Home Office

The first duty of the government is to keep citizens safe and the country secure. The Home Office has been at the front line of this endeavour since 1782. As such, the Home Office plays a fundamental role in the security and economic prosperity of the United Kingdom.



Secretary of State

 Portrait

Yvette Cooper
Home Secretary

Shadow Ministers / Spokeperson
Conservative
Chris Philp (Con - Croydon South)
Shadow Home Secretary
Junior Shadow Ministers / Deputy Spokesperson
Conservative
Lord Davies of Gower (Con - Life peer)
Shadow Minister (Home Office)
Junior Shadow Ministers / Deputy Spokesperson
Conservative
Alicia Kearns (Con - Rutland and Stamford)
Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary (Home Office)
Ministers of State
Angela Eagle (Lab - Wallasey)
Minister of State (Home Office)
Diana Johnson (Lab - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Minister of State (Home Office)
Dan Jarvis (Lab - Barnsley North)
Minister of State (Home Office)
Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab - Life peer)
Minister of State (Home Office)
Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State
Seema Malhotra (LAB - Feltham and Heston)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Jess Phillips (Lab - Birmingham Yardley)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
There are no upcoming events identified
Debates
Thursday 17th July 2025
Select Committee Docs
Tuesday 15th July 2025
14:30
Select Committee Inquiry
Thursday 12th June 2025
Harnessing the potential of new digital forms of identification

Digital ID can refer to many different aspects of a person’s identity which can be recorded and stored digitally, including …

Written Answers
Friday 18th July 2025
Anti-social Behaviour: Motorcycles
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce anti-social behaviour …
Secondary Legislation
Thursday 17th July 2025
Extradition Act 2003 (Amendment to Designations) Order 2025
This Order amends the Extradition Act 2003 (Designation of Part 2 Territories) Order 2003 (“the Part 2 Order”) (S.I. 2003/3334).
Bills
Thursday 19th June 2025
Deprivation of Citizenship Orders (Effect during Appeal) Bill 2024-26
A Bill to Make provision about the effect, during an appeal, of an order under section 40 of the British …
Dept. Publications
Friday 18th July 2025
14:19

Home Office Commons Appearances

Oral Answers to Questions is a regularly scheduled appearance where the Secretary of State and junior minister will answer at the Dispatch Box questions from backbench MPs

Other Commons Chamber appearances can be:
  • Urgent Questions where the Speaker has selected a question to which a Minister must reply that day
  • Adjornment Debates a 30 minute debate attended by a Minister that concludes the day in Parliament.
  • Oral Statements informing the Commons of a significant development, where backbench MP's can then question the Minister making the statement.

Westminster Hall debates are performed in response to backbench MPs or e-petitions asking for a Minister to address a detailed issue

Written Statements are made when a current event is not sufficiently significant to require an Oral Statement, but the House is required to be informed.

Most Recent Commons Appearances by Category
Jul. 07
Oral Questions
Apr. 29
Urgent Questions
Jul. 16
Written Statements
Jul. 10
Westminster Hall
Jul. 09
Adjournment Debate
View All Home Office Commons Contibutions

Bills currently before Parliament

Home Office does not have Bills currently before Parliament


Acts of Parliament created in the 2024 Parliament

Introduced: 12th September 2024

A Bill to require persons with control of certain premises or events to take steps to reduce the vulnerability of the premises or event to, and the risk of physical harm to individuals arising from, acts of terrorism; to confer related functions on the Security Industry Authority; to limit the disclosure of information about licensed premises that is likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism; and for connected purposes.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 3rd April 2025 and was enacted into law.

Home Office - Secondary Legislation

This Order amends the Extradition Act 2003 (Designation of Part 2 Territories) Order 2003 (“the Part 2 Order”) (S.I. 2003/3334).
This Order amends the Football (Offences) (Designation of Football Matches) Order 2004 (“the 2004 Order”), which designates certain football matches for the purposes of the Football (Offences) Act 1991 (“the 1991 Act”).
View All Home Office Secondary Legislation

Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Trending Petitions
Petition Open
423,141 Signatures
(9,438 in the last 7 days)
Petition Open
1,990 Signatures
(1,888 in the last 7 days)
Petitions with most signatures
Petition Open
423,141 Signatures
(9,438 in the last 7 days)
Petition Open
186,417 Signatures
(None in the last 7 days)
Petition Debates Contributed

As a first step to end animal testing, we want an immediate ban for dogs. They are commercially bred in what we see as bleak and inhumane factory-like conditions. We believe there is evidence suggesting that dogs are left being unattended for extended periods in a Government-licenced establishment.

229,774
Petition Closed
26 May 2025
closed 1 month, 3 weeks ago

We believe our country is facing serious challenges both from legal and illegal migration, and think the only way to deal with this is to suspend all immigration temporarily for 5 years.

