Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of the total cost of providing accommodation for asylum seekers in hotels in each of the next five years; and what these costs were in each of the past five years.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers who have had their applications rejected have been deported from the UK since July 2024; and what steps is she taking to increase such deportations in the next six months.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has recently published the number of asylum related returns between 05 July 2024 and 22 March 2025 in Returns from the UK from 5 July 2024 to 22 March 2025 - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her international counterparts on third-country processing arrangements for people seeking to claim asylum in the UK.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government will continue to work with international partners to tackle the global migration crisis. The Home Secretary has convened an international summit focussed on Organised Immigration Crime, bringing together Interior ministers and law enforcement experts from across the world to develop our combined response to the gangs who facilitate this vile trade in human lives.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the withdrawal of funding for AI auto-contouring technology on (a) cancer treatment waiting times, (b) patient outcomes and (c) the workload of NHS cancer specialists; and whether he has considered alternative funding mechanisms for the rollout of that technology.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department supports the National Health Service in reviewing opportunities to utilise artificial intelligence (AI) to transform diagnostic performance, bring down waiting times, and support staff with their workload.

Furthermore, the Department is carrying out work to assess the barriers of effective adoption and improve the way AI tools are deployed across the NHS through a number of initiatives, including the NHS AI Lab’s Ethics Initiative, which invests in research and practical interventions that could strengthen the ethical adoption of AI within health and care, and addresses risks and concerns over their use.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce small boat crossings.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

I refer the Rt Hon Gentleman to the Statements made by the Home Secretary when moving the Border Security Asylum and Immigration Bill for its second reading on 10 February 2025, and when reporting on the UK’s hosting of the Organised Immigration Crime summit on 31 March 2025.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in Official Development Assistance on UNICEF’s ability to deliver services to vulnerable children.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The United Nations Children's Fund remains a key partner for delivery of the Foreign Secretary's priorities such as education, health, and humanitarian, including Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in Official Development Assistance funding on UNICEF programmes supported by the UK.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The United Nations Children's Fund remains a key partner for delivery of the Foreign Secretary's priorities such as education, health, and humanitarian, including Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact in changes to Official Development Assistance provided to Jordan on regional stability.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK's Official Development Assistance (ODA) supports Jordan's transition towards economic self-sufficiency, helps reduce the drivers of migration and has supported Jordan as it delivered humanitarian assistance to Gaza. The Minister for International Development made Jordan her first official visit overseas in her new role from 23-25 March. She announced that UK funding for the Global Concessional Financing Facility will support Jordan's efforts to host its 3.5 million refugee population. Reducing the overall size of our ODA budget will necessarily have an impact on the scale and shape of the work we do globally. Decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review and resource allocation processes, based on various factors including impact assessments.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance was allocated to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in each of the last five financial years.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) plays a vital role in delivering humanitarian assistance in Gaza and enabling the broader international response through its logistics and distribution network. Figures for the UK Funding to UNRWA for the last five financial years can be found below. The decrease in funding from the Financial Year 2020/21 to Financial Year 2021/22 was due to the move from 0.7 per cent to 0.5 per cent Official Development Assistance.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance was allocated to UNICEF in each of the last five financial years.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Based on the most recent "Statistics on International Development" publications, the total amount of UK Official Development Assistance allocated to the United Nations Children's Fund is as follows:

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in Official Development Assistance on the operations of the World Food Programme.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Minister for Development met Cindy McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), during her recent trip to Paris, and recognises the important work of the WFP. Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the effectiveness of Official Development Assistance provided to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We continue to assess all overseas development assistance robustly against government priorities. In line with standard practice, the UK conducts an Annual Review of UK funding to The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East to assess performance in key areas including service delivery and reforms. All annual reviews are published on DevTracker.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in Official Development Assistance on the humanitarian response capability of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As the Prime Minister stated, the UK will continue to play a key humanitarian role in Gaza. We cannot yet confirm funding allocations for financial year 2025-26, but continue to assess all overseas development assistance robustly against government priorities. The UK provided £41 million in financial year 2024/25 for United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This supports delivery of UNRWA's vital work, ensuring that Palestinians have access to humanitarian assistance, education and healthcare in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the region.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions in Official Development Assistance on UK strategic interests in the Middle East.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Decisions on how the Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review and resource allocation processes, based on various factors including impact assessments. Parliament will be informed of the bilateral country budget allocations in the normal way when the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Annual Report and accounts are laid before Parliament. The Middle East remains vital to achieving our priorities which include preventing further conflict, supporting stability, and lifting vulnerable people out of crisis, and the UK continues to be a trusted and reliable partner across the region.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance was allocated to the World Food Programme in each of the last five financial years.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Statistics on International Development (SID) National Statistics report, published on the gov.uk website, provides an overview of all official UK spend on Official Development Assistance (ODA). ODA is an international measure and is collected and reported on a calendar year basis. Final UK ODA figures for 2024 will be published in Autumn 2025, via Statistics on International Development: Final UK Aid Spend 2024.

Found: The Rt Hon James Cleverly MP Former Home Secretary and former Foreign Secretary.

Found: We have therefore written to the Rt Hon James Cleverly MP, the Home Secretary, to bring these concerns

Found: subsequently passed on those concerns to the then UK Government’s Home Secretary, the Rt Hon James Cleverly