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, whether her Department (a) uses or (b) is taking steps to install rooftop solar panels on its premises.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office occupies premises owned, leased, and managed by the Government Property Agency (GPA), which is responsible for building assets, including the installation and use of rooftop solar panels.
The Home Office is engaging with GPA through its Net Zero Programme to track progress in this area and understands GPA intends to undertake feasibility studies and energy audits at a number of sites during this financial year to assess opportunities for rooftop solar panel installation.
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 her Department spent on activities relating to Pride Month 2026.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has not spent any money on activities relating to pride month in 2026.
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 many and what proportion of civil servants in her Department were on permanent home working contracts in 2025.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The number of staff with a homeworking contract is 1742, and represents 3.4% of the total members of staff working in the Home Office.
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, whether her Department monitors the amount of food waste generated by its offices each month.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Home Office monitors the food waste produced in all buildings where it has responsibility for the waste management service.
Home Office publishes its food waste figures through its Annual Report on Accounts and the Annual Greening Government Commitments report.
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, whether her Department uses AI to help verify the age of migrants that arrive in the UK.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has recently announced that the procurement process for a Facial Age Estimation (FAE) algorithm has concluded, and a new contract has been awarded to Akhter Computers Ltd, with Cognitec as sub-contractor. Our current intention is to begin using the technology, which harnesses the power of AI, during initial age decisions at the border, and to provide capabilities to the National Age Assessment Board and Local Authorities to access FAE results.
The Department is planning a series of trials and testing throughout 2026. Subject to the results of the testing, FAE is planned to be implemented from 2027.
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 many companies sanctioned under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 were found to have sponsored visas in the last five years.
Answered by Jo White - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The information requested is not available from published statistics and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
However, sanctions are targeted and specific and do not always prevent a business from continuing to lawfully operate, nor are they necessarily relevant to the purposes for which sponsor licences exist. Continuing to hold a sponsor licence would not necessarily contravene that sanction.
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 many agency staff were employed by her Department in each of the last five years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes Staff numbers including agency staff in its Annual report as exampled by the 2024-2025 Annual report, pages 165-166 inclusive at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/688c9785a34b939141463e37/HO_ARA_2024-25_Book_WEB_Final_v3+CorrSlip.pdf.
Prior reports are available at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK
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 many immigration enforcement officers have left their roles since July 2024.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
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.
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, other than special advisers if her Department has appointed anyone from outside the civil service since July 2024.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Candidates that have been successfully appointed to a public appointment (whether regulated or unregulated) are generally announced on the Public Appointments Service announcements page. Candidates that have been successfully appointed to a direct ministerial appointment are generally announced on the Direct Ministerial Appointments Announcement portal.
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, whether her Department has made a recent estimate of the number of people in the UK who have dual citizenship.
Answered by Mike Tapp
The data requested is not available from published statistics. Immigration statistics for the last 10 years are published at Migration statistics. While these include statistics for naturalisation/registration as a British Citizen, they do not include those who are deemed automatically a British Citizen without the need to apply.