View All Home Office Petitions

Departmental Select Committee

Home Affairs Committee

Commons Select Committees are a formally established cross-party group of backbench MPs tasked with holding a Government department to account.

At any time there will be number of ongoing investigations into the work of the Department, or issues which fall within the oversight of the Department. Witnesses can be summoned from within the Government and outside to assist in these inquiries.

Select Committee findings are reported to the Commons, printed, and published on the Parliament website. The government then usually has 60 days to reply to the committee's recommendations.


11 Members of the Home Affairs Committee
Karen Bradley Portrait
Karen Bradley (Conservative - Staffordshire Moorlands)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 11th September 2024
Jake Richards Portrait
Jake Richards (Labour - Rother Valley)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Bell Ribeiro-Addy Portrait
Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Joani Reid Portrait
Joani Reid (Labour - East Kilbride and Strathaven)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Connor Rand Portrait
Connor Rand (Labour - Altrincham and Sale West)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Chris Murray Portrait
Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Margaret Mullane Portrait
Margaret Mullane (Labour - Dagenham and Rainham)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Robbie Moore Portrait
Robbie Moore (Conservative - Keighley and Ilkley)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Shaun Davies Portrait
Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 21st October 2024
Ben Maguire Portrait
Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 28th October 2024
Paul Kohler Portrait
Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 28th October 2024
Home Affairs Committee: Previous Inquiries
Home Office preparedness for Covid-19 (Coronavirus) Online Harms Gangs and youth crime The work of the Metropolitan Police Child sexual exploitation and the response to localised grooming: follow-up The work of HM Passport Office The work of the Immigration Directorates (2014 Q1) The work of the Border Force Home Affairs Committee - The work of the Home Secretary Radicalisation in schools Police, the media, and high-profile criminal investigations The work of the National Crime Agency 2014 Undercover policing: follow-up The work of the Immigration Directorates (2013 Q2-3) Leadership and standards in the police: follow-up The work of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector Of Constabulary Drugs Female Genital Mutilation The work of the Immigration Directorates (2013 Q4) Reform of the Police Federation The work of the National Crime Agency The work of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner Police investigations and the role of the CPS The work of the Immigration Directorates (Q2 2015) Countering extremism inquiry Reform of the Police Funding Formula inquiry The work of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration Migration crisis inquiry Psychoactive substances inquiry Counter-radicalisation one-off session Immigration: the situation in Calais one-off session The work of the Home Office The work of the Home Secretary The work of the Metropolitan Police inquiry Immigration: skill shortages inquiry International exchange of criminal records Police National Database inquiry Police bail Policing in London Police Information Notices ("Harassment warnings") The work of the Immigration Directorates (2014 Q3) Counter-terrorism (2015) Female genital mutilation: follow-up The work of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary European Arrest Warrant The work of the Immigration Directorates (2014 Q2) Serious and organised crime The work of the Permanent Secretary Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 College of Policing Out-of-Court Disposals Statutory Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill Police and Crime Commissioners Tobacco smuggling EU Justice and Home Affairs opt-out Policing and mental health Police and Crime Commissioners The work of the Home Office Immigration Cap Firearms Control Policing Immigration Cap - Terms Of Reference Second evidence session on Immigration Caps Specialist Operations Firearms submissions received Unauthorised tapping into or hacking of mobile communications Work of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre Rules governing enforced removals from the UK Extradition Lessons from the American experience of policing Impact of proposed restrictions on Tier 4 migration Government's review of Counter-Terrorism The work of the Home Secretary (2012) New Landscape of Policing Roots of Violent Radicalisation Policing Large Scale Disorder The work of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner (2012) The work of the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police The work of the UK Visas & Immigration Section E-crime Private Investigators Independent Police Complaints Commission Localised child grooming Leadership and standards in the police service Policing in London Olympics security Asylum The work of the UK Border Agency Human trafficking Counter-terrorism (2014) Hate crime and its violent consequences inquiry Counter-terrorism inquiry Domestic abuse inquiry Serious violence inquiry Windrush Children inquiry Immigration detention inquiry Post-Brexit migration policy inquiry EU policing and security cooperation inquiry Modern slavery inquiry Post Brexit migration inquiry Government preparations for Brexit inquiry Asylum accommodation inquiry Work of the Home Office inquiry Islamophobia inquiry The Macpherson Report: Twenty Years On inquiry English Channel crossings inquiry EU Settlement Scheme inquiry Home Office preparations for Brexit inquiry Police conduct and complaints inquiry Child migrants inquiry EU policing and security issues inquiry Immigration inquiry Brook House Immigration Removal Centre inquiry The work of the Home Secretary inquiry Policing for the future inquiry Home Office delivery of Brexit: immigration inquiry Home Office delivery of Brexit: policing and security cooperation inquiry Harassment and intimidation near abortion clinics Home Office delivery of Brexit: customs operations inquiry Immigration policy: principles for building consensus inquiry Antisemitism inquiry English-language testing inquiry Police diversity inquiry Prostitution inquiry The work of the Immigration Directorates (Q3 2015) inquiry College of Policing inquiry Police and Crime Commissioners inquiry Proceeds of crime inquiry Asylum accommodation The work of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse Policing for the future: changing demands and new challenges The work of the Immigration Directorates (Q2 2016) inquiry Female Genital Mutilation inquiry Sharia councils inquiry The work of the Immigration Directorates (Q4 2015) inquiry The work of the Immigration Directorates (Q1 2016) inquiry Implications of the UK's exit from the European Union inquiry Hate crime and its violent consequences inquiry Migration and asylum Policing priorities Channel crossings Human Trafficking Pre-legislative scrutiny of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Draft Bill Fraud Police and Crime Commissioners: 10 years on Policing of protests Non-contact sexual offences Fire and Rescue Service Summer 2024 disorder Asylum accommodation Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls: Funding Combatting New Forms of Extremism Violence and abuse towards retail workers Harnessing the potential of new digital forms of identification Post-Transition management of the border The UK’s offer of visa and settlement routes for residents of Hong Kong Asylum accommodation Counter-terrorism Domestic abuse English Channel crossings EU policing and security cooperation EU Settlement Scheme Government preparations for Brexit Home Office delivery of Brexit: policing and security cooperation Home Office delivery of Brexit: immigration Home Office preparations for Brexit Immigration detention Immigration policy: principles for building consensus Brook House Immigration Removal Centre The work of the Home Secretary Post Brexit migration Hate crime and its violent consequences Post-Brexit migration policy Islamophobia The Macpherson Report: Twenty Years On Modern slavery Police conduct and complaints Policing for the future Serious violence Windrush Children Work of the Home Office

