Home Office

We do not comment on security matters, however all asylum claimants are subject to robust, mandatory security checks and we will not compromise the integrity of the UK immigration system. These system and security database checks are completed during the asylum screening process and before a decision is made.

Asylum seekers are not detained and we rely on them to update us about their accommodation if they are not in Home Office accommodation.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum-related returns in ‘Returns summary tables(opens in a new tab)’. The latest data is up to June 2025.

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.

“Data on asylum accommodation is published quarterly on GOV.UK (Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK) and includes breakdowns by local authority”.

Further to the answer that I gave on 27 October, I can confirm that the Government continues to work with West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council to support them in ensuring the match between Aston Villa FC and Maccabi Tel Aviv FC due to be played on 6 November can proceed safely.

We are clear that law abiding fans should be able to enjoy football matches in safety and that any violent or disorderly behaviour at matches will not be tolerated.

The Home Office ensures all licences are fully compliant with all sections of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA).

The responsibility of ensuring the principles of the 3Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement) have been fully applied in applications belongs to the applicant. The role of the Home Office is to assure that the applicant has conducted extensive checks for each of the 3Rs and that they are maximally applied.

Home Office Inspectors are specifically trained to assess licences rigorously and robustly and thereby assure compliance with the ASPA. The training package for Inspectors has been enhanced with a greater emphasis on replacement methodologies.

Prevent aims to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It works to ensure that people who are susceptible to radicalisation are offered appropriate interventions and support, and that communities areWe have provided data for the financial years 2019/20 to 2023/24. Data for the latest financial year 2024/25 will be released 6^th November 2025 at Gov.uk.

Information on individuals convicted of terrorism-related offences in the UK is published quarterly by the Home Office in the statistical release titled Operation of Police Powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent legislation. This includes detailed data tables for Great Britain, covering a range of individual and offence-related characteristics, such as:

1. Age (Table A.10)

1. Data on religion is not available for all convicted individuals. However, religious affiliation is reported for those held in custody for terrorism-related offences in England and Wales and Scotland at the time of publication. (Table P.04)

1. Ethnicity (Table A.11)

1. Data on country of birth is not held by the Home Office. However, information on nationality is available. (Table A.12c)

Annual and quarterly breakdowns for the last five years and prior and are accessible via Operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 statistics - GOV.UK.

The Government is working with City of London Police to replace Action Fraud with a new and improved national police reporting service for fraud and cyber crime. The new service (called Report Fraud) is nearing completion with full transition expected in early December 2025. The new service will support tackling fraudulent company registrations by providing law enforcement with better intelligence for investigations and other disruption activity.

The new service will also improve the support services and reporting tools for victims. In addition, the Government has launched a National Fraud Squad (NFS) of specialist posts, led by the NCA and City of London Police. The NFS will help to combat fraudulent company registrations by taking a proactive, intelligence-led approach to identifying and disrupting the most serious fraudsters.

This Government is committed to the development of non-animal alternatives and will publish a strategy later this year. However, in limited circumstances where there is no non-animal alternative, procedures are required to deliver benefits to people, animals or the environment. In the most recent available statistics from 2023, less than 1 percent of all procedures were carried out on dogs, cats and non-human primates.

The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) provides a robust and rigorous regulatory framework that protects animals used in science. It requires that the principles of the 3Rs - replacement, reduction and refinement - are followed so that animals are only used where there are no alternatives, the minimum number of animals are used, and the most refined procedures for using animals are employed to minimise harm.

This Government has been clear that the police should focus on tackling real crime and policing the streets, and that a consistent and common-sense approach must be taken with non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs).

That is why the Home Secretary has asked the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing to expedite its review of NCHIs which began earlier this year. The review, which is ongoing, is considering the recording of information that has not yet reached the criminal threshold, but which may still be useful for the purposes of monitoring community tensions and keeping the public safe. It is also considering the fundamental right of freedom of expression and recent court rulings in this area.

