Apr. 01 2026
Source Page: Orgreave Inquiry: Terms of Reference. 2p.Apr. 01 2026
Source Page: Letter dated 24/03/2026 from Shabana Mahmood MP to the Home Affairs Select Committee regarding the appointment of an independent reviewer to conduct an overarching review into the death of Sir David Amess. 1p.Report Apr. 01 2026
Committee: Home Affairs Committee (Department: Home Office)Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average staffing complement is for a ministerial private office within their Department; what grades those staff are appointed at; what the typical remuneration and contracted working hours are for those posts; and what the staff turnover rate is.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Ministerial private offices in the Home Office have a mean of 6 staff members, at grades ranging from Executive Officer to Grade 6 (excluding the Principal Private Secretary and one other member of staff, who are Senior Civil Servants). Staff are contracted between 36 and 37 hours per week depending on their terms and conditions, and their base remuneration is on this basis. An additional allowance is paid in recognition of the expectation that private office staff face additional and out of hours demands. The most recent publication of Home Office salaries (December 2024) lists the salary bands for these grades as:
Grade | Salary minimum | Salary maximum | Private Office allowance |
Executive Officer | £30,000 | £35,700 | £5,000 |
Higher Executive Officer | £37,300 | £44,191 | £6,000 |
Senior Executive Officer | £44,720 | £52,130 | £7,000 |
Grade 7 | £60,300 | £70,730 | £9,000 |
Grade 6 | £73,900 | £85,690 | £10,000 |
Pay bands for the Senior Civil Service are centrally determined.
Staff turnover for calendar year 2025 was 68%.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing enforceable duties on chief officers of police to ensure that officers comply with (1) the "Believe, React, Fast" duty to require a prompt and appropriate response to reports of domestic abuse and rape and serious sexual offences, including risk assessment, recording and safeguarding, and (2) the Gaia Principle, campaigned for by the Gemini Project, requiring diligent identification and consideration of all relevant intelligence relating to suspects.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We expect all reports of a sexual offence to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure. Police officers must follow all reasonable lines of enquiry, and this includes seeking out relevant information on suspects in VAWG offences.
The National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection is supporting police forces to implement Operation Soteria, helping ensure sexual offence investigations are always suspect-focused, and rolling out Raneem’s Law to embed independent domestic abuse specialists in police control rooms.
Police officers are already required to act diligently in the exercise of their duties, as part of the statutory standards of professional behaviour, a breach of which can result in disciplinary action. In addition, the Code of Ethics, published by the College of Policing in 2024, includes guidance on ethical and professional behaviour in policing. This makes it clear that the police must “gather, verify and assess all appropriate and available information”, which correlates with the policing commitment to pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry.
The recently published Police Reform White Paper outlined this Government’s commitment to drive quality, consistency and efficiency in policing and ensure it is set up to deliver for the public. These reforms will create a more consistent service by holding police forces accountable for delivery, supported by new powers to intervene where forces fall short.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the monitoring of domestic extremist groups.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government is delivering a fundamental reset of how we counter extremism, ensuring we have the tools, capabilities, and partnerships to match the scale and nature of an evolving threat.
As announced in the Government’s Protecting What Matters publication, the Home Office is expanding the Prevent Disruptions team, which horizon scans for extremist influence and events, with additional resource to understand and disrupt extremist networks at a national and local level. This builds on strong action by the team over the past two years, where the highest harm extremists from across the political spectrum were targeted and stopped from spreading their divisive views.
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: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve information sharing between the Community Security Trust and the Counter Terrorism Policing Operations Centre.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises the importance of effective engagement between policing and communities, including representative bodies, in protecting communities from hate crime, terrorism, and wider security threats.
Whilst it would not be appropriate to comment on specific arrangements, the Government continues to support strong partnership working between the police and communities, including through established relationships with organisations such as the Community Security Trust.
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: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2026 to Question 117978 on Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, how many registrations have been entered on the enhanced tier since the scheme's inception; and which countries have been identified on the enhanced tier.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Foreign Influence Registration scheme came into force on 1 July 2025 with Russia and Iran specified on the enhanced tier.
The Government do not intend to provide details of registrations beyond those that appear on the public Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) register, as doing so could identify information not intended to be published and undermine the scheme’s objectives. Registrations under the enhanced tier are not published unless they relate to political influence activities; there are also circumstances in which publication will not occur, for example where publication could create a risk to the safety or interests of the UK.
An annual report on the operation of FIRS will be laid before Parliament. This will include, among other things, the number of registrations under both tiers, the number of information notices issued, and the number of people charged and prosecuted for failing to comply with the scheme’s requirements. The first report will be published as soon as practicable after 30 June 2026.
Asked by: Mohammad Yasin (Labour - Bedford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to promote the adoption of standards such as BS 25700 to support organisations in meeting their obligations under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
This Government is clear that no company in the UK should have forced labour in its supply chain and encourages businesses to monitor their supply chains with rigour, to uncover and remedy any instances of modern slavery they may find.
The Government published new transparency in supply chains statutory guidance in March 2025. This new guidance is more comprehensive, practical and ambitious – calling on businesses to go further and faster.
The Home Office worked with a wide group of stakeholders from business, academia and civil society to ensure the guidance reflects current best practice and international standards, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Due Diligence Guidance.
This will support businesses to produce high quality statements, which are underpinned by effective measures to prevent and effectively respond to modern slavery.
The BSI standard on modern slavery (BSI25700) provides similar guidance to support businesses assess and monitor their supply chains. We encourage businesses to draw on all available guidance and standards to continue to improve their supply chain monitoring.