50 most recent Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department

10th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of approving the use of beyond-line-of-sight drones by police forces.

Drone technology is developing at a rapid pace and decisions on operational equipment are made independently by police forces, who are best placed to assess their own operational needs.

The Home Office and operational partners are working closely across government, including with the UK Civil Aviation Authority and Department for Transport, to support police use of drones and explore the benefits that future drones’ capabilities may provide to police operations. This includes standardising police operations, trialling innovative use of drones to improve police productivity, and supporting the progression of a future operating model for police aviation.

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
10th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce anti-social behaviour by people on motorbikes in Surrey Heath constituency.

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.

Our Crime and Policing Bill will give the police greater powers to clamp down on all vehicles, including motorbikes, involved in anti-social behaviour, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles.

On 28 May, the Government launched a six-week consultation on proposals to allow the police to more quickly dispose of seized vehicles such as motorbikes, which have been used anti-socially.

Combined, these proposals will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially and illegally by sending a clear message to would be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
10th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to work with community groups on the knife crime amnesty initiative in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

The Government is operating extended surrender arrangements throughout July focused on Greater London, West Midlands and Greater Manchester, as the three highest areas of knife crime in England and Wales. These arrangements involve a mobile surrender van which is being operated by the charity Faz Amnesty to allow people to anonymously surrender knives and weapons along with the provision of surrender bins in partnership with the charity Word 4 Weapons. Faz Amnesty will be looking to work across wider locations in the future.

We are also running a separate surrender and compensation scheme to allow the public to surrender ninja swords and claim compensation at designated police stations across England and Wales. The list of designated police stations, including those within Thames Valley Police is available on Gov.UK at: Ninja sword surrender and compensation scheme - GOV.UK

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
10th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help prevent crimes relating to arson.

The Government is committed to tackling and preventing arson. We know the serious impact that arson can have on both individuals and the wider community.

We are committed to ensuring fire services have the resources they need to do their vital work and to keep the public safe from fires, including those caused by arson. We are also delivering on our commitment to restore and strengthen neighbourhood policing, ensuring thousands of additional police officers and police community support officers are out patrolling in our town centres and communities to make the streets safer. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, £200 million has been allocated to forces for 2025/26 to support this commitment. Nottinghamshire Police has been allocated £3,570,488 and will deliver an increase of 30 police officers, 20 Police Community Support Officers and 20 Special Constables by 31 March 2026.

The Home Office is also providing £66.3 million funding in 2025-26 to forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime, serious violence and anti-social behaviour, including criminal damage caused by arson. Nottinghamshire Police will receive £1,529,097 of this funding.

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of local authorities’ (a) powers and (b) resources to enforce Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO) requiring dogs to be kept on leads in public parks; and what steps her Department is taking to support councils in (i) extending PSPO coverage where necessary and (ii) improving public (A) awareness and (B) enforcement to reduce dog-related incidents in shared green spaces.

The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police and local authorities with a range of flexible tools and powers, including Public Spaces Protection Orders, that they can use to tackle dog-related incidents in public spaces.

Appropriate use of the powers is a local decision for local authorities, police and other agencies. The Home Office regularly engages with police and local authority partners to discuss the effectiveness of the legislation.

