Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the acquittal of Jamie Bryson on 3 July by the Belfast Magistrates Court, what assessment they have made of the conduct of the Security Industry Authority in that prosecution, and of the value for money for taxpayers of that prosecution.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The SIA is an operationally independent arm’s length body, responsible for the service it provides, including how it manages its private prosecutions.
The organisation is already accountable to Parliament for its activities, including its financial accounts, which are audited by the National Audit Office and laid in Parliament on an annual basis.
The SIA did not bring these proceedings against Mr Bryson and was therefore not involved.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will set up an independent review of the Security Industry Authority’s prosecution of Jamie Bryson, in particular with regard to the conduct of the Security Industry Authority and the public money spent on that prosecution.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The SIA is an operationally independent arm’s length body, responsible for the service it provides, including how it manages its private prosecutions.
The organisation is already accountable to Parliament for its activities, including its financial accounts, which are audited by the National Audit Office and laid in Parliament on an annual basis.
The SIA did not bring these proceedings against Mr Bryson and was therefore not involved.
Asked by: Lord Mohammed of Tinsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether their expenditure on housing asylum seekers in hotels is increasing or decreasing.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts. The latest report records that expenditure on hotels was down almost a billion pounds in the last financial year.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much cryptocurrency her Department has seized from criminal activity in each of the last three years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government does not currently publish the amount of cryptocurrency restrained / recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
The Home office is reviewing plans to publish new statistics on Crypto assets as part of future annual stats bulletins on asset recovery in response to the new powers that came into effect in April 2024.
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.
Asked by: Peter Fortune (Conservative - Bromley and Biggin Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help prevent protests from disrupting the activities of defence firms.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The management of protest activity is an operational matter for the police, who are independent of government.
While the Government is committed to protecting the public and businesses from serious disruption, ministers cannot intervene in individual cases or direct police decisions, including those relating to protests near defence firms. This operational independence is a fundamental principle of policing in the UK.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 71962 on Cambridgeshire Constabulary: Stun Guns, what is her planned timetable for taking a decision on whether to approve the Taser 10 for police use.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are considering the results of independent testing and assessments of the Taser 10, as you would expect, before taking a decision on whether to approve it for police use.
The government is committed to giving police the necessary tools to protect the public, prevent harm and save lives.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with police forces on the adequacy of police resources allocated to tackling fraud.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling fraud is a clear priority for this Government, and I am committed to working with police forces to ensure resources are in place to effectively combat this crime and support victims.
That is why we are publishing a new, expanded Fraud Strategy to strengthen our national response to this crime.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of people who have used Snapchat to purchase vape products spiked with the synthetic drug spice.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The National Crime Agency routinely assess the threats to the UK from serious and organised crime, including drugs supply. The Government is determined to tackle the sale of illegal drugs online, including those sold as vapes. We are taking a co-ordinated approach that includes law enforcement activity, stronger engagement with tech companies, better education for users so they understand the risks and harms; as well as requiring internet companies to take responsibility for their content.
The Online Safety Act 2023 requires internet companies to implement measures to protect their users and to remove illegal content from their platforms, including that related to the sale of illegal drugs. Ofcom, as the independent regulator, is monitoring compliance with the regime. And working with law enforcement, they are seeking to suppress the sale of drugs on the clear web and online platforms through strengthening platform accountability and disrupting online dealer tactics.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential relative needs of (a) urban, (b) suburban and (c) rural police stations in the context of the electrification of local police forces’ car fleets.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Decisions around the procurement and deployment of electric vehicles, as well as infrastructure to support them, is a matter for operationally independent Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, or Mayoral equivalents.
We would expect decisions to be made with consideration to the needs of the force, their local community, and within their existing budget allocation.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department issues to police forces on the impact of battery degradation on their electric vehicle fleets.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Decisions around the procurement and deployment of electric vehicles, as well as infrastructure to support them, is a matter for operationally independent Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, or Mayoral equivalents.
We would expect decisions to be made with consideration to the needs of the force, their local community, and within their existing budget allocation.