Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her department has considered the potential merits of increasing the judicial penalty for illegal working in relation to riders for food delivery companies.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Clamping down on illegal working is a critical part of this government’s work to restore fairness, order and control within the immigration and asylum system. We have changed the law to ensure companies who utilise flexible worker models, as seen in the food delivery sector, are required to conduct right to work checks to prevent illegal working when they contract workers to provide services under their company name.
The existing penalty regime attached to the Right to Work Scheme will apply to these new arrangements and penalties will be enforced, set at £45,000 per illegal worker encountered for a first breach and up to £60,000 for repeat breaches. The penalties sit within this government’s programme of intensified enforcement activity which has seen a 63% increase in illegal working arrests.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of people employed in Immigration Enforcement.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Immigration Enforcement is at the heart of the Government’s ambition to maximise the return of foreign criminals and others with no legal basis to remain in the UK, and to restore order and control to our immigration system. Immigration Enforcement have well developed resourcing plans in place, aimed at delivering a significant increase in the size of the command in the course of this financial year.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her department is taking to increase the rate of (a) detention and (b) deportation for people found to be working illegally as delivery riders in Britain.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Illegal working undermines honest employers, undercuts local wages, and fuels the criminal industry of immigration crime. This government is determined to clamp down on this illegal activity in every sector; including in the food delivery sector.
Since coming into power, this government has increased immigration enforcement action to the highest level, with an 83 percent rise in illegal working arrests and a 77 percent rise in raids.
We are clear that individuals who have no legal basis to remain in the United Kingdom should leave and we remain resolute in our commitment, as set out in our Restoring Order and Control: a statement on the Government’s asylum and returns policy (November 2025), to increasing returns.
Returns and deportations of illegal migrants, including those working illegally and foreign criminals, are at the highest levels in nearly a decade, with nearly 70,000 returns recorded in the first 21 months of this government, 41% more than the equivalent period up to the end of June 2024.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of letters detailing fines delivered by Royal Mail not arriving on time on people receiving those letters.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government recognises the concern that arises when important and time-sensitive post does not arrive as expected. I have been clear that Royal Mail’s performance has not been good enough.
Royal Mail is an independent business responsible for delivery operations, and it is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator, to set and monitor service standards and take enforcement action where necessary.
Ofcom has assured me that it continues to monitor quality of service closely to protect consumers.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support independent gyms and leisure facilities.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government is committed to supporting UK SMEs, including those in the leisure sector, through the Small Business Plan - the most comprehensive package of support for SMEs in a generation.
This includes legislative reforms to tackle late payments; unlocking billions of pounds in finance; removing unnecessary red tape; revitalising High Streets and boosting digital and AI adoption among small businesses.
For the first time, DBT has integrated its support for businesses in a single, accessible place – the Business Growth Service – to help firms start, scale and succeed. UK businesses can access our wide range of support via business.gov.uk.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department holds data on the proportion of Royal Mail (a) letter and (b) parcel deliveries that are not delivered within target times.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator for the postal sector, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards and to collect and analyse quality of service data. Ofcom monitors Royal Mail’s performance closely against its delivery targets and can take enforcement action where failures are identified.
Royal Mail publishes its quality of service results, providing information on delivery performance against these targets, on a quarterly and annual basis.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the United Kingdom plans to raise anti Christian (a) persecution and (b) violence at the United Nations.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 28 April in response to Question 129787.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to support persecuted Christians in Afghanistan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 28 April in response to Question 129787.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with water companies on timely (a) maintenance and (b) repair of fire hydrants.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Ministers in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have not held recent discussions with water companies specifically on this issue. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) engages regularly with water companies and regulators to support the resilience and maintenance of water infrastructure, ensuring systems and assets are kept in good working order.
There are specific provisions in the Water Industry Act 1991 under Section 57 which requires water undertakers in England and Wales to provide and maintain fire hydrants on their mains, excluding trunk mains, at the request of the local fire and rescue authority.