We are making changes to some of the powers in the 2014 Act via the Crime and Policing Bill to ensure the powers – based on engagement with police and local authorities – are as effective as possible. These changes include increasing the upper limit for a fixed penalty notice for breach of a Public Spaces Protection Order from £100 to £500 to act as a stronger deterrent to anti-social behaviour, including dog-related incidents in public spaces.

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
4th Jul 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of issued passports in each of the past five years have been returned to His Majesty's Passport Office due to errors not of the applicant’s making.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Lord Hanson of Flint
Minister of State (Home Office)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign nationals were arrested for sexual offences in each of the last five years, broken down by nationality.

Available data on the age, ethnicity, gender and region of individuals prosecuted and convicted at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Ministry of Justice Outcomes by Offences data tool, can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page, which is available online here:

Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK

However, this data is not broken down by nationality or immigration status.

Angela Eagle
Minister of State (Home Office)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of people arrested for sexual offences were foreign nationals in the last 12 months.

Available data on the age, ethnicity, gender and region of individuals prosecuted and convicted at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Ministry of Justice Outcomes by Offences data tool, can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page, which is available online here:

Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK

However, this data is not broken down by nationality or immigration status.

Angela Eagle
Minister of State (Home Office)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) asylum seekers and (b) recent arrivals were charged with (i) rape and (ii) sexual assault in each of the last five years.

Available data on the age, ethnicity, gender and region of individuals prosecuted and convicted at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Ministry of Justice Outcomes by Offences data tool, can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page, which is available online here:

Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK

However, this data is not broken down by nationality or immigration status.

Angela Eagle
Minister of State (Home Office)
10th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help reunite people in Gaza with members of their families in the UK.

The Government is keeping all existing visa pathways under review in response to events in Gaza. Palestinians who wish to settle in the UK can do so via the existing routes available. Further information can be found on the GOV.UK website: Visas and immigration - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
10th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking to steps to help support children in Gaza with family members in the UK to come to the UK.

The Government is keeping all existing visa pathways under review in response to events in Gaza. Palestinians who wish to settle in the UK can do so via the existing routes available. Further information can be found on the GOV.UK website: Visas and immigration - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
10th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with the Foreign Secretary on taking steps to help support Palestinians to access locations to verify their biometric data for UK visa applications.

There are currently two UK Visa Application Centres operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in Ramallah and Jerusalem. The centres in Ramallah and Jerusalem are open twice per week and once every two weeks respectively for biometrics enrolment. The UK Visa Application Centre in Gaza has been closed since 7 October 2023 due to the conflict in the region and to ensure the safety of staff and customers. UKVI will continue to monitor the situation and work closely with the supplier, VFS, to re-open this centre when it becomes safe to do so. There are also Visa Application Centres in neighbouring countries, such as Egypt and Jordan, which are open daily if customers are able to travel to these locations.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
4th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure (a) that victims of violent crime are promptly contacted by police and (b) that statements are taken without delay; and what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of police resourcing and funding to support timely investigations.

The Government is committed to tackling violent crime and boosting public confidence in policing. Those are central ambitions within our Safer Streets mission.

In 2025-26 total funding to police forces will be up to £17.6 billion, an increase of up to £1.2 billion compared to the 2024-25 police funding settlement. This equates to a 7.1% cash increase, and 4.6% real terms increase in funding.

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
3rd Jul 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current daily cost of providing accommodation for asylum seekers other than in hotels; and how this compares with the daily cost in 2024.

The 2024/25 annual report, published on 17 July 2025, states on p75 that £2.1bn was spent on hotels in 2024-25, at an average of £5.77m per day, compared to 3.0bn spent on hotels in 2023-24, at an average of £8.3m per day.

Lord Hanson of Flint
Minister of State (Home Office)
3rd Jul 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government how many police officers left the force in the past 12 months, broken down by how many served (1) for less than 12 months, (2) between 12 months and 5 years, (3) between 5 years and 10 years, and (4) over 10 years.

The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number of police officer leavers in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin.

Information on the length of service of leavers is available in table JL6 of the data tables accompanying the publication.

Table 1 below shows the number of police officer leavers, by length of service, in England and Wales for the year ending 31 March 2024. In the year ending 31 March 2024 there were 9,236 police officers leaving the police forces in England and Wales. 16.2% of all leavers had less than 1 years service, while 12.3% of all leavers had more than 30 years service.

Table 1: Police officer leavers (headcount) by length of service in the year ending 31 March 2024, England and Wales.

Length of service

Headcount Officer leavers

% of all leavers

Less than 1 year

1,495

16.2%

1 to 2 years

1,082

11.7%

2 to 3 years

606

6.6%

3 to 4 years

484

5.2%

4 to 5 years

297

3.2%

5 to 10 years

674

7.3%

10 to 15 years

393

4.3%

15 to 20 years

749

8.1%

20 to 25 years

1,028

11.1%

25 to 30 years

1,289

14.0%

30 years or over

1,139

12.3%

Total

9,236

100.0%

Note:

  1. Excludes transfers

Data on police officer leavers for the year ending 31 March 2025 will be published on 23 July 2025.

