Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 12 November to Question 88185 on Hadush Kebatu, how many small discretionary payments to prevent the failure of returns were made by the Home Office in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available; what was (a) the maximum and (b) the minimum amount paid; and were such payments made under (i) the Voluntary Returns Service, (ii) the Facilitated Returns Scheme or (iii) another scheme.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The information requested regarding small discretionary payments to prevent the failure of returns are not available from published statistics.

The Home Office does already publish all available information on returns expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and accounts at Home Office annual reports and accounts - Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Wealden District Council have raised legal objections to the use of Crowborough Training Camp to house asylum seekers.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

We do not comment on legal matters, however all sites progressed for asylum accommodation will comply with safety, security, health and wellbeing standards. This government will close every asylum hotel. Work is well underway, with more suitable sites being brought forward to ease pressure on communities across the country.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to review data-sharing systems between the Prison Service and immigration enforcement.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

We keep all data sharing systems and agreements between the Home Office and MoJ under review. We will be mindful of any recommendations or proposals for improvement that might flow from Dame Lynne Owens' review into the incident at Chelmsford and any wider learning on releases in error.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many recorded offences involved individuals with pending asylum applications in the last 12 months.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The requested data on offences involving asylum-seekers is not currently published by the Home Office.

As explained in this note published in April, systems for collecting and compiling data related to foreign national offenders in the immigration system are currently undergoing a redesign. The Home Office is currently working towards a release of this data. At this stage, we are not in a position to detail what this will contain or the exact timing of the release.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to publish more detailed statistics on criminal convictions among people with pending asylum claims.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The requested data on offences involving asylum-seekers is not currently published by the Home Office.

As explained in this note published in April, systems for collecting and compiling data related to foreign national offenders in the immigration system are currently undergoing a redesign. The Home Office is currently working towards a release of this data. At this stage, we are not in a position to detail what this will contain or the exact timing of the release.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of individuals working without the legal right to do so in each of the last five years.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold an estimate of the number of individuals working without the legal right to do so. Details of Immigration Enforcement activity to tackle illegal employment in the UK can be found in the Home Office’s published transparency data: Illegal working and enforcement activity to the end of September 2025 - GOV.UK

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Mayor of London on public consultation on police station front counter closures.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

A key part of this Government’s Safer Streets Mission is restoring neighbourhood policing and rebuilding trust and confidence in policing.

This is why, under this government, we will ensure 3,000 more neighbourhood officers will be on the beat by April 2026.

The Metropolitan Police will receive up to £3.8 billion in 2025-26, a £262 million increase in funding through the settlement.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress her Department has made on the national statutory inquiry into grooming gangs.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We are working urgently to establish the national inquiry and appoint a suitable independent chair.

Baroness Casey is now actively supporting this process. We are also developing the Terms of Reference with partners across government and beyond, informed by early consultation with victims and survivors so that work on the inquiry can begin as soon as possible.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Crime and Policing Bill on the right to protest.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The right to peaceful protest is an important part of our democratic society. Measures in the Crime and Policing Bill strengthen the police's ability to manage disruptive and dangerous protests and prevent criminality.

They will help prevent intimidation near places of worship, and protect communities affected by repeated disruption, without imposing a blanket restriction on protests.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has issued guidance to local authorities on (a) when and (b) how often they can issue legal stop notices in relation to the housing of asylum seekers in their areas.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Planning enforcement action is not a matter for the Home Office.  This government will close every asylum hotel. Work is well underway, with more suitable sites being brought forward to ease pressure on communities across the country so that the Home Office continues to meet its statutory obligations while also carefully considering the impact on local areas.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the use of MOD Garats Hay to house asylum seekers.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

As part of our commitment to close all asylum hotels, we are working across government to consider a range of more appropriate sites including ex-military sites to reduce the impact on communities.

The Prime Minister has instructed the Home Office and Ministry of Defence to accelerate work on identifying appropriate sites, with results expected in the coming weeks and months.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Crime and Policing Bill on the right to protest.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The right to peaceful protest is an important part of our democratic society. Measures in the Crime and Policing Bill strengthen the police's ability to manage disruptive and dangerous protests and prevent criminality.

They will help prevent intimidation near places of worship, and protect communities affected by repeated disruption, without imposing a blanket restriction on protests.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers have been relocated to Northern Ireland since January 2024.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Northern Ireland is not a dispersal area and asylum seekers are therefore not routed between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Only those claiming asylum in Northern Ireland are accommodated there. Northern Ireland’s asylum population is however, proportionate to its population when compared to the UK.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, and by local authority can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign national offenders are awaiting removal to their home countries under the UK Borders Act 2007.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The information you have requested is not currently available from published statistics.

Work is underway to improve the quality of information held by the department on foreign national offenders (FNOs). If this work progresses as planned, the Home Office intend to publish more detailed information on FNOs subject to deportation. Further information on this work can be found at: Statistics on foreign national offenders and the immigration system - GOV.UK.

We are committed to delivering justice for victims and safer streets for our communities. Foreign nationals who commit serious crimes will face the full force of the law and be deported at the earliest opportunity.

This government has already removed almost 5,200 foreign national offenders in its first year of office, a 14 per cent increase on the previous twelve months (5 July 2024 to 4 July 2025) and we will continue to crack down on any foreign nationals who come to this country and break our rules.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of asylum support rates on child poverty among families seeking asylum; and whether she has shared this assessment with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for consideration in the Child Poverty Strategy.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has a legal obligation to meet the essential living needs of destitute asylum seekers. We meet this obligation by providing accommodation and a weekly allowance. The level of the allowance given is reviewed each year to ensure it remains sufficient in meeting essential living needs.

Additional support is available to pregnant women, young children, and individuals who can show they have exceptional needs. Asylum seeking children are also entitled to access free healthcare and schooling, plus free school meals.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what decisions have been taken on the use of Dundee Workforce Accommodation Alloway (Dundee Digs) DD4 8UA for housing asylum seekers.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government have committed to close all asylum hotels and to achieve this, we will look at a range of more appropriate sites like disused accommodation, industrial and ex-military sites so that we can reduce the impact on communities.

For the safety, security and wellbeing of staff and those being accommodated, the Home Office does not disclose information about accommodation sites which may or may not be utilised to the general public.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department provides support to (a) illegal migrants and (b) asylum seekers to get married.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not provide support to illegal migrants or asylum seekers to get married. General guidance for all persons seeking to marry in the UK can be found at this link Marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales: Check if you can get married or form a civil partnership - GOV.UK and Marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales: If you or your partner are from outside the UK or Ireland - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the proposed expansion of the Campsfield Immigration Removal Centre (Phase 2), whether a formal decision has been taken to rely on the Crown Development route under sections 293D to 293E of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has taken the decision to use the Crown Development route to planning for Phase 2 of the Campsfield Immigration Removal Centre development.

Crown development applications require extensive consultation of the local planning authority, and planning consent will be obtained before we proceed with phase 2 of the development.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what independent support has been put in place to support victims and survivors of child sexual exploitation ahead of the national inquiry.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We recognise the devastating impacts that child sexual exploitation and abuse can have on victims and survivors and are committed to ensuring that specialist support is provided to help victims and survivors rebuild and move forward with their lives.

It will be up to the national inquiry, once established, to establish its own processes to engage and support victims and survivors.

In the meantime, victims and survivors participating in the inquiry set-up engagement process, coordinated by the National Working Group (NWG) charity, are able to access support, including therapeutic support (via the NWG).

We are also providing £2.59 million in 2025-26 for the Support for Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Fund, providing a range of support services with national reach.

The Home Office also launched the invitation-to-tender for the national Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship (ICTG) Service contract in September 2025, which will expand coverage from two thirds of local authorities in England and Wales to all local authorities in England and Wales.

The service provides specialist modern slavery and child exploitation expertise to ensure child victims are protected from further harm, prevent possible repeat victimisation or re-trafficking, and promote the child’s recovery. It supports child victims of sexual exploitation and grooming who have been referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), and the professionals working with them.

The Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC) provides specialist support to adult victims of exploitation and trafficking who have been identified through the NRM in England and Wales. This includes adults who experienced sexual exploitation as children.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure adherence to the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 for the standards of (a) care and (b) accommodation for dogs; and how many times the Animals in Science Regulation Unit has found sites to not be complaint with those standards in the last 12 months.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Animals in Science Regulation Unit conduct audits to ensure establishments comply with the terms of their licences, the Code of Practice and with ASPA.

The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) provides a robust and rigorous regulatory framework that protects animals used in science. All establishments licenced under ASPA are required to comply with the published Code of Practice, which sets out standards for appropriate care and accommodation of animals, including dogs.

All non-compliance cases are published in the Animals in Science Regulation Unit’s Annual Reports which are available at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit-annual-reports

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to stop begging which is organised by criminal gangs.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

On 10th June, the Government announced its intention to repeal the outdated Vagrancy Act 1824. The Government has been clear that no one should be criminalised simply for having nowhere to live.

