Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the time taken for care providers to receive Certificates of Sponsorship for (a) overseas and (b) senior care workers.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Defined Certificate of Sponsorship process for carers and senior carers from overseas is the same and frequently requires an assessment to establish whether or not the sponsor is able to offer a genuine vacancy. This usually requires the sponsor to submit additional documentation, while the timeframes involved are adequate for the purposes of preventing the exploitation of proposed migrant workers.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were charged with criminal offences as a result of Operation Gull in Northern Ireland in 2023.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)

In 2023, Home Office Criminal and Financial Investigation teams (CFI) charged 39 individuals with criminal offences as part of Operation Gull.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of issuing physical back-up copies of immigration documents for people on the EU Settlement Scheme.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

As part of our move to a “digital by default” border and immigration system, physical immigration documents are being replaced by fully digital eVisas (an online record of the person’s immigration status).

All EU, EEA and Swiss citizens granted pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) are now able to prove their rights in the UK digitally, by using the View and Prove service on GOV.UK, instead of using physical documents. Non-EU, EEA or Swiss citizen family members who have a UKVI account can also use the View and Prove service.

Successful applicants continue to receive written notice of their immigration status by email or letter, which they can keep for their personal records if they wish. However, due to the possibility of fraud and abuse this document cannot be used to evidence an individual’s immigration status to external organisations.

There are no plans to provide EU citizens granted status under the EUSS with physical back-up copies of immigration documents.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to expand the British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) passport to include children of BN(O) passport holders.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office cannot issue a BN(O) passport to someone who does not hold BN(O) status. BN(O) status was only available by registration before 1 July 1997, and people born on or after that date cannot become a BN(O). There are no plans to retrospectively allow BN(O) status to be acquired by descendants of BN(O) status holders.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps he has taken to help recruit and retain police officers.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

We delivered our commitment to recruit 20,000 additional police officers. There are now over 149,000 officers in England and Wales, higher than the previous peak in 2010. Forces have been fully funded to maintain this uplift.

Retention is a key priority. Voluntary resignation rates, at around 3%, are low compared to other sectors and 72% of new recruits say they intend to stay until retirement.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help reduce the number of unsolved crimes.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are committed to ensuring all partners across the Criminal Justice System (CJS) work better together to increase the number of cases being charged and prosecuted and improve case progression.

We welcome the commitment from police forces across England and Wales to pursue all leads where there is a reasonable chance it could result in catching a perpetrator and solving a crime.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to improve police recruitment and retention in the London Borough of Havering.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

We delivered our commitment to recruit 20,000 additional police officers. There are now over 149,000 officers in England and Wales, higher than the previous peak in 2010. Forces have been fully funded to maintain this uplift.

Retention is a key priority. Voluntary resignation rates, at around 3%, are low compared to other sectors and 72% of new recruits say they intend to stay until retirement.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish an updated anti-corruption strategy.

Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)

Development of a new Anti-Corruption Strategy is well underway with publication expected shortly.

The new Strategy will build on progress made in the 2017 Strategy and set out how the Government will go further to counter corruption.

The Strategy will outline steps to prevent institutions from being corrupted, bring corrupt actors to justice, address the harms caused and combat corruption internationally.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the (a) needs and (b) vulnerabilities of LGBTQI+ people as part of Operation Maximise.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The safety and wellbeing of asylum seekers in our care is of paramount importance to the Home Office. We expect high standards from all of our providers, and we have a robust governance framework in place to manage service delivery of the Asylum Accommodation Support Contracts (AASC). Further details can be found at: AASC_-_Schedule_2_-_Statement_of_Requirements.pdf.

Section G.2 of the AASC provides examples of factors which accommodation providers should consider as part of their case-by-case assessment of an individual’s needs in room sharing, including whether they identify as LGBT. This aligns with the allocation of accommodation policy which sets out that the circumstances of every person in asylum accommodation should be assessed individually. Where an individual need or safeguarding concern exists, accommodation may be provided to meet such need.

Additionally, the Home Office has published the Asylum Support Contracts Safeguarding Framework at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-support-contracts-safeguarding-framework. This framework sets out a joint, overarching approach, as well as the key controls and reporting mechanisms in place, across the AASC contracts, for safeguarding arrangements.   All asylum seekers have access to a 24/7 AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility) service provided for the Home Office by Migrant Help where they can raise any concerns regarding accommodation or support services and they can get information about how to obtain further support.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of fees for firearms licences.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Fees for firearms licences were last increased in 2015 and the Government is currently considering proposals for new firearms licensing fees.

I hope to make an announcement about fees shortly.

Income received from firearms licensing fees should be invested into ensuring forces’ licensing teams are adequately resourced, trained and equipped.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will hold discussions with the National Police Chiefs' Council on increasing awareness of neurodiverse conditions in recruitment processes.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Our Police Uplift Programme supported forces with a variety of attraction and recruitment strategies, whilst delivering a campaign that was designed to reach diverse audiences.

We continue to work with The College of Policing and NPCC to support efforts to recruit a diverse workforce, and to ensure policing is a career where recruits can thrive.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on how his Department can take steps to help tackle labour shortages in the fishing industry.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Skilled Worker route has a number of eligible occupations linked to the fishing sector, and the sector also benefits from a generous package of support provided by the Home Office when it comes to making visa applications.

Nevertheless, labour shortages cannot be solved through the immigration system alone and there is regular engagement between departments when developing policy. We will continue to strike the balance between reducing overall net migration and ensuring that businesses have the skills they need to support economic growth.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of his Department's policies on tackling labour shortages in the fishing industry.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Skilled Worker route has a number of eligible occupations linked to the fishing sector, and the sector also benefits from a generous package of support provided by the Home Office when it comes to making visa applications.

Nevertheless, labour shortages cannot be solved through the immigration system alone and there is regular engagement between departments when developing policy. We will continue to strike the balance between reducing overall net migration and ensuring that businesses have the skills they need to support economic growth.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police stations have been tested for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The police are operationally independent and therefore it is the individual responsibility of each police force to manage their estate and ensure it is compliant with the relevant legislation. This includes duties to maintain a safe workplace, as set out in relevant health and safety legislation.

Last year the National Police Estates Group, working with Home Office officials, conducted a stocktake of all police forces in England and Wales regarding the presence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) across their respective estates. This identified a small number of forces with instances of RAAC, most relating to single building locations. All have reported that remedial action has been taken to mitigate potential risk.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of including HGV drivers as (a) an eligible occupation for a skilled worker visa and (b) on the immigration salary list.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The occupation of HGV driver does not meet the requirements of the Skilled Worker visa route.

The Government intend to commission the Migration Advisory Committee to undertake a full review of the Immigration Salary List. The Government will carefully consider their recommendations once received, should they make one regarding HGV drivers.

