Her Majesty’s Passport Office does not hold information on the number of UK citizens without a valid passport. However, I can confirm that there were 51,372,413 valid British passports as of 22 September 2019.

The Government recognises the damaging impact that violence and abuse toward shop workers can have, not only for victims, but also for businesses, and the wider community. This is why in April of this year the Government launched a call for evidence on violence and abuse toward shop staff to help strengthen our understanding of the scale and extent of the issue. The consultation has now closed, and we will publish our response in due course.

The Commercial Victimisation Survey publishes estimates of assaults and threats against staff in the Wholesale and Retail sector annually going back to 2012. The latest results can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/829399/crime-against-businesses-2018-hosb1719.pdf

However, due to the sample size, it is not possible to provide estimates at sub-national level.

Our schools should be safe and disciplined environments for both pupils and teachers and no young person should feel the need to bring a weapon to school.

That’s why we are taking action across Government to tackle the scourge of knife crime with a focus on early intervention.

The Home Office does not hold information on the number of knives recovered the in the vicinity of school or sixth from college premises.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Dissolution.

The response to question UIN 596 was answered on the 5th November 2019.

Statistics of settlement grants in the United Kingdom for non Commonwealth nationals before 1973 are published in table se 06 ‘Grants of settlement to Commonwealth citizens and foreign nationals’) available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-june-2019/list-of-tables#settlement.

A breakdown of specific nationalities within this historical data is not available.

EU citizens who already hold indefinite leave to remain, regardless of when this was granted, can continue to rely on this status once the UK has left the European Union. They do not need to apply for status under the EU Settlement Scheme, but they may do so if they wish as, in line with the draft Withdrawal Agreement with the EU reached on 17 October 2019, indefinite leave to remain granted under the scheme (referred to as ‘settled status’) has some additional benefits. For example, it will not lapse unless the person is absent from the UK and Islands for more than five years rather than for more than two years.

Relevant guidance for EU citizens is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families/if-you-have-permanent-residence-or-indefinite-leave-to-remain.

The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,600 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010.

On 8th October 2019 the Post Office announced a new Banking Framework agreement with 28 UK banks to ensure that millions of their customers continue to have national, free access to everyday banking services. Signing up to this framework was a commercial decision for each bank to make, as banks and building societies have a commercial right to decide. ​ We are pleased that as of 25 October 2019 all 28 high street banks signed up in full. This will ensure that communities across the UK, in particular the elderly and vulnerable, have access to withdraw cash.

There are more than 49 million people in Great Britain aged 17 or over who hold either a full or provisional driving licence. No estimate has been made of the number of people who do not hold a driving licence.

No figures are available for licence holders in Northern Ireland as driver licensing is a devolved matter.

The Home Office collects data on the number of burglaries recorded by the police in England and Wales and these data are published quarterly. It is not possible to separately identify the number of burglaries that involved a violent assault in the information that we hold centrally. However, data is available on the number of aggravated burglary offences. These includes burglaries in which an offender is in possession of any firearm or imitation firearm, other weapon or explosive at the time of committing the offence.

Data for West Midlands Police Force Area and for Wolverhampton Community Safety Partnership (CSP) area can be found in open data tables here back to the financial year 2002/03:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables

Information on the number of assaults against disabled people recorded by the police is not held centrally.

The Home Office collects data on the number of burglaries recorded by the police in England and Wales and these data are published quarterly. It is not possible to separately identify the number of burglaries that involved a violent assault in the information that we hold centrally. However, data is available on the number of aggravated burglary offences. These includes burglaries in which an offender is in possession of any firearm or imitation firearm, other weapon or explosive at the time of committing the offence.

Data for West Midlands Police Force Area and for Wolverhampton Community Safety Partnership (CSP) area can be found in open data tables here back to the financial year 2002/03:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables

Information on the number of assaults against disabled people recorded by the police is not held centrally.

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on prosecutions and convictions by detailed offence. There is no specific offence under legislation for crimes involving disability hate crime, rather it is an aggravating factor in offences. This information may be held on court record, however, identifying these cases would require a manual search of court records, which would be of disproportionate cost.