Retention is a key focus for the Home Office and the NPCC and forces should be using evidence-based strategies to manage the retention and progression of existing officers, as well as continuing to recruit new officers.

Lord Hanson of Flint
Minister of State (Home Office)
10th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps to prevent people smuggling at the border from Ireland into Northern Ireland.

Journeys from Ireland to the UK are within the Common Travel Area (CTA). As part of the CTA arrangements, the UK does not operate routine immigration controls of individuals arriving in the UK by air or sea from within the CTA, and no immigration checks are undertaken at the land border with Ireland.

The UK does however operate intelligence-led operational activity on CTA routes – away from the land border. This is to detect those who intend to abuse CTA arrangements. Operational activity must be targeted and supported by specific intelligence of CTA abuse.

There is a high level of cooperation on migration and border security between all members of the CTA (UK, Ireland, and the Crown Dependencies) to identify and tackle migration trends as they emerge.

Everyone entering the UK, regardless of where they enter from, is required to meet UK’s immigration requirements. Anyone identified attempting to circumvent UK border controls is liable to be detained and, if they are not lawfully present within the UK, removed.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
8th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data on (a) occupancy levels and (b) property capacity is provided to her Department by accommodation providers under Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts.

Occupancy and Capacity are not terms defined within asylum accommodation contracts. Data on the number of individuals occupying asylum accommodation is published in the quarterly migration statistics.

Angela Eagle
Minister of State (Home Office)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department maintains an internal country risk list for (a) immigration and (b) visa purposes.

The UK operates a robust and effective visa system, which is an important part of securing the UK border and a vital tool for the UK in reducing illegal immigration, tackling organised crime and protecting national security. A requirement to obtain a visa prior to travelling to the UK means that we can assess whether an individual is a genuine visitor to the UK and will comply with the Immigration Rules on arrival. It allows us to intervene and, where necessary, refuse a visa before the individual travels to the UK.

The UK visa system, including the Visa National List, is kept under regular review. Decisions on which countries are required to apply for a visa (known as “visa national” countries) and which are not required to apply for a visa (known as “non-visa national” countries) are taken on the basis of a range of factors including security, compliance and returns arrangements.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many countries are designated as high risk for immigration control purposes, and on what basis.

The UK operates a robust and effective visa system, which is an important part of securing the UK border and a vital tool for the UK in reducing illegal immigration, tackling organised crime and protecting national security. A requirement to obtain a visa prior to travelling to the UK means that we can assess whether an individual is a genuine visitor to the UK and will comply with the Immigration Rules on arrival. It allows us to intervene and, where necessary, refuse a visa before the individual travels to the UK.

The UK visa system, including the Visa National List, is kept under regular review. Decisions on which countries are required to apply for a visa (known as “visa national” countries) and which are not required to apply for a visa (known as “non-visa national” countries) are taken on the basis of a range of factors including security, compliance and returns arrangements.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
3rd Jul 2025
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the national police database and its ability to analyse the link between (1) exposure to violent and misogynistic pornography,  and (2) violent offences against women and girls.

The Police National Database provides a joined-up view of vital intelligence gathered nationwide and made available to Policing and law enforcement agencies. Its data is uploaded regularly by police forces and law enforcement agencies.

PND searches can link people, addresses, phones and vehicles and can be used to investigate individual offenders or crimes, or to build intelligence about networks or gangs involved in criminal activity.

Where people are suspected of crimes involving obscene publications, indecency or violence against women and girls, the details would be shown on their record on PND. If their record includes intelligence indicating both exposure to violent and misogynistic pornography and violence against women and girls, further investigation could follow to establish whether there was a link.

Lord Hanson of Flint
Minister of State (Home Office)
14th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has for Bitcoin seized from criminal activity.

The Home Office is responsible for the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA).

POCA equips law enforcement agencies with a range of powers to deprive criminals of their money, or other property connected to criminal activity, and recover the proceeds of crime, including cryptocurrencies.

In April 2024, new powers came into force to enable law enforcement to more effectively investigate, seize, and recover the proceeds of crime within the cryptoasset ecosystem.

As with all assets, action to seize, recover and manage cryptoassets is for operational agencies, such as independent law enforcement bodies, and the courts to consider.

Criminal proceeds recovered via POCA can subsequently be returned in compensation to victims (following criminal conviction) or reinvested for use in tackling crime through the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS) and ARIS ‘Top Slice’ grant.

Further Information on both ARIS can be found in the data tables within the Asset Recovery Statistical Bulletin, which is published annually by the Home Office: Asset recovery statistics, financial years ending 2019 to 2024: Data Tables.