The Home Office is working closely with the NPCC and the College as they further develop their findings. We look forward to receiving the final recommendations of this review, and to working with forces to ensure they have the clarity they need to focus on keeping our communities safe whilst protecting free speech.

The Home Secretary and Policing Minister are determined to take the strongest possible action to reduce the number of phone thefts in London and elsewhere across the country.

This is a crime that causes significant distress to victims and fuels wider criminality. That’s why we are driving greater collaboration between policing leaders, the Metropolitan Police, National Crime Agency, the Mayor of London, leading tech companies and others to break the business model of mobile phone thieves. This has included exploring what technical interventions would be most effective, including discussion around improving reporting mechanisms when a mobile phone is stolen. Positive developments include commitments to improving visibility of unique identification numbers/IMEIs to help identify stolen devices and raising awareness of existing mechanisms for reporting the theft of mobile devices, which include calling 101, going to a local police station or reporting the crime anonymously via Crimestoppers.

All stakeholders must play their part in designing out and disincentivising this type of theft, disrupting the resale of stolen phones, exploring technological solutions to make devices harder to re-register or resell, and helping the public protect themselves and the data and personal information on their devices.

Compliance with data protection obligations, including the handling of Subject Access Requests (SARs), is the responsibility of individual police forces. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) produces guidance for organisations on how to comply with data protection law.

The Data (Use and Access) Act received Royal Assent in June 2025 and includes some changes to data protection obligations while maintaining high standards of protection for personal data.

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for the Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. We are giving police the powers they need to tackle anti-social driving in both rural and urban areas so that they will be able to more easily seize these vehicles from offenders and dispose of them.

The Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament, will enhance police powers to seize nuisance vehicles which are used in an anti-social manner by removing the requirement to first give a warning to the offender and allow police to put an immediate stop to offending.

The Government has also recently consulted on proposals to allow the police to more quickly dispose of seized vehicles which have been used anti-socially. The consultation closed on 8 July and the Government response will be published in due course.

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.

The Home Office does not direct operational policing decisions, including those related to the disclosure of information about a person suspected or charged with committing an offence. These matters rightly fall under the purview of Chief Constables.

The murders and subsequent riots in Southport in July 2024 raised questions about how the Government may best counter misinformation and disinformation without creating a risk of being in contempt of court in relation to ongoing criminal proceedings. There are restrictions on what can be said before and during a trial to ensure that trials are fair and justice is delivered. At the same time, however, social media is putting these long-established rules under strain, especially in cases such as Southport where partial or inaccurate information appears online.

The NPCC and the College of Policing issued interim guidance to police forces in August, which aims to support forces in managing sensitive investigations and mitigating risks associated with them.

The interim guidance encourages police forces to confirm a suspect’s ethnicity and nationality (where known or recorded) in certain high-profile or sensitive investigations where they determine it is necessary to maintain public safety and reassure the public.

The Government is committed to giving police the resources they need to tackle crime and the allocation of funding to police forces in England and Wales remains an important consideration. The Chancellor has announced a real terms increase in police spending power over the next three years and more details on police force funding allocations for 2026-27 will be made via the provisional police funding settlement later in the year.

Through our Safer Streets Mission, rural communities will be safeguarded, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing and stronger measures to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping. We have worked closely with the National Police Chief’s Council to deliver their updated Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy for 2025-2029. The strategy will set out operational and organisational policing priorities in respect of tackling crimes that predominantly affect rural communities.

The Home Office does not collect data from police on calls about suicidal ideation or where an apparent suicide is in progress and has no current plans to do so.

The College of Policing sets the professional standards for police in England and Wales. The College’s core guidance includes the initial training for officers under the Policing Education Qualifications Framework which incorporates autism, learning disabilities, mental health and vulnerabilities. Through this, officers are taught to assess vulnerability and amend their approaches as required.

The College further promotes the need for frameworks to assess vulnerability, to aid in consistent identification, support decision making, and to trigger appropriate safeguarding action. Such principles and practices are set out in a number of college products, including the Detention and Custody Authorised Professional Practice (APP) and the Mental Health APP which has guidance on suicide prevention and bereavement response.

Policing is operationally independent, and it is a matter for the chief constables of each force to decide which additional training their officers should undertake.

The Home Office does not collect data from police on calls about suicidal ideation or where an apparent suicide is in progress and has no current plans to do so.

The College of Policing sets the professional standards for police in England and Wales. The College’s core guidance includes the initial training for officers under the Policing Education Qualifications Framework which incorporates autism, learning disabilities, mental health and vulnerabilities. Through this, officers are taught to assess vulnerability and amend their approaches as required.

The College further promotes the need for frameworks to assess vulnerability, to aid in consistent identification, support decision making, and to trigger appropriate safeguarding action. Such principles and practices are set out in a number of college products, including the Detention and Custody Authorised Professional Practice (APP) and the Mental Health APP which has guidance on suicide prevention and bereavement response.

Policing is operationally independent, and it is a matter for the chief constables of each force to decide which additional training their officers should undertake.

The Government has been clear that the health and wellbeing of our police is a priority and that those who have faced suicide-related 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, which has developed an evidenced-based trauma support model which is now available to forces. The Service has also introduced a Trauma Tracker tool to help forces better understand exposure to traumatic incidents and ensure timely support for officers and staff.

Chief Constables have a responsibility to manage their workforce effectively and this includes ensuring appropriate training provision for all officers and staff and ensuring their wellbeing.

The Government is committed to strengthening the public’s confidence in the police. This includes ensuring that when officers fall seriously short of the high standards expected of them, they are swiftly identified and robustly dealt with.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has a statutory duty to secure and maintain public confidence in the police complaints system, and as part of this role carries out regular surveys on public confidence. This data is published on the IOPC’s website: www.policeconduct.gov.uk/our-work/research-and-statistics/public-confidence. The most recent survey (2024/25) showed that the majority of the public say that they would complain if unhappy about an officer’s behaviour towards them. The percentage of respondents reporting they feel confident that police deal fairly with complaints is increasing; from 36% last year to 41% this year.

The Government is taking action to improve public confidence. This includes introducing measures via the Crime and Policing Bill to put the victims’ right to review on a statutory footing for complainants who want to challenge a decision by the IOPC not to refer a case to the Crown Prosecution Service, and committing to an independent review into timeliness in the police misconduct system looking at what changes can be made to improve timeliness and effectiveness.

Local police forces and Regional Organised Crime Units deliver the bulk of enforcement and seizure activity against cannabis production and supply. The Home Office has provided funding to enable Operation Mille which is one of the most significant operations of its kind aimed at disrupting organised crime groups (OCG) by identifying and dismantling large-scale cannabis farms which provide a key source of illicit income.

Since June 2023, in Phases 1-3 of the operation, police have executed 1,368 search warrants and arrested over 1,000 individuals. They have also seized a significant number of cannabis farms including the recovery of over 100,000 cannabis plants worth over £100 million, as well £1m in cash and many weapons including 14 firearms.

Steps taken by Surrey Police to deter arson is an operational matter for the police force, working with the fire service and other partners.

The Government ensures that policing has the powers, resources and guidance it needs to enforce bail conditions and keep people safe.

There is wide discretion in law for police to impose bail conditions on suspects to protect victims and witnesses, prevent offending and to prevent the suspect from failing to appear in court. Bail conditions must be necessary, reasonable, proportionate and enforceable, and should be subject to regular review as the perceived risk posed by the suspect may change over time.

Police have a range of powers under section 7 of the Bail Act 1976 to arrest a suspect in relation to suspected or anticipated breaches of bail conditions. This includes where there are reasonable grounds for believing the suspect is likely to break conditions, or where there are reasonable grounds for suspecting (a lower threshold) that conditions have been broken. Following arrest on these grounds, a suspect must be brought before a court within 24 hours, where a magistrate may remand them in custody or grant court bail.

The College of Policing produces its Authorised Professional Practice (APP) to provide authoritative guidance the police. APP advises that bail conditions should be accompanied by a police action plan to ensure effective enforcement. This is intended to ensure that victims can have improved confidence that the police will take action in the event of a breach, and that perpetrators understand that there are consequences to their actions. Action plans may include curfew checks at home addresses, proactive patrols to exclusion zones and scrutiny into whether conditions such as signing on bail at a police station are being maintained.

Policing is operationally independent of Government. Chief Constables and elected Police and Crime Commissioners are responsible for the operational management of their police officers and the enforcement of bail conditions.

We fully recognise the serious and growing threat that freight crime poses to businesses, drivers, and the wider economy. This Government is determined to crack down on it.

The Government does not fund the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS). NaVCIS is funded by industry, including finance and leasing companies, insurers and hauliers, to provide dedicated specialist intelligence and enforcement.

My officials have regular discussions with key partners, including Opal, the police’s national intelligence unit focused on serious organised acquisitive crime, and NaVCIS about tackling organised freight crime.

The Home Office publishes data on the processing of applications for British citizenship on the Gov.uk website.

Information on the location of customers who have applied for citizenship is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Data on the number of citizenship applications decided each quarter can be found here: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK

The number of outstanding citizenship applications each quarter can be found here: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account several factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account several factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.

The UK made an ambitious and generous commitment to help at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 38,700. people to safety, including thousands of people eligible for our Afghan schemes.

Afghanistan Resettlement Schemes operational data is published quarterly with the last publication on the 21 August 2025.

Data on recent and planned resettlement is not available due to the operational nature of the schemes. For operational security reasons, we are unable to provide additional information on plans for future resettlement flights.

The data published within: immigration system statistics release  (year ending June 2025, published 21 August 2025) provides a breakdown of arrivals by quarter. The number of individuals resettled under the schemes is as follows: 19,048 under ARAP. 10,160 individuals under ACRS Pathway 1, 1,406 individuals under ACRS Pathway 2 and 1,679 individuals under ACRS Pathway 3.

Afghan Operational data is viewable at: Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)

The information requested is not centrally held.

No such estimate has been made of the number of visa holders who did not have basic proficiency in English on entry.

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

In February, we introduced new Respect Orders through our Crime and Policing Bill. The Bill recently completed Second Reading in the House of Lords, with Committee Stage expected to begin in November.

Respect Orders will be tough behavioural orders aimed at tackling the most persistent adult anti-social behaviour offenders. Further details on next steps for the Respect Order will be provided in due course.

This Government recognises the distress and disruption that heritage theft can cause to local communities.

That is why the sentencing guidelines on theft were amended in 2016 to highlight that where theft is of heritage assets or causes disruption to infrastructure, this should be taken into account when assessing the level of harm caused.

We will be consulting on the new settlement rules later this year.

The Seasonal Worker route is an operator led immigration route with six Scheme Operators responsible for selecting suitable workers from overseas. UK Visas and Immigration closely monitor the performance of the Scheme Operators to ensure high standards of returns are maintained.

Asylum seekers have access to health and social care services from point of arrival in the UK and the Home Office work closely with the NHS, local authorities and contractors to ensure that asylum seekers can access the support they need. In relation to Wethersfield, financial support is being provided to the NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board.

There are varying entitlements to secondary healthcare services across England and the devolved governments. Specific examples can be found on NHS entitlements: migrant health guide - GOV.UK.

Extensive work has been undertaken with local and national health partners including the Multi Agency Forum (MAF) to work through the specifics of healthcare provision being provided at Wethersfield. The health and social care subgroup of the MAF was set up specifically to look at how we minimise the impact on local health services and facilitate primary healthcare on site, However, in specific circumstances, residents can be required to use local NHS facilities.

The National Security Act 2023, includes a broad range of tools to ensure law enforcement and our intelligence agencies have the powers they need to counter all malign foreign actors, including the IRGC.