The Government regularly monitors labour market data to review the labour needed in different sectors, however there are no plans to extend the scope of the Seasonal Worker route.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a seasonal visa scheme for qualified HGV drivers.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The occupation of HGV driver does not meet the requirements of the Skilled Worker visa route.

The Government intend to commission the Migration Advisory Committee to undertake a full review of the Immigration Salary List. The Government will carefully consider their recommendations once received, should they make one regarding HGV drivers.

The Government regularly monitors labour market data to review the labour needed in different sectors, however there are no plans to extend the scope of the Seasonal Worker route.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of the introduction of Electronic Travel Authorisation on transit passenger volumes.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Electronic Travel Authorisations deliver important security benefits. A blanket exemption to the ETA requirement for passengers transiting airside would fundamentally undermine the rationale of the scheme by creating a permission free route of travel into the UK which would be open to abuse.

The process for obtaining an ETA is quick and light touch, and the cost (£10 per application) is minimal compared to the overall cost of international travel. An ETA will be valid for two years, or until the expiry of the passport used to apply, and can be used for multiple trips during this period.

We will keep our position under review to monitor the impact on transit as the scheme is rolled out.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will reconsider the requirement for airside transit passengers to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation to travel through UK airports.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Electronic Travel Authorisations deliver important security benefits. A blanket exemption to the ETA requirement for passengers transiting airside would fundamentally undermine the rationale of the scheme by creating a permission free route of travel into the UK which would be open to abuse.

The process for obtaining an ETA is quick and light touch, and the cost (£10 per application) is minimal compared to the overall cost of international travel. An ETA will be valid for two years, or until the expiry of the passport used to apply, and can be used for multiple trips during this period.

We will keep our position under review to monitor the impact on transit as the scheme is rolled out.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police stations has reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete been identified in.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The police are operationally independent and therefore it is the individual responsibility of each police force to manage their estate and ensure it is compliant with the relevant legislation. This includes duties to maintain a safe workplace, as set out in relevant health and safety legislation.

Last year the National Police Estates Group, working with Home Office officials, conducted a stocktake of all police forces in England and Wales regarding the presence of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) across their respective estates. This identified a small number of forces with instances of RAAC, most relating to single building locations. All have reported that remedial action has been taken to mitigate potential risk.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2024 to Written Question 14388 on Horticulture, Seasonal Workers, if he will publish the guidance that sets out the requirement for workers to receive a minimum of 32 hours pay for each week of their stay in the UK, regardless of whether work is available.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The requirement for Seasonal Workers to receive a minimum of 32 hours pay for each week of their stay in the UK is already set out in paragraph SAW4.1(g)(i) of Appendix Temporary Work of the Immigration Rules.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many properties in Lincolnshire other than hotels Serco have operated for housing asylum seekers since 2020.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation (including in contingency hotels and other contingency accommodation) is published in table Asy_D11 here: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training his Department provides to Border Force staff to prevent discrimination.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Diversity & Inclusion is woven into the Foundation Immigration and Customs Training undertaken by all Border Force officers. The course teaches officers how to deal with the travelling public in a professional and courteous manner. Border Force staff also undertake the online Public Sector Equality Duty course, ensuring an understanding of their responsibilities as defined by the Equalities Act 2010.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the then Minister for Immigration of 17 October 2023, Official Report, column 54WH, what recent progress the Government has made on establishing a specific route to family reunion for Afghan nationals who are family members of individuals resettled to the UK under pathway 1 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

For those evacuated from Afghanistan under Pathway 1 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) without their immediate family members, the Home Secretary has committed to establishing a route for separated families to be reunited in the first half of this year.

Further details will be provided in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people who have claimed asylum since 20 July 2023 will be subject to the duty to remove imposed by the Illegal Migration Act.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)

The Illegal Migration Act was introduced on 7^th of March 2023 and received Royal Assent on 20 July 2023. Individuals who entered or arrived illegally from 20 July 2023 will be subject to the duty to remove (section 2 of the Illegal Migration Act) once commenced.

Once the act is commenced, official numbers will be available.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, as well as quality and availability of data. The Government’s published data on illegal migration (available here: Statistics relating to Illegal Migration - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)).

The Government’s priority is to deter individuals from making dangerous, illegal, and unnecessary journeys to the UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with which airlines his Department has held discussions on the Rwanda scheme in the last six months.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)

The Department engages with commercial partners where required to deliver on its responsibilities. The details of any such discussions are commercially sensitive and therefore we will not be providing a running commentary on them.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress his Department has made on processing asylum applications for people who arrived in the UK between 7 March and 19 July 2023.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

In 2023 we met the Prime Minister's pledge to clear the legacy backlog of asylum cases made before 28 June 2022. The Home Office is now prioritising claims (lodged on or after 28 June 2022).

These are being considered under provisions in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. It is only right that we consider the oldest claims first.

Our priority is to consider claims as efficiently as possible, in order to process claims efficiently, and reduce the number of people on asylum support, in turn reducing the burden on taxpayers.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the statement entitled Domestic Abuse Commissioner responds to Criminal Justice reforms in the King’s Speech, published on 7 November 2023, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure perpetrators of domestic abuse can be removed from the police force and police staff as well as changes to police regulations to remove warrant cards from police officers under investigation for violence against women and girls offences.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

Existing Regulations provide Chief Constables with a power to suspend officers under investigation, including where it is in the public interest to do so.

In February, Government announced that it will legislate for automatic suspension in cases where an officer is charged with an indictable only offence, and a presumption of suspension where an officer is charged with an either way offence. When suspended, an officer is suspended from the Office of Constable and its associated powers. Forces should remove officers’ warrant cards from them where this happens.

The Government is further introducing measures to strengthen the system for removing officers who are not fit to serve. These include a presumption of dismissal where officers are found to have committed gross misconduct and a clarified route to remove officers who fail to hold and maintain vetting.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the national referral mechanism.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

The Government is focussed on improving National Referral Mechanism (NRM) decision-making timescales. We have seen an unprecedented increase in the volume of referrals in the NRM; a 625% rise between 2014 and 2022. In 2023, 17,004 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the Home Office, the highest annual number since the NRM began in 2009. Despite this, since January 2023 the number of decisions outstanding has been coming down for the first time ever, showing that what we are doing is working.

The Government is committed to ensuring that genuine victims are identified and introduced legislation under the Nationality and Borders Act to ensure that there is a robust system which supports victims and reduces the opportunity for misuse.