Dan Jarvis
Minister of State (Home Office)
11th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to separate the number of procedures for the (a) LD50 (lethal dose 50%) and (b) LC50 (lethal concentration 50%) tests in the annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals.

The Home Office publishes extensive data on the use of animals in science in the annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals.

There are no plans to disaggregate the number of procedures specifically relating to the LD50 and LC50 tests within these statistics.

Dan Jarvis
Minister of State (Home Office)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria her Department uses to assess the national security risk posed by migrants from specific countries.

As a matter of longstanding policy, we do not comment on the detail of security and intelligence matters.

Dan Jarvis
Minister of State (Home Office)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the risk of foreign terror cells operating in the UK.

As a matter of long-standing policy, we do not comment on the detail of security and intelligence matters.

The UK’s counter-terrorism strategy CONTEST provides a comprehensive framework for tackling all forms of terrorism and is kept under constant review to ensure our approach remains fit for purpose.

Dan Jarvis
Minister of State (Home Office)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's transparency data entitled Non-technical summaries for project licences granted January – March 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the 2,161,210 animals approved for use across 125 projects.

The Home Office is committed to ensuring that the use of animals in scientific research is strictly regulated and is only permitted where no suitable alternatives are available.

In parallel, the Government is committed to working towards a vision of phasing out the use of animals in science. This Government will publish a strategy that describes how it will accelerate the development and uptake of alternative methods to animal research and testing later this year.

All applications for animal research must conform with all legal requirements set out in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. This includes, applying the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement); the replacement of animals with alternatives, the reduction of the number of animals used to the minimum possible and the refinement of any techniques to reduce the harm suffered by the animals to the minimum.

The Home Office only allows the use of animals if it can be demonstrated that the benefits outweigh the harms and the 3Rs have been fully applied. This ensures that any project is justified by the expected benefits for humans, animals or the environment.

Dan Jarvis
Minister of State (Home Office)
10th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support victims of fraud from 79th Group.

Our ongoing Stop! Think Fraud campaign continues to raise awareness and provide practical guidance to help both the public and businesses protect themselves against fraudulent activity.

Furthermore, the government has legislated to implement mandatory reimbursement for victims of Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams. This measure came into effect in October 2024 and is already contributing to improved outcomes for victims, while also strengthening incentives for firms to prevent these scams from occurring in the first place.

Dan Jarvis
Minister of State (Home Office)
14th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Safer Streets Summer Blitz on crime levels in Elswick.

The Safer Streets Summer Initiative will see a drive to reduce town centre criminality, shop theft, street crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB) across England and Wales.

Running from 30 June to the end of September, it is focused on preventing crime and ASB in town centres through visible policing and swift, meaningful consequences for offenders. Crucially, this is a partnership-led approach. Police and Crime Commissioners and Deputy Mayors have submitted delivery plans outlining how they will work with councils, schools, health services, businesses, transport providers, and community organisations to tackle ASB, retail crime, and street crime.

We are monitoring activity monthly through national and local data to evidence outcomes of the Initiative. We will also be capturing local qualitative insights to understand progress and share learning across police forces and partners.

Across Northumbria police force area there are seventeen locations taking part in the Safer Streets Summer Initiative, including Elswick.

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
14th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many hate crime reports were made to the police by the Sikh Guard in each of the last five years.

The Home Office publishes official statistics on the number of religious hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales by the targeted religion of the victim. The Home Office does not hold data on who reported these crimes to the police.

The latest information, for the year ending March 2024, can be found here: Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2024 - GOV.UK

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
11th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of non-compliant number plates on levels revenue to traffic enforcement forces.

The Home Office has not made an assessment of the potential impact of non-compliant number plates on the levels of revenue to traffic enforcement forces.

The Government is working closely with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), Trading Standards, local authorities and other government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime.

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
11th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of vehicles involved in criminal activity have had non-compliant licence plates in the last 12 months.

The Home Office does not collect information related to the compliance of licence plates for vehicles which have been involved in criminal activity. Data may be held by local police forces.

Data be held locally by law enforcement organisations.

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 62602 on Police: Employer’s Contribution, what the monetary value is of the additional National Insurance compensatory amount of funding given to a (a) police force and (b) fire and rescue authority for one additional member of full-time staff.

The police funding settlement provided territorial policing in England and Wales with additional funding of £230.3 million in 2025/26 to support forces with the cost of the changes to employer National Insurance Contributions set out in the Autumn Budget. Allocations were based on forces’ share of the total national workforce headcount as at 31 March 2024, which was 245,765.

Separately, in recognition of the decision to increase employer National Insurance Contributions, MHCLG provided £515 million to local authorities in England. This includes standalone Fire and Rescue Authorities, as well as Fire and Rescue Authorities that are part of a county council. Allocations are based on local authorities’ net current expenditure.

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the support available to police who attend traumatic callouts in Surrey Heath constituency.