We have introduced targeted replacement measures in the Crime and Policing Bill to ensure police have the powers they need to keep communities safe, including a new criminal offence of facilitating begging for gain, an offence which was previously provided for under the 1824 Act.

This is intended to address organised begging, which is often facilitated by criminal gangs, and exploits vulnerable individuals.

This offence makes it unlawful for anyone to organise others to beg, for example, by driving people to places for them to beg. It will allow the police to tackle the organised crime gangs that use this exploitative technique to obtain cash for illicit activity.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 27 October (HL10860), what consideration they have given to granting for-profit housing providers the ability to issue respect orders and housing and youth injunctions through the Crime and Policing Bill.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are strengthening the powers available to relevant agencies under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to tackle ASB.

For-profit Social Housing Providers have grown in prominence since the 2014 Act first came into force. While it is important that all agencies have the powers they need to tackle ASB, it is also important that changes to the agencies that can use the powers in the 2014 ASB Crime and Policing Act are considered carefully, on a case-by-case basis. The addition of for-profit social housing providers as applicant agencies for Respect Orders, housing Injnuctions and Youth Inductions remains under consideration.

However, we are legislating in the Crime and Policing Bill to extend the power to issue Closure Notices to Registered Social Housing Providers, including For Profit Housing Providers. This will make it easier for Housing Providers to take swift action to prevent disruptive ASB.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many enforcement actions have been taken against gig economy companies found to have engaged workers without the legal right to work in the United Kingdom since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold an estimate of the prevalence of illegalworking among people using app-based delivery platforms. The recent jointwork between the Office for National Statistics and the Home Office explainsthe complexities - Measuring illegal migration: our current view - Office forNational Statistics.Through the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, the Government isintroducing tough new laws to clamp down on illegal working, including in thefood delivery sector. This means that for the very first time, employmentchecks will be extended to cover businesses hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers in sectors like food delivery.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure Border Control facilities have back-up plans in place in case of IT (a) systems failures and (b) service provider outages.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Our Border IT systems have a range of measures in place to ensure they can continue to run critical services in the event of any major service issues. This includes critical incident, crisis and business continuity plans depending on the nature of the issue and what is impacted. It would not be appropriate to document the specific detail of those measures.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) operating system and (b) version of that operating system is used at (i) Sevington inland border facility and (ii) other border control posts.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Our Border IT systems have a range of measures in place to ensure they can continue to run critical services in the event of any major service issues. This includes critical incident, crisis and business continuity plans depending on the nature of the issue and what is impacted. It would not be appropriate to document the specific detail of those measures.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the IT system at Sevington inland border facility was last updated.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Our Border IT systems have a range of measures in place to ensure they can continue to run critical services in the event of any major service issues. This includes critical incident, crisis and business continuity plans depending on the nature of the issue and what is impacted. It would not be appropriate to document the specific detail of those measures.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to launch its consultation on the future of the British National (Overseas) 5+1 Indefinite Leave to Remain visa route.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We will be consulting on the new settlement rules later this year.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the trial of extending the move on period for refugees from 28 to 56 days on the number of refugees who were rough sleeping during the trial.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

On 9 December 2024, the Home Office operationalised a pilot to extend the grace period to 56 days to support local authorities during a period of increased asylum decision making and with the transition to eVisas.

An independent evaluation has been ongoing regarding the impact of this pilot. The evaluation—conducted by NatCen and RSM—has gathered insights from local authorities, devolved governments, service providers, and voluntary sector partners. It is assessing the impact of the extended move-on period, the introduction of eVisas, and associated initiatives such as Asylum Move On Liaison Officers and targeted funding for local authorities.

Evidence from the evaluation of Move On initiatives will inform government decisions around whether to make any changes to the move on period, future funding and resource deployment.  It is important that we take our time to do this, considering overall net costs to taxpayers and impact on the accommodation estate, before making a decision on longer term policy.

From 1 September 2025, the Home Office has taken the decision to pause the 56 day move on period pilot for single adults in receipt of a positive asylum decision, with the exception of individuals who are pregnant, over the age of 65 or have a known/evidence disability, as defined by the 2010 Equality Act. This is to ensure that the asylum system continues to run efficiently, and to enable us to continue taking action both to reduce the overall number of asylum hotels in different communities, and the number of people staying in them.

We closely monitor the impact of all our policies, including the move on period, on the number and occupancy of asylum hotels, the overall costs of the asylum accommodation estate, the wider effect on local communities, and any pressures placed on local authorities and public amenities.

The Home Office has worked, and continues to work, with colleagues at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) to understand rough sleeping and homelessness pressures within local authorities in England. It continues to identify and make efficiencies in supporting newly recognised refugees integrate into society before their support is discontinued to mitigate the risk of homelessness.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of extending the move-on period for refugees from 28 to 56 days.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

On 9 December 2024, the Home Office operationalised a pilot to extend the grace period to 56 days to support local authorities during a period of increased asylum decision making and with the transition to eVisas.

An independent evaluation has been ongoing regarding the impact of this pilot. The evaluation—conducted by NatCen and RSM—has gathered insights from local authorities, devolved governments, service providers, and voluntary sector partners. It is assessing the impact of the extended move-on period, the introduction of eVisas, and associated initiatives such as Asylum Move On Liaison Officers and targeted funding for local authorities.

Evidence from the evaluation of Move On initiatives will inform government decisions around whether to make any changes to the move on period, future funding and resource deployment.  It is important that we take our time to do this, considering overall net costs to taxpayers and impact on the accommodation estate, before making a decision on longer term policy.

From 1 September 2025, the Home Office has taken the decision to pause the 56 day move on period pilot for single adults in receipt of a positive asylum decision, with the exception of individuals who are pregnant, over the age of 65 or have a known/evidence disability, as defined by the 2010 Equality Act. This is to ensure that the asylum system continues to run efficiently, and to enable us to continue taking action both to reduce the overall number of asylum hotels in different communities, and the number of people staying in them.

We closely monitor the impact of all our policies, including the move on period, on the number and occupancy of asylum hotels, the overall costs of the asylum accommodation estate, the wider effect on local communities, and any pressures placed on local authorities and public amenities.

The Home Office has worked, and continues to work, with colleagues at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) to understand rough sleeping and homelessness pressures within local authorities in England. It continues to identify and make efficiencies in supporting newly recognised refugees integrate into society before their support is discontinued to mitigate the risk of homelessness.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the guidance entitled Suitability: non-conducive grounds for refusal or cancellation of entry clearance or permission, published on 19 January 2024, whether Elon Musk would meet the criteria of a person not conducive to the public good.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

It is longstanding Home Office policy not to comment on individual cases.

Where a foreign national is seeking to enter or stay in the UK, in order to qualify they will be assessed by the Home Office against a range of provisions in the current Immigration Rules relating to criminality and other adverse conduct and character prior to their entry to, and any previous time spent in, the UK. Failure to satisfy these criteria may mean their application for a visa, entry clearance, permission to enter or permission to stay will be refused, depending on the severity of past offences or other factors in their history.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average processing time was for work visas for social care staff since July 2024.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics,and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose ofanswering this question at disproportionate cost.

However, it should be noted that those applying under the Health and Care Visabenefit from faster in-country processing times; are exempt from paying theImmigration Health Surcharge (IHS) and pay a lower fee for visas.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2025 to Question 31540 on Entry Clearances: Overseas Students, whether her Department has considered using (a) Programme for International Student Assessment results and (b) other international benchmarking data when determining which applicants are required to take additional English language tests.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We refer the honourable member to our answer of 24 February 2025 to PQ UIN 31540. Our position has not changed.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claims were made by people holding student visas by nationality in the last 12 months; and what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the number of such claims.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of people claiming asylum after entering the UK with a visa or other leave, by nationality and type of leave, in the year ending June 2025 is published in table Asy_01e of the ‘Asylum summary tables’. Data for the year ending September 2025 will be published on 27 November 2025.

The UK keeps its visa system under regular review, and the government has been clear that we will do whatever it takes to tackle the issue of visa abuse.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of the prevalence of illegal working among people using app-based delivery platforms.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold an estimate of the prevalence of illegal working among people using app-based delivery platforms. The recent joint work between the Office for National Statistics and the Home Office explains the complexities - Measuring illegal migration: our current view - Office for National Statistics.

Through the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, the Government is introducing tough new laws to clamp down on illegal working, including in the food delivery sector. This means that for the very first time, employment checks will be extended to cover businesses hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers in sectors like food delivery.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish data on the number of (a) criminal penalties issued, (b) prosecutions undertaken and (c) successful convictions secured for illegal working since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure Border Control IT systems operate with full functionality.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Our Border IT systems have a range of measures in place to ensure they can continue to run critical services in the event of any major service issues. This includes critical incident, crisis and business continuity plans depending on the nature of the issue and what is impacted. It would not be appropriate to document the specific detail of those measures.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of British citizens who have been registered under the European Travel Information and Authorisation System at (a) airports and (b) the Port of Dover.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The European Travel Information and Authorisation System is not due to launch until late 2026.

