Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Independent - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of combining section 1 and 2 licenses on public safety.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is intending to consult on strengthening shotgun controls in due course. The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published in February 2025, included a commitment to having a consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns, in the interests of public safety.
We will also provide an impact assessment in relation to any changes that we bring forward after the consultation, in the normal way.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help improve police responses to retail crime in rural areas.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The central aim of our police reforms is to protect and revitalise neighbourhood policing. We are lifting national responsibilities off local forces so they focus on tackling local issues, like fighting retail crime. All communities, including rural communities, will benefit from and are included in these reforms.
We are on track to deliver an additional 3,000 neighbourhood officers by March. We are giving them the powers they need, including making it a specific offence to assault retail workers and ending the treatment of theft under the value of £200 as a summary-only offence. Again, these changes are applicable to all types of communities, including those defined as rural.
With our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee every neighbourhood, rural or urban, now gets a named contactable officer, dedicated to addressing the issues facing their communities, including shop theft, and a response to non-urgent queries in 72 hours.
Reporting crime to the police is the first crucial step in ensuring an appropriate police response. The Government is supporting the police and retailers. This work will set consistent standards for identifying, assessing and tackling retail crime across police and industry.
We are also encouraging closer local partnerships between police and retailers, for example through Business Crime Reduction Partnerships, to help local police respond effectively to crimes reported.
We are already seeing a difference. Whilst it is unacceptable that shop theft offences continue to trend upward, this is at a slower rate than we have seen in recent years. Police recorded crime figures recorded 519,381 shoplifting offences for the year ending September 2025. This represents a 5% increase from the previous year. The number of charges for shop theft rose by 21% (up to 111,559 charges). The charge rate also increased from 17.9% to 20.1%. However, this remains well below that seen in 2015/16 (29.6%). The number of charges for shop theft have increased at a greater rate over the same period [up to 111,559 charges or 21%]. This increase in the charge rate from 17.9% to 20.1% shows police are taking these crimes seriously.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of existing mechanisms for reporting retail crime by businesses in rural areas.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The central aim of our police reforms is to protect and revitalise neighbourhood policing. We are lifting national responsibilities off local forces so they focus on tackling local issues, like fighting retail crime. All communities, including rural communities, will benefit from and are included in these reforms.
We are on track to deliver an additional 3,000 neighbourhood officers by March. We are giving them the powers they need, including making it a specific offence to assault retail workers and ending the treatment of theft under the value of £200 as a summary-only offence. Again, these changes are applicable to all types of communities, including those defined as rural.
With our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee every neighbourhood, rural or urban, now gets a named contactable officer, dedicated to addressing the issues facing their communities, including shop theft, and a response to non-urgent queries in 72 hours.
Reporting crime to the police is the first crucial step in ensuring an appropriate police response. The Government is supporting the police and retailers. This work will set consistent standards for identifying, assessing and tackling retail crime across police and industry.
We are also encouraging closer local partnerships between police and retailers, for example through Business Crime Reduction Partnerships, to help local police respond effectively to crimes reported.
We are already seeing a difference. Whilst it is unacceptable that shop theft offences continue to trend upward, this is at a slower rate than we have seen in recent years. Police recorded crime figures recorded 519,381 shoplifting offences for the year ending September 2025. This represents a 5% increase from the previous year. The number of charges for shop theft rose by 21% (up to 111,559 charges). The charge rate also increased from 17.9% to 20.1%. However, this remains well below that seen in 2015/16 (29.6%). The number of charges for shop theft have increased at a greater rate over the same period [up to 111,559 charges or 21%]. This increase in the charge rate from 17.9% to 20.1% shows police are taking these crimes seriously.
Asked by: Edward Leigh (Conservative - Gainsborough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to establish a community liaison group, to be attended by the Home Office and representatives of residents, including local MPs, councillors, Crowborough Shield & other community organisations, in relation to her department’s usage of Crowborough Training Camp as asylum accommodation.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has been and continues regular engagement with representatives from the local authority, the NHS, the Police, and local partners, via the Multi Agency Forum and its sub-groups. Regular meetings with the office of the local MP, Parish councillors, the Voluntary Community Sector and non-government organisations are commencing.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to (a) reopen the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme and (b) introduce a similar scheme for all faiths.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Protecting the right of all faith communities to worship in peace and without fear is fundamental. That is why record funding of up to £5 million is available for physical protective security measures through the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme in 2026/27.
The next application window for this scheme will open later this year. Sites of all faiths, except Jewish and Muslim, are already eligible for this scheme. Mosques, synagogues and their associated faith community centres and schools can receive protective security through the Protective Security for Mosques Scheme and the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant – more information on the Home Office schemes can be found on GOV.uk.
Additionally, the Home Office has launched a brand-new scheme, Faith Security Training (FST), to better protect faith communities in England and Wales.
FST, developed in partnership with policing and faith representatives, is a free scheme designed to help faith communities strengthen their security awareness and preparedness.
I would encourage faith communities looking to improve the security of their places of worship to attend the training.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for refugee family reunion submitted before the route was temporarily suspended have been awaiting a decision for longer than the published service standard.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office temporarily paused the Refugee Family Reunion route from 4 September 2025, with applications submitted before that point continuing to be processed under the previous rules.
The number of Refugee Family Reunion applications submitted before the pause and awaiting a decision beyond the service standard is not available in published statistics and could only be collated and verified at disproportionate cost.
Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, considering a number of factors including user needs, as well as quality and availability of data.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to the Written Statement by the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on 7 March 2019 (HCWS1392), and the Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules (HC 813), published on 22 October 2020, what assessment they have made of the impact of the earned settlement proposals on Turkish European Communities Association Agreement (ECAA) legacy holders; and what estimate they have made of the number of ECAA legacy holders affected by the earned settlement proposals.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
As the HCWS 1392 indicated and the explanatory memorandum to HC 813 set out, following the end of the EU exit transition period and the repeal of EU-derived directly effective immigration rights, the UK is no longer obliged to provide preferential treatment to Turkish nationals on the basis of the European Communities Association Agreement (ECAA).
The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’ (CP 1448), was consulted on between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026. We are now reviewing and analysing all responses received. This analysis will help inform the development of the final earned settlement model, including consideration of any potential exemptions or transitional measures for those already on a pathway to settlement.
Implementation of the earned settlement arrangements will be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.
In the meantime, Appendix ECAA: Extension of Stay and Appendix ECAA Settlement, which set out the rules described in HC 813, will continue to apply.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential (1) risks, and (2) benefits, of adopting an entirely remote delivery model for the proposed Home Office English Language Testing service.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has carefully considered both the risks and benefits of an entirely remote delivery model as part of the procurement to replace current Secure English Language Testing arrangements.
The key risks centre on maintaining the integrity and security of the immigration system, including identity assurance, protection against impersonation, and confidence in the reliability of test results. The Home Office has engaged the market to understand what capability is available to maintain high standards of security and integrity and has developed a robust security schedule and solution requirements to ensure this remains at the heart of the digital by default solution. Following rounds of pre-market engagement, the ongoing procurement is explicitly designed to test bidders' ability to meet these standards, and the Department will adopt only those solutions that demonstrably maintain the high level of assurance required.
The expected benefits include improved accessibility and customer service by removing physical barriers for applicants, stronger protections against fraud through enhanced security measures, and better value for money for applicants and the taxpayer.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many claims made to the Windrush Compensation Advocacy Support Fund they have determined to be (1) ineligible, and (2) fraudulent.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Windrush Compensation Scheme does not publish data about how manyclaims to the Windrush Compensation Advocacy Support Fund were found tobe ineligible or fraudulent.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how frequently police officers will have to renew a licence to work under proposed policing reforms; and what training officers will need to do, if any, to secure the licence that they do not currently undertake in the course of their duties.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
As set out in the White Paper ‘From local to national: a new model for policing’, a Licence to Practise will signify the unique position our officers hold through the Office of Constable while ensuring that all officers are provided with the right wellbeing support, training and development to succeed. It is important that we carefully consider all options for Licence model, including how a Licence is issued and renewed, and we will work closely with policing to make sure that we develop a model that is beneficial for officers and the public.
A Licence to Practise will provide a system that brings together mandatory training alongside consistent professional development. We will explore how a Licence can build on accreditations and licensing which are currently delivered by the College of Policing in specialist operational areas.
Our first priority is to ensure the service is set for a Licence model which includes developing a strong performance management system and delivering consistent leadership standards and wellbeing support.