Written questions by Lowe.

Whether Ministers will (a) give evidence to and (b) participate in the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth's private inquiry into grooming gangs.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer he was given on the 8 April 2025 to Question 44194.

If she will instruct relevant Departmental officials to engage with the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth's inquiry into grooming gangs.

I refer the Hon Member to the various statements to the House made on these issues by Home Office ministers in recent months. Most recently on 8 April.

If she will instruct relevant Departmental officials to engage with the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth's inquiry into grooming gangs.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer he was given on the 8 April 2025 to Question 44194.

Whether her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing anonymised (a) data and (b) reports to support the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth's inquiry into grooming gangs.

I refer the Hon Member to the various statements to the House made on these issues by Home Office ministers in recent months. Most recently on 8 April.

If she will publish all (a) correspondence and (b) internal assessments on the decision not to proceed with a full public inquiry into grooming gangs.

I refer the Hon Member to the various statements to the House made on these issues by Home Office ministers in recent months. Most recently on 8 April.

If her Department will provide a liaison contact to assist with the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth's inquiry into grooming gangs.

I refer the Hon Member to the various statements to the House made on these issues by Home Office ministers in recent months. Most recently on 8 April.

If she will instruct relevant Departmental officials to engage with the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth's inquiry into grooming gangs.

I refer the Hon Member to the various statements to the House made on these issues by Home Office ministers in recent months. Most recently on 8 April.

If she will offer (a) safeguarding and (b) witness protection support to (i) victims and (ii) whistleblowers that give evidence to the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth's private inquiry into grooming gangs.

I refer the Hon Member to the various statements to the House made on these issues by Home Office ministers in recent months. Most recently on 8 April.

If she will consider the findings of privately funded independent inquiries into (a) grooming gang activity and (b) associated institutional failures.

I refer the Hon Member to the various statements to the House made on these issues by Home Office ministers in recent months. Most recently on 8 April.

What (a) mental health and (b) trauma support services are available to survivors of grooming gangs who participate in non-statutory inquiries.

I refer the Hon Member to the various statements to the House made on these issues by Home Office ministers in recent months. Most recently on 8 April.

If she will meet with the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth to discuss his private inquiry into grooming gangs.

I refer the Hon Member to the various statements to the House made on these issues by Home Office ministers in recent months. Most recently on 8 April.

How many visas expired before the recipient left the country in each of the last ten years.

As set out in legislation, an individual is liable to removal from the UK if "the person requires leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom but does not have it". The Home Office has not historically recorded the means by which individual becomes liable to removal, and we could only collate and verify the requested information on visa overstayers for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.The Government has already begun to deliver a major surge in the removal of people with no right to be in the UK, with over 24,000 returns recorded between 5 July 2024 and 22 March 2025.Further data on returns activity is published quarterly and can be found on gov.uk at Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will introduce mandatory labelling on meat products to indicate whether animals were stunned prior to slaughter.

The Government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter and would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter, but we respect the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs. It is for religious authorities to decide if meat is halal or kosher. A significant proportion of halal meat comes from animals that are stunned before slaughter. There are no regulations that require labelling of meat to include the method of slaughter, but where any information of this nature is provided it must be accurate and must not be misleading to the consumer. The Government respects religious freedoms and expects the industry, whether food producer or food outlet, to provide consumers with all the information they need to make informed choices. A consultation on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling was undertaken last year by the previous government. The consultation sought views on options for the production standards behind the label. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps. The Department engages regularly with the Food Standards Agency on a range of topics.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of abattoirs in enforcing welfare standards during the production of halal meat.

The Government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter and would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter, but we respect the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs. A significant proportion of halal meat comes from animals that are stunned before slaughter. Legislation sets out strict requirements to protect the welfare of animals when slaughtered and there are additional rules that apply when animals are slaughtered by either the Jewish or Muslim method to ensure that animals are spared avoidable pain, suffering, or distress during the slaughter process. Official Veterinarians of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are present in all approved slaughterhouses in England and Wales to monitor and enforce animal welfare requirements. The FSA has a zero-tolerance policy to animal welfare breaches and will take appropriate action where these occur. In addition to the Official Veterinarian presence, the FSA conduct regular audits to ensure that the animal welfare controls in slaughterhouses are effective. The frequency of these audits are risk based and the results are communicated to Defra. The Department engages regularly with FSA officials on a range of animal welfare topics.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage (a) public institutions and (b) restaurants to label halal meat to consumers.