Information on the number of travellers registered by the European Entry/Exit System is not recorded by the Home Office as it is a matter for the European Commission and French authorities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to tackle the illegal (a) sale, (b) possession and (c) use of cannabis.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

As part of our Plan for Change and mission to make our streets safer we will continue to work across health, policing and wider public services to drive down drug use and stop those who profit from its supply.

Cannabis is controlled as a Class B drug on the basis of clear medical and scientific evidence of its harms. The maximum penalty for possession of a Class B drug is up to 5 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both; and the maximum penalty for supply and production of a Class B drug is up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.

This year, we are investing more than £43m in the County Lines Programme to target exploitative drug dealing gangs, whilst breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade. Between July 2024 and June 2025, the Programme has resulted in more than 2,300 deal lines closed and 6,200 arrests, including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,100 deal line holders.

We are taking an end-to-end approach, including working with law enforcement partners upstream and at the UK border to tackle the gangs responsible for drug trafficking. UK Law Enforcement delivers a significant amount of operational activity overseas and at the UK border to detect and seize illicit drugs being sold and trafficked to the UK. In 2023/24 police forces and Border Force seized the largest quantity of herbal cannabis since the time series began in 1973. This was a 53% increase from the previous year (55.59 to 85.01 tonnes).

We have also committed to driving down drug related harms through prevention and treatment, including by creating local drug partnerships with police forces and public health services.

We will continue to draw on the advice of experts, including our independent advisers in the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, and follow the evidence for what works in drug prevention and in building the resilience of people to avoid being drawn into drug use.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Henley and Thames of 10 October 2025 on the importance of police referrals to suicide bereavement support services.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Minister for Police and Crime Prevention will reply in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many Taser 10 devices will be deployed to police forces over the next 12 months.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Tasers provide specially trained officers with an important tactical option when facing situations with the potential for violence. The number of Tasers purchased by forces are operational decisions for Chief Officers to determine in line with their assessments of threats and risks.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proceeds of crime funding in England directed towards tackling youth criminal exploitation and gangs.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Funds recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) are distributed under the Home Office’s Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS). The objective of ARIS is to drive asset recovery performance, by providing agencies with incentives to use POCA powers to recover more criminal assets, with the overall aim of cutting crime and delivering justice.

Under the scheme, a proportion of the assets recovered using powers under POCA are redistributed to the agencies involved in the recovery, based on their relative contributions. The current allocation sees ARIS receipts split 50:50 between central government and operational partners.

In the spirit of the Scheme, the Government encourages agencies to use ARIS funds to increase asset recovery and, where appropriate, fund local crime fighting priorities for the benefit of the community. However, the use of ARIS allocations/payments is a matter for each agency and is left to their discretion. Further information on ARIS and how funds are spent can be found here: Asset recovery statistics: financial years ending 2020 to 2025 - GOV.UK

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum applications have been approved for people with a criminal record in the UK prior to the commencement of their asylum application.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The requested data on asylum applications from foreign national offenders is not currently published by the Home Office.

As explained in this note published in April 2025, systems for collecting and compiling data related to foreign national offenders in the immigration system are currently undergoing a transition to improve the quality of information held by the department. The Home Office is currently working towards a release of this data. At this stage, we are not in a position to detail what this will contain or the exact timing of the release.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2025 to Question 83507 on Undocumented Migrants: English Channel, whether that figure refers to the number of people prevented from crossing.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

9,686 refers to the number of attempts by people prevented from crossing in that time period.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the UK Government has contributed funding towards a (a) wall and (b) barrier near (i) Dunkirk and (ii) Calais.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office cannot comment on the specifics of French activity, but the Sandhurst agreement and related finances are referred to in this press release from the beginning of the year - New UK-French action to go after smuggler gangs - GOV.UK

We continue close cooperation with France to strengthen border security and disrupt criminal gangs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of litigation on the implementation of the one-in, one-out migrant returns agreement with France; and whether policy changes have been made in response.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Litigation related to the UK-France Agreement on the Prevention of Dangerous Journeys was anticipated and our policies, processes and operational practices were developed accordingly and designed to be lawful.

Litigation is a standard element of all returns processes from the UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which French (a) ministries, (b) local authorities and (c) private contractors have received UK funding for (i) border security and (ii) migration control infrastructure since 2023.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office cannot comment on the specifics of French activity, but the Sandhurst agreement and related finances are referred to in this press release from the beginning of the year - New UK-French action to go after smuggler gangs - GOV.UK

We continue close cooperation with France to strengthen border security and disrupt criminal gangs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, through which (a) programmes and (b) funds the UK has supported border-infrastructure projects in France since 2023; and how that expenditure is monitored.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office cannot comment on the specifics of French activity, but the Sandhurst agreement and related finances are referred to in this press release from the beginning of the year - New UK-French action to go after smuggler gangs - GOV.UK

We continue close cooperation with France to strengthen border security and disrupt criminal gangs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that a person seeking asylum has not been involved in terrorism; and if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the application of these checks in the last five years.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

All asylum claimants undergo mandatory security checks to establish their identity and to link it to their biometric details for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks - including war crimes, crimes against humanity and terrorism. To protect the integrity of the specific identity and security checking processes that are conducted, details about them are not disclosed publicly.

All asylum and human rights claims are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. Our guidance for considering asylum claims is available on GOV.UK at: Assessing credibility and refugee status: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Each assessment is made using relevant case law and the latest available country of origin information, which is based on evidence taken from a wide range of reliable sources. Our assessment of the situation of a given group in a given country, is set out in the relevant country policy and information note, which is available on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/country-policy-and-information-notes

Under Article 1F of the Refugee Convention, we will deny protection to those who commit serious crimes or represent a threat to national security.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether all asylum applications have been subject to the same consideration criteria in the last five years.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

All asylum claimants undergo mandatory security checks to establish their identity and to link it to their biometric details for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks - including war crimes, crimes against humanity and terrorism. To protect the integrity of the specific identity and security checking processes that are conducted, details about them are not disclosed publicly.

All asylum and human rights claims are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. Our guidance for considering asylum claims is available on GOV.UK at: Assessing credibility and refugee status: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Each assessment is made using relevant case law and the latest available country of origin information, which is based on evidence taken from a wide range of reliable sources. Our assessment of the situation of a given group in a given country, is set out in the relevant country policy and information note, which is available on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/country-policy-and-information-notes

Under Article 1F of the Refugee Convention, we will deny protection to those who commit serious crimes or represent a threat to national security.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) security and (b) criminal record checks are made by her Department when considering an application for asylum.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

All asylum claimants undergo mandatory security checks to establish their identity and to link it to their biometric details for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks - including war crimes, crimes against humanity and terrorism. To protect the integrity of the specific identity and security checking processes that are conducted, details about them are not disclosed publicly.

All asylum and human rights claims are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. Our guidance for considering asylum claims is available on GOV.UK at: Assessing credibility and refugee status: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Each assessment is made using relevant case law and the latest available country of origin information, which is based on evidence taken from a wide range of reliable sources. Our assessment of the situation of a given group in a given country, is set out in the relevant country policy and information note, which is available on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/country-policy-and-information-notes

Under Article 1F of the Refugee Convention, we will deny protection to those who commit serious crimes or represent a threat to national security.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many companies have a licence to grow cannabis in the UK.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

There are currently 102 licences in extant to cultivate low THC cannabis (Industrial Hemp) in Great Britain. The majority of these licences will be issued to farms. A small proportion of these licences will be issued to educational or research institutes.

The licences are generally issued for a validity period of three growing seasons and therefore will include licences issued in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Standard ‘cannabis cultivation licences’ may be issued for research or pharmaceutical purposes.

In the last year (to 11 November 2025) 16 companies have been issued ‘High THC’ cannabis cultivation licences at a total of 19 sites. A proportion of these licences will have been issued for research purposes.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many legal cannabis farms there are in the UK.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

There are currently 102 licences in extant to cultivate low THC cannabis (Industrial Hemp) in Great Britain. The majority of these licences will be issued to farms. A small proportion of these licences will be issued to educational or research institutes.

The licences are generally issued for a validity period of three growing seasons and therefore will include licences issued in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Standard ‘cannabis cultivation licences’ may be issued for research or pharmaceutical purposes.

In the last year (to 11 November 2025) 16 companies have been issued ‘High THC’ cannabis cultivation licences at a total of 19 sites. A proportion of these licences will have been issued for research purposes.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 79669 on Police National Database, when the (a) platform upgrade and (b) transition to the cloud will take place.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office is currently considering a variety of options for future delivery of the Police National Database transformation programme. Information will be issued once a decision has been taken. The Home Office is unable to provide further information at this stage.

Service continuity of this vital intelligence system and critical national infrastructure is our primary concern and that will enable the long-term development and modernisation of our national intelligence capabilities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 79669 on Police National Database, what options for future delivery of the Police National Database transformation programme she is considering.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office is currently considering a variety of options for future delivery of the Police National Database transformation programme. Information will be issued once a decision has been taken. The Home Office is unable to provide further information at this stage.

