example the way we manage discards, the introduction of remote electronic monitoring and trialling new ways to allocate quota. At the same time, our departure from the EU has generated additional fishing opportunities with a quota uplift. For example, it is estimated that the UK secured 126,000 tonnes more in fishing opportunities for 2024 (worth around £133m) than we would have received as a Member State.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of dentistry in Great Yarmouth constituency.

Dental Statistics - England 2023/24, published by the NHS Business Services Authority on 22 August 2024, is available at the following link:https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202324As Lord Darzi made clear in his independent investigation of the National Health Service in England, there are wide variations in the number of NHS dentists per population in different areas of the country. Rural and coastal communities particularly lack access to NHS dentistry. This is certainly the case in Norfolk and Waveney, where the integrated care board has 31.5 dentists per 100,000 population, compared to an average of 49.5 per 100,000 across England.We have announced a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

What exemptions from security measures on religious grounds exist in prisons.

No prisoners are exempt from searches by sniffer dogs.During a cell search, care must be taken when handling religious artefacts, and search dogs must not come into contact with religious artefacts or holy books. Prisoners must be asked to point these out before the search, so that staff can search them by hand before the dog enters the cell.Any request by a prisoner in the men’s estate for exemption from being searched by a female member of staff, on religious or philosophical grounds, must be made formally and considered as quickly as possible. The prisoner should not be searched by female staff in the intervening period.

What exemptions exist in prisons for Muslims not to be searched by sniffer dogs on religious grounds.

No prisoners are exempt from searches by sniffer dogs.During a cell search, care must be taken when handling religious artefacts, and search dogs must not come into contact with religious artefacts or holy books. Prisoners must be asked to point these out before the search, so that staff can search them by hand before the dog enters the cell.Any request by a prisoner in the men’s estate for exemption from being searched by a female member of staff, on religious or philosophical grounds, must be made formally and considered as quickly as possible. The prisoner should not be searched by female staff in the intervening period.

How many assaults on prison staff there have been in each of the last five years, by religion of the prisoner.

The number of individuals involved in incidents of an assault on staff within prisons in England and Wales, by religion, for 2020 to 2024, can be found in the accompanying table.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an immigration red list of countries posing high (a) immigration, (b) security and (c) compliance risks.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

If he will make an estimate of the proportion of halal food served in prisons.

Information on the quantity and proportion of halal food served in prisons is not collected centrally. To obtain the requested information, it would therefore be necessary to consult each of the 122 prisons in England and Wales individually, and this could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost.

Innovation and Technology, for the total estimated cost to the public purse of experiments to dim the Sun.

The Advanced Research and Invention Agency’s (ARIA) ‘Exploring Climate Cooling’ programme, backed by £56.8 million, has been designed to build an evidence base which will enable scientists to better understand and properly assess whether or not Earth cooling approaches could help to mitigate climate change safely.ARIA’s proposed research is small-scale and exploratory, looking to gain a deeper scientific understanding of the effects, risks and benefits of a number of approaches. All funded activities are localised, very short term and reversible and will comply with relevant domestic and international regulation, as well as ARIA’s programme oversight and governance principles, which are available here: https://www.aria.org.uk/media/5emktzd3/aria-exploring-climate-cooling-programme-oversight-and-governance.pdf.

Whether his Department has issued guidance on the (a) use of evidence and (b) status of the findings of (i) non-statutory and (ii) statutory inquiries into failures by public institutions.

The Cabinet Office provides advice and guidance to Ministers and officials on statutory and non statutory public inquiries.

What information her Department holds on the amount of overseas remittances by (a) nationality and (b) country of receipt in each of the last 10 years.

The Treasury does not collect or report data on the flow of remittances out of the UK. However, the World Bank publishes data annually on remittances through formal banking systems. Further information can be found on the World Bank’s website: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/migration/brief/remittances-knomad

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of conducting an analysis of the potential cost saving to the public purse of each deportation.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

Whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on building (a) dedicated runways and (b) transit facilities for mass deportation operations.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and other stakeholders.

If she will make an estimate of the cost of (a) hiring and (b) training staff to support large-scale deportation operations.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and other stakeholders.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of using remittance sanctions to increase deportation compliance by foreign governments.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and other stakeholders.

If she will hold discussions with the Lord Chancellor on the potential merits of limiting the availability of public funds for people who have challenged immigration enforcement through the courts more than once.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and other stakeholders.

If he will make an estimate of the proportion of halal food served in hospitals.

Data on the amount of halal food served in the National Health Service is not collected centrally. No estimate has been made of the proportion of halal food served in hospitals.

If she will take legislative steps to fast-track the removal of people who have been denied the right to stay in the UK and make vexatious appeals from the tribunal.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing a list of countries whose citizens exhibit high levels of UK visa (a) overstays, (b) fraud and (c) other abuses of process.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.

Whether she has considered the use of chartered sea vessels to support mass deportation of illegal migrants.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and other stakeholders.

What assessment he has made of the Royal Navy’s capacity to intercept small boats in the Channel carrying people seeking unlawful entry to the UK.

The Home Office is the lead gGvernment department responsible for border security and migration. It has established the Border Security Command to strengthen global partnerships and enhance the UK’s efforts to investigate, arrest, and prosecute people smugglers profiting from the dangerous movement of people across the channel. Defence assets are procured for Defence tasks.