Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has not been added to the list of proscribed terrorist organisations in the UK.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is the Government’s long-standing position not to comment on the detail of security and intelligence matters, including whether or not a specific organisation is being considered for proscription.
We are acting decisively to disrupt threats posed by Iran here in the UK. We have placed the Iranian state on the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), meaning that anyone working for or directed by the Iranian state to conduct activities in the UK must declare that activity, or risk up to five years in prison.
The UK now has over 550 sanctions against Iranian linked individuals and entities, including the IRGC, which has been sanctioned in its entirety. Over 220 designations have been imposed since this Government came into office.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) discussions they have had, and (2) steps they have taken, to ensure that (a) policing of demonstrations of active support, (b) arrests, and (c) prosecutions, in relation to Palestine Action are carried out in a consistent manner throughout all parts of the UK.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The police are operationally independent of Government and have significant experience in policing protests and ensuring proscription orders are implemented fairly and in line with legislation. The police, through the College of Policing, also review and formulate guidance to ensure that the law is consistently applied in every part of the UK and by every police force. The Home Office also maintains regular contact with policing to ensure that there is appropriate oversight as the police carry out their statutory duties.
Decisions on arrests and prosecutions in relation to Palestine Action are a matter for the police and the prosecuting authorities in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Palestine Action was proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT), which clearly states what constitutes proscribed activity (including in support of a proscribed group). The law is applicable in all parts of the UK.
The Government is absolutely clear that support for proscribed organisations is unacceptable. The proscription of Palestine Action does not diminish the right to lawfully protest or support Palestinian rights. This government upholds the democratic right that people must be free to express their views, but they should do so within the bounds of the law.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent antisemitic hate speech at rallies and to prosecute those engaged in such speech.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Antisemitism has no place in our society, including at rallies, and the Government is committed to tackling it in all its forms.
The police have a range of powers under public order legislation to deal with threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour intended to stir up hatred on the grounds of race or religion and decisions on prosecutions are for the independent Crown Prosecution Service.
The government is committed to ensuring there are consistent, high standards in police training and leadership to help maintain public trust and confidence. That is why the Home Office continues to fund the College of Policing to deliver support to forces and improvements to leadership and training standards through the National Police Leadership Centre.
The College of Policing sets national guidance and standards for policing in England and Wales, including publishing Authorised Professional Practice on hate crime. This Authorised Professional Practice provides guidance on how police should respond to hate crimes and promotes a proportionate and consistent approach that upholds the rights of victims and protects free speech. While the College sets the overall framework, individual police forces are responsible for determining their own local delivery of training.
Police forces are operationally independent, but we expect them to use these standards, tools and guidance, and to work closely with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure robust charging decisions and prosecutions in cases of antisemitic hate crime.
The Home Secretary launched an independent review of public order and hate crime legislation on 5 October. The Review is being led by Lord Ken Macdonald KC of River Glaven, supported by former Assistant Chief Constable Owen Weatherill.
The review will ensure police powers remain fit for purpose, are used consistently, and strike the right balance between the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest, and the need to prevent disorder and keep communities safe.
It will address whether the existing legislation is effective and proportionate, whether it adequately protects communities from intimidation and hate and whether it strikes a fair and sustainable balance between the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest, and the need to prevent disorder and keep communities safe.
The review is currently underway and is expected to conclude in Spring 2026.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure biological males cannot be recorded as women in the crime statistics.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is considering the implications of the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of sex within the Equality Act.
The Government Statistical Service Harmonisation team, based in the Office for National Statistics, are also in the process of reviewing standards and guidance for statistical data on sex and on gender identity.
Once this has concluded the Government will review current guidance to agencies that collect crime statistics across the criminal justice system.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of illegal migrants they will return under the returns agreement with France by the end of 2025.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Returns to France under the UK-France returns agreement commenced on 18 September 2025.
This is a pilot that we want to expand and therefore the numbers will vary. We will not go into the operational details as this would provide criminal smuggling gangs with information that they may use to continue to their vile trade.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect flights returning illegal migrants to France to commence under their returns agreement.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Returns to France under the UK-France returns agreement commenced on 18 September 2025.
This is a pilot that we want to expand and therefore the numbers will vary. We will not go into the operational details as this would provide criminal smuggling gangs with information that they may use to continue to their vile trade.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the project 'In vivo taste assessment of pharmaceutical compounds and formulations' in Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986: Non-technical summaries for project licences granted April – June 2025, published on 11 July, what assessment they have made of carrying out that project with consenting volunteers to test small, non-harmful amount of a drug formulation to gain detailed feedback on palatability.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office ensures, in all licences, that if alternative strategies can provide sufficient information to achieve the outcomes sought then animals are not licensed for use.
The gold standard for experiments using substances which are intended for human consumption is human subjects. However, at the early stages of the drug development process toxicological data in humans are often extremely limited or non-existent, which limits the use of human panels due to ethical and/or safety reasons. In this specific licence the aversiveness test is intended for substances in the early stages of drug development and can be critical for patient compliance. The rat Brief-Access Taste Aversion (BATA) test is, in the absence of a fully effective functioning e-tongue, the only current operative test to allow the assessment of the taste acceptance of oral medicines in the early stage of drug development where there is no known safety data.
The Government is committed to working towards a vision of phasing out the use of animals in science. The Government will publish a strategy that describes how it will accelerate the development and uptake of alternative methods to animal research and testing later this year.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the project 'Molecular architecture, function and dysfunction of the blood brain barrier' in Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986: Non-technical summaries for project licences granted April – June 2025, published on 11 July, why a licence was granted for that project when human cell-based models of the blood brain barrier are available; and what assessment they have made of how the licence complies with the section 2A of that Act that requires scientifically satisfactory non-animal methods to be used where possible.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office ensures all licences are fully compliant with all sections of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. In this specific licence, the blood brain barrier is a complex and dynamic multicellular structure. In vitro (non-animal) models cannot fully replicate the interactions in this environment that are possible in a living organism. The project also looks at dysfunction which is difficult to simulate in vitro, especially when looking at certain diseases. Whilst cell-based models exist and are becoming more advanced they are not, in this case, an acceptable model and so would not be a viable alternative. The project will explore the use of brain cells, induced pluripotent stem cells and organoids during the study which will contribute to the potential 3Rs benefits (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) in this field.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum seekers are currently placed in (1) hotels, (2) houses of multiple occupation, and (3) other locations and facilities in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in contingency and dispersed accommodation, including houses of multiple occupation, across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. To the year ending 30 June 2025, these figures are as follows:
Country | Hotels | Dispersed Accommodation | Other |
England | 30,164 | 57,000 | 4,120 |
Scotland | 1,573 | 3,978 | 332 |
Wales | 76 | 3,028 | 76 |
Northern Ireland | 246 | 2,228 | 45 |
This Government is delivering on its pledge to close asylum hotels; drastically reducing taxpayer costs and giving control back to local communities. This Government is committed to ending the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by the end of the Parliament.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the timetable to relocate all asylum seekers from hotels so that hotels no longer need to be used for that purpose.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in contingency and dispersed accommodation, including houses of multiple occupation, across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. To the year ending 30 June 2025, these figures are as follows:
Country | Hotels | Dispersed Accommodation | Other |
England | 30,164 | 57,000 | 4,120 |
Scotland | 1,573 | 3,978 | 332 |
Wales | 76 | 3,028 | 76 |
Northern Ireland | 246 | 2,228 | 45 |
This Government is delivering on its pledge to close asylum hotels; drastically reducing taxpayer costs and giving control back to local communities. This Government is committed to ending the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by the end of the Parliament.