The Government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter and would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter, but we respect the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs. It is for religious authorities to decide if meat is halal or kosher. A significant proportion of halal meat comes from animals that are stunned before slaughter. There are no regulations that require labelling of meat to include the method of slaughter, but where any information of this nature is provided it must be accurate and must not be misleading to the consumer. The Government respects religious freedoms and expects the industry, whether food producer or food outlet, to provide consumers with all the information they need to make informed choices. A consultation on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling was undertaken last year by the previous government. The consultation sought views on options for the production standards behind the label. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps. The Department engages regularly with the Food Standards Agency on a range of topics.

Whether her Department instructs schools to inform parents of whether meat served in school meals comes from non-stunned slaughter.

The government sets out required minimum standards for school food in the School Food Standards, to ensure that children are served healthy, nutritious meals at school. The standards do not specify food requirements in terms of cultural or religious needs.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with the Food Standards Agency on the labelling of (a) halal and (b) kosher meat products in food outlets.

The Government encourages the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter and would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter, but we respect the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs. It is for religious authorities to decide if meat is halal or kosher. A significant proportion of halal meat comes from animals that are stunned before slaughter. There are no regulations that require labelling of meat to include the method of slaughter, but where any information of this nature is provided it must be accurate and must not be misleading to the consumer. The Government respects religious freedoms and expects the industry, whether food producer or food outlet, to provide consumers with all the information they need to make informed choices. A consultation on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling was undertaken last year by the previous government. The consultation sought views on options for the production standards behind the label. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps. The Department engages regularly with the Food Standards Agency on a range of topics.

Of the aggregate income identified for chargeable overseas visitors in financial year 2018-19 what (a) the total amount recovered for the subsequent six financial years is and (b) the total amount of aggregate income identified for that financial year that was written off is.

The Department publishes data on the income identified from chargeable overseas visitors in England in its Annual Report and Accounts. The consolidated NHS provider accounts published cash payments received in-year by the National Health Service from overseas visitors.NHS charges can be recovered up to six years from the date of invoice, and therefore the amount recovered in a year does not necessarily mean it was identified in the same financial year. The Department does not hold information in the format requested regarding real terms data for written off debt.The following table shows aggregate income identified and cash payments received between 2019-2024:YearAggregate income identifiedCash payments received in-year2018/19£91,000,000£35,000,0002019/20£93,000,000£39,000,0002020/21£61,000,000£21,000,0002021/22£67,000,000£25,000,0002022/23£100,000,000£32,000,0002023/24£123,000,000£42,000,000Source: The Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts and Consolidated NHS provider accounts.

How much has been written off for the treatment of chargeable overseas visitors in real terms since the National Health Services (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015 were introduced.

The Department publishes data on the income identified from chargeable overseas visitors in England in its Annual Report and Accounts. The consolidated NHS provider accounts published cash payments received in-year by the National Health Service from overseas visitors.NHS charges can be recovered up to six years from the date of invoice, and therefore the amount recovered in a year does not necessarily mean it was identified in the same financial year. The Department does not hold information in the format requested regarding real terms data for written off debt.The following table shows aggregate income identified and cash payments received between 2019-2024:YearAggregate income identifiedCash payments received in-year2018/19£91,000,000£35,000,0002019/20£93,000,000£39,000,0002020/21£61,000,000£21,000,0002021/22£67,000,000£25,000,0002022/23£100,000,000£32,000,0002023/24£123,000,000£42,000,000Source: The Department of Health and Social Care Annual Report and Accounts and Consolidated NHS provider accounts.

How many sandwiches have been delivered through her Department's contract entitled Catering - KIU, procurement reference CF-0357300D58000000L5A4EAK.

The contracts maintained are designed to provide basic nutrition to arriving individuals in need, including children. The amounts of food provided across the two sites will vary according to need.