The most recent estimate of the number of long-term empty homes shows that at October 2018 there were 10,084 homes that had been empty for more than six months in the West Midlands Metropolitan County, and 1,401 that had been empty for more than six months in the City of Wolverhampton. Statistics on vacant dwellings in England and in each local authority district, from which regional totals may be calculated, are published in the Department's live table 615 which is available at the link below. This table shows the annual total numbers of empty homes, those vacant for longer than six months and also vacant properties in the local authority, housing association and other public sector tenures. Statistics on vacant dwellings at parliamentary constituency level are not centrally collected

Local authorities are equipped with powers and have strong incentives to tackle empty homes. Since 1 April 2019, via the Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Act 2018, local authorities have the discretion to increase the maximum level of premium charged on properties that have been empty for more than two years from 50 per cent to 100 per cent extra council tax. Through the New Homes Bonus, local authorities earn the same financial reward for bringing an empty home back into use as building a new one. In certain circumstances, local authorities can apply for an Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) to temporarily take over the management of a property that has been empty for more than two years in order to bring it back into use.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants

The NHS Long Term Plan sets out the ambition to extend the use of molecular diagnostics and, over the next 10 years, to routinely offer genomic testing to all people with cancer for whom it would be of clinical benefit.

​Since 2010 the FCO have responded to 139 requests for assistance from British Nationals (Overseas) who were arrested or detained. As of September 2019 the FCO is providing ongoing assistance to 45 British Nationals (Overseas) who remain in detention.

The UK continues to support the one country, two systems model underpinned by the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The immigration status of BN(O)s is part of this agreement; there is no right to work or live in the UK under the BN(O) passport.

I refer the Hon Lady to the answers given by my Rt. Hon Friend, the Foreign Secretary, when responding to an urgent question on 26 September 2019.

Smart meters continue to record energy consumption accurately when a consumer switches energy supplier, even when the new energy supplier is temporarily unable to operate the meter in smart mode. Smart meters are rarely replaced when a consumer switches energy supplier. Of the total number of smart meters installed in Great Britain as of the end of 2018, less than 0.4% were replaced in the preceding 12 months following a consumer switch.

Smart meters will give households the information to allow them to be more active consumers and more easily act upon poor service or expensive tariffs, and in time make switching suppliers easier and faster.

As set out in the Secretary of State for Justice’s Written Statement on bailiff reform made on 22 July, we’ve been continuing to engage with stakeholders before finalising our response. We will respond in full to the call for evidence as soon as possible.

The Government recognises that widespread free access to cash remains important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers in the UK. However, it is not appropriate for the Government to comment on individual contracts relating to ATM charges.

The Government is engaging, and will continue to engage, with the regulators and industry on this important topic. The Government-established Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is closely monitoring developments in ATM provision. The PSR regulates LINK, the scheme which runs the UK’s ATM network, and has used its powers to hold LINK to account over LINK’s commitments to preserve the broad geographic spread of the ATM network.

LINK has put in place specific arrangements to protect free-to-use ATMs more than 1 kilometre away from the next nearest free-to-use ATM and has also enhanced its Financial Inclusion Programme. More recently, LINK has committed to protecting free access to cash on high streets – where there is a cluster of five or more retailers – that don’t have a free-to-use ATM or a Post Office counter within 1 kilometre.

UK Finance has also launched a Community Access to Cash Initiative, offering grants to local communities to improve cash access.

In addition, the Government has invested heavily in maintaining a stable network of Post Office branches, with investment of around £2 billion since 2010. Currently, 99% of personal customers and 95% of small business customers can carry out their everyday banking locally at one of the Post Office’s 11,500 branches.

The Department does not hold centrally the number of women's refuges operating in England in each year since 2010.

MHCLG has recently consulted on a new statutory duty which would require local authorities to robustly assess the need for and commission support for victims and their children in safe accommodation.

The consultation closed on 2 August. We are currently analysing the responses to the consultation on support within safe accommodation and will be publishing a full government response in due course.