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 estimate has been made of the economic impact of housing (a) refugees and (b) asylum seekers in Ipswich.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office works closely with local authorities and takes into account the pressures associated with providing asylum accommodation. We continue to engage with local authorities to manage these impacts, including on their wider statutory responsibilities and local plans.
To support this work, the Home Office administers a range of grants to help local authorities meet the costs of accommodating asylum seekers.
Costs associated with asylum accommodation and support are reported at a national level in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ho-annual-reports-and-accounts.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the immigration health surcharge refund policy to allow for partial refunds to be made for periods of overlapping payments in cases where the applicant has applied to (a) extend and (b) switch their visa from outside the UK.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The new guidance being produced by the Home Office is designed to assist local authorities in supporting families with NRPF, as set out in the Child Poverty Strategy. The guidance will provide clarity around statutory duties and key safeguards for local authorities, ensuring a clear and consistent approach. The guidance does not alter the eligibility criteria for any current schemes or benefits.
Children whose families are subject to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition (NRPF) can currently access schemes and benefits such as free school meals, 15 hours of free childcare for disadvantaged two-year-olds and15 hours free childcare for three- to four-year-old.
The Home Office will continue to work across government where relevant to ensure that migrant children with NRPF are specifically considered when reviewing or deciding on eligibility for schemes and benefits.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 27 January (HL13553), who is responsible for conducting the research into grooming gang perpetrators' backgrounds and motivations; when that research is expected to be complete; and when that research will be published.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Secretary has commissioned UK Research and Innovation to deliver this new programme of research, which will address evidence gaps in our understanding of the backgrounds, motivations, and drivers of group-based child sexual exploitation offending. We expect the programme of research to be a multi-year project, with individual research projects reporting through its duration. Further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of awarding the contract for vessels for Border Force to UK shipyards on the number of jobs and apprenticeships.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
A dynamic UK shipbuilding sector has potential to play a key role in creating and sustaining jobs and in ensuring shared prosperity around the country. The Maritime Capabilities Replacement Programme procurement will require all bidders to deliver social value, with fair work and resilient supply chains identified as key priorities.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has taken steps to review public safety at protests.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The right to peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy. The government and the police are committed to upholding the rights to freedom of expression and assembly, and for people to do so in a manner that is safe and in keeping with the law.
As part of this commitment, the Home Office continues to keep its public order legislation under constant review and will consider any further changes as may be necessary.
In keeping legislation under review, the government has previously reaffirmed the commitment to expedited post‑legislative scrutiny of the Public Order Act 2023, which began in May 2025. Separately, in November 2025, the Home Secretary announced an independent review of public order and hate crime legislation, led by Lord Macdonald of River Glaven KC. The Review will assess whether existing police powers remain effective, proportionate and used consistently, including in relation to lawful protest.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Part 3 of her Department's White paper entitled From local to national: a new model for policing White Paper, published on 26 January 2026, how many (a) strategic authority mayors and (bi) council leaders will be placed on a Policing and Crime Board.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Policing and Crime Boards will be made up of upper-tier local authority leaders, and where they are present in the force area, Strategic Authority Mayors. This will ensure that the whole force area is represented by elected individuals. The exact number will be influenced by the number of upper-tier local authorities and Strategic Authorities in that area; we anticipate Policing and Crime Boards will be between 5 to 11 members.
Policing and Crime Boards will also include two independent members, to bring unique skills and expertise. They will be required to be supported by a Policing and Crime Lead, who will exercise many of the functions of the Board on their behalf, ensuring that there is a dedicated lead for policing on a day-to-day basis.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 22 of the Police reform white paper, From Local to National: A New Model for Policing (CP1489), by when will she design new standards so that neighbourhood officers are not routinely abstracted to other areas.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Visible and responsive local policing is essential to restoring public confidence. The Government is committed to rebuilding neighbourhood policing and restoring the vital link between police forces and the communities they serve.
As part of our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we are working with forces to develop national abstraction standards for delivery by the end of this Parliament. These will protect the additional 13,000 neighbourhood officers from being routinely abstracted so they can focus on tackling crime and anti-social behaviour in their neighbourhoods.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Part 3 of her Department's White paper entitled From local to national: a new model for policing White Paper, published on 26 January 2026, what her planned timetable is for the review of the police funding formula.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The White Paper represents the most significant reforms to policing for nearly 200 years. The reforms to our policing system set out in the White Paper will have significant consequences for the way policing is funded in future.
Changes to police governance, force mergers and the creation of the National Police Service require a new way of allocating funding between forces, aligned with these new structures. We will therefore review the police funding formula once the implementation of police reform is underway so that the new formula reflects the new police force structures.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 22 of the Police reform white paper, From Local to National: A New Model for Policing (CP1489), by when will every neighbourhood police officer and Police Community Support Officer have completed enhanced additional training.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee (NPG) commitments were met in July 2025, including the start of the national roll out of the College of Policing’s Neighbourhood Policing Programme – Career Pathway (NPP), providing specialist training to police officers and PCSOs.
The NPG confirms by the end of this Parliament, every neighbourhood police officer and PCSO will complete enhanced additional training under the NPP, covering themes such as community engagement, problem solving and tackling ASB.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the nationality breakdown was of people subject to decisions under paragraphs SUI 26.1 and SUI 26.2 of the Part Suitability of the Immigration Rules in each year since 1 December 2020.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
This information could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.