Service continuity of this vital intelligence system and critical national infrastructure is our primary concern and that will enable the long-term development and modernisation of our national intelligence capabilities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) police officers and (b) civilian staff were employed by the National Wildlife Crime Unit on 1 November 2025.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government recognises the excellent work of the National Wildlife Crime Unit and the National Rural Crime Unit. The NWCU and the NRCU play key roles in helping police across the UK tackle organised theft and disrupt serious and organised crime groups.

This financial year the Home Office has provided a funding boost of over £800,000, which will allow these specialist units to continue their work in tackling rural and wildlife crime which can pose unique challenges for policing given the scale and isolation of rural areas.

The NWCU employs five police officers and thirteen civilian staff and the NRCU employs two police officers and six civilian staff members.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) police officers and (b) civilian staff were employed by the National Rural Crime Unit on 1 November 2025.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government recognises the excellent work of the National Wildlife Crime Unit and the National Rural Crime Unit. The NWCU and the NRCU play key roles in helping police across the UK tackle organised theft and disrupt serious and organised crime groups.

This financial year the Home Office has provided a funding boost of over £800,000, which will allow these specialist units to continue their work in tackling rural and wildlife crime which can pose unique challenges for policing given the scale and isolation of rural areas.

The NWCU employs five police officers and thirteen civilian staff and the NRCU employs two police officers and six civilian staff members.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a (a) medal and (b) formal recognition of members of the emergency services who have sustained (i) severe and (ii) life-changing injuries in the line of duty.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Any official award is a gift from the Government, on behalf of His Majesty The King to recognise individuals within policing and emergency services personnel. The creation of a new award requires cross Government consensus and approval from the Committee on The Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals, before advice is put to HM The King to make his final decision.

The Home Office will continue to consider proposals for new awards for members of the emergency services. It is only right that we recognise the sacrifices made by the emergency services, and it is important to make sure this is considering fully and carefully to ensure any changes are proportionate and effective.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff employed in nursing homes in Scotland have had to leave their employer in the last 12 months as a result of their employer's sponsor licence being withdrawn.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

This Government is committed to taking action against employers who breach their duties as sponsors and exploit migrant workers.

UKVI are working closely with DHSC’s funded Regional Partnerships to ensure workers impacted in England have access to vacancies in Scotland. UKVI are also working with Scottish officials to deliver processes to support workers impacted by Scottish care providers receive the support they need.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many nursing homes in Scotland have had their sponsor licence withdrawn this year.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

This Government is committed to taking action against employers who breach their duties as sponsors and exploit migrant workers.

UKVI are working closely with DHSC’s funded Regional Partnerships to ensure workers impacted in England have access to vacancies in Scotland. UKVI are also working with Scottish officials to deliver processes to support workers impacted by Scottish care providers receive the support they need.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the overthrow of President Assad, whether they have plans to return Syrian refugees to Syria.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

When a refugee applies for settlement protection, a safe return review is carried out to determine and confirm that the need for protection is continuing. This applies to nationals of any country, including those from Syria. If there are, for example, significant improvements in country conditions or changes in personal circumstances that mean someone no longer needs protection, they may be expected to return to their country of origin or to apply to stay in the UK under other provisions of the Immigration Rules.

All asylum and human rights claims are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. No one who is found to be at risk of persecution or serious harm will be expected to return to their country of origin if it is unsafe.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce the time taken for the payment of refunds from her Department.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

UK Visas and Immigration have a range of customer service teams and processes in place to support customers where they may require a refund.

These teams ensure that refunds are made in a timely fashion and in line with the policies and procedures linked to the individual visa service that has been paid for.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of immigration controls to prevent human trafficking over the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

As part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangements, the UK does not operate routine immigration controls on journeys from Ireland to the UK, with no immigration checks being undertaken on the Ireland-Northern Ireland land border.

The UK carries out intelligence led operations to target potential abuse of CTA routes, including between Ireland and Northern Ireland but away from the land border.

There is a high level of cooperation on migration and border security between the UK and Ireland. We regularly monitor and review any identified trends and we work closely with our Irish colleagues in taking action to address this.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of border security measures at (a) ports and (b) airports in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Border Force performs checks on 100% of passengers arriving at the UK border on scheduled services, enabling interventions against those known or suspected to pose a risk to the national interest.

The UK and Ireland have a close and collaborative relationship on migration and border security, and we are jointly committed to protecting the Common Travel Area and safeguarding it from abuse.

Officers who work on the primary control ensure that all passengers are dealt with efficiently as possible to ensure border security. We also use dynamic deployment to staff the immigration control when required.

The UK’s border and immigration system is changing. We are transforming our border through automation and digitisation to make it quicker and more secure for the millions of people who pass through each year.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she last held a meeting with Ministers responsible for the Child Poverty Strategy to discuss the (a) potential implication of lengthened immigration routes and (b) No Recourse to Public Funds condition for children’s living standards; and when she plans to hold the next meeting.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The earned settlement proposals are subject to consultation, which will be launched later this year. No final decisions on the policy will be made until the consultation concludes.

The Home Office has agreed that children whose families have No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) should be included in the scope of the Government’s Child Poverty Strategy. The Child Poverty Strategy is due to be published later this year. I will continue to discuss and shape the approach with my officials and Government Ministers ahead of its publication.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the (a) lengthening of immigration routes to settlement and (b) No Recourse to Public Funds condition on the ability to meet objectives under the Child Poverty Strategy.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The earned settlement proposals are subject to consultation, which will be launched later this year. No final decisions on the policy will be made until the consultation concludes.

The Home Office has agreed that children whose families have No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) should be included in the scope of the Government’s Child Poverty Strategy. The Child Poverty Strategy is due to be published later this year. I will continue to discuss and shape the approach with my officials and Government Ministers ahead of its publication.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department (a) is engaging in the development of the Child Poverty Strategy and (b) will implement an exemption for families with children under 18 from the No Recourse to Public Funds condition.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The earned settlement proposals are subject to consultation, which will be launched later this year. No final decisions on the policy will be made until the consultation concludes.

The Home Office has agreed that children whose families have No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) should be included in the scope of the Government’s Child Poverty Strategy. The Child Poverty Strategy is due to be published later this year. I will continue to discuss and shape the approach with my officials and Government Ministers ahead of its publication.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle underage drug use.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is committed to protecting young people from the harms of drug use through a range of universal and targeted prevention activity and are using the recent report from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) ‘A Whole-System Response to Drug Prevention in the UK’ to inform our approach.

The Home Office is also working with The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to deliver an Innovation Fund to Reduce Demand for Illicit Substances to help us build our longer term understanding of how to prevent and reduce drug use, prevent associated harms and facilitate behaviour change.

Ketamine use in young people is increasing, so we have commissioned the ACMD to update their harms assessment on the drug, and DHSC have launched a media campaign to raise awareness of the risks posed by new drug trends and products. The campaign focusses on the adulteration of counterfeit medicines with other drugs like synthetic opioids, ketamine harms and adulteration of ‘THC vapes’.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of automated translation tools for use in the asylum decision making process.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not currently use AI or automation for interpreting or translation purposes.

The Home Office is currently exploring the technology landscape for translation and transcription solutions with the view to better understand the capabilities and their current maturity, along with the risks and benefits. The intent is to understand the feasibility and adequacy of utilising this type of technology to support processes within the Migration & Borders system. This exploration is also supportive of engaging with experts and academia to ensure a well-informed and evidence-based approach.

The Home Office is investing in innovative techniques, including AI, to explore how we can improve productivity, speed up processing the asylum backlog, streamline the provision of accommodation and support, and restore order in the asylum system. This will not be at the cost of compromising on accuracy due to the complexity and importance of asylum decisions.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of police officers who died by suicide in each of the last ten years.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not collect data on suicides or attempted suicides by police workers. Data on suicides by occupation have previously been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) available here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarri ages/deaths/adhocs/2726suicidebyoccupationinenglandandwales2023and202 4provisional.

A National Action Plan for Suicide Prevention and Postvention in policing has been launched, which aims to reduce rates among the police workforce as well as enhancing data recording.

The plan, which includes ensuring adequate training for the police workforce, emphasises a supportive environment that promotes mental health and combats stigma to ensure that those affected by suicide or suicidal thoughts can access appropriate and timely support.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4 July 2024; and what estimate their Department has made of the difference in capital cost between (A) the electric vehicles purchased by their Department and (B) comparable (1) petrol and (2) diesel models.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

CDEL – HOPS Change Budget

RDEL – Resource Budget

FY CDEL RDEL

20/21 £1,153,957.77

21/22 £1,066,198.03

22/23 £495,547.89 £721,655.00

23/24 £442,482.00

24/25 £1,123,253.86

25/26 £318,642.00

Sub Total £4,600,081.55 £721,655.00

Total £5,321,736.55

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) single sex and (b) gender neutral bathroom facilities her Department provides in its premises on Whitehall.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office’s main Whitehall building, 2 Marsham Street, has 81 single sex cubicles (39 Male & 42 Female cubicles) and 0 urinals.

There are 17 wheelchair accessible/non-gendered universal toilets (individual self-contained lockable toilet rooms which contain a toilet, washbasin and hand-drying facilities).

Note, figures above are for the toilets in HO demise only.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support Avon and Somerset Police to increase levels of community policing in communities in Yeovil constituency.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

This year, £200 million has been made available to support the first steps towards delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales by the end of this Parliament, including up to 3,000 additional neighbourhood officers by March 2026.

This major investment supports the commitment to make the country’s streets safer and reflects the scale of the challenges that many forces face and the Government’s determination to address them.

Based on their funding allocation of £4,574,856, Avon and Somerset Police’s projected growth over 2025 to 2026 in their neighbourhood teams will be 70 Police Officers. The local deployment of these officers remains an operational policing decision.

Additionally, the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee (NPG) is now being delivered across England and Wales to ensure consistent and high-quality neighbourhood policing. Every neighbourhood in Yeovil, now has named and contactable officers. As a result of the Guarantee, communities are benefitting from neighbourhood policing teams that are spending the majority of their time within their communities, delivering visible patrols and actively engaging with residents and businesses.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that irregular migrants deported under the UK/France treaty entitled Agreement on the Prevention of Dangerous Journeys, published on 5 August 2025, do not return to the UK illegally.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Department continues to work closely with French counterparts to ensure migrants returned under the UK-France agreement are clearly aware of the consequences of returning to the UK illegally – that they will be subject to removal once again - and to support French officials in encouraging migrants to pursue other options available to them in France. Where previously removed individuals have returned to the UK by small boat, they have been swiftly identified, detained and progressed for removal.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to update guidance for police forces on the investigation of (a) false and (b) malicious allegations as potential criminal offences.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Section 5 of the Criminal Law Act 1967 sets out that wasting police time is a criminal offence, which includes by knowingly making a false report.

Furthermore, the Common Law offence of perverting the course of justice could also be considered by police and the Crown Prosecution Service when investigating and making a decision on whether an offence has been committed.

The Home Office has no plans to amend or update any existing guidance in use by police in relation to these matters.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK's withdrawal from the Dublin Regulation on the 31 of December 2020 on levels of irregular migration into the United Kingdom.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

This government has not undertaken an assessment of the impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the Dublin arrangements in 2020. However, we are clear that cooperation with our EU partners is a crucial part of our response to the challenges posed by irregular migration. This is why the UK-France Agreement on the Prevention of Dangerous Journeys is so important, and why we will look at further such developments in future.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 12 November 2025 to Question 88185 on Hadush Kebatu, what operational guidance her Department has issued to prevent small discretionary payments from being used as (a) inducements and (b) bribes.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

All discretionary payments must go through a clearance process. Operational managers take into consideration the cost of returning someone to their final place of stay and supporting welfare and safety.

As always with expenditure on returns, these one-off costs must be set against the much higher long-term costs that would result from the same individuals remaining in the UK, including, where necessary, ongoing expenditure on accommodation or detention and the legal processes required to authorise their removal.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claimants were found to have provided a false age; and how many of those identified led to claims being rejected.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’.

Data on initial decisions and outcomes on asylum claims, is published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum claim and initial decisions detailed datasets’. The latest data relates to as at 30 June 2025.

Data for 30 September 2025 will be published on 27 November 2025.

Data on the number of raised and resolved age disputes is published in table Asy_D05 of the ‘Age disputes detailed datasets’ . Age disputes data for July 2024 onwards is not available due to ongoing work on a new case working system. Updated data will be included in a future edition of the Immigration System Statistics release.

Published Home Office data on asylum outcomes and age disputes does not include reasons for refusal.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of the initial asylum decisions resulting in refusal have been the subject of an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal between October 2024 and March 2025; and how many of those (a) were successful, (b) were unsuccessful and (c) are outstanding.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum appeals lodged, and determined by outcome, are published in tables Asy_D06 and Asy_D07, respectively, of the asylum detailed datasets. The latest data relates to the year ending March 2023. Appeals data for April 2023 onwards is not available due to ongoing work on a new case working system. Updated data will be included in a future edition of the Immigration system statistics release.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on asylum appeals in the ‘Tribunal Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the open caseload for appeals relating to asylum, protection and revocation of protection is published in table FIA_4. The latest data relates to as at March 2025.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 88046 on Economic Crime: British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, if she will make it her policy to collect data on the use of Exchange of Notes Arrangements in investigations.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

While we do not collect specific data on the use of Exchange of Notes Arrangements in investigations, we regularly review the effectiveness and usefulness of these arrangements as part of our ongoing policy considerations, including with law enforcement partners.

We are also mindful of the need to strike the appropriate balance when introducing any new reporting requirements on law enforcement agencies, ensuring that such measures support operational effectiveness without creating unnecessary burdens.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Border Force officers are deployed in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

As an intelligence-informed organisation, Border Force do not disclose specific details regarding the deployment of resources to individual border threats. This is to ensure the integrity of our operations, and avoid compromising the effectiveness of our security response, which is based upon real time intelligence and operational sensitivity.

Officers who work on the primary control ensure that all passengers are dealt with efficiently as possible to ensure border security.

We also use dynamic deployment to staff the immigration control when required.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent people who overstay their visas from working illegally for companies within the UK.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Under UK legislation, access to work is reserved to those who are eligible and have lawful immigration status in the UK. All employers are required to undertake right to work checks on any prospective employee to confirm their legal status. Sanctions exist where these requirements are not complied with.

The Government is leading a UK-wide crackdown on illegal working as part of a whole system approach to tackle illegal migration and to ensure fairness, order and control within the immigration and asylum system. This includes measures in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to ensure companies which contract workers to provide services under their company name, such as agency workers or workers in the gig economy, check a person’s right to work, intensified Home Office Immigration Enforcement teams operational activity across the UK as well as the recently announced introduction of digital ID by the end of this Parliament.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 3 November (HL11143), whether the information regarding citizenship applications for children is obtainable by using a breakdown of applications made under each section of the British Nationality Act 1981 for the last year for which information is available.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Whilst the information is obtainable, it is not currently available from published statistics. The relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing a community sponsorship scheme for refugees from Gaza.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We are not considering establishing a bespoke immigration route for Palestinians. In any humanitarian situation, the UK must carefully consider its approach in response. Any decision to implement a bespoke visa scheme would need to consider a range of factors, including assessing the unique crisis and relevant impacts on security, compliance and returns.

Palestinians who wish to come to the UK can do so via the existing routes available, which allow a person to apply to work, study, settle or join family in the UK. Further information can be found on the GOV.UK website: UK Visas and Immigration - GOV.UK

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 85820 on Marriages and Civil Partnerships: LGBT+ People, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the guidance on registering births to same-sex couples who conceive after marriage is applied consistently across all local registration offices.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The General Register Office for England and Wales provide handbooks, regular publications, and training products for registrars covering the full range of registration duties. Local authorities are responsible for ensuring their staff deliver services in accordance with the guidance.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that applications for naturalisation are concluded within a reasonable timeframe and; what progress her Department has made in reducing the backlog of applications for citizenship in Hornsey and Friern Barnet constituency.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The service standard for the processing of a straightforward application for British citizenship is six months.

The most recent Migration Transparency data published in August 2025 shows that 99.36% of straightforward applications were decided within service standard: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been employed by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner in each year since 2005; and what the annual budget was for the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner in each of those years.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

As an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body of the Home Office, the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA), formerly known as the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC), is operationally independent and responsible for the service it provides.

Details of its staffing levels and its budget are published online in its Annual Report and Accounts (ARAs). A list of annual reports and financial accounts, and business plans published by the Office of the Immigration Service Commissioner from 2005 to 2021 can be found here.

For more recent ARAs, the 2022/23 report can be found here and the 2023/24 report can be found here.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of removing prison officer roles from the Skilled Worker visa route on staffing levels in prisons.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to Parliamentary Question 76286.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has considered allowing people with Health and Care Worker visas to change employers within the care sector without requiring a new sponsorship certificate.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office is exploring ways of making changing employers easier. However, a Certificate of Sponsorship is the means by which an employer confirms they have a job for a worker which satisfies the requirements of the Immigration Rules and by which that sponsor confirms they are taking responsibility for them.

The Home Office has made no assessment of the of the potential impact of visa sponsorship restrictions on (a) staff availability and (b) continuity of care in the social care sector. That is a matter for the Department of Health and Social Care.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of visa sponsorship restrictions on (a) staff availability and (b) continuity of care in the social care sector.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office is exploring ways of making changing employers easier. However, a Certificate of Sponsorship is the means by which an employer confirms they have a job for a worker which satisfies the requirements of the Immigration Rules and by which that sponsor confirms they are taking responsibility for them.

The Home Office has made no assessment of the of the potential impact of visa sponsorship restrictions on (a) staff availability and (b) continuity of care in the social care sector. That is a matter for the Department of Health and Social Care.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the suspension of refugee family reunion routes on trends in levels of people attempting to cross the Channel in small boats.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office recognises that the suspension may affect families seeking reunification, particularly women and children.

However, the suspension is temporary and our approach still considers the overriding objective of family unity as alternative family routes will continue to be available. A partner or child of a person with protection status can apply under Appendix FM.

It is not possible to estimate the potential impact of the suspension on family migration applications or small boat arrivals, as there are a significant number of variables, including the measures we are putting in place as part of our wider strategy for preventing illegal and irregular migration, to stop individuals making these dangerous journeys across the Channel and risking lives in the process.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with police forces on improving the recruitment process for police officers.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is committed to ensuring there are consistent, high standards for entry into the police.

Individual police forces manage recruitment locally within a national application, assessment and selection framework, in line with guidance maintained by the College of Policing. We continue to work closely with the College to support ongoing improvements to all entry routes into policing, ensuring they are as effective as they can be for forces and participants, and that recruits across all forces consistently meet the same rigorous standards.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the suspension of refugee family reunification routes on the safety of (a) women and (b) children seeking to come to the UK.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office recognises that the suspension may affect families seeking reunification, particularly women and children.

However, the suspension is temporary and our approach still considers the overriding objective of family unity as alternative family routes will continue to be available. A partner or child of a person with protection status can apply under Appendix FM.

It is not possible to estimate the potential impact of the suspension on family migration applications or small boat arrivals, as there are a significant number of variables, including the measures we are putting in place as part of our wider strategy for preventing illegal and irregular migration, to stop individuals making these dangerous journeys across the Channel and risking lives in the process.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if it remains her policy to move to a multi-year police settlement model.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government recognises the importance of funding certainty to enable policing to deliver for their communities and is committed to giving police the resources they need to tackle crime. That is why the Chancellor has announced a real terms increase in police spending power over the next three years.

As with previous years, more detail on force funding allocations for 2026-27 will be set out at the forthcoming police funding settlement.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) reducing the threshold for a further closure order when a closure order under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 has been issued previously for the same individual and address and (b) otherwise ensuring previous closure orders are taken into account when making decisions on further closure orders.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The closure power can be used by the police and councils to close premises which are being used, or are likely to be used, to commit nuisance or disorder.

The closure order is a powerful tool which can restrict access to premises. The closure order can be implemented for a maximum of up to three months (with Magistrates able to extend for a further three months – not to exceed six months in total). Where the anti-social behaviour continues or is expected to continue beyond the six months, the relevant agencies are expected to explore other solutions to prevent further anti-social behaviour, such as Community Protection Notices and Civil Injunctions.

Courts can consider previous orders made for the same individual when considering a further closure order.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of people who have been arrested for knife crime-related incidents in the last 12 months.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects data on arrests in England and Wales, by offence group, as part of the ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical series. The latest available data, to the year ending March 2025 can be accessed here: Police powers and procedures England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK

However, data is collected by broader offence group, for example ‘Violence against the person’, therefore data on more specific offences such as knife crime-related incidents is not available.

The Government does hold data on police recorded knife crime which sets out that in the year ending June 25, there were 51,527 selected violent and sexual offences involving a knife or sharp instrument recorded by the police, a 5% reduction on the previous year, this includes an 18% reduction in homicide and a 6% reduction in knife-enabled assault.

Found: CommonsBTC - @CommonsBTC Sarah Jones MP Minister of State (Minister for Policing and Crime) Home Office

Found: Plan for Change to restore order to the immigration system and toughen enforcement of the rules, Home Office

Found: We hope to address some of these matters soon in an evidence session with a Home Office Minister, which

Found: Could the Government set out how the Department for Business and Trade, the Home Office, and HM Treasury

Found: Social:@CommonsJustice Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP Secretary of State for the Home Department Home Office

Found: The legislative change was requested by representatives from the Home Office, Department of Health,

Found: services In response to the Committee’s question regarding HMICFRS’s recommendation that the Home Office

Found: Tapp MP Minister for Migration & Citizenship 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF www.gov.uk/home-office

Found: The Home Office and the Department for Business and Trade are writing separately to address the Committee

Found: We have to allocate it for the rota.Mrs Hodgson: The Home Office or Justice. Chair: Which?

Found: End the “use of expensive hotel accommodation in this Parliament”: Ensure the Home Office does not use

Found: End the “use of expensive hotel accommodation in this Parliament”: Ensure the Home Office does not use

Found: the work that both departments have done to try to resolve this issue on our behalf with the Home Office

Found: It is therefore essential that the Home Office and Security Industry Authority (SIA) engage closely

Found: We have engaged with the Home Office on some policy issues (security and visas) and have had limited

Found: statutory instruments with little parliamentary scrutiny, were accompanied by the removal of clear Home Office

Found:  The 2020 removal of Home Office guidance on discretion means officials are now more constrained

Found: priorities, and how event organisers can be appropriately resourced to meet these commitments 4.7 Home Office

Found: believe that a working group of seasoned major event professionals could be deployed to assist Home Office

Found: the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on event delivery and strategy, and with the Home Office

Found: Proprietors solus:  HSE (via JACE https://www.hse.gov.uk/entertainment/theatre-tv/jace.htm )  The Home Office

Found: This brings together representatives from across the sector, including DCMS, Home Office, the Football

Found: Business and Trade  Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Embassies and High Commissions  Home Office

Found: Government Engagement AIF engages regularly with DCMS, the Home Office, and Arts Council England.

Found: UK Government – through DCMS, Scotland Office (and Secretary of State for Scotland), Home Office, and

Found: Suggestions made by the Home Office that legislation was being considered to give the police further

Found: Policy decisions, say within the Treasury or Home Office, that have significant impacts on the major

Found: The ASAO have previously experienced discussion and debate with the Home Office over the Entertainment

Found: and Local Government, Department for Business and Trade, Department of Health and Social Care, Home Office

Found:  Farnborough Airshow works with DBT, MoD, and the Home Office.  Most venues engage via local authorities

Found: more often with local authorities through LAEOG and the LGA and indeed perhaps even DCMS and the Home Office

Found: Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is the primary policy and funding interface, while the Home Office

Found:  Cabinet Office, DCMS, DEFRA, Home Office (via Counter Terrorism Policing re: Martyn’s Law), and Local

Found: Suggestions made by the Home Office that legislation was being considered to give the police further

Found: His research has been funded by the Home Office, RCUK, European Union and various industries.

Found: Government Bodies The UKCMA and its members engage with multiple Government touchpoints, including:  Home Office

Found: We would request that the Home Office make it clear as to whether the standardisation between forces

Found: Home Office findings published in February 2024 can be found here. 3 Why Fraud Policing Needs a Redesign

Found: . • Use bicycle theft as a public productivity benchmark in the Home Office dashboard, and replicate

Found: In the past 5 years, we have worked with the six national policing organisations, including the Home Office

Found: Recommendation: The Home Office and College of Policing should: - Issue technical guidance on integrating

Found: Reason for submitting To help the Committee scrutinise how the Home Office is supporting police forces

Found: He stated that ‘forces have recognised this for many years and the Home Office is aware of the concerns

Found: IPP0005 - Increasing police productivity Home Office Written Evidence

Found: (Strategic Policing Requirements) (Home Office, 2023).

Found: Institute’s programme on public sector productivity1, in particular a background review2 for the Home Office

Found: Productivity Review produced three reports with 61 practical, implementable recommendations for Home Office

Found: London Police operates Action Fraud and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, funded by the Home Office

Found: The Home Office should learn from the Police Scotland example and the number of territorial police forces

Found: Letter from the Chair to the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office relating to Immigration: Skilled

Found: Letter from the Second Permanent Secretary at the Home Office relating to the Home Office Asylum Accommodation

Found: Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office relating to proposed extensions to recommendations

Found: Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office relating to a clarification of the Government’

Found: clarity and certainty about the Government’s objectives, well beyond the life of one Parliament. 26 Home Office

Found: clarity and certainty about the Government’s objectives, well beyond the life of one Parliament. 26 Home Office

Found: the covert use of passport and immigration databases for facial recognition operations by the Home Office

Found: be possible to hear 2 from the front-line services and to learn from the experience of the Home Office

Found: I would also like to reassure you that the Home Office remains firmly committed to keeping Parliament

Found: Therefore, firms must still navigate existing Home Office and Indian immigration processes.

Found: the retail sector HC 355 8th Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage HC 351 7th Asylum accommodation: Home Office

Found: Drug checking licence for The Thistle Recommendation: The Home Office should urgently complete its assessment

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer to question 86550 answered on 7 November 2025, whether he will publish the dates of meetings that took place between his Department and the Home Office to enable the establishment of MILLWEC as an alternative to SACMILL.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Surgeon General advised the Executive Committee of the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons (SACMILL) which includes Home Office representation, of the Public Bodies Review at a meeting in December 2024. A series of meetings were held between Ministry of Defence and Home Office officials between January 2025 and October 2025. This included representatives from Public Bodies teams and the Cabinet Office and enabled the establishment of an alternative mechanism within the Home Office.