The Home Office holds all policies and procedures under review to ensure they are effective in delivering the aims of the government. We continue to monitor the effectiveness of the NRM accordingly.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the risk of the far right and racists targeting (a) Poplar and Limehouse constituency and (b) other diverse areas; and what steps he is taking to protect communities from hate (i) crimes and (ii) speech.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

We have a robust legislative framework in place to respond to hate crimes which target race and religion and expect the police to fully investigate these appalling offences and work with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice. Our priority is to get more police onto our streets, cut crime, protect the public and bring more criminals to justice. We are supporting the police by providing them with the resources they need. Part of this necessitates police recruitment and training - there are now over 149,000 officers in England and Wales, which is higher than the previous peak in March 2010 before the Police Uplift Programme. Funding for the Metropolitan Police Service will be up to £3.5bn in 2024/25, an increase of up to £125.8m when compared to 2023/24. As of 30 September 2023, the Metropolitan Police Service has over 35,000 officers (35,006).

We are committed to protecting all communities from hate crime. In 2023/24, the Home Office is providing up to £50.9 million to protect faith communities. This includes £18 million through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant, £29.4 million through the new Protective Security for Mosques scheme and a scheme for Muslim faith schools, and £3.5 million for the places of worship of other (non-Muslim and non-Jewish) faiths.

The Government continues to fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal designed so that victims of all forms of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. We also fund the National Online Hate Crime Hub, a central capability designed to provide expert advice to support individual local police forces in dealing with online hate crime.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Qq 5 to 13 of the oral evidence given by his Department's Permanent Secretary to the Committee of Public Accounts on 15 April 2024, HC 639, when he plans to publish accounting officer advice relating to the (a) Illegal Migration Act 2023 and (b) Safety of Rwanda Bill.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)

As the Permanent Secretary stated during the Public Accounts Committee evidence session on 15 April 2024, in his capacity as Accounting Officer (AO) he keeps all assessments under review, including where this relates to the Illegal Migration Act and the Safety of Rwanda Bill. In line with the guidance in Managing Public Money, the Department publishes summary AO assessments on projects that are part of the Government Major Projects Portfolio, once they receive Outline Business Case stage. The summary assessments referred to will be handled in line with due process.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing irregular migrants to make applications for asylum whilst still residing in (a) France and (b) Belgium.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The UK has a proud record of providing protection for those who need it. However, there is no provision within our Immigration Rules for someone to be allowed to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge. Whilst we sympathise with people in many difficult situations around the world, the capacity of the UK is not unlimited, and we could not possibly consider protection claims from the very large numbers of people overseas who might like to come here. Those in need of immediate protection should take the fastest route to safety and claim asylum in the first safe country they reach.

There are several powerful reasons why allowing migrants to make applications for asylum from France and Belgium is not a viable option and could actually lead to adverse consequences.

The responsibility for asylum seekers and refugees lies with the authorities of the country in which they are present in accordance with their international obligations – in this case France and Belgium. EU countries operate the Common European Asylum System; a framework of rules and procedures based on the full and inclusive application of the Refugee Convention. The aim of this system is not just to ensure fair and humane treatment of applicants for international protection, but also to discourage secondary movements of people once they have reached safety, acknowledging the many problems that such movements create. There is therefore no reason why an individual who is residing in France or Belgium and who needs protection should not make their claim in France or Belgium and certainly no reasons why they should make the perilous onward journey to the UK. France and Belgium are both safe countries, so the protection they seek is already available to them.

The UK processing asylum claims in France and Belgium would also have the potential to create more harm, and actually support the smugglers. Dangerous journeys and the work of the despicable smugglers are not just confined to routes across the Channel. Vulnerable people, if they have an incentive to aim for France or Belgium as a means of entering the UK, would be encouraged to make dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean and over land to France and Belgium. It would create a new pull factor, motivating people to again entrust themselves to smugglers. Even where they may avoid the danger of a small boat, we know from heart breaking experience that journeys over land, for example in the back of lorries, can be equally as perilous. We cannot, and must not, do anything which supports the smugglers’ business model.

Our focus is on helping people directly from regions of conflict and instability, and we believe that our resettlement programmes are the best way to provide much needed support. Between 2015 and September 2023, over half a million people were offered safe and legal routes into the UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 8806 on Bibby Stockholm: Inspections, on what dates and where the inspections of the Bibby Stockholm were conducted by Plymouth Marine Office.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The inspection from the Plymouth Marine Office was conducted on 31 August 2023 in Portland, with the barge in its current location.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to coordinate the rollout of the Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme with the (a) EU Entry/Exit System and (b) European Travel Information and Authorisation System.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The UK ETA scheme was launched on 25 October 2023, to secure our borders and make the UK safer. The rollout of the ETA scheme will continue in 2024.

The EU Entry/Exit System and ETIAS are EU schemes, with separate and distinct rollout schedules. We understand that the EU Entry/Exit System is due to be implemented in autumn 2024. The ETIAS scheme will follow in mid-2025, by which point it is the Government’s ambition to have concluded the roll out of the UK ETA scheme.

The UK Government has regular talks with the European Commission and EU member states at both political and official levels to manage the impact of the introduction of the EU Entry/Exit System and ETIAS for British Citizens.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to remove the entitlement of EU passport holders to use fast-track passport gates at UK airports.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

We keep e-passport gate (eGate) eligibility under review and operate our border controls in the interests of the UK, balancing border security with passenger flow. EU and EEA passport holders are currently eligible to use eGates to enter the UK and we have no plans to change this. This would be in contradiction with our stated ambition to digitise the border by increasing the use of automation and eGates by those currently eligible and investigating options to expand eligibility to further cohorts.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2024 to Question 19448 on Heathrow Airport: Immigration Controls, if he will publish the Equality Impact Assessments produced for the (a) Heathrow Change Programme and (b) proposed roster system for the wider public.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

An Equality Impact Assessment on the Heathrow Change Programme was published electronically to departmental trade unions on 4 August 2023.

An Equality Impact Assessment on the proposed roster was published electronically to departmental trade unions on 13 September 2023.

We do not intend to publish either of the Equality Impact Assessments further.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to update the impact assessment for Electronic Travel Authorisation to include airside transit passengers.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Electronic Travel Authorisations deliver important security benefits. A blanket exemption to the ETA requirement for passengers transiting airside would fundamentally undermine the rationale of the scheme by creating a permission free route of travel into the UK which would be open to abuse.

We will keep our position under review to monitor the impact on transit as the scheme is rolled out.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with his (a) French and (b) Belgian counterparts on the use of European Union passport e-gates by British nationals in (i) the European Union and (ii) Gare du Nord station.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continue to engage with European counterparts on expanding access to e-Gates for British nationals travelling to the EU.

