Lord Marlesford

For security reasons, the Houses do not publish capital expenditure on security mitigating projects as providing this level of detail could enable an individual to infer the extent and nature of the works, and thus the vulnerabilities which they were intended to mitigate.

The Daily Allowance rate was introduced on 1 October 2010 at £300 per day. Retail Price Index (RPI) figures for October 2024 are expected to be released by the Office for National Statistics on 20 November 2024. It is therefore not yet possible to calculate a figure for the Daily Allowance adjusted for inflation by RPI for the month of October 2024.

Based on September 2024 RPI figures, if the Daily Allowance rate had been adjusted annually for inflation, it would be £515 oer day from 1 September 2024.

The UK is outward looking and welcomes international students who make a positive impact on the UK’s higher education (HE) sector, our economy and society as a whole.

Applicants to undergraduate courses usually have to have a minimum level of qualification in order to be considered. Where HE providers accept international qualifications, applicants can apply to the UK National Centre for the Recognition and Evaluation of International Qualifications and Skills for a Statement of Comparability. This compares overseas qualifications to the UK qualifications and framework levels.

HE providers are autonomous bodies, independent of government. As such, they are responsible for their own admissions decisions. Government works closely with the sector to ensure that admissions remain fair and the Universities UK / Guild HE Fair Admissions Code of Practice is adhered to when HE providers make admissions decisions.

Student visa applicants must demonstrate their English language ability in order to be granted a visa. The level required depends on the level of study, and the type of course provider.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department has already confirmed that the government will continue implementing measures to reduce potential for abuse on the student visa route, including reviewing how the HE sector is currently assessing English language ability.

UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) publishes data on the number of full-time undergraduate acceptances by domicile and provider. However, around 40% of non-European Union international full-time undergraduate entrants enter outside of UCAS and this will vary by provider. The latest data covers the 2023 admissions cycle and is published here: https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduate-end-cycle-data-resources-2023.

UCAS data for the 2024 admissions cycle will be published on 30 January.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes data covering all international undergraduate entrants. The latest HESA data covers the 2022/23 academic year and is available here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/whos-in-he.

Suffolk County Council is developing a Full Business Case for a scheme to improve junctions between the A12 / A14 Seven Hills and the A12 Woods Lane and provide dualling between the B1438 and the B1079. The Council plans to submit this to the Department in summer 2025. This will be considered in the light of the current Spending Review and the Department’s review of capital projects.

It is for the Council to identify any further improvement proposals on the A12 and to bid for Government funding as and when future funding opportunities arise

Individuals who receive Disability Living Allowance (DLA) higher rate mobility component, Personal Independence Payment (PIP) enhanced-rate mobility component, Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP) or War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement (WPMS) are eligible to join the Motability Scheme. In exchange for part or all of their mobility component they receive a leased car, wheelchair or powered chair/scooter. The Department for Work and Pensions facilitates the transfer of the DLA, PIP and AFIP to Motability. WPMS is transferred by the Ministry of Defence.

Recipients of these benefits may be employed or not and can have both physical and mental health conditions.

We do not hold figures on the numbers of vehicles provided in the year to April 2024. There is no cost to the public purse for the Motability Scheme.

The Department is committed to assisting customers with advice on Winter Fuel payments and the best way to seek advice is by contacting the Winter Fuel payment centre helpline on:

Telephone - 0800 731 0160; or

Textphone - contact Relay UK on 18001 then 0800 731 0160

Customers can also use the British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service to contact the department.

Customers may also contact the Winter Fuel payment centre through Gov.uk.

https://secure.dwp.gov.uk/contact-winter-fuel-payments-centre/contact-form

For those customers who wish to write to the department, the postal address is:

Winter Fuel Payment Centre
Mail Handling Site A
Wolverhampton
WV98 1LR

Subsequent to the answer to question 14475, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) have been in contact with the Serbian authorities and provided consular support to Alexei Zimin's family following his death in Belgrade. It is for the Serbian authorities to decide whether to conduct investigations following deaths in Serbia. UK police do not have jurisdiction to investigate deaths overseas unless invited to by the relevant overseas authority.

The UK condemns the persecution of religious minorities, including Christians, in Pakistan. Minister Falconer underlined the importance of promoting religious tolerance and harmony when he met with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister Azam Tarar on 4 September. Officials at BHC Islamabad regularly raise our concerns surrounding the mistreatment of minorities with the Pakistani authorities, including law enforcement officials. We continue to support projects promoting the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan, including facilitating interfaith dialogue and protecting marginalised communities from hate speech online.

Where a decision has been taken to make a deportation order, appeals must usually be made to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), with onward rights of appeal to the Upper Tribunal and thence to the higher courts. Appeals involving national security or related grounds are heard before senior judges in the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.

The Home Office publishes statistics on detected small boat arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK’ statistics release on gov.uk. Data on asylum applications from small boat arrivals and initial decisions on these applications (including refusals) is published in tables Irr_D02 and Irr_D03 respectively of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’. The latest data covers January 2018 to June 2024.

The number of deaths of prisoners[1][2][3][4] serving custodial sentences[5][6] in England and Wales, 2014 to 2023

Data Sources and Quality

These figures are derived from the HMPPS Deaths in Prison Custody database.

1. Figures include incidents during contracted out escorts. Figures include England and Wales only and not the whole UK as we only hold detailed data for England and Wales.

2. Figures do not include incidents at Medway STC. For more information on Secure Training Centres, please see Youth justice annual statistics at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/youth-justice-annual-statistics.

3. Deaths in prison custody figures include all deaths of prisoners arising from incidents during prison custody. They include deaths of prisoners while released on temporary license (ROTL) for medical reasons but exclude other types of ROTL where the state has less direct responsibility.

4. In addition to deaths in prison custody, the figures include deaths in custody that occur in hospitals, hospices or nursing homes, and a small proportion will occur while in an ambulance on the way to hospital, while on escort.

5. Figures includes deaths of sentenced prisoners only, they do not include deaths of prisoners on remand, immigration detainees or non-criminal prisoners.

6. A breakdown of deaths by sentence type is published within the annual deaths tables, the latest annual deaths detailed data includes deaths up to 2023. Figures for 2024 deaths, including a breakdown by sentence type, will be published in January 2025.