As outlined in the previous response, the closure of SACMILL is an important step in Defence’s Arm’s length Body reform journey and the closure and standing up of MILLWEC was agreed by Ministerial write round.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Government Departments use a ministerial car.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Government Car Service (GCS) provides Departmental Pool Cars (DPC) to the following Government departments:

• Attorney General’s Office

• Cabinet Office

• Department for Business and Trade

• Department for Culture, Media and Sport

• Department for Education

• Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

• Department for Health and Social Care

• Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

• Department for Transport

• Department for Work and Pensions

• HM Treasury

• Home Office

• Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government

• Ministry of Justice

• Scotland Office

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to protect swans from harm caused by catapults in Newbury constituency.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government takes crimes against wildlife seriously, including those involving the use of catapults to cause harm to swans, in Newbury or anywhere else in the country.

Although catapults are not listed as prohibited weapons in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, within this legislation there are a range of offences around deliberate attempts to kill, injure or inflict harm on wild birds. The Government therefore believes sufficient legislation is already in place to protect them from targeted use of catapults.

Defra is also a principal funder of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) which helps prevent and detect wildlife crime by obtaining and disseminating intelligence, undertaking analysis which highlights local or national threats and directly assisting law enforcers in their investigations.

However, Defra recognises the misuse of catapults is causing great concern to some local communities and are working with the Home Office to find solutions to this problem with the aim of increasing protection to our wildlife from crimes involving these weapons.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the strategy entitled Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, if she will meet with animal welfare organisations to discuss that strategy.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Officials engaged with animal welfare organisations during the development of the strategy, and Minister Vallance has met with animal welfare organisation representatives, including RSCPA on 26.11.24, Animal Free Research on 01.04.25, Lush UK on 15.05.25, the Chair of All-Party Parliamentary Group on phasing out animal experiments in medical research on 01.04.2025, and hosted a roundtable for wider representatives on 14.05.25.

The Government discussed the strategy with animal welfare organisations on the day it was published as part of regular engagement with the Home Office.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has considered the potential merits of implementing the measures set out by The Joanna Simpson Foundation and Children Heard and Seen on support for children bereaved by domestic homicide.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This government recognises the dreadful impact of all domestic abuse-related deaths on children and families. This is why the Home Office funds Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse to support those bereaved by deaths in this way.

Every child deserves the right mental health support, particularly in times of grief, which is why we updated the statutory relationships and health education curriculum to give teachers clear guidance on how to best support pupils with bereavement. We are also expanding access to mental health support teams in all schools, ensuring that every pupil has access to early support services in their community.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on departmental responsibility for cannabis-based medicinal products.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Home Office leads on drug legislation and the Department of Health and Social Care and its Arm’s Length Bodies oversee healthcare and medicine regulation. This regulatory framework applies to all drugs under Schedules 1-5 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, including cannabis-based products for medicinal use.

No changes are planned to the current responsibilities. The Government has asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to review the impact of the 2018 change in the law, which enabled the widened use of cannabis-based products for medicines, and will consider the recommendations in the usual way.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what measures he is taking her to support rental applications by individuals or families who are victims of domestic abuse.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

This government is committed to supporting victims of domestic abuse. This is part of the government’s wider mission to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.

Since 2021, local authorities in England have a statutory duty to ensure victims of domestic abuse and their children fleeing their homes can access support within safe accommodation when they need it. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government provided local authorities in England £160 million in 2025/26, a £30 million uplift from the previous year, to support delivery of this duty.

On 10 July 2025, regulations came into force meaning that victims of domestic abuse moving as a result of that abuse will no longer need to meet a local connection or residency test in order to access social housing; recognising the unique challenges they can face, such as fleeing an unsafe home to seek safety or support.

In addition, the Home Office is investing £1.96 million into a Flexible Fund, delivered by Women’s Aid and over 470 partner services, to support victims in England and Wales escaping abuse. This includes the option of a one-time payment of up to £2,500 to facilitate survivors’ transition to a more stable and independent future. For example, enabling them to put down a deposit for rental accommodation.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support victims of domestic abuse who urgently require alternative accommodation.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

This government is committed to supporting victims of domestic abuse. This is part of the government’s wider mission to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.

Since 2021, local authorities in England have a statutory duty to ensure victims of domestic abuse and their children fleeing their homes can access support within safe accommodation when they need it. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government provided local authorities in England £160 million in 2025/26, a £30 million uplift from the previous year, to support delivery of this duty.

On 10 July 2025, regulations came into force meaning that victims of domestic abuse moving as a result of that abuse will no longer need to meet a local connection or residency test in order to access social housing; recognising the unique challenges they can face, such as fleeing an unsafe home to seek safety or support.

In addition, the Home Office is investing £1.96 million into a Flexible Fund, delivered by Women’s Aid and over 470 partner services, to support victims in England and Wales escaping abuse. This includes the option of a one-time payment of up to £2,500 to facilitate survivors’ transition to a more stable and independent future. For example, enabling them to put down a deposit for rental accommodation.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Afghan nationals have been offered sanctuary under (a) the Afghan Relocations and Resettlement scheme, (b) ARAP and (c) ACRS; how many of those remain in Afghanistan; and what assessment he has made of the risks to those Afghans following the recent data breach.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Though in previous responses to Parliamentary Questions the Department have released internal ARAP data, as the Home Office now publish Afghanistan Resettlement Programme (ARP) data on behalf of the Government, the number of Afghan nationals who have been offered relocation and have resettled in the UK can be found in the Home Office statistics linked below. Information relating to the number of Afghans who remain in Afghanistan who have received an offer of relocation has been withheld as release would risk revealing the identity and the safety of those relocating. Furthermore, this release would be likely to damage UK interests abroad.

Link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

The UK made an ambitious and generous commitment to help at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 38,700 people to safety, including thousands of people eligible for our Afghan schemes.

Afghanistan Resettlement Schemes operational data is published quarterly with the last publication on the 21 August 2025.

The data published within the immigration system statistics release (year ending June 2025, published 21 August 2025) provides a breakdown of arrivals by quarter.

The number of individuals resettled under the schemes is as follows:

19,048 under ARAP. 10,160 individuals under ACRS Pathway 1, 1,406 individuals under ACRS Pathway 2 and 1,679 individuals under ACRS Pathway 3.

As recognised by the Rimmer Review, the human rights picture in Afghanistan was dire, prior to and regardless of the data loss incident.

However, while Afghanistan remains a dangerous place, the Rimmer Review does conclude that it is “highly unlikely” that merely being on the dataset would be grounds for targeting, and that it is unlikely that family members will be targeted simply because the principal appears in the dataset. It also concludes that the dataset is unlikely to substantially change an individual’s existing exposure given the volume of data already available to the Taleban and the fact that links to the former Government are widely known.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to review security measures for the 2028 European Championships in Birmingham.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The government is committed to ensuring the EURO 2028 football tournament is a safe, secure and enjoyable event for all. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is working closely with the Home Office, policing partners, delivery bodies and a range of organisations to ensure comprehensive and proportionate security plans are in place at a national and local level.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to bring responsibility for medical cannabis policy and governance to his Department in line with Schedule 2 medicines.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Home Office is the lead department for controlled drug legislation, whilst the Department of Health and Social Care and its Arm's Length Bodies lead on healthcare and the regulation of medicines. This framework applies to all drugs under Schedules 1 to 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, including cannabis-based products for medicinal use. The Government has no plans to change this.

The Department of Health and Social Care and the Home Office work closely with other system partners in developing and reviewing the policy on controlled drugs in healthcare, including cannabis-based products for medicinal use.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 October 2025 to Question 85934, if HMRC utilised or was given access to passenger name records as part of the Data Usage Agreement with the Home Office.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC did not directly access passenger name records held by the Home Office as part of its efforts to reduce Child Benefit non-compliance. The process involves HMRC sharing a data set with the Home Office, which includes the Child Benefit claimant’s name. Matches returned by the Home Office also include the Child Benefit claimant’s name. Both data sets were assessed and agreed for data minimisation purposes.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Afghans were brought to the UK via the Afghan Response Route in each month the scheme was open.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

As the responsible Department, the Home Office produce quarterly statistics for immigration. These statistics are broken down by the route in which the individual entered the UK. The Afghan Response Route (ARR) is included and can be accessed via the link below:

safe-legal-routes-summary-tables-jun-2025.ods

As of 4 July 2025, the ARR is closed.

This Government continues to support the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP) and is taking seriously our commitment to deliver on our promise to our Afghan friends and allies – many of whom stood side-by-side with the UK's Armed Forces in Afghanistan. By the end of this Parliament, we aim to have successfully honoured our obligation to complete relocations of eligible persons.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will set out whether any military bases within the UK are being used for non-military purposes.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Currently, three military bases have been made available to the Home Office to support their efforts in providing accommodation for asylum seekers.

In addition, the Ministry of Defence permits third parties to use its bases for activities, provided these are compatible with military operations. This arrangement also generates income for the Department.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many tests for spiking were conducted in hospitals in England in each of the last five years.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The requested data is not collected centrally. NHS England does not routinely collect hospital admissions data specifically related to spiking, nor the number of tests conducted explicitly labelled as being for spiking in hospitals.

