Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that organisations that hold licenses to use animals in science provide those animals with access to food and water; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the sanction given to people who fail to provide access to food and water.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
All licensed establishments must fully uphold the required standards for animal welfare as set out in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) and the Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals Bred, Supplied or Used for Scientific Purposes. This includes clear duties on ensuring animals have access to food and water.
The Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) audits establishments to assure compliance with these requirements and takes any potential non-compliance very seriously.
Where incidents relating to access to food or water have occurred, ASRU has investigated them in line with its published Compliance Policy Framework, which sets out how potential non-compliance is identified, investigated, and addressed (www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-testing-and-research-compliance-with-aspa).
All cases are thoroughly investigated and ASRU applies the most suitable remedy based on the severity of the incident. A broad range of sanctions are available, and outcomes are published in ASRU’s Annual Report to support learning and ensure transparency. Through consistent delivery of the compliance policy the Regulator aims to drive up standards of welfare.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many migrants that possess a criminal record (a) in the UK and (b) abroad were previously thought by her Department to not hold a criminal record since July 2024.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not readily available, requiring manual scrutiny of systems and matching of individual records, and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her department holds an estimate of the number of criminals in the UK that arrived in the country by irregular means.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information you have requested regarding the number of foreign criminals in the UK who arrived by irregular means is not available from published statistics.
However, foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will pursue their deportation.
The latest published information shows that in the year-ending October 2025, 5,430 foreign national offenders (FNOs) were returned, which is an increase of 12% compared to the number of FNO returns in the same period 12 months prior.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
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 publishing asylum expenditure data by constituency.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The department publishes asylum expenditure data at national or regional level, which is more robust and meaningful for policy and operational purposes.
All available information on asylum expenditure is published in the Home Office Annual Report and accounts at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab). 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 (opens in a new tab).
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of migrants that arrived in the UK by small boat that possess a criminal record either in the UK or abroad.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office conducts mandatory identity and security checks on all small boat arrivals.
As part of this process, the Home Office collects biometric data—such as facial images and fingerprints—to verify identity. These biometrics are checked against Home Office systems and other law enforcement databases, including Interpol’s wanted list. This enables us to identify individuals, assess whether they pose a risk to public safety, and determine any breaches of immigration law. These checks are essential to maintaining a secure, fair, and effective immigration system.
Under previous legislation anyone convicted of a serious crime with a conviction of 12 months or more and are considered a danger to the UK, will be denied asylum and will be considered for removal from the UK. This Government has gone further under the new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act to ensure anyone convicted of any offence under Schedule 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 will be excluded from the protection of the Refugee Convention.
Those refused protection status who cannot be removed will be subject to regular review until they can be removed at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her department monitors the whereabouts of people in the UK who overstay their visa.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We expect people with no right to be here to leave the country voluntarily but, where they do not, Immigration Enforcement will seek to enforce their departure.
The Home Office does not routinely categorise immigration offenders by the manner in which they became irregular. The Home Office monitors those individuals in the UK that are here on a temporary visa and, where we know or suspect that they have overstayed, they become liable for enforcement action.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department holds information on the number of immigrants granted asylum or indefinite leave to remain that have a criminal record either in the UK or abroad.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The requested information is not in a reportable format and can only be collated at disproportionate cost.
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 proposes to publish more detailed statistical reporting on FNOs subject to deportation and those returned to countries outside of the UK once system developments are complete.
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 Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
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.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of pandemic-related delays on asylum seekers’ eligibility for Indefinite Leave to Remain; and whether transitional provisions will be introduced to ensure that people affected by administrative delays between 2019 and 2022 are not disadvantaged under proposed changes to immigration legislation.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We have a proud history of providing protection to those who need it, for as long as it is needed, in accordance with our obligations under the Refugee Convention.
Settlement applications are determined based on length of residence following a grant of permission to stay, rather than date of initial application.
We will be holding a public consultation on the new settlement rules later this year.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the consistent implementation of the Retail Crime Action Plan across police forces, in the context of recent trends in levels of violence and abuse against retail workers in Mid Leicestershire constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government is supporting a new strategy, Tackling Retail Crime Together, published by policing, retail sector representatives and industry as part of collective efforts to combat shop theft.
The strategy builds on previous progress made by police and retailers via the Retail Crime Action Plan but provides a more comprehensive and intelligence-led approach to tackle all perpetrators of shop theft – not just organised criminal gangs.
We are investing £2 million over the next three years in the National Business Crime Centre which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime.