Asked by: Andrew Griffith (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of DBS checks are requested for roles not involving regulated activity.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
DBS received 7,434,323 applications across all levels of checks between 01/03/2025 and 28/02/2026. Of those, 3,580,685 (48%) applications were for roles not involved in regulated activity.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of AI chatbot systems to facilitate stalking and harassment; and what steps they are taking to ensure that existing online safety, data protection and criminal law frameworks remain effective in addressing harms arising from the misuse of those technologies.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government continues to take steps to protect the UK public from crimes linked to the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI). This includes when AI is used to aid or facilitate stalking and harassment.
The Online Safety Act already regulates many generative AI services. However, the Government acknowledges that gaps remain, leading to inconsistent coverage of certain AI chatbot services.
We are addressing these gaps as a matter of urgency through an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill. Through a new delegated power, we will be able to bring currently unregulated AI chatbots into the scope of the Online Safety Act. This will ensure they are subject to requirements to protect users from illegal content and activity.
We are also taking action on so called ‘nudification’ tools, legislating through the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise the development and supply of tools for generating non-consensual intimate images.
Beyond these measures, we will continue to work closely with law enforcement to tackle the harms presented by AI. The National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP) continues to act as the subject matter expert on ongoing work relating to AI and VAWG in policing, to ensure that safeguarding is a core part of AI tools and models.
Asked by: Gareth Davies (Conservative - Grantham and Bourne)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to use Prince William of Gloucester Barracks to accommodate asylum seekers or other irregular migrants.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Home Office officials keep the asylum accommodation estate under continual review.
As part of this estate management, operational adjustments are made on an ongoing basis to ensure sufficient and suitable capacity is maintained to meet expected levels of demand.
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, what steps she has taken to ensure that the use of automated tools in asylum processes complies with data protection and equality legislation.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
An Equality Impact Assessment and Data Protection Impact Assessment were completed for both Asylum Case Summarisation (ACS) and Asylum Policy Search (APS) before pilots commenced. An updated EIA for both ACS and APS is currently intended to be published after both tools have been operationalised.
It has not yet been confirmed whether the Department intends to publish a DPIA for the APS and ACS tools after both have been operationalised. APS is now fully rolled out, while ACS is due to follow in April 2026.
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 an Equality Impact Assessment was conducted prior to the deployment of the ACS and APS tools.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
An Equality Impact Assessment and Data Protection Impact Assessment were completed for both Asylum Case Summarisation (ACS) and Asylum Policy Search (APS) before pilots commenced. An updated EIA for both ACS and APS is currently intended to be published after both tools have been operationalised.
It has not yet been confirmed whether the Department intends to publish a DPIA for the APS and ACS tools after both have been operationalised. APS is now fully rolled out, while ACS is due to follow in April 2026.
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 the APS tool is used to (a) generate and (b) inform casework decisions; and what human oversight mechanisms are applied.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Asylum Policy Search tool (APS) tool is an artificial intelligence (AI) search assistant. It is a chat-based interface which finds and summarises Country Policy Information Notes (CPIN) directly relevant to the inputted query, to provide the policy basis for decisions.
In line with the ‘human in the loop’ principle, APS was designed so that decision-makers cannot use the tool by itself to decide a claim. AI technology does not make decisions on Asylum applications; instead, it will help Asylum Decision Makers analyse data and provide insightful information that further informs outcomes.
The Asylum Case Summarisation (ACS) tool uses AI to summarise asylum interview transcripts. The tool uses a Large Language Model to extract and summarise information from existing asylum interview transcript documents to provide decision-makers with a concise summary document. In line with the ‘human in the loop’ principle, ACS has been designed so that decision-makers cannot use the tool by itself to decide a claim. Instead, it acts as an aid in the usual decision-making process.
After APS was operationalised, a specific inbox was set up for Decision Makers to feed back any issues found with the tool. Subject Matter Expert (SME) testing continues after operationalisation, in conjunction with the CPIT (Country Policy & Information Team), for APS.
Whilst there is no standard operating procedure in place on the use of APS, all members of the Department were required to complete a mandatory ‘AI for all’ learning package in 2025. Furthermore, caseworkers were given comprehensive training on the use of APS before it was operationalised.
It has not yet been confirmed whether the Department intends to publish a DPIA for the APS and ACS tools after both have been operationalised. APS is now fully rolled out, while ACS is due to follow in April 2026.