The Home Office has published public guidance for victims and witnesses of spiking, and a statutory report setting out measures to tackle spiking including training for door staff, research into testing, and coordinated policing. The guidance signposts victims to emergency medical care, police reporting, and victim support services. This information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/spiking-advice-and-support

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) testing and (b) support in hospitals for victims of spiking.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The requested data is not collected centrally. NHS England does not routinely collect hospital admissions data specifically related to spiking, nor the number of tests conducted explicitly labelled as being for spiking in hospitals.

The Home Office has published public guidance for victims and witnesses of spiking, and a statutory report setting out measures to tackle spiking including training for door staff, research into testing, and coordinated policing. The guidance signposts victims to emergency medical care, police reporting, and victim support services. This information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/spiking-advice-and-support

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what plans her Department has to (a) make alternative forms of identification available as proof of age for venues and (b) work with industry partners to ensure acceptance of other forms of identification as age verification for people unable to obtain a driving license due to epilepsy or other health conditions.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The government has developed a set of requirements (under UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (UK DIATF)) for the creation and use of trusted digital verification services, underpinned by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. While use of these services is not mandated, it provides an alternative way of proving age for different use cases, including venues.

The Home Office intends to bring forward legislation to enable the use of digital identities as proof of age for purchasing alcohol in England and Wales. This will provide individuals, should they choose, with the option to use a secure digital identity that meets Government standards as an alternative to physical identification. These standards, in the UK DIATF, facilitate private sector providers to use a range of credentials as evidence to create digital identities.

Inclusion is one of the key principles in the UK DIATF, and we work closely with partners in the digital verification services industry on this issue. Digital identities, created through high-quality digital verification services, can be created from a range of documents and datasets, which means proving your age should not be reliant on individuals having a particular credential, like a driving licence.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate he has made of the number of foreign nationals in prison.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The number of foreign national offenders in prison is published as part of the Offender Management Quarterly statistics series. The series can be accessed with the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly.

Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced. Where appropriate, the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to transfer responsibility for policy and governance relating to cannabis-based medicinal products to the Department for Health and Social Care; and what assessment they have made of the impact of that transfer on regulatory barriers, clinical research and patient access through the NHS.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Home Office is the lead department for controlled drug legislation, whilst the Department of Health and Social Care and its Arm's Length Bodies lead on healthcare and the regulation of medicines. The Government has no plans to change this.

The Department of Health and Social Care and the Home Office work closely with other system partners in developing and reviewing policy on controlled drugs in healthcare, including cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs).

The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England are taking an evidenced-based approach to the access of CBPMs. Since the law changed in 2018 to allow the lawful access to unlicensed CBPMs, two licensed cannabis-based medicines have been made available for prescribing on the National Health Service for patients with multiple sclerosis or hard to treat epilepsies and tuberous sclerosis, where clinically appropriate. This follows approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

NICE has assessed the available evidence, concluding that there is a clear need for more evidence to support routine prescribing and funding decisions of unlicensed CBPMs. NHS funding decisions follow established procedures that ensure equitable distribution of funding, prioritising those medicines that have proved their safety, quality, and clinical and cost effectiveness.

On the 2 June, the Government asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), a statutory independent scientific advisory body that advises the Government on drug-related issues, to review the effect of the 2018 law change, and to look at whether it has had the desired impact, and whether there are any unintended consequences. The Government will carefully consider the ACMD’s advice prior to making any decisions.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussion his Department has had with relevant stakeholders in Hexham constituency on legislative changes to recognise that under 16s can be victims of domestic abuse.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government was elected with a landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade. I regularly meet with my counterparts on this and we will publish our cross-government strategy as soon as possible.

Responsibility for the definition of domestic abuse as set out in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 sits with the Home Secretary. Responsibility for reported incidents of violence against women and girls also sits with the Home Office.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the number of reported incidents of violence against women and girls against under 16 year- olds in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East, and (e) England.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government was elected with a landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade. I regularly meet with my counterparts on this and we will publish our cross-government strategy as soon as possible.

Responsibility for the definition of domestic abuse as set out in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 sits with the Home Secretary. Responsibility for reported incidents of violence against women and girls also sits with the Home Office.

Found: Prime Minister’s Office, PM meeting with Prime Minister Al-Sudani of Iraq, 14 January 2025 72 Home Office

Found: briefing Police and Crime Commissioners provides more information on the functions of PCCs. 115 Home Office

Found: report, the government announced that responsibility for fire safety would transfer from the Home Office

Found: The Home Office gave the example of a £51 million mobile communications programme, which it defined

Found: Dealing with complex immigration issues, the Home Office faced challenges in aligning consultancy work

Found: Local government: 0 Department for Transport 200 200 Department for Work and Pensions 170 163 Home Office

Found: billion reduction in costly NHS agency spend in 2024-25, and clamping down on consultancy in the Home Office

Found: billion reduction in costly NHS agency spend in 2024-25, and clamping down on consultancy in the Home Office

Found: of investment of 3.2% in 2028 -29 excluding the funds it provides to frontline services), the Home Office

Found: Licensing Policy Framework For the hospitality and leisure sectors England and Wales November 2025 Home Office

Found: The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Home Office are working with local

Found: class="govuk-table__cell">CFO & Corporate

Found: As a joint Minister between the Cabinet Office and the Home Office, I have heard from my policing colleagues

Found: consultation on earned settlement November 2025 CP 1448 Home Office

Found: Licensed sponsor An organisation registered with the UK Home Office to sponsor overseas nationals for

Found: Home Office: Home Secretary; Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Crime and Policing; Minister

Found: this role, now feels like the right moment for a new challenge and I’m excited to return to the Home Office

Found: I was also able to get involved with meetings between Immigration Litigation and Home Office Legal Advisers

Found: reference and initial workplan for comment from ministers in the UK Government in HM Treasury, Home Office

Found: several days at Sellafield and Culham, the exercise prepares the officers for their upcoming Non-Home Office

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Found: payroll and non-payroll) costs Comments 2025 October National Crime Agency Non-Ministerial Department Home Office

Found: August 2025 HOME OFFICE

Found: Resident’s Name: Atlas Number: Date: Paperwork Uploaded: Footage Uploaded: RAG Score: Home Office

Found: Compliant Side Relocation Full Relocation Handed to Escorts HOME OFFICE

Found: This shall include but not limited to: Contracted Service Provider (CSP), Home Office, healthcare staff

Found: We will verify your details with the Home Office to confirm your identity, nationality, and residency

Found: You must also send the Home Office letter confirming your parent has extended leave to remain in the

Found: Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), the Department for Education and the Home Office

Found: Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), the Department for Education and the Home Office

Found: This tends to apply if the work area is a garage or outbuilding and not just a home office set up.

Found: and do not need to hold a specific type of immigration visa • visa schemes established by the Home Office

Found: Home Office Resettlement Grants Home Office resettlement grants for refugees are treated as capital

Found: in regulations may be available: • victims of modern slavery who have been identified by the Home Office

Found: Home office check Settled status Certificate of application No information from the Home Office EU

Found: supported by a local authority in local authority social housing - citizen supported by the Home Office

Found: victim of modern slavery who is the subject of a positive Conclusive Grounds decision from the Home Office

Found: The Home Office can provide Asylum Support in the form of money and housing until a decision is made

Found: In these cases, the individual can apply to the Home Office for Indefinite Leave to Enter (ILE) to allow

Found: placed on their freedom of movement Victims of Modern Slavery who have been identified by the Home Office

Found: above.2) Data sharing and information governance2.1 Current data-sharing agreements/MOUs with the Home Office

Found: the rank of Chief Superintendent, and the fifth has been passed to UKG for progression by the Home Office

Found: o If the EDM image also relates to their residence eligibility (for example, an EU passport or Home Office

Found: you have requested.As asylum and immigration are reserved to the UK Parliament and handled by the Home Office

Found: It is now called Seasonal Worker Visa scheme, operated by the Home Office, and they have for 2025 issued

Found: PORNOGRAPHIC MATERIAL 18 The Scottish Executive issued a joint consultation in 2005 with the Home Office

Found: The Scottish Executive issued a joint consultation in 2005 with the Home Office on issues relating

Found: representatives from our wider public sector services, third sector partners and representatives from the Home Office

Found: My officials are continuing to advocate for this change with Home Office counterparts.

Found: The Welsh Government has made frequent requests for this information but was informed by the Home Office

Found: The Welsh Government has made frequent requests for this information but was informed by the Home Office

Found: Partners in Wales are also 12 working with the Home Office to trial more timely Home Office responses

We call on the Welsh Government to condemn and take action against White Vanguard, whose members have joined weekly demonstrations outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rhoose, which is housing Afghan families who are here legally under a Government resettlement scheme. The group displays antisemitic slogans, performs Nazi salutes, and spreads racist conspiracy theories, threatening community safety and cohesion.

Found: While proscribing extremist groups is a UK Home Office matter, we call on the Welsh Government to: •