The health and wellbeing of our police is a top priority for the Home Office and it's essential that those who have faced traumatic incidents in the line of duty receive the support they need to recover and continue serving. We continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service who have developed an evidenced-based trauma support model which is now available to forces.

NPWS have also created a national suicide action plan which aims to educate and support the workforce, reduce stress and improve data recording. In addition, the Service is piloting a 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Support Line to provide urgent support for our police when they need it the most.

It is the responsibility of individual Chief Officers to effectively manage their workforce, ensuring the appropriate health and wellbeing provisions are in place for their officers and staff.

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) support available to police officers who attend traumatic incidents and (b) suicide prevention training provided to police officers.

The health and wellbeing of our police is a top priority for the Home Office and it’s essential that those who have faced traumatic incidents in the line of duty receive the support they need to recover and continue serving. We continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service who have developed an evidenced-based trauma support model which is now available to forces.

NPWS have also created a national suicide action plan which aims to educate and support the workforce, reduce stress and improve data recording. In addition, the Service is piloting a 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Support Line to provide urgent support for our police when they need it the most.

It is the responsibility of individual Chief Officers to effectively manage their workforce, ensuring the appropriate health and wellbeing provisions are in place for their officers and staff.

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle mobile phone theft.

The Home Secretary has been clear that tackling mobile phone theft is a key priority. In February, the Home Secretary brought together police, the National Crime Agency, the Mayor of London, local government representatives, leading technology companies and others to drive greater collaboration in breaking the business model of mobile phone thieves. The Summit resulted in commitments from attendees to work in partnership, including to significantly boost the sharing of data and intelligence on mobile phone theft to build a comprehensive picture of the problem, better understand the role of organised crime networks and identify the most effective means of tackling these crimes.

The Home Secretary will reconvene the group shortly to review progress made and determine next steps to ensure that the police, technology companies and the Government continues to work together to tackle this criminality.

In addition, the Crime and Policing Bill includes a measure to give police the power to enter and search premises for stolen property that has been electronically geo-location tracked to those premises, where it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant without seriously prejudicing the entry and search purpose. This power will support efforts to recover stolen phones before they can be resold.

Through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee we will also place thousands of additional police officers and police community support officers in neighbourhood policing roles to provide a more visible and effective service to the public, with each neighbourhood having a named, contactable officer dealing with local issues, including the theft of mobile phones.

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support campaign organisations in promoting awareness of the dangers of knife crime in Surrey Heath constituency.

Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission.

As part of this mission, we have launched the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime. The Coalition brings together campaign groups, families of people who have tragically lost their lives to knife crime, young people who have been impacted and community leaders, united in their mission to save lives and make Britain a safer place for all.

The Coalition includes representation from charities who work across Surrey and provide advice and expertise to the Government as it takes action to halve knife crime in a decade.

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number of arson incidents (a) in Ashfield constituency and (b) nationwide in each of the last five years.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of notifiable offences, including arson offences, recorded by the police in England and Wales, at the Police Force Area level and the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) Area level.

This information is published on a quarterly basis, and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables

The Home Office does not collect information at the Parliamentary Constituency level.

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help support migrants into work.

The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform in a wide range of areas, including employment opportunities for refugees, illegal working by asylum seekers, and exploitation and abuse of migrant workers.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the press release entitled New easier British citizenship route for Irish citizens launched, published on 3 July 2025, what estimate she has made of the number of Irish citizens that will apply for British citizenship through this route.

The route was created following a Private Members’ Bill introduced to the House of Commons by the Right Honourable Gavin Robinson MP on 6 December 2023. The new route reflects the unique historical and geographical position of Ireland, and existing Common Travel Area arrangements. The Act received Royal Assent on the 24 May 2024.

Irish citizens already enjoy settlement rights upon entry to the UK under the provisions of the Common Travel Area.

Irish nationals will not be subject to demonstrating Knowledge of Language and Life in the UK. Irish nationals also are already able to demonstrate the language requirement for naturalisation through being nationals of a majority English-speaking country. We recognise that the UK has a unique relationship with Ireland, and the close historical links, geographical proximity and shared experiences between the two countries mean that those in this group would already have a sufficient knowledge of language and life in the UK.

The Home Office receives approximately 300-400 applications per year from Irish citizens on existing routes.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of Irish citizens who will move to the UK as a result of the new route to British citizenship.

The route was created following a Private Members’ Bill introduced to the House of Commons by the Right Honourable Gavin Robinson MP on 6 December 2023. The new route reflects the unique historical and geographical position of Ireland, and existing Common Travel Area arrangements. The Act received Royal Assent on the 24 May 2024.

Irish citizens already enjoy settlement rights upon entry to the UK under the provisions of the Common Travel Area.

Irish nationals will not be subject to demonstrating Knowledge of Language and Life in the UK. Irish nationals also are already able to demonstrate the language requirement for naturalisation through being nationals of a majority English-speaking country. We recognise that the UK has a unique relationship with Ireland, and the close historical links, geographical proximity and shared experiences between the two countries mean that those in this group would already have a sufficient knowledge of language and life in the UK.

