Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled New UK–Nigeria partnership to speed up removals, published on 19 March 2026, what measures the agreement contains to ensure the protection of Nigerian (a) women and (b) children at risk of exploitation.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 18 March 2026, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a UK-Nigeria Migration Partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Nigerian Interior Minister, the Hon. Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
The Home Office pro-actively engages with key international partners to maintain, strengthen and improve returns cooperation and supporting processes. The UK uses a range of returns agreements and operational arrangements to support removals. It would not be appropriate to comment on discussions with individual countries, as this could undermine ongoing negotiations.
All returns under the UK–Nigeria partnership are conducted in accordance with UK law and international obligations, with safeguarding considerations applied throughout the process. Existing protections for vulnerable individuals, including identification of potential victims of modern slavery, which includes women and children, continue to apply.
The partnership streamlines the returns process, reducing processing and detention time, which in turn reduces operational costs. No additional resources have been allocated to Immigration Enforcement as a result of the UK–Nigeria partnership. The agreement is focused on improving efficiency and delivery within existing resources.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled New UK–Nigeria partnership to speed up removals, published on 19 March 2026, whether similar return agreements are being negotiated with other countries.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 18 March 2026, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a UK-Nigeria Migration Partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Nigerian Interior Minister, the Hon. Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
The Home Office pro-actively engages with key international partners to maintain, strengthen and improve returns cooperation and supporting processes. The UK uses a range of returns agreements and operational arrangements to support removals. It would not be appropriate to comment on discussions with individual countries, as this could undermine ongoing negotiations.
All returns under the UK–Nigeria partnership are conducted in accordance with UK law and international obligations, with safeguarding considerations applied throughout the process. Existing protections for vulnerable individuals, including identification of potential victims of modern slavery, which includes women and children, continue to apply.
The partnership streamlines the returns process, reducing processing and detention time, which in turn reduces operational costs. No additional resources have been allocated to Immigration Enforcement as a result of the UK–Nigeria partnership. The agreement is focused on improving efficiency and delivery within existing resources.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are considering further legislative measures to strengthen the UK's response to hostile state espionage.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The National Security Act 2023 overhauled and updated our espionage offences and created a suite of measures to enable our law enforcement and intelligence agencies to deter, detect and disrupt the full range of modern-day state threats.
The Government keeps all counter-espionage legislation under review to ensure it continues to allow us to tackle the growing and diversifying range of state threats that have evolved since the UK last substantively legislated on this issue.
Last year, the previous Home Secretary 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 several other recommendations. The Government will legislate to take forward these recommendations, as parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the statement of 12 March 2026, Official Report, on Defending Democracy Taskforce, if he will make it his policy to ensure political parties are provided via the Parliamentary Parties Panel with the contact details of the relevant local police force contacts, for the dedicated superintendent co-ordinator for Operation Bridger, in each Police Force area with May 2026 elections.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Home Office remains firmly committed to protecting elected representatives and those standing for election.
If a candidate is in immediate danger, they should call 999 and reference Operation Bridger for Members of Parliament or Operation Ford for locally elected representatives.
For non‑emergency incidents, reports should be made via 101 or online, again referencing Operation Bridger or Operation Ford as appropriate. This will ensure that Bridger Leads and/or the Force Elected Official Advisors are notified of any incidents affecting candidates standing in the May 2026 elections.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2026 to question 114022 on Extradition, how many of the requests received were from Bangladesh.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Further to our response to question 114022, which requested the number of Category 2 Type B requests we had received between 5th July 2024 and the date of that request 23rd February 2026.
In accordance with our policies and after careful consideration we have decided not to release the information on requests received from Bangladesh between 5th July 2024 and today’s date. This is because disclosure of figures where five or fewer requests have been made may lead to the identification of an individual request. This might prejudice ongoing law enforcement proceedings.
Please note that this information is taken from local management information and has not been quality assured to the level of published National Statistics. As such it should be treated as provisional and therefore subject to change.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department gives weight to written consultation responses from organisations which are deemed extremist.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
It is up to each department to carry out due diligence when choosing to engage with any organisation or individual and, if asked, we will advise and share information to help others inform their decisions. As announced in the Protecting What Matters publication last week, we are currently updating and embedding the 2024 engagement principles which will assist public bodies to not confer legitimacy, funding or influence on extremist groups.
We will also publish an annual ‘State of Extremism’ report which will arm frontline, public sector workers with the information they need to identify and confront extremism in the UK.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has her Department made of the adequacy of the capacity of local government to resource Trading Standards teams to tackle counterfeit goods sales from high street shops.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
In the 2025 Autumn Budget, the Government allocated £10 million per year for three years to tackle high street illegality. This funding includes the creation of the High Streets Illegality Taskforce, enhancements to Trading Standards capabilities and support for at least 45 additional law enforcement officers.
The Government does not have control over how local authorities plan their enforcement activities or apportion staff/resource to tackling harms. Local authorities are independent of central government and make their own workforce and enforcement decisions based on local need.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer from Lord Hanson of Flint on 24 March (HL15656), whether they will now answer the question put: namely, what estimate they have made of the number of individuals who will be affected by the changes to the EU Settlement Scheme to extend the period to 60 months in which an individual can use an expired biometric residence card as proof of their identity and nationality.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
To support the de-commissioning of biometric residence cards (BRCs), cards issued since 2 August 2021 had an expiry date of 31 December 2024, irrespective of the length of immigration leave granted to the card holder. Cards were issued under the EU Settlement Scheme to non-EEA nationals granted pre-settled or settled status who did not already hold a BRC issued under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016 (the free movement regime). From 30 June 2021 to 31 December 2025, there were 110,228 grants of pre-settled status to non-EEA nationals. Whether these pre-settled status holders subsequently apply for settled status with their BRC is dependent on customer behaviour and their individual circumstances, but the change in HC1691 allows those who wish to do so to remain on a fully digital journey. Without this change, as we pass 18 months since the expiry date of most BRCs for this cohort, a significant portion would be required to attend a UK visa application centre to re-enrol their biometrics, creating an unsustainable demand on UK Visas and Citizenship Application Services.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of potential merits of making English language training compulsory for asylum seekers who do not have English language proficiency.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has set out its commitment to supporting successful integration, as highlighted in the Immigration White Paper. Being able to communicate effectively in English is essential for accessing public services, participating in civic life, securing employment, and building strong connections within local communities. Without sufficient language skills, individuals may face barriers to integration and increased risk of social isolation.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment on the impact of the changes to immigration rules on those currently in the visa renewal process.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
In relation to the 2026 Spring Rules change, the Home Office has updated our identity requirements. The change to Rule 34(5)(a) will reduce the need for applicants to keep having to attend a Visa and Citizenship Application Service (VCAS) centre every time they make an immigration application for further permission to stay in the UK. This change will enable applicants who have previously enrolled their biometrics under controlled conditions, such as at a VCAS centre, and who are making a new in-country immigration application, to have their identity reused. The change to facilitate the re-use of digital identity neither creates new powers nor extends identity reuse to applicants overseas but will have required one-off implementation costs to the public sector. While unquantified, these implementation costs are likely to be offset by ongoing efficiency savings from modernising, digitising and streamlining application processes, which improve the customer experience whilst maintaining public safety.
In respect of wider Spring Rules changes, the Home Office has produced two impact assessments and two economic notes for the four Immigration Rules changes which met the threshold for requiring one. These are published alongside the Exploratory Memorandum and Statement of Changes on the GOV.UK website: Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules: HC 1691, 5 March 2026 - GOV.UK.