The use of e-Gates for third country nationals is decided by EU Member States on a country-by-country basis. British nationals are already able to use e-Gates at Gare du Nord station.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled New tech partnership to stop the boats, published on 6 August 2023, when the Online Capability Centre became operational.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)

Following the announcement by the Prime Minister of the new tech partnership to stop the boats on 6 August 2023, the Home Office and National Crime Agency (NCA) have strengthened the voluntary partnership with social media companies, Meta, YouTube, X/Twitter, to accelerate action to tackle people smuggling content online. We continue to explore further options, such as a ‘hackathon’ model to develop our innovative approach to break the business model of people smugglers advertising their services online.

To date we have successfully removed 98% of content flagged to social media companies, with over 9000 posts, pages and accounts removed since November 2021.

The Online Communications Centre (previously known as the Online Capability Centre) has been operational since October 2023 and with expertise in policy, investigations and intelligence and with access to a range of niche capabilities in tackling the online threat. We cannot comment on individual numbers of officers in classified roles.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the start and end times were of the two day-time and one night-time lock-in periods at Brook House IRC as of (a) 12 April 2024 and (b) 1 November 2023.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)

The dignity and welfare of residents across the entire immigration detention estate is of the utmost importance and the use of periods of time where individuals’ freedom of movement is restricted contributes to the maintenance of a safe and secure environment in our centres.

From 4 December 2023 the Home Office changed the lock-in times from 12.00pm-12:30pm and 5.00pm-5:30pm to 11:30am-12:30pm and 4:30pm-5:30pm. All residents need to be in their rooms for one hour between 11:30-12:30 and 4:30pm-5:30pm, with meal services provided at the end of these times. The Home Office requested this change to ensure that all residents are accounted for, that staff can conduct welfare checks on vulnerable residents, and that planned discharges can be carried out safely.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled New tech partnership to stop the boats, published on 6 August 2023, how many (a) posts, (b) pages and (c) accounts have been (i) removed and (ii) suspended as a result of the partnership with social media companies.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)

Following the announcement by the Prime Minister of the new tech partnership to stop the boats on 6 August 2023, the Home Office and National Crime Agency (NCA) have strengthened the voluntary partnership with social media companies, Meta, YouTube, X/Twitter, to accelerate action to tackle people smuggling content online. We continue to explore further options, such as a ‘hackathon’ model to develop our innovative approach to break the business model of people smugglers advertising their services online.

To date we have successfully removed 98% of content flagged to social media companies, with over 9000 posts, pages and accounts removed since November 2021.

The Online Communications Centre (previously known as the Online Capability Centre) has been operational since October 2023 and with expertise in policy, investigations and intelligence and with access to a range of niche capabilities in tackling the online threat. We cannot comment on individual numbers of officers in classified roles.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled New tech partnership to stop the boats, published on 6 August 2023, when the hackathon event took place.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)

Following the announcement by the Prime Minister of the new tech partnership to stop the boats on 6 August 2023, the Home Office and National Crime Agency (NCA) have strengthened the voluntary partnership with social media companies, Meta, YouTube, X/Twitter, to accelerate action to tackle people smuggling content online. We continue to explore further options, such as a ‘hackathon’ model to develop our innovative approach to break the business model of people smugglers advertising their services online.

To date we have successfully removed 98% of content flagged to social media companies, with over 9000 posts, pages and accounts removed since November 2021.

The Online Communications Centre (previously known as the Online Capability Centre) has been operational since October 2023 and with expertise in policy, investigations and intelligence and with access to a range of niche capabilities in tackling the online threat. We cannot comment on individual numbers of officers in classified roles.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled New tech partnership to stop the boats, published on 6 August 2023, with which social media companies his Department is in partnership.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)

Following the announcement by the Prime Minister of the new tech partnership to stop the boats on 6 August 2023, the Home Office and National Crime Agency (NCA) have strengthened the voluntary partnership with social media companies, Meta, YouTube, X/Twitter, to accelerate action to tackle people smuggling content online. We continue to explore further options, such as a ‘hackathon’ model to develop our innovative approach to break the business model of people smugglers advertising their services online.

To date we have successfully removed 98% of content flagged to social media companies, with over 9000 posts, pages and accounts removed since November 2021.

The Online Communications Centre (previously known as the Online Capability Centre) has been operational since October 2023 and with expertise in policy, investigations and intelligence and with access to a range of niche capabilities in tackling the online threat. We cannot comment on individual numbers of officers in classified roles.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff are currently employed at the Online Capability Centre.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)

Following the announcement by the Prime Minister of the new tech partnership to stop the boats on 6 August 2023, the Home Office and National Crime Agency (NCA) have strengthened the voluntary partnership with social media companies, Meta, YouTube, X/Twitter, to accelerate action to tackle people smuggling content online. We continue to explore further options, such as a ‘hackathon’ model to develop our innovative approach to break the business model of people smugglers advertising their services online.

To date we have successfully removed 98% of content flagged to social media companies, with over 9000 posts, pages and accounts removed since November 2021.

The Online Communications Centre (previously known as the Online Capability Centre) has been operational since October 2023 and with expertise in policy, investigations and intelligence and with access to a range of niche capabilities in tackling the online threat. We cannot comment on individual numbers of officers in classified roles.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure that all staff employed on the Bibby Stockholm (a) by his Department and (b) through sub-contracts are paid at least the national minimum wage.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

All staff are paid at a minimum of the National Living Wage. No accommodation offset is applied to the rate of pay for staff who reside on the Bibby Stockholm.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in (a) England, (b) the North West, (c) Lancashire and (d) Preston have been (i) awarded and (ii) denied compensation from the Windrush Compensation Scheme.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Information on the number of Windrush Compensation Scheme claims that have received a compensation payment and that have received a zero entitlement decision is published as part of the Transparency Data release. The latest published data, covering the period up to the end of February 2024, is available here: Windrush Compensation Scheme data: February 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The Windrush Compensation Scheme does not publish regional data about compensation awards and zero-entitlement decisions.

A zero entitlement claim is one where the person making the claim meets the eligibility criteria under the scheme rules, but is not entitled to any compensation as we have not been able to identify any losses or impacts suffered as a result of an inability to demonstrate lawful status.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish a revised impact assessment for Electronic Travel Authorisation to include an assessment of the impact of that scheme on airside transit passengers.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Electronic Travel Authorisations deliver important security benefits. A blanket exemption to the ETA requirement for passengers transiting airside would fundamentally undermine the rationale of the scheme by creating a permission free route of travel into the UK which would be open to abuse.

