Rupert Lowe MP: written questions 2025
1378 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Digital Technology: Proof of IdentityDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 4 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 75235More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the risk of digital identity systems being used for surveillance of people.
Answer: The Government is committed to making the state more efficient and easier to interact with through harnessing technology. We want to learn from countries who have digitised government services for the benefit of their citizens.We are looking at whether a ...
Answered 16 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordProof of Identity: Digital TechnologyDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 4 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 75234More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate he has made of the number of additional (a) civil servants and (b) contractors required to administer a digital ID system.
Answer: The Government is committed to making the state more efficient and easier to interact with through harnessing technology. We want to learn from countries who have digitised government services for the benefit of their citizens.We are looking at whether a ...
Answered 16 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordProof of Identity: Digital TechnologyDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 4 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 75233More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the value for money of a digital ID system compared to existing forms of identification.
Answer: The Government is committed to making the state more efficient and easier to interact with through harnessing technology. We want to learn from countries who have digitised government services for the benefit of their citizens.We are looking at whether a ...
Answered 16 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordProof of Identity: Digital TechnologyTreasuryTabled 4 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 75219More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse of implementing and maintaining a Digital ID system.
Answer: The government will cost and publish costings of policies it chooses to introduce in the usual way at fiscal events.
Answered 11 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportationHome OfficeTabled 4 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74966More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the top five reasons are for deportation flights being cancelled.
Answer: The information you have required is not available from published statistics.
Answered 26 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportationHome OfficeTabled 4 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74965More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost of private security contractors used in deportations has been in each of the last five years.
Answer: The Home Office uses its Escorting and Related Services Contract with Mitie Care and Custody to effect Returns of persons with no right to remain within the UK. The costs of this contract are routinely published as part of the Home Office Transparency dat...
Answered 26 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportationHome OfficeTabled 4 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74964More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff her Department employs to organise deportation flights.
Answer: Staff working on deportation flights are often deployed flexibly across broader returns and enforcement workstreams. As such, it is not possible to disaggregate staffing figures to isolate those solely focused on deportation flights and obtaining the spec...
Answered 17 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDetention CentresHome OfficeTabled 4 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74963More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many detainees have absconded from immigration detention in each year since 2020.
Answer: Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) are used flexibly to detain foreign nationals liable for removal from the UK. This includes time-served foreign national offenders, immigration offenders and those who have arrived in the UK illegally. As of 1 September,...
Answered 12 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportationHome OfficeTabled 4 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74962More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many detention places are currently available for foreign nationals awaiting deportation.
Answer: Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) are used flexibly to detain foreign nationals liable for removal from the UK. This includes time-served foreign national offenders, immigration offenders and those who have arrived in the UK illegally. As of 1 September,...
Answered 12 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportationHome OfficeTabled 4 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74961More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of leaving European Convention on Human Rights on the ability of the UK to deport foreign nationals.
Answer: We set out in our Immigration White Paper our intention to bring forward legislation to allow us to more easily remove foreign national offenders.Later this year we will set out more detailed reforms and stronger measures to ensure our laws are upheld, in...
Answered 21 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportationHome OfficeTabled 3 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74874More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many seats were booked on deportation charter flights in the last year; and how many were used.
Answer: In the year 5 September 2024 to 4 September 2025 inclusive, the capacity available for those being returned on the 64 returns charter flights that operated was 3717 seats. Of these, 2972 seats were used across the 64 returns charter flights.
Answered 3 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportationHome OfficeTabled 3 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74873More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many charter flights for deportations were scheduled in the last 12 months; and how many took place.
Answer: In the year 5 September 2024 to 4 September 2025 inclusive, 69 returns charter flights were arranged, 64 were operated and five did not take place.
Answered 3 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportationHome OfficeTabled 3 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74872More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of foreign nationals who have abscond after being served with a deportation order.
Answer: Obtaining the specific information requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple systems and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The Home Office does not hold any central record of the requested information.
