Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether future police force boundaries will be aligned with regional mayoral boundaries.

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

The Government has committed in its English Devolution White Paper to transfer policing functions to Mayors of Strategic Authorities wherever boundaries of the mayoral and policing areas align, by default, subject to Royal Assent to provisions in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill.

This Government will abolish PCCs across England and Wales at the end of their term in 2028 and police governance functions will be transferred to mayors wherever possible, or to elected council leaders where it is not.

The Home Secretary has an ambitious police reform agenda, which will include measures to drive down waste and cut bureaucracy so that the police can focus on issues that matter to the public and cut crime in our communities. Further detail will be set out in the Police Reform White Paper, which is due to be published in early 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the police's ability to meet current levels of demand from crime.

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

The Government is committed to giving the police the resources it needs to tackle crime. In 2025-26, the police funding settlement provided £19.6bn of funding for the policing system, an increase of £1.2bn compared to 24-25. At the spending review the chancellor announced a real terms increase in police funding.

In addition, a Police Reform White Paper is being developed in partnership with policing. This is a comprehensive package of reform to policing in England and Wales that will strip out duplication and waste and ensure policing can keep up with the fast-changing nature of crime. This will be published early 2026.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which department is responsible for making decisions and research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) as part of the Final Delivery Plan.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department of Health and Social Care is responsible for the overall delivery of the final delivery plan on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

To address the breadth of the ME/CFS research challenge, the NIHR and the Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, play complementary roles in the United Kingdom landscape by funding research across the research system, with MRC funding aetiological and early-stage translational science and NIHR funding later stage translational and applied clinical work.

The NIHR and MRC are working together to deliver the research actions outlined in the ME/CFS final delivery plan that we published in July.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department collects on how migrant survivors of trafficking in the National Referral Mechanism entered the UK.

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

• The Home Office does not publish data on the method of entry to the UK, where relevant, for individuals referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). However, there is published data on small boat arrivals who have been referred into the NRM, including a snapshot of the NRM decision outcome at the time of data extraction. This information is available in the irregular migration statistics data tables, which can be accessed at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables#irregular-migration

This dataset only covers small boat arrivals and does not include other methods of entry. The published figures currently cover arrivals up to the end of September 2025.

The Home Office does not publish age-related statistics for individuals supported under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many working-age people are on the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract through the National Referral Mechanism.

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

• The Home Office does not publish data on the method of entry to the UK, where relevant, for individuals referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). However, there is published data on small boat arrivals who have been referred into the NRM, including a snapshot of the NRM decision outcome at the time of data extraction. This information is available in the irregular migration statistics data tables, which can be accessed at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables#irregular-migration

This dataset only covers small boat arrivals and does not include other methods of entry. The published figures currently cover arrivals up to the end of September 2025.

The Home Office does not publish age-related statistics for individuals supported under the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC).

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how the Fair Work Agency will assist migrant domestic workers experiencing abuse in private households.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Fair Work Agency will enhance the UK's ability to respond to exploitation of migrant domestic workers. It will bring together labour market enforcement functions and include new powers to investigate and take action against offences under the Fraud Act 2006. These powers, when operational, will allow the FWA to pursue certain cases of deception, abuse of position or withholding pay, where conduct does not meet the higher modern slavery threshold.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what meetings she has had with expert stakeholders on reviewing the Overseas Domestic Worker visa.

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

The Home Office keeps all policies and immigration routes under review. Ministers regularly meet with internal and external stakeholders, to discuss a wide range of issues, including the Overseas Domestic Worker route.

The Overseas Domestic Worker visa only grants permission for up to six months and cannot be extended. The Home Office publishes statistics relating to individuals who extend their stay here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables. The number of people extending their stay on the Domestic Worker in a Private Household visa is available from Table Exe_D01 of the Extension data tables (listed as “Overseas Domestic Worker”).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of domestic workers who renew their visas each year.

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

The Home Office keeps all policies and immigration routes under review. Ministers regularly meet with internal and external stakeholders, to discuss a wide range of issues, including the Overseas Domestic Worker route.

The Overseas Domestic Worker visa only grants permission for up to six months and cannot be extended. The Home Office publishes statistics relating to individuals who extend their stay here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables. The number of people extending their stay on the Domestic Worker in a Private Household visa is available from Table Exe_D01 of the Extension data tables (listed as “Overseas Domestic Worker”).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the report by Kalaayan’s entitled 12 Years of Modern Slavery, published on 14 June 2024.

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

The Home Office keeps all policies and immigration routes under review. Ministers regularly meet with internal and external stakeholders, including Kalaayan, to discuss a wide range of issues, including the Overseas Domestic Worker route.

The Overseas Domestic Worker visa only grants permission for up to six months and cannot be extended. The Home Office publishes statistics relating to individuals who extend their stay here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables. The number of people extending their stay on the Domestic Worker in a Private Household visa is available from Table Exe_D01 of the Extension data tables (listed as “Overseas Domestic Worker”).

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the number of overseas domestic workers who have been able to enforce their rights to fair pay and working conditions through an employment tribunal over the last decade.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Department publishes regular statistics on Employment Tribunals claims, which includes claims relating to pay and working conditions (such as unauthorised deductions, minimum wage, working time, and equal pay) which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2025/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2025.

The published data does not break down claims by claimant characteristics (such as nationality or visa status), or the type of work conducted by claimant.

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 its policies on the right to work for irregular migrants on levels of irregular migration.

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

The Home Office has developed new legislation to expand the scope of right to work checks to a wider range of businesses. This activity aims to prevent illegal working and to further reduce the opportunities for individuals in the UK illegally to gain employment. An impact assessment on this legislative change was published on 7 May 2025 and can be found here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/681b86c93f1c73824ee3e561/Illegal_Working_-_Regulatory_Impact_Assessment_07052025.pdf

Health and Care Worker visas

Loan Charge and settlement terms offered to large companies and individuals

Deregistration of international non-governmental organisations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Loan Charge and settlement terms offered to large companies and individuals