We will keep our position under review to monitor the impact on transit as the scheme is rolled out.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2024 to Question 14458 on Asylum: hotels, how many asylum seekers are being housed in UK hotel accommodation by his Department as of 17 April 2024.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office has been clear that the use of hotels is a temporary and necessary measure to ensure we meet our statutory obligation to accommodate destitute asylum seekers. We have already made significant progress by no longer using 100 hotels for asylum seekers on 31 March 2024. A total of 150 hotels will no longer be used for accommodating asylum seekers by the beginning of May, reducing the strain on local communities.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation (including in contingency hotels and other contingency accommodation) is published in table Asy_D11 here: Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Data is published on a quarterly basis.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Hong Kong residents born before 1997 have been granted British National (Overseas) visas under exceptional circumstances.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

All applications are determined on a case-by-case basis depending on their individual circumstances.

The Home Office does not hold data on the number of applications that have been granted a British National (Overseas) visa specifically under exceptional circumstances.

The Home Office releases data on the BN(O) route as part of the quarterly migration statistics which can be found at the following link: Safe and legal (humanitarian) routes to the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data his Department holds on the number and proportion of berths on the Bibby Stockholm that are reserved for staff to live on board; and whether the accommodation offset is applied to the pay of any staff being paid at the level of the national minimum wage.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

All staff are paid at a minimum of the National Living Wage. No accommodation offset is applied to the rate of pay for staff who reside on the Bibby Stockholm.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Passport Office has taken to make travellers aware of the need to renew their passport if they intend to travel 10 years following the issue date.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Foreign travel advice, including passport validity and other entry requirements, is delivered by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

His Majesty’s Passport Office promote this advice through social media, and by sending targeted text message (SMS) reminders where a passport is over 9 years and 8 months, and the contact details are held from the related passport application. These text messages specifically reference the passport validity rules for travel to Europe.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to reduce levels of drug offences in (a) Preston and (b) Lancashire.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Reducing drug-related crime is a key priority of the Government’s 10-year drugs strategy.

We are making good progress. Since April 2022 we have closed over 2,500 county lines and delivered over 6,000 major and moderate organised crime group disruptions.

We are also investing £532m into drug treatment which reduces crime and reoffending. There are now 24,500 more people in treatment across England, including increases in Lancashire.

We are targeting treatment referrals at offenders. The percentage of prison leavers continuing treatment after release has also risen to a record high of 52% - an increase of 10% in the last 12 months.

We are working with the National Police Chiefs Council to increase police referrals into drug treatment, as well as expanding Drug Testing on Arrest to identify those who use drugs. This builds on £2.1 million funding to deliver Project ADDER – a co-ordinated approach across policing and treatment to crack down on supply and support people tackle their addiction – in 13 hard hit areas including Lancashire.

The government has asked every area in England to form a Combating Drugs Partnership (CDP) to work together to reduce drug-related harm and crime. Preston is covered by the Lancashire CDP, and the Government has supported the establishment of the Pan Lancashire Drugs and Alcohol Alliance, to help coordinate work across Lancashire’s three CDPs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help ensure that anti-social behaviour is investigated in (a) Preston and (b) Lancashire.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The investigation of anti-social behaviour in Lancashire is a matter for the Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire.

Last year the Government launched the Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/anti-social-behaviour-action-plan) ensuring the police, local authorities and other relevant agencies have the tools they need to tackle anti-social behaviour.

The Plan is backed by £160m of funding. This includes funding an increased police and other uniformed presence to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, targeting hotspots. Initially we worked with 10 police force areas, including Lancashire Constabulary which received £1,050,000. From April this has been extended to every police force in England and Wales and Lancashire will receive £ 1,713,512 for the hotspot programme tackling areas of high incidents of both ASB and serious violence.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will (a) make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of crime levels in (i) Preston and (ii) Lancashire and (b) take steps to develop a plan to reduce bicycle theft in those areas.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government recognises the impact acquisitive crime can have on individuals and communities. The 2021 Beating Crime Plan, sets out the Government’s strategy for cutting crime, protecting the law-abiding majority and making neighbourhoods safe. The plan can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1015382/Crime-plan-v10.pdf.

Since 2010, overall crime excluding fraud and computer misuse is down by 55%, and we welcome the latest Crime Survey for England and Wales data, which shows that bicycle theft is also down 55% when comparing findings from the year ending September 2023 with the year ending March 2010.

A key part of making acquisitive crime less attractive to criminals is making stolen goods harder to sell on. That is why we are working closely with policing and academic leads to examine what more can be done to tackle the disposal markets for stolen goods and reduce the profit from acquisitive crime.

This Government also established the Safer Streets Fund. Since its inception in 2020, we have invested over £150 million to deliver interventions across England and Wales helping to tackle and prevent violence against women and girls, anti-social behaviour and neighbourhood crime. This includes investing just over £3.4 million in Lancashire, funding a range of initiatives such as CCTV and street lighting, improvements to home security measures and youth engagement and educational programmes.

The Home Office is working closely with the British Transport Police (BTP), the national lead for cycle theft, to tackle the theft of bicycles. The BTP has launched the ‘double lock it’ campaign with police forces and organisations, providing advice to owners on how to protect their bicycles: https://www.btp.police.uk/police-forces/british-transport-police/areas/campaigns/double-lock-it/.

The Department for Transport’s (DfT) Cycling and Walking Plan for England, also sets out initiatives to combat cycle theft, including encouraging retailers to number the bicycles they sell and offer customers the opportunity to register their bicycle on a database at the point of sale. The Plan is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-plan-for-england.

The BTP-led National Cycle Crime Group, working with DfT, have set up Cycle Crime Reduction Partnerships across the country to coordinate regional enforcement activity to disrupt organised cycle theft.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data his Department holds on the number of young people in Greater Manchester deemed at risk of Child Criminal Exploitation who have criminal offences recorded against them.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold specific data on the number of young people in Greater Manchester deemed at risk of Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) who have criminal offences recorded against them. However, tackling CCE is a priority for this Government which is why we are providing funding to support Greater Manchester Police to help tackle county lines and CCE.

Through our Drug Strategy, we are providing a targeted investment of up to £145m over three years to bolster our County Lines Programme. This includes funding a dedicated county lines taskforce in Greater Manchester Police, as well as funding Catch22 to provide a specialist support and rescue service for under 25’s and their families in Greater Manchester to help them safely reduce and exit their involvement from county lines including child criminal exploitation.

We are also driving targeted action to respond to exploitation through the Home Office-funded Prevention Programme, delivered by The Children’s Society with funding of £1.37m for delivery between 2023-25. Through the programme, a dedicated Northwest Prevention Officer works to support a range of partners to improve the response to multiple forms of exploitation including CCE in the Northwest region.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department plans to incorporate wildlife crime into the Policing Education Qualification Framework.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government recognises the importance of tackling wildlife crime, which is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) to help tackle these crimes.

