Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the technical difficulties affecting Ukrainian Visa Extension scheme applications will be resolved.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
UKVI is not aware of any current technical issues impacting the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme. In rare circumstances, applications submitted to UKVI may encounter technical difficulties, which are not related to one specific area. Once identified, UKVI strives to resolve these issues as quickly as possible, however, timescales depend on each application’s individual issues.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many business owners employing those arrested in illegal working raids since 1 July 2024 are being (a) investigated and (b) have been prosecuted under modern slavery offences.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office take the issues of illegal working and modern slavery seriously and continues to take robust enforcement action against those who breach immigration and modern slavery laws.
The Home Office does not hold data in a format that identifies how many business owners employing individuals arrested during illegal working enforcement operations since 1 July 2024 are being investigated or have been prosecuted under offences in the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Our enforcement approach prioritises administrative sanctions as the most effective means of tackling illegal working and ensuring compliance. Where evidence of criminality, including modern slavery, is identified during enforcement activity, cases are referred to the appropriate authorities for investigation and prosecution.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to protect police officers from being attacked whilst on duty in a) Leicester, b) The East Midlands, and c) the UK.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Assaults on emergency workers are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Our police officers and staff perform vital roles in serving and protecting the public, often under challenging and dangerous circumstances and they should be protected in return.
The Government is committed to supporting Chief Constables in meeting their responsibilities for the health and safety of those who work in policing. We are determined that the Police Covenant makes a tangible difference and have provided ongoing funding for the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS). The NPWS ensures police officers and staff have access to the health and wellbeing support they need, including providing personal and family support for those who have been victims of assault.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse was of feasibility studies conducted by their Department for projects that did not proceed in the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the number of sexual assaults on individuals with learning difficulties.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We recognise that adults with learning difficulties may be particularly vulnerable to harm in home, care, and educational settings. We remain firmly committed to tackling rape and all forms of sexual offending, and to securing the best possible outcomes for victims.
The cross‑government VAWG Strategy, published on 18 December 2025, sets out a comprehensive programme of action to address rape and sexual offences and to ensure that all victims receive the highest standard of support and protection.
We are investing £13.1 million in the new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP), which is leading the implementation of Operation Soteria. This work is ensuring that police forces strengthen their response to rape, improve victim safeguarding, and use every available tool to disrupt perpetrators and bring them to justice.
We have also instructed all police forces in England and Wales to establish specialist rape and sexual offence teams by 2029, and we are working with the NCVPP to ensure these units operate consistently and to a high standard nationwide.
As set out in our manifesto, we are committed to introducing free, independent legal advice for victims of adult rape, supporting them to uphold their legal rights.
In addition, the Ministry of Justice will invest £550 million over the next three years to provide counselling, court guidance and children’s services for victims. This funding will be delivered via PCCs, who assess local need and are best placed to commission tailored services, including for victims with protected characteristics such as disability.
Asked by: Baroness Falkner of Margravine (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many members of the group Bash Back have been convicted of a crime relating to that group.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
This government upholds the democratic right that people must be free to peacefully express their views, but they must do so within the bounds of the law.
Where the activity of protestors breaks the law, the police have the powers they need to respond.
It would not be appropriate for Ministers to intervene in those operational decisions, but we continue to work closely with policing to ensure they have the right capabilities and support in place to keep the public safe and uphold the law.
There are a number of ongoing police investigations and court proceedings relating to potential criminal behaviour of individuals associated with the protest group, Bash Back. However, this process is independent of government and the Home Office does not hold complete data for arrests, charges, convictions or criminal justice outcomes.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's news story entitled Illegal working raids reach highest level in UK history, published on 13 January 2026, how much of the £5 million additional funding for Immigration Enforcement has been allocated to operations in the North West.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The £5 million additional funding for Immigration Enforcement was provided to increase Illegal Working activity nationally and was not allocated regionally.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what compensation is available to people whose property is damaged as a result of policing operations at neighbouring properties; or properties where suspects are not the legal owners.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Where police have caused damage to property, for example by forcing entry, individuals may be able to claim compensation by raising a complaint or claim with the police force concerned, who will assess the claim in accordance with force policy.
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, how many arrests have been made for breaches of immigration bail conditions in each of the last three years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold the specific information requested on arrests for breaches of immigration bail conditions.
The Home Office collects and publishes information on arrests for notifiable offences (including Stop and search, arrests and mental health detentions) and bail statistics (including Police custody and pre-charge bail) on an annual basis. The most recent statistics for each are:
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure standardised training for police in reviewing Operation Snap submissions involving horses; and what assessment she has made of the consistency with which police forces handle video evidence of dangerous passes involving horses.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government takes road safety extremely seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads.
Police enforcements of motoring offences are operational matters for Chief Officers, who decide how to deploy available resources to deal with all the issues for which the force is responsible, taking into account specific local problems and demands.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) released national guidance on the minimum standards for police handling of dashcam footage submitted by members of the public in June 2021.
The guidance makes clear that trained police staff should assess camera footage submitted under Operation Snap and if the footage demonstrates an offence is committed, the local force determine the appropriate action to take.