However, the Government is determined to enhance our powers as necessary. For that reason, we commissioned Jonathan Hall KC (the Independent Reviewer of State Threats Legislation) to conduct a review evaluating what powers under terrorism legislation could be emulated to tackle state-based security threats to the UK. Mr Hall KC recommended introducing a State Threats Proscription-style Tool that would be more effective in disrupting state-linked organisations, along with other proposals.

The Government is committed to taking forward his proposals as soon as Parliamentary time allows.

No decision has been made in relation to specifying China on the enhanced tier of FIRS. As I set out in the House of Commons on 13^th October, we look very carefully at any question of whether to place a particular country on the enhanced tier of the scheme.

Any changes to the countries listed will be announced first in Parliament in the usual way.

Government records are normally opened at the National Archives when they are 20-years old but, where they exist, some records are retained or closed, in line with the requirements of the Public Records Act 1958, in order to protect national security, international relations and sensitive personal data.

The Government is conducting an ongoing review of the Computer Misuse Act. As part of the review, we are scoping several proposals to update the act, including how we can better support legitimate cybersecurity researchers so they can operate within a clear and supportive legal framework, while maintaining robust safeguards against misuse.

Engagement, including with the cyber security industry, is underway to refine the approach and an update will be provided in due course.

The Government is conducting an ongoing review of the Computer Misuse Act. As part of the review, we are scoping several proposals to update the act, including how we can better support legitimate cybersecurity researchers so they can operate within a clear and supportive legal framework, while maintaining robust safeguards against misuse.

We are always interested in learning from the approaches taken in other jurisdictions. We are speaking with international counterparts, including our major allies, to understand how they approach the issue of legislative frameworks for protecting legitimate cyber security researchers.

For the safety and security of those we accommodate and staff, it is our longstanding policy not to disclose information about sites which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office.

As of the latest published statistics on 30 June 2025, the number of asylum seekers staying in contingency hotels in Wales was 76, compared to 53 in June 2024 and 110 in June 2023.

The UK-France Treaty on the Prevention of Dangerous Journeys is a pilot scheme, and evaluation is a crucial part of its success. We will continuously monitor and evaluate the pilot as it progresses, with a full evaluation to be completed at the end of the pilot period.

I thank the Noble Lord for his question. I am sure he will know that the Advisory Guide to Parliamentary Work published by the Cabinet Office sets out that there is an advisory cost limit known as the disproportionate cost threshold which is the level above which departments can decide not to answer a written question. The current disproportionate cost threshold is £850.

The Procedure Committee recommended that the threshold “be calculated only with regard to policy team time—it should not account for any central processing in parliamentary branches or WPQ teams, or the time taken by Ministers or their advisers”.

We estimate that the cost of locating and collating any relevant information and extracting the information to meet your request would exceed the appropriate limit.

This is because in order to respond to your request for information we would need to match, collate and verify information from multiple immigration data systems owned by Home Office to multiple systems containing the relevant information on Organised Crime Gangs.

On Wednesday 22 October the Government announced that Richard Wright KC has been appointed to lead the independent Stalking Legislation Review.

The review will consider whether the criminal law on stalking needs to change to ensure the police and wider criminal justice partners have the clearest possible framework for effective identification, management and prosecution of stalking cases.

The views of victims and survivors will be at the heart of our approach. The review will engage with experts from specialist stalking charities, academia and across the criminal justice system alongside direct engagement with victims and survivors themselves.

The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Progress Update, published in April of this year, set out some of the actions we are driving forward across government to tackle all forms of child sexual abuse and exploitation. This includes an update on the response to the final recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

Several of the commitments made in response to the Inquiry’s recommendations are being implemented through measures in the Crime and Policing Bill. This includes a mandatory duty to report child sexual abuse, the removal of the limitation period for child sexual abuse civil claims and reforms to the disclosure and barring service. The Government is also taking forward work to establish a new Child Protection Authority for England, with a consultation to be launched before the end of the year.