Every parliamentary written question tabled by Rupert Lowe this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1,641–1,660 of 2,564 · this parliament
How many (a) air miles and (b) flights he has completed since 5 July 2024.
Data on ministers’ travel is published on a quarterly basis. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/desnz-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will consider appealing the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruling on the UK's sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.
We understand this question refers to the 2021 International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea case between Mauritius and the Maldives, which concerned a maritime boundary dispute between those two States. The UK was not a party to that case.
How many Iraqi nationals have been returned to Iraq in each year since the signing of the Agreement between the UK and Iraq on the transfer of sentenced persons of October 2015.
Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. Since July 2024, 2,925 foreign national offenders (FNOs) have been removed which is a 21% increase compared to the same period 12 months prior. FNOs serving custodial sentences may be transferred to serve their prison sentence in their home country if it has a reciprocal Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA) with the UK. The UK has over 110 PTAs with other countries. The previous government agreed some PTAs that are compulsory and others that are voluntary which require the prisoner’s consent to be transferred. A revised compulsory PTA with Albania was ratified in 2021 and an arrangement to increase its efficiency was signed in March 2023. Under the previous government, between 2021 and March 2023, no transfers were made but since the agreement was updated, 8 Albanians have been transferred. The previous government announced the expectation of getting a PTA in 2015 with Jamaica but the agreement was never finalised. Since our electronic records began in 2011, 20 Indian nationals have been returned to India under the PTA. In the past 2 years fewer than 3 Indian nationals have been returned under the PTA. It is worth noting that the PTA with India is voluntary which means that consent is required from the prisoner for the PTA to be agreed. As with India the PTA with Iraq is also voluntary and since the PTA was signed in 2015 fewer than 3 Iraqi nationals have been transferred.
How many and what proportion of people who arrived on small boats and have had their asylum application refused have not been deported.
Available data on returns of failed asylum seekers, including those who arrive by small boat, is published on a quarterly basis by the Home Office. The latest data goes to the end of December 2024.
How many (a) air miles and (b) flights the Prime Minister has completed since 5 July 2024.
Data on ministers’ travel is published on a quarterly basis. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-overseas-travel-and-meetings-july-to-september-2024.
How many and what proportion of people who arrived in the UK on small boats who have withdrawn their asylum claims remain in the UK.
Available data on returns of failed asylum seekers, including those who arrive by small boat, is published on a quarterly basis by the Home Office. The latest data goes to the end of December 2024.
How many of the 200 Albanian nationals were returned under the agreement made with Albania on 24 May 2023.
Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. Since July 2024, 2,925 foreign national offenders (FNOs) have been removed which is a 21% increase compared to the same period 12 months prior. FNOs serving custodial sentences may be transferred to serve their prison sentence in their home country if it has a reciprocal Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA) with the UK. The UK has over 110 PTAs with other countries. The previous government agreed some PTAs that are compulsory and others that are voluntary which require the prisoner’s consent to be transferred. A revised compulsory PTA with Albania was ratified in 2021 and an arrangement to increase its efficiency was signed in March 2023. Under the previous government, between 2021 and March 2023, no transfers were made but since the agreement was updated, 8 Albanians have been transferred. The previous government announced the expectation of getting a PTA in 2015 with Jamaica but the agreement was never finalised. Since our electronic records began in 2011, 20 Indian nationals have been returned to India under the PTA. In the past 2 years fewer than 3 Indian nationals have been returned under the PTA. It is worth noting that the PTA with India is voluntary which means that consent is required from the prisoner for the PTA to be agreed. As with India the PTA with Iraq is also voluntary and since the PTA was signed in 2015 fewer than 3 Iraqi nationals have been transferred.
How many Indian nationals have been returned to India in each year since the signing of the Agreement between the UK and India on the transfer of sentenced persons, published on 12 May 2006.
Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. Since July 2024, 2,925 foreign national offenders (FNOs) have been removed which is a 21% increase compared to the same period 12 months prior. FNOs serving custodial sentences may be transferred to serve their prison sentence in their home country if it has a reciprocal Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA) with the UK. The UK has over 110 PTAs with other countries. The previous government agreed some PTAs that are compulsory and others that are voluntary which require the prisoner’s consent to be transferred. A revised compulsory PTA with Albania was ratified in 2021 and an arrangement to increase its efficiency was signed in March 2023. Under the previous government, between 2021 and March 2023, no transfers were made but since the agreement was updated, 8 Albanians have been transferred. The previous government announced the expectation of getting a PTA in 2015 with Jamaica but the agreement was never finalised. Since our electronic records began in 2011, 20 Indian nationals have been returned to India under the PTA. In the past 2 years fewer than 3 Indian nationals have been returned under the PTA. It is worth noting that the PTA with India is voluntary which means that consent is required from the prisoner for the PTA to be agreed. As with India the PTA with Iraq is also voluntary and since the PTA was signed in 2015 fewer than 3 Iraqi nationals have been transferred.
If she will make an estimate of the cost of the public purse of all illegal migrants per migrant per year, excluding asylum seekers.
Relevant data concerning Home Office expenditure on tackling illegal immigration is published on a routine basis in the Department's annual reports.
With reference to the UK/Albania: Agreement on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons agreed in October 2021, how many Albanian nationals have been returned to Albania since the signing of that Agreement.
Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. Since July 2024, 2,925 foreign national offenders (FNOs) have been removed which is a 21% increase compared to the same period 12 months prior. FNOs serving custodial sentences may be transferred to serve their prison sentence in their home country if it has a reciprocal Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA) with the UK. The UK has over 110 PTAs with other countries. The previous government agreed some PTAs that are compulsory and others that are voluntary which require the prisoner’s consent to be transferred. A revised compulsory PTA with Albania was ratified in 2021 and an arrangement to increase its efficiency was signed in March 2023. Under the previous government, between 2021 and March 2023, no transfers were made but since the agreement was updated, 8 Albanians have been transferred. The previous government announced the expectation of getting a PTA in 2015 with Jamaica but the agreement was never finalised. Since our electronic records began in 2011, 20 Indian nationals have been returned to India under the PTA. In the past 2 years fewer than 3 Indian nationals have been returned under the PTA. It is worth noting that the PTA with India is voluntary which means that consent is required from the prisoner for the PTA to be agreed. As with India the PTA with Iraq is also voluntary and since the PTA was signed in 2015 fewer than 3 Iraqi nationals have been transferred.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2025 to Question 24737 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Mauritius, what estimate he has made of the number of rounds of negotiations there will be between the UK and Mauritius Governments on the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory before the Government brings forward a Bill to make the necessary amendments to current legislation to implement a UK/Mauritius Treaty on this matter.
As we and Mauritius have repeatedly said, including in joint statements on 20 December 2024 and on 13 January, both sides remain committed to concluding a deal on the future of the Chagos Archipelago. Once the Treaty is signed it will be laid before both Houses for scrutiny under the CRaG process and a Bill will be brought forward to make the necessary amendments to current legislation to implement the Treaty.
How many Jamaican nationals have been returned to Jamaica in each year since the signing of the Compulsory Transfer Agreement with Jamaica in September 2015.
Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. Since July 2024, 2,925 foreign national offenders (FNOs) have been removed which is a 21% increase compared to the same period 12 months prior. FNOs serving custodial sentences may be transferred to serve their prison sentence in their home country if it has a reciprocal Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA) with the UK. The UK has over 110 PTAs with other countries. The previous government agreed some PTAs that are compulsory and others that are voluntary which require the prisoner’s consent to be transferred. A revised compulsory PTA with Albania was ratified in 2021 and an arrangement to increase its efficiency was signed in March 2023. Under the previous government, between 2021 and March 2023, no transfers were made but since the agreement was updated, 8 Albanians have been transferred. The previous government announced the expectation of getting a PTA in 2015 with Jamaica but the agreement was never finalised. Since our electronic records began in 2011, 20 Indian nationals have been returned to India under the PTA. In the past 2 years fewer than 3 Indian nationals have been returned under the PTA. It is worth noting that the PTA with India is voluntary which means that consent is required from the prisoner for the PTA to be agreed. As with India the PTA with Iraq is also voluntary and since the PTA was signed in 2015 fewer than 3 Iraqi nationals have been transferred.
How many users there are of the Homes for Ukraine scheme by nationality.
The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas for the Homes for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme by nationality in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the outcomes of visas are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. Data is up to the end of 2024.
Communities and Local Government, how many (a) air miles and (b) flights she has completed since 5 July 2024.
Data on minister’s overseas travel and on senior civil servant’s business expenses is published on a quarterly basis. The latest available quarterly publications can be found here: MHCLG: ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings, July to September 2024 - GOV.UK MHCLG: senior officials’ hospitality, July to September 2024 - GOV.UK.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the total cost to the public purse was of supporting the modernisation of the Albanian prison system.
In addition to work to disrupt Organised Immigration Crime and address the long-term drivers of migration, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Home Office and the Ministry of Justice work together to enable the return of eligible Albanian foreign national offenders to serve the remainder of their sentence in Albania. As part of an arrangement signed under the previous government in 2023 to implement the 2021 Prisoner Transfer Agreement, £4.3 million was committed over three years to support the modernisation of the Albanian prison system. We are reviewing the operation of the Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Albania signed by the previous Government to understand how more prisoners can be sent back to serve their time in Albanian prisons. During 2024,1,610 Albanian FNOs were removed from England and Wales - the highest number of any nationality and up 7% from the previous year.
What the cost to the public purse was of Universal Credit payments made to foreign nationals in 2024.
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. The Department is exploring the feasibility of developing suitable official statistics related to the immigration status of non-UK / Irish Universal Credit customers.
How many and what proportion of applications to extend student visas were successful in 2024.
Information on grants and refusals of extensions of stay to study is published in table EXE_D01, within the ‘Extensions detailed datasets’ file, at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK. The latest publication includes data up to 31st December 2024.
What information her Department holds on the number and proportion of spousal visas granted to people who were (a) first and (b) second cousins to their spouse in 2024.
I refer the Honourable Member to the Answer I gave him on 20 December 2024 in response to Question UIN 19992.
If she will make an estimate of the number of work visas that will be issued in 2025.
The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of work visas issued in the Immigration system statistics quarterly release. See the entry clearance visa data tables.Future grant rates are very uncertain and liable to change.
What recent estimate she has made of the number of people with non-domiciled tax status who permanently left the UK in each month of 2024.
The Government’s priority is improving the UK’s competitiveness internationally and securing economic growth. The non-dom reforms have been specifically designed to make the UK competitive with a modern, simple tax regime that is also fair. The reforms establish a tax regime for new residents, which is more attractive to new arrivals than the current rules.The Government published a Tax Information and Impact Note for this policy on 30 October. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tax-changes-for-non-uk-domiciled-individuals/reforming-the-taxation-of-non-uk-domiciled-individuals.There have always been relatively large flows of non-doms in and out of the UK every year. For example. in the latest HMRC statistics for tax year 2022/23, 8,000 non-doms left and 13,000 arrived.We anticipate that some non-doms ineligible for the new regime will exit the UK in response to the changes. Taking this migration response into account, the OBR expects the non-dom reforms to raise £33.8 billion over the next five years to help fund the public services and investment projects needed to drive growth.