The NWCU provides intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to the police and other law enforcement agencies across the UK to support them in investigating wildlife crime. This includes supporting cases referred by Border Force to the National Crime Agency or to individual forces. The NWCU is also the UK policing focal point for EUROPOL and INTERPOL wildlife crime activity.

In addition, the National Police Chiefs’ Council Wildlife and Rural Crime Strategy 2022-2025 provides a framework through which policing, and its partners, can work together to tackle the most prevalent threats and emerging issues which predominantly affect rural communities.

Training standards and the national policing curriculum (covering initial training for all officers) are set by the College of Policing to ensure all officers benefit from the same high standard of initial training, regardless of which force they join. Officers undertake further training and development in the course of their career, which may be tailored to their specific role.

We do not currently have plans to incorporate wildlife crime into the Policing Education Qualification Framework.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 on (a) the (i) agriculture, (ii) forestry and (iii) fishing industry, (b) the construction industry and (c) other sectors.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government supported the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, which received Royal Assent on 20 July 2023. The Act will require immobilisers and forensic marking to be fitted as standard to specified new agricultural equipment such as All-Terrain Vehicles and quad bikes.

We published a Call for Evidence last summer, seeking views on the details needed for the secondary legislation, targeted at those who may be affected by proposals, including the agricultural and construction sectors, manufacturers, dealers, retailers, tradespeople and law enforcement.

Over 200 responses were received, and we have further engaged with manufacturers and retailers on the detail. I am carefully considering responses before publishing the Government response.

Work has begun on the necessary secondary legislation regulations.

The Act will help prevent equipment from being stolen in the first place, and will have a deterrent effect by making it harder for criminals to sell on stolen machinery. The Act will also assist the police with identifying the owners of stolen equipment when it is recovered, and provide additional lines of enquiry.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to engage with stakeholders on the drafting of secondary legislation under the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023; and what his planned timescale is for bringing forward such legislation.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government supported the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, which received Royal Assent on 20 July 2023. The Act will require immobilisers and forensic marking to be fitted as standard to specified new agricultural equipment such as All-Terrain Vehicles and quad bikes.

We published a Call for Evidence last summer, seeking views on the details needed for the secondary legislation, targeted at those who may be affected by proposals, including the agricultural and construction sectors, manufacturers, dealers, retailers, tradespeople and law enforcement.

Over 200 responses were received, and we have further engaged with manufacturers and retailers on the detail. I am carefully considering responses before publishing the Government response.

Work has begun on the necessary secondary legislation regulations.

The Act will help prevent equipment from being stolen in the first place, and will have a deterrent effect by making it harder for criminals to sell on stolen machinery. The Act will also assist the police with identifying the owners of stolen equipment when it is recovered, and provide additional lines of enquiry.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 on (a) manufacturers, (b) consumers and (c) retailers.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government supported the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, which received Royal Assent on 20 July 2023. The Act will require immobilisers and forensic marking to be fitted as standard to specified new agricultural equipment such as All-Terrain Vehicles and quad bikes.

We published a Call for Evidence last summer, seeking views on the details needed for the secondary legislation, targeted at those who may be affected by proposals, including the agricultural and construction sectors, manufacturers, dealers, retailers, tradespeople and law enforcement.

Over 200 responses were received, and we have further engaged with manufacturers and retailers on the detail. I am carefully considering responses before publishing the Government response.

Work has begun on the necessary secondary legislation regulations.

The Act will help prevent equipment from being stolen in the first place, and will have a deterrent effect by making it harder for criminals to sell on stolen machinery. The Act will also assist the police with identifying the owners of stolen equipment when it is recovered, and provide additional lines of enquiry.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made a recent estimate of the total amount of money that has been returned to victims of gambling-related crimes by (a) the gambling industry, (b) Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings and (c) any other means in the 2023-24 financial year.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Neither the Government nor the Gambling Commission hold information on how many crimes related to harmful gambling were committed in the last 12 months and there has been no recent estimate as to the total amount of money that has been returned to victims of gambling-related crimes.

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) in Department of Health and Social Care have undertaken an evidence review which provides estimates of the economic costs of harmful gambling, which includes a section on criminal activity (chapter 6).The economic cost of gambling-related harm in England: evidence update 2023 (publishing.service.gov.uk)

The Gambling Act 2005 sets out the following licensing objectives:

• preventing gambling from being a source of crime or disorder, being associated with crime or disorder or being used to support crime.
• ensuring that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way
• protecting children and other vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling.

As the statutory regulator, the Gambling Commission is responsible for making sure all licensing applications meet these objectives. The Commission has published a statement of principles for licensing and regulation which sets out how it governs what it does and how they help to meet the Act's licensing objectives.

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Found: Communication is also needed with the Home Office on retail crime and with those departments dealing

Found: economy, which significantly impacts the vitality of high streets, should be shifted from the Home

Found: The Home Office argued that it would undermine their rationale for the ETA and that UK border security

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Found: The Home Office have proposed that the ETA Scheme will be fully in place and introduced worldwide

Found: We are aware that the Home Office, as the lead agency for EES, have been engaging with France and

Found: Wider issues relating to the Government’s strategy on electronic borders and Home Office capability

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Found: For this reason, we worked with the Home Office to tailor communications around the ETA to make sure

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Found: Office perspective can be difficult, in the sense that when areas are being looked at in England

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Found: Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and Tom Pursglove MP, Minister for Legal Migration at the Border, Home

Found: What impact does the Home Office licensing and scheduling regime under the Misuse of Drugs Act have

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Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 April 2024 to Questions 18426 and 18425 on Laboratories: Disease Control, if she will publish a breakdown of each expense category of (a) expenditure and (b) maintenance costs; for what reason Porton Down and Colindale scientific campus sites do not have separate operational costs for the Category 4 laboratories; what plans she has to ensure the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of Cat 4 laboratory sites; and what steps she is taking to protect the UK from (i) synthetically designed viruses and (ii) other new and emerging biothreats.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The requested information on expenditure and maintenance costs is not held in the format requested, and obtaining it would incur disproportionate cost. Porton Down and Colindale do not have separate operational costs, as work for various programmes is undertaken across both sites, and costs are considered at a programme level.

The sites have regular infrastructure and condition surveys, to ensure they are appropriately maintained. The required tactical investments are made to keep the sites viable and effective, pending future strategic investments. Sites are regularly inspected by regulators, including the Health and Safety Executive and the Home Office, which provides assurance that the sites are compliant.

The UK Biological Security Strategy was published in June 2023, setting out the vision, mission, and priorities to protect the United Kingdom and its interests from significant biological risks, no matter how they occur and no matter who, or what, they affect. Further information on the strategy is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-biological-security-strategy

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to tackle anti-democratic extremism.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

On 14^th March Government published its new definition of extremism, which identifies behaviour that seek to “to… undermine, overturn or replace the UK’s system of parliamentary democracy” as extremist.

