Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of police force forensic analysis capacity and completion times in England.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Forensic turnaround times currently vary with discipline. Time taken by forces to examine digital devices for example varies considerably, but urgent requests are always prioritised.
Chief Constables, and ultimately Police and Crime Commissioners, are currently responsible for forensics procurement and delivery, with some regional coordination. We are exploring the creation of a specialist national capability for police forensics, within the proposed National Centre for Policing, and have recruited a Director of Forensic Services to stabilise and reform forensics in the meantime.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data the Department holds on the theft of agricultural equipment in the last (i) 5 years, (ii) 10 years in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not routinely collect data on the items stolen in theft offences which are reported to the police.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith and Chiswick)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring shops to hide knives for sale from public view.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Since 2016 there has been a voluntary agreement between the Home Office and most major high street retailers on the responsible sale of knives. The purpose of the agreement is to set out best practice around the sale of knives, including age verification and display.
Retailers who are signatories are required to ensure knives are displayed and packaged securely as appropriate to minimise risk. This should include retailers taking practical and proportionate steps to restrict accessibility and avoid immediate use, to reduce the possibility of injury, and to prevent theft.
We are clear that knives should be sold responsibly. Through measures in the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament, we are increasing the maximum penalties for selling knives to those under the age of 18 and selling prohibited weapons to 2 years imprisonment.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will consider the potential merits of offering fast track UK citizenship to asylum seekers who report (i) the preparation of acts of terror, (ii) serious organised crime and (iii) approaches by a hostile state to undermine the UK's national security and community cohesion.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The requirements to become a British citizen are set out in the British Nationality Act 1981 and apply equally to everyone. The Act does not allow the government to reduce residential periods for those who report crimes.
The Government has recently launched a consultation, which runs until 12 February 2026, on proposals to reform arrangements for granting settlement in the UK, and under which applicants will be able to earn a reduction in the qualifying period if they meet criteria linked to suitability, integration, contribution and residence.
Any changes to the statutory requirements for citizenship will require an amendment to the British Nationality Act 1981 which will go through the usual parliamentary process.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has been (a) informed of, (b) consulted on and (c) involved in EU-funded projects for migrant (i) accommodation and (ii) reception facilities in (A) France, (B) the Western Balkans, (C) north Africa and (D) Türkiye since 2022.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Since EU Exit, the UK is not a participant in EU funding programmes that cover third country compliance with UN standards on reception facilities and migrant accommodation.
We have not had specific discussions with the EU or member countries about EU-funded migrant accommodation or reception centres in France, Türkiye, North African or Western Balkan nations. That would be an internal matter for those countries.
However, the Home Office works closely with international partners to address the shared challenge of irregular migration and as such we continue to engage on wider migration management with the EU and member countries.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria determined the order in which asylum accommodation hotels were prioritised for contract termination since 2023.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is committed to closing all hotels accommodating asylum seekers and will do so in a controlled, managed and orderly manner. A range of factors are considered when selecting hotels for closure including contractual arrangements, geographical considerations and operational deliverability.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum applications have been (1) made, and (2) accepted over the last 10 years, in total and in each of those years.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Please find the figures in the table below.
Table 1: Number of Asylum Claims and Number of Grants of Protection or Other Leave at Initial Decision (October 2015 – September 2025)
Period | Asylum Claims | Grants of Protection or Other Leave (at initial decision) |
October 2015-September 2016 | 41,981 | 10,556 |
October 2016-September 2017 | 34,645 | 9,279 |
October 2017-September 2018 | 36,717 | 9,186 |
October 2018-September 2019 | 44,145 | 13,867 |
October 2019-September 2020 | 39,979 | 10,697 |
October 2020-September 2021 | 45,535 | 11,897 |
October 2021-September 2022 | 88,213 | 15,533 |
October 2022-September 2023 | 94,132 | 38,098 |
October 2023-September 2024 | 97,091 | 52,742 |
October 2024-September 2025 | 110,051 | 58,148 |
Total | 632,489 | 230,003 |
Source: Asy_D01- Asylum Claims and Asy_D02 Asylum Initial Decisions of the ‘Asylum claim and initial decisions detailed datasets’, as part of Home Office’s ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’.
Figures include both main applicants and dependants. Grant figures reflect outcomes at the initial decision stage only.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reports of tool thefts in England have been made in each year since 2015.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not routinely collect data on the items stolen in theft offences which are reported to the police.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) provides estimates of the proportion of theft offences reported to the survey where tools were stolen. This will include incidents which were not reported to the police but will exclude incidents which affected commercial premises.
The most recently published data is presented in the table below
Table 1: Number of incidents and proportion where a tool was stolen, in year ending March 2024
Crime Survey for England and Wales, Office for National Statistics
Offence type | Number of incidents | Proportion of incidents where a tool was stolen |
Domestic burglary in a dwelling | 74,000 | 2% |
Domestic burglary in a non-connected building | 53,000 | 25% |
Theft from outside a dwelling | 517,000 | 3% |
Theft from a vehicle | 465,000 | 12% |
Other theft of personal property | 446,000 | 11% |
Asked by: Yuan Yang (Labour - Earley and Woodley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the future viability of the Community Speedwatch Scheme.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Decisions on adopting the Community Speedwatch scheme, and other schemes, are operational matters for individual Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to take, based on their local policing plans.
They are best placed to understand how to meet the needs of local communities.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with police forces about the handling of antisocial behaviour cases where responsibility is deferred to housing management companies.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of tools and powers that they can use to respond to anti-social behaviour. The powers in the 2014 Act are deliberately local in nature, and it is for local agencies to determine whether their use is appropriate in the specific circumstances.
It is right that all relevant agencies have the right tools to tackle anti-social behaviour quickly and effectively. That is why, through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are enhancing the powers available to the police and other local agencies under the 2014 Act. This includes extending the power to issue closure notices to registered social housing providers. Currently only local authorities and police can issue closure notices. This is despite registered social housing providers often being the first agency to be aware of the ASB in question. Extending this power to social housing providers will help to save police and local authorities time as housing providers will be able to make applications directly.
The Home Office regularly engages with police forces on a range of issues, including the handling of antisocial behaviour. This measure in the Crime and Policing Bill followed a consultation in 2023, which included responses from the police, and suggested several changes to the powers that could improve their application and effectiveness.