Answered 12 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportationHome OfficeTabled 3 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74871More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of staff in her Department are dedicated to enforcing deportation orders.
Answer: The Home Office does not hold centrally collated data on the precise number or proportion of staff exclusively dedicated to enforcing deportation orders. Enforcement activity focussed on deportation orders is carried out across the Home Office with respon...
Answered 17 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportationHome OfficeTabled 3 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74870More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the backlog in deportation cases.
Answer: As committed to in the Immigration White Paper (12 May 2025), the Government will shortly publish a formal Asylum Policy Statement setting out radical reforms to modernise the asylum system and strengthen border security. These proposals will include a ne...
Answered 3 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportationHome OfficeTabled 3 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74869More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of foreign nationals living in the UK unlawfully who are liable for deportation.
Answer: By its very nature, it is not possible to know the exact size of the illegal population, or the number of people who arrive illegally, and so we do not seek to make any official estimates of the illegal population. In June 2019, the Office for National St...
Answered 21 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportation: European Convention on Human RightsHome OfficeTabled 3 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74868More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many deportations have been delayed as a result of injunctions granted by domestic courts citing the European Convention on Human Rights in each of the last five years.
Answer: The information requested, regarding the number of delayed deportations of foreign national offenders (FNOs) as a result of challenges under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and injunctions granted by domestic courts citing the Europea...
Answered 26 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportation: European Convention on Human RightsHome OfficeTabled 3 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74867More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many deportations have been delayed as a result of challenges under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights in the last 12 months.
Answer: The information requested, regarding the number of delayed deportations of foreign national offenders (FNOs) as a result of challenges under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and injunctions granted by domestic courts citing the Europea...
Answered 26 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportation: Human RightsHome OfficeTabled 3 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74865More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to legislate to disapply the Human Rights Act 1998 in deportation cases.
Answer: We set out in our Immigration White Paper our intention to bring forward legislation to allow us to more easily remove foreign national offenders.Later this year we will set out more detailed reforms and stronger measures to ensure our laws are upheld, in...
Answered 21 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportation: European Court of Human RightsHome OfficeTabled 3 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74864More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many deportations have been prevented by interim measures of the European Court of Human Rights in each of the last five years.
Answer: The Information requested regarding how many deportations have been prevented by interim measures of the European Court of Human Rights in each of the last five years is not held centrally and to obtain it would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.
Answered 17 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportationHome OfficeTabled 3 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74863More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of publishing league tables of deportation compliance by countries.
Answer: We continue to use an array of tools, including through diplomatic engagement, to maintain and improve international returns co-operation.
Answered 26 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportation: AppealsHome OfficeTabled 3 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74862More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department’s policy is on restricting multiple appeals against deportation.
Answer: In most deportation cases, there is no right of appeal unless the person concerned makes a human rights or protection claim, in which case there is a right of appeal against a decision to refuse the claim.As part of efforts to fix the broken asylum system...
Answered 3 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportation: Legal AidMinistry of JusticeTabled 3 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74860More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of legal aid support in deportation cases in the last 12 months.
Answer: Expenditure relating to deportation and removal appeals is published as part of the Legal Aid Agency’s Official Statistics as part of its ‘detailed civil data’ collection. Due to the way information is recorded it is not possible to distinguish between co...
Answered 12 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportationHome OfficeTabled 3 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74859More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has sought to negotiate returns agreements with (a) Pakistan, (b) Albania, (c) Nigeria and (d) Somalia in the last five years.
Answer: The UK has returns agreements with these four countries that facilitate the return of individuals with no legal basis to remain in the UK. We continue to work with each of these countries on returns and to manage irregular migration.This Government is com...
Answered 17 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordDeportationHome OfficeTabled 3 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 74857More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of deportations that have failed due to a lack of cooperation from foreign governments.
Answer: The UK has returns agreements with these four countries that facilitate the return of individuals with no legal basis to remain in the UK. We continue to work with each of these countries on returns and to manage irregular migration.This Government is com...
Answered 17 Sept 2025
Original Parliament record
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