The Government is undergoing a formal process of identifying and naming extremists. Before elections, the Government stands up the election cell, which works with the Police and Home Office to monitor threats to our democratic systems or institutions.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to publish statistics on the (a) nationality and (b) visa status of offenders convicted in England and Wales every 12 months.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice currently publishes the self-declared nationality of those entering custody as well as those in the prison population as part of their quarterly Offender Management Statistics: Offender management statistics quarterly: July to September 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

We refer all recorded foreign national offenders awarded a custodial sentence to the Home Office who can carry out immigration checks alongside consideration of each case for deportation. An offender’s nationality and immigration status is not routinely collected by the courts. We are working with the Home Office to explore the potential for the publication of further statistical data related to the nationality and immigration status of offenders.

The removal of foreign national offenders is a Government priority and my department continues to work closely with the Home Office to maximise the number of deportations.

On 11 March, the Government set out a plan to increase the number of foreign national offenders removed through:

• the recruitment of 400 additional caseworkers and streamlining the end-to-end removal process;

• extending foreign national conditional cautions to foreign national offenders with limited leave to remain; and

• amending deportation policy to enable foreign national offenders given suspended sentences of 6 months or more to be considered for deportation.

These actions build on our expansion of the Early Removal Scheme to allow for removal of foreign national offenders up to 18 months before the end of the custodial element of their sentence and expediting prisoner transfers with priority countries such as Albania and seeking to conclude new transfer agreements with partner countries.

Published figures show that FNO returns have increased following the pandemic, in the latest 12-month period (ending December 2023) by 27% when compared to the previous 12-month period. Between January 2019 and December 2023 17,795 FNOs have been removed.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has taken steps to increase the number of dog legislation officers following the introduction of the XL Bully dog ban.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra are working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Home Office to assess enforcement capability and capacity in relation to the ban on XL Bully type dogs. We have supported the police to deliver additional training to Dog Legislation Officers to make sure the ban is effectively enforced.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide additional funding for charities that support women who are victims of domestic violence.

Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Through the Safer Streets and Safety of Women at Night Funds, the Home Office has invested over £150 million to deliver interventions to tackle violence against women and girls, anti-social behaviour and neighbourhood crime.

In 2023/24, the Ministry of Justice provided £21 million for community-based serious violence and domestic abuse services, and £38 million for Independent Sexual Violence Advisors and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors posts. In all, the Ministry of Justice is quadrupling funding for victim and witness support services by 2024/25, up from £41 million in 2009/10.

And at Autumn Statement 2023, the government announced £10 million of additional funding available in 2024/25 for projects that aim to understand the impacts of domestic abuse on the labour market, support victims of domestic abuse in the workplace or prevent victims experiencing further abuse.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what extra resource is being provided for police forces to support their increased caseloads in enforcing the ban on XL Bully dogs.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra are working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Home Office to assess enforcement capability and capacity in relation to the ban on XL Bully type dogs. We have supported the police to deliver additional training to Dog Legislation Officers to make sure the ban is effectively enforced.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that funding allocated to universities enables institutions to mitigate losses incurred from the decline in international student recruitment.

Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)

The department considers it important that it has a sustainable system to support students and support higher education (HE), that is responsive to the needs of labour markets and the wider economy and is fair to students and fair to taxpayers. In 2021/22, the total income of the HE sector in England was £40.8 billion, which was up from £28 billion in 2014/15. Of the £40.8 billion, approximately £16 billion was provided by government. This is on top of the department’s £1.3 billion capital investment for teaching and research over the current Spending Review period.

Through the Strategic Priorities Grant, the department is investing hundreds of millions of pounds in additional funding over the three-year period from the 2022/23 to 2024/25 financial years to support high-quality teaching and facilities. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the HE sector to support students and teaching in over a decade. In addition, the department has provided £450 million of capital funding across the 2022/23 to 2024/25 financial years to allow HE providers to invest in a greater range of projects that will deliver better facilities for students.

With our world-class universities, the government fully expects the UK to continue to be a major destination of choice for international students. The department will continue to work closely with the Home Office on the student visa system and on how it impacts international students.

Longer-term funding plans for the HE sector will be set out at the next multi-year Spending Review, in line with the approach to long-term public spending commitments across government.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of enrolments of international students on the finances of universities.

Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)

The government seeks to ensure that there is a fair and robust migration policy, whilst maintaining the UK’s place as a top destination for the best and brightest students from around the world. The department remains committed to the ambitions set out in the government’s International Education Strategy to host 600,000 international students per year and to increase the value of our education exports to £35 billion per year, both by 2030.

The department expects the UK to remain a highly attractive study destination. The UK has four universities in the top ten, and 17 in the top 100, worldwide. The UK has a highly sought after higher education experience, which is respected by students across the globe. The department is hugely proud to have met its international student recruitment ambition two years running.

However, the level of legal migration remains too high. As a result, on 4 December 2023, the government announced a new package of measures to reduce net migration and curb abuse and exploitation of the country’s immigration system.

The Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of the higher education sector in England, continues to work closely with the Home Office, Department for Business and Trade, and other governmental departments to assess the impact of these changes on higher education providers.

Our universities are autonomous institutions responsible for managing their own budgets. The department also works closely with the OfS to understand the evolving landscape, including on risks relating to international students.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to take steps with the Secretary of State for the Home Department to use RAF Voyager aircraft to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The Home Office is responsible for operationalising Migration and Economic Development Partnership flights to Rwanda and it plans to do so using a commercial provider. The Secretary of State for Defence will however consider any requests for support according to the normal Military Aid to the Civil Authorities process.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on taking steps to help protect vulnerable people from crime during the digital switchover of telephony services.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DSIT is coordinating the cross-government response to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) switchover. DSIT is engaging closely with counterparts in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) as well as the Local Government Association (LGA). DSIT is a member of the LGA’s working group which focuses on supporting local authorities with the PSTN migration, as well as the 2G/3G switch-off.

DSIT supported the LGA in publishing a guidance note for councils on how to raise awareness among residents, and seek to prevent and disrupt anyone from using the digital switchover as a means to advance criminal activity. The guidance can be found at the following address: https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/cyber-digital-and-technology/digital-switchover/digital-phone-switchover/digital-phone

DSIT also works closely with the Home Office, as the department responsible for crime policy, as well as Ofcom - the independent telecoms regulator - on a range of issues to tackle telephone enabled fraud and bring criminals to justice.

DLUHC’s Local Digital team is dedicated to helping councils digitise and transform their services so that they are modern and resilient. DLUHC’s “Future Councils” pilot programme has recently published a report identifying the most common challenges to digital transformation and is building on its findings.

