Written questions by Lowe.

How many people have been (a) investigated and (b) deported for supporting groups proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000 in the last ten years by proscribed group.

The Government takes proscription offences very seriously. It is an offence under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000 for a person to invite support for a proscribed organisation or express an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organisation.Data on arrests, charges and convictions for the proscription offences in sections 11 to 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000 can be found in the quarterly Home Office publication ‘Operation of Police Powers under the Terrorism Act 2000’.The most recent publication was published on 12 December 2024 and includes data up to the year ending September 2024: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/operation-of-police-powers-under-tact-2000-to-september-2024.Data is not published on investigations or deportations relating to section 12 offences. Data providers are not required to provide further detail on events leading to the arrest. Collecting and verifying the data requested to answer this question could only be done at disproportionate cost to the organisations responsible.

Media and Sport, what the total number of TV licence fee payers was in each of the last ten years.

The BBC is responsible for collection of the TV licence via TV Licensing. TV Licensing publishes the number of licences in force in its Annual Review, which can be found here: https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/our-performance-AB6

If she will publish a breakdown of student loan recipients by nationality in each of the last five years.

Attached is a table that breaks down unique students in receipt of tuition fee loans and/or student support scheme income contingent loans (such as maintenance loans) by nationality for the 2019/20 to 2023/24 academic years.Nationality is an optional field for borrowers to fill out when they are applying for student finance, which is why the data contains ‘unknown’ records. The department has seen a downward trend in the number of ‘unknown’ records in recent years, which could be due to people moving towards digital rather than paper applications, as the digital application has a drop-down menu for nationality making it easier for applicants to select the relevant option.Please note, when compared to published figures, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-support-for-higher-education-in-england-2024, total numbers of borrowers in receipt of tuition fee and maintenance loans will differ to this dataset as we are counting unique borrowers. Furthermore, the data is not fully static and data can be updated or re-categorised over time.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many farms he has visited since 30 October 2024.

Ministers visit farms and other food production premises regularly.

What the total cost for the storage of PPE related to Covid-19 was in 2024.

The cost of storing personal protective equipment (PPE) bought in response to the COVID-19 pandemic for the calendar year 2024 was approximately £60 million. The programme of work to reduce excess PPE stock has now concluded.

What the cost to the public purse was of cleaning in hotels housing irregular migrants in 2024.

The cost of laundry and cleaning services at hotels are included in the overall payment made for the use of each property rather than through any separate contractual arrangement.

If she will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of legal aid for irregular migrants in 2024.

Expenditure data for irregular migrants across all legal aid schemes is not held centrally.Where proceedings are before a court or tribunal in England or Wales, legal aid is available to individuals who qualify for services irrespective of their immigration status.The Legal Aid Agency publishes information about case volumes and expenditure data for the immigration and asylum category as part of its official statistics. Please see tables 5.2-5.3 for volume an expenditure data for Legal Help and Controlled Legal Representation – this covers advice and representation before the Immigration Tribunal. Tables 6.1-6.10 set out volume and expenditure date for Civil Representation – this covers representation before the county courts and higher courts including High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

Communities and Local Government, if she will provide a breakdown of sponsors of the Homes for Ukraine scheme by nationality.

We are very grateful for the continued generosity of sponsors in opening up their homes to support Homes for Ukraine guests.The department does not hold information on the nationality of sponsors. However, since 19 February 2024, Homes for Ukraine sponsors of new guests are required to be British or Irish citizens, or have settled status in the UK, on the date of the guest’s visa application.

What the cost to the public purse was of laundry services for irregular migrants housed in hotels in 2024.

The cost of laundry and cleaning services at hotels are included in the overall payment made for the use of each property rather than through any separate contractual arrangement.

If she will make an estimate of the number of children who do not speak English as a first language.

The department publishes information on whether a pupil’s first language is known or believed to be other than English. This data can be found in the ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication, which is based on the January school census. The most recent figures are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.A pupil is recorded to have English as an additional language if they are exposed to a language at home that is known or believed to be other than English. This measure is not a measure of English language proficiency or a good proxy for recent immigration.

If he will make an estimate of how many people in the UK do not speak English as a first language.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 13th February is attached.

What the cost to the public purse was of laundrette services for irregular migrants housed in hotels through contracted services in 2024.

I refer the Honourable Member to the Answer I gave him on 2 December 2024 to Question UIN 15593.

How many non-disclosure agreements were signed by staff in hotels hosting irregular migrants in each of the last five years.

The Home Office is not responsible for the employment of staff in asylum hotels and is not aware of any such arrangements they may have signed.

If she will make it her policy that Border Force personnel have the same standard of equipment as police officers.

Border Force staff are provided with all the equipment that is necessary and appropriate to do their job.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with (a) local authority officers and (b) local authority elected representatives on the cancellation of local elections in Norfolk; and if she will publish those discussions.

The Secretary of State has not had discussions with these local authorities on the cancellation of local elections.

If she will make a comparative assessment of paperwork filled in by (a) Border Force officers and (b) equivalent immigration systems.

Border Force’s paperwork is continuously assessed to ensure it is effective and appropriate for its purpose.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with (a) local authority officers and (b) local authority elected representatives on the cancellation of local elections in Suffolk; and if she will publish those discussions.

The Secretary of State has not had discussions with these local authorities on the cancellation of local elections.

How many people were employed by Border Force in each month in 2024.

The total number of people employed by Border Force is routinely published within the annual Home Office annual reports and accounts, available at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 27480 on Commonwealth Scholarships Programme, if she will list the (a) subject areas and (b) courses undertaken by those funded through the Commonwealth Scholarship in the last five years.

The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK publishes its Annual Reports, which provide information on the subject areas and courses undertaken by scholarship recipients. The most recent report was laid before Parliament on 17 December 2024 and is available on gov.uk. Further details can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/csc-annual-reports

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 28401 on Translation Services, what the spend was on interpretation for people contacting his Department excluding (a) British Sign Language and (b) all native languages in 2024.

The spend on interpretation for people contacting her department excluding (a) British Sign Language and (b) all native languages in 2024 was £6,345,260.60 For clarity and transparency of spend:Spoken Face to Face interpretation in 2024 = £393,690.08 For additional informationTotal British Sign Language Interpreting costs Face to Face = £1,505,061.80Total Additional costs for native UK language interpretation (e.g., Welsh or UK dialect) = £14.40