The Home Office receives approximately 300-400 applications per year from Irish citizens on existing routes.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason her Department has created the new route to British citizenship for Irish citizens.

The route was created following a Private Members’ Bill introduced to the House of Commons by the Right Honourable Gavin Robinson MP on 6 December 2023. The new route reflects the unique historical and geographical position of Ireland, and existing Common Travel Area arrangements. The Act received Royal Assent on the 24 May 2024.

Irish citizens already enjoy settlement rights upon entry to the UK under the provisions of the Common Travel Area.

Irish nationals will not be subject to demonstrating Knowledge of Language and Life in the UK. Irish nationals also are already able to demonstrate the language requirement for naturalisation through being nationals of a majority English-speaking country. We recognise that the UK has a unique relationship with Ireland, and the close historical links, geographical proximity and shared experiences between the two countries mean that those in this group would already have a sufficient knowledge of language and life in the UK.

The Home Office receives approximately 300-400 applications per year from Irish citizens on existing routes.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason the new route to British citizenship for Irish citizens has removed the (a) English language knowledge and (b) Life in the UK test requirements.

The route was created following a Private Members’ Bill introduced to the House of Commons by the Right Honourable Gavin Robinson MP on 6 December 2023. The new route reflects the unique historical and geographical position of Ireland, and existing Common Travel Area arrangements. The Act received Royal Assent on the 24 May 2024.

Irish citizens already enjoy settlement rights upon entry to the UK under the provisions of the Common Travel Area.

Irish nationals will not be subject to demonstrating Knowledge of Language and Life in the UK. Irish nationals also are already able to demonstrate the language requirement for naturalisation through being nationals of a majority English-speaking country. We recognise that the UK has a unique relationship with Ireland, and the close historical links, geographical proximity and shared experiences between the two countries mean that those in this group would already have a sufficient knowledge of language and life in the UK.

The Home Office receives approximately 300-400 applications per year from Irish citizens on existing routes.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has received recent correspondence from Palantir.

Home Office ministers and officials receive correspondence from a range of businesses and other organisations on a regular basis.

Diana Johnson
Minister of State (Home Office)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a statutory cap on levels of migration.

The Home Office’s Immigration White Paper, published on 12 May 2025, sets out proposals for reform in a wide range of areas across the immigration and asylum system, including a cap on the amount of lower skilled migration into the UK.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign nationals with prior convictions for sexual offences were granted (a) asylum, (b) humanitarian protection and (c) leave to remain in each of the last five years.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave him on 19 May in response to Question 51194.

Angela Eagle
Minister of State (Home Office)
11th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number and proportion of foreign national offenders with indefinite leave to remain in the prison population by (a) nationality and (b) offence committed in each year since 2019.

The requested information is not available from published statistics.

Work is currently underway to improve the quality of information held by the department on FNOs. Further information can be found at: Statistics on foreign national offenders and the immigration system - GOV.UK.

Angela Eagle
Minister of State (Home Office)
10th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2025 to Question 65158 on Undocumented Migrants: Fingerprints, what procedures are followed if biometric data cannot be collected at the time of encounter due to (a) age and (b) other limitations.

Where biometric data cannot be collected at the time of encounter, the Biometric Enrolment: Policy Guidance – GOV.UK sets out the procedures that should be followed. Children under five are not required to provide fingerprints, though facial photographs should be taken. In cases involving individuals who are medically or physically unable to provide biometric data, the reason is recorded, and collection is deferred until the individual is able to comply except in circumstances where fingerprints can never be enrolled.

Angela Eagle
Minister of State (Home Office)
27th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 54068 on Housing: Contracts, what guidance her Department has issued to contractors on Bed Space Size in relation to accommodation contracts.

None.

Angela Eagle
Minister of State (Home Office)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the use of asylum accommodation.

The Home Office continues to work with a range of stakeholders to fulfil our statutory obligations and deliver our commitment to reduce the overall cost of asylum accommodation, including ending the use of hotels by the end of this Parliament.

Angela Eagle
Minister of State (Home Office)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign nationals convicted of sexual offences with a signed deportation order have yet to be deported.

This Government pledged to deliver the highest rate of removals since 2018 and this target has been surpassed, with a surge in returns activity since the election leading to almost 30,000 people with no right to be in the UK being removed before the end of May.

Of the total returns since 5 July 2024, 4,436 were of foreign national offenders (FNOs). This is an increase of 14% compared to the 3,879 FNO returns in the same period 12 months prior.

The specific information requested is not currently available from published statistics, but work is currently underway to publish more detailed information on FNOs subject to deportation. Further information on this work can be found at: Statistics on foreign national offenders and the immigration system - GOV.UK.

Angela Eagle
Minister of State (Home Office)