Ofcom wrote to local government organisations on 17 January 2024 to reiterate the importance of ensuring that councils are prepared for any changes that may impact on the delivery of services when 3G and then 2G is switched off. The letter can be found via the following link:

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/275521/letter-local-gov-3g-switch-off.pdf

The Government has published information on the role of Digital Champions within the Digital Connectivity Portal. The Portal is an extensive online resource providing best practice guidance helping local authorities to facilitate digital infrastructure deployment.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/digital-strategy-and-leadership#digital-champion

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, is she will hold discussions with the Local Government Association to help define the role of a digital champion in supporting (a) the digitisation of council services, (b) the digital switchover and (c) the 2G/3G switch off.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DSIT is coordinating the cross-government response to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) switchover. DSIT is engaging closely with counterparts in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) as well as the Local Government Association (LGA). DSIT is a member of the LGA’s working group which focuses on supporting local authorities with the PSTN migration, as well as the 2G/3G switch-off.

DSIT supported the LGA in publishing a guidance note for councils on how to raise awareness among residents, and seek to prevent and disrupt anyone from using the digital switchover as a means to advance criminal activity. The guidance can be found at the following address: https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/cyber-digital-and-technology/digital-switchover/digital-phone-switchover/digital-phone

DSIT also works closely with the Home Office, as the department responsible for crime policy, as well as Ofcom - the independent telecoms regulator - on a range of issues to tackle telephone enabled fraud and bring criminals to justice.

DLUHC’s Local Digital team is dedicated to helping councils digitise and transform their services so that they are modern and resilient. DLUHC’s “Future Councils” pilot programme has recently published a report identifying the most common challenges to digital transformation and is building on its findings.

Ofcom wrote to local government organisations on 17 January 2024 to reiterate the importance of ensuring that councils are prepared for any changes that may impact on the delivery of services when 3G and then 2G is switched off. The letter can be found via the following link:

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/275521/letter-local-gov-3g-switch-off.pdf

The Government has published information on the role of Digital Champions within the Digital Connectivity Portal. The Portal is an extensive online resource providing best practice guidance helping local authorities to facilitate digital infrastructure deployment.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/digital-strategy-and-leadership#digital-champion

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a breakdown of offences committed by foreign nationals held in the prison estate.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The requested information can be found in the attached spreadsheet.

The removal of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) is a Government priority and my department continues to work closely with the Home Office to maximise the number of deportations.

Published figures show that FNO returns have increased following the pandemic, in the latest 12-month period (ending December 2023) by 27% when compared to the previous 12-month period. Between January 2019 and December 2023 17,795 FNOs have been removed.

The proportion of FNOs held in custody is 12% of the total prison population and has remained stable in recent years while the overall prison population has grown.

On 11 March, the Government set out a plan to increase the number of FNOs removed through:

• The recruitment of 400 additional caseworkers and streamlining the end-to-end removal process;
• Extending foreign national conditional cautions to FNOs with limited leave to remain; and
• Amending deportation policy to enable FNOs given suspended sentences of 6 months or more to be considered for deportation.

These actions build on our expansion of the Early Removal Scheme to allow for removal of FNOs up to 18 months before the end of the custodial element of their sentence, and expediting prisoner transfers with priority countries such as Albania and seeking to conclude new transfer agreements with partner countries.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign nationals are held in the prison estate by nationality.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Data on how many Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) are held in custody are published in Offender Management Statistics Quarterly: Offender management statistics quarterly: July to September 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). For data on the prison population by nationality, see prison population table 1_7.

The latest published data from 31 December 2023 shows that there were 10,423 (3,333 remand, 6,697 sentenced and 393 non-criminal) FNOs held in custody; representing 12% of the total prison population. The most common nationalities after British Nationals in prisons are Albanian (13% of the FNO prison population), Polish (9%), Romanian (7%), Irish (6%) and Jamaican (4%).

The removal of FNOs is a Government priority and my department continues to work closely with the Home Office to maximise the number of deportations.

Published figures show that FNO returns have increased following the pandemic, in the latest 12-month period (ending December 2023) by 27% when compared to the previous 12-month period. Between January 2019 and December 2023 17,795 FNOs have been removed.

The proportion of FNOs held in custody is 12% of the total prison population and has remained stable in recent years while the overall prison population has grown.

On 11 March, the Government set out a plan to increase the number of FNOs removed through:

• The recruitment of 400 additional caseworkers and streamlining the end-to-end removal process;
• Extending foreign national conditional cautions to FNOs with limited leave to remain; and
• Amending deportation policy to enable FNOs given suspended sentences of 6 months or more to be considered for deportation.

These actions build on our expansion of the Early Removal Scheme to allow for removal of FNOs up to 18 months before the end of the custodial element of their sentence, and expediting prisoner transfers with priority countries such as Albania and seeking to conclude new transfer agreements with partner countries.

Found: ● These Explanatory Notes have been provided by the Home Office in order to assist the reader of

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Found: Safety, Security, and Migration The Home Office established its Interministerial Group for Safety, Security

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Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recent reports that five asylum seekers living in hotels in Scotland have attempted suicide.

Answered by Roddick, Emma - Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees

The Home Office is responsible for the provision of asylum accommodation and support, including the use of contingency hotels. The Scottish Government has consistently made clear to UK Government that hotels are not appropriate accommodation and we continue to be concerned about the effect prolonged stays in hotels have on people’s wellbeing.

People seeking asylum living in Scotland are entitled to access healthcare, including referral to mental health services. The Scottish Government funds a range of action that supports mental health and wellbeing which is available to anyone living in Scotland, regardless of their residence status.

Every suicide is a tragedy with a far-reaching impact on family, friends and the wider community. In implementing the Scottish Government and CoSLA’s suicide prevention strategy, Creating Hope Together, and its first 3-year Action Plan, we are working hard to tackle the inequalities that can lead to suicide and are prioritising communities and groups—including asylum seekers and refugees—with a heightened risk of suicide.

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to local authorities to ensure that adequate and accessible mental health support is available to asylum seekers in Scotland.

Answered by Roddick, Emma - Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees

The Scottish Government funds a range of action that supports mental health and wellbeing which is available to anyone living in Scotland, regardless of their residence status.

The Home Office is responsible for the provision of asylum accommodation and support, including the use of contingency hotels. People seeking asylum living in Scotland are entitled to access healthcare, including referral to mental health services.

Through our actions in our Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy and Delivery Plan and Suicide Prevention Strategy and Action Plan, we will continue to tackle the underlying causes of mental health inequalities and how we can better support groups most at risk of poor mental health, including asylum seekers and refugees.