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 her Department has issued (a) standard operating procedures and (b) internal guidance to caseworkers on the use of the ACS and APS tools.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Asylum Policy Search tool (APS) tool is an artificial intelligence (AI) search assistant. It is a chat-based interface which finds and summarises Country Policy Information Notes (CPIN) directly relevant to the inputted query, to provide the policy basis for decisions.
In line with the ‘human in the loop’ principle, APS was designed so that decision-makers cannot use the tool by itself to decide a claim. AI technology does not make decisions on Asylum applications; instead, it will help Asylum Decision Makers analyse data and provide insightful information that further informs outcomes.
The Asylum Case Summarisation (ACS) tool uses AI to summarise asylum interview transcripts. The tool uses a Large Language Model to extract and summarise information from existing asylum interview transcript documents to provide decision-makers with a concise summary document. In line with the ‘human in the loop’ principle, ACS has been designed so that decision-makers cannot use the tool by itself to decide a claim. Instead, it acts as an aid in the usual decision-making process.
After APS was operationalised, a specific inbox was set up for Decision Makers to feed back any issues found with the tool. Subject Matter Expert (SME) testing continues after operationalisation, in conjunction with the CPIT (Country Policy & Information Team), for APS.
Whilst there is no standard operating procedure in place on the use of APS, all members of the Department were required to complete a mandatory ‘AI for all’ learning package in 2025. Furthermore, caseworkers were given comprehensive training on the use of APS before it was operationalised.
It has not yet been confirmed whether the Department intends to publish a DPIA for the APS and ACS tools after both have been operationalised. APS is now fully rolled out, while ACS is due to follow in April 2026.
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, if her Department will publish Data Protection Impact Assessments for the Asylum Casework Support and Asylum Policy Search tools.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
An Equality Impact Assessment and Data Protection Impact Assessment were completed for both Asylum Case Summarisation (ACS) and Asylum Policy Search (APS) before pilots commenced. An updated EIA for both ACS and APS is currently intended to be published after both tools have been operationalised.
It has not yet been confirmed whether the Department intends to publish a DPIA for the APS and ACS tools after both have been operationalised. APS is now fully rolled out, while ACS is due to follow in April 2026.
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, what role the ACS and APS tools play in asylum decision-making processes; and what safeguards are in place to ensure equitable decisions.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Asylum Policy Search tool (APS) tool is an artificial intelligence (AI) search assistant. It is a chat-based interface which finds and summarises Country Policy Information Notes (CPIN) directly relevant to the inputted query, to provide the policy basis for decisions.
In line with the ‘human in the loop’ principle, APS was designed so that decision-makers cannot use the tool by itself to decide a claim. AI technology does not make decisions on Asylum applications; instead, it will help Asylum Decision Makers analyse data and provide insightful information that further informs outcomes.
The Asylum Case Summarisation (ACS) tool uses AI to summarise asylum interview transcripts. The tool uses a Large Language Model to extract and summarise information from existing asylum interview transcript documents to provide decision-makers with a concise summary document. In line with the ‘human in the loop’ principle, ACS has been designed so that decision-makers cannot use the tool by itself to decide a claim. Instead, it acts as an aid in the usual decision-making process.
After APS was operationalised, a specific inbox was set up for Decision Makers to feed back any issues found with the tool. Subject Matter Expert (SME) testing continues after operationalisation, in conjunction with the CPIT (Country Policy & Information Team), for APS.
Whilst there is no standard operating procedure in place on the use of APS, all members of the Department were required to complete a mandatory ‘AI for all’ learning package in 2025. Furthermore, caseworkers were given comprehensive training on the use of APS before it was operationalised.
It has not yet been confirmed whether the Department intends to publish a DPIA for the APS and ACS tools after both have been operationalised. APS is now fully rolled out, while ACS is due to follow in April 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 6 March (HL14995), what assessment they have made of the position set out in the Written Statement by the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on 7 March 2019 (HCWS1392) when considering whether the earned settlement proposals set out in A Fairer Pathway to Settlement (CP 1448), published 20 November 2025, should apply to individuals holding leave under Appendix European Communities Association Agreement.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are continuing to review and analyse the 200,000 responses received during the earned settlement consultation ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’ (CP 1448), which will help inform development of the final model, including consideration of any potential exemptions or transitional measures for those already on a pathway to settlement.
Once that is decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly.