Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve the timeliness and adequacy of information shared between her Department and local police forces.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office works closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s to address any concerns about information sharing between the department and police forces.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the official set up date under section 5 of the Inquiries Act 2005 was for the public inquiries entitled (a) Jermaine Baker, (b) Manchester Arena Inquiry and (c) Anthony Grainger Inquiry.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The official set up dates are as follows:
a) The Jermain Baker Inquiry: 12 February 2020
b) The Manchester Arena Inquiry: 22 October 2019
c) The Anthony Grainger Inquiry: 17 March 2016
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to her Department's press release entitled Review of public order and hate crime legislation, published on 15 November 2025, whether (a) anti-Muslim hatred and (b) the Government's proposed definition of Islamophobia are in scope of the review.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Following the horrific attack on a synagogue in Manchester on 2 October, the Home Secretary launched an independent review of public order and hate crime legislation on 5 October. The Review will be led by Lord Ken Macdonald KC of River Glaven, supported by former Assistant Chief Constable Owen Weatherill
The review will ensure police powers remain fit for purpose, are used consistently, and strike the right balance between the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest, and the need to prevent disorder and keep communities safe.
The review is engaging directly with stakeholders and experts across a full range of sectors, faith groups and perspectives. The panel has not been asked to consider the Government’s proposed definition of Islamophobia, but it will be open to the independent chair of the review to determine the extent to which he might wish to do so in order to meet the terms of reference for the review.
Asked by: Simon Hoare (Conservative - North Dorset)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the official closing date under section 14 of the Inquiries Act 2005 was for the public inquiries entitled (a) Anthony Grainger Inquiry, (b) The Litvinenko Inquiry and (c) Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
a) The Anthony Grainger Inquiry published its report on 11 July 2019.
b) The Litvinenko Inquiry published its final report on 21 January 2016.
c) The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) closed under section 14 of the Inquiries Act on 31 March 2023.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Crime and Policing Bill on the right to protest without fear of criminal sanction.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This government is committed to upholding the right to peaceful protest as well as balancing the need to protect the life of a community in the development of public order legislation. The right to peaceful protest is a vital part of our democracy, and people are free to gather and express their views, provided they do so within the law.
The government has published a human rights memorandum on the measures in the Crime and Policing Bill, here: ECHRMemo.pdf
The memorandum provides a detailed consideration of each provision’s compatibility with Convention rights.
An equalities impact assessment for these measures in the Bill will be published in due course, this will assess the potential impact of the measures on those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, including age.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Crime and Policing Bill on the number of young people arrested at protests.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This government is committed to upholding the right to peaceful protest as well as balancing the need to protect the life of a community in the development of public order legislation. The right to peaceful protest is a vital part of our democracy, and people are free to gather and express their views, provided they do so within the law.
The government has published a human rights memorandum on the measures in the Crime and Policing Bill, here: ECHRMemo.pdf
The memorandum provides a detailed consideration of each provision’s compatibility with Convention rights.
An equalities impact assessment for these measures in the Bill will be published in due course, this will assess the potential impact of the measures on those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, including age.
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 discussions she has had with car manufacturers on reducing the risk of stolen catalytic converters through design and technology.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are working with the police and the automotive industry, to ensure the strongest response possible to all types of vehicle crime.
The Home Office meets regularly with the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and with industry to discuss how government can help tackle the serious problem of vehicle crime. We also support the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group which focusses on prevention and deterrence of theft of, and from, vehicles. This includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles including the theft of catalytic converters.
Additionally in the Crime and Policing Bill we are banning the electronic devices used to steal vehicles, providing a valuable tool to prevent the theft of vehicles.
The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 was introduced to reverse an upward trend in the level of metal theft through better regulation of the metal recycling sector, making it more difficult to dispose of stolen metal including catalytic converters.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average queue time at passport control was at UK airports in (a) November 2025 and (b) each month since July 2024.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The specific data requested is not available in an accessible format but below are the relevant statistics taken from Border Force’s transparency data.
Of the 897,695 queue samples measured across the UK in 2025, 97.9% of queues were within Border Force’s service standards above the 95% target. These service standards are 25 mins EU/EEA and 45 mins non-EU/EEA.
For further transparency data, including 2024, please refer to the below GOV.UK link.
Migration transparency data - GOV.UK
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to paragraph 5.29 of the OBR, Economic and Fiscal Outlook, November 2025, CP1439, 26 November 2025, if she will provide an annual breakdown of the £15.3 billion cost of asylum accommodation over the next 10 years, according to information held by HM Government.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The £15.3bn figure was cited in a NAO report from May this year, it relates to a broad estimate of spend on accommodation contracts across the period 2019 to 2029, not the next 10 years. Actual Asylum spend is published in our Annual Report and Accounts, and as per the Spending Review we are committed to bring spend down by £1.1bn a year by 28/29.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to improve oversight of biometric data storage and retention across law enforcement agencies.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office launched a public consultation on 04/12/2025 on the use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies.
The responses received will inform the creation of a bespoke legal framework and oversight for the use of biometric, facial recognition and similar technologies.
One aspect the consultation looks at is the oversight of biometric data storage and retention across law enforcement agencies.