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 is using AI software in responding to written parliamentary questions.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No, Home Office has not used AI software to respond to written parliamentary questions.
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Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate his Department has made of the number of irregular migrants that will enter the UK via the English Channel in each of the next five years following the passing of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
An impact assessment of the Bill is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-security-asylum-and-immigration-bill-2025-impact-assessment.
This includes analysis of how the new powers in the Bill could achieve the intended impacts, including by leading to more effective interventions in disrupting and prosecuting those who seek to facilitate irregular migration to the UK. The Home Office will continue to monitor and evaluate measures within the Bill once they have been implemented, subject to Parliament’s approval.
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 estimate of the number of illegal migrants arrested by the Border Force in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) Leicestershire and (c) Mid Leicestershire constituency in the last 12 months.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The requested information is not available in our published data, but our published national data on enforcement is available at the following link and includes data on detected irregular arrivals to the UK: Immigration system statistics, year ending September 2024 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many small boat pilots have been arrested in each of the last five years.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
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.
From 5 July 2024 to 11 February 2025 Home Office Immigration Enforcement have arrested 58 individuals identified as small boat pilots using offences set out in the Immigration Act 1971, as amended by the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. The numbers arrested are set out in the table below:
Date | Number of individuals arrested having been identified as small boat pilots |
1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020 | 106 |
1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021 | 54 |
1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022 | 117 |
1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023 | 94 |
1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 | 101 |
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 mobile phones confiscated from people crossing the English Channel illegally since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
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.
From 5 July 2024 to 11 February 2025 Home Office Immigration Enforcement have arrested 58 individuals identified as small boat pilots using offences set out in the Immigration Act 1971, as amended by the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. The numbers arrested are set out in the table below:
Date | Number of individuals arrested having been identified as small boat pilots |
1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020 | 106 |
1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021 | 54 |
1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022 | 117 |
1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023 | 94 |
1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 | 101 |
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 small boat pilots arrested since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
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.
From 5 July 2024 to 11 February 2025 Home Office Immigration Enforcement have arrested 58 individuals identified as small boat pilots using offences set out in the Immigration Act 1971, as amended by the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. The numbers arrested are set out in the table below:
Date | Number of individuals arrested having been identified as small boat pilots |
1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020 | 106 |
1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021 | 54 |
1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022 | 117 |
1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023 | 94 |
1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 | 101 |
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 people entering the country via routes other than small boat crossings in the last 12 months.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The information you have requested is published in the Immigration system statistics quarterly release.
Data on detected irregular arrivals by method of entry is published in table Irr_01 of the Irregular migration summary tables. Data on passenger arrivals to the UK is published in table Arr_01 of the Passenger arrivals dataset. Data on Safe and Legal routes are published in table Asy_11 of the Asylum and resettlement summary tables. Data on entry clearance visas is published in table Vis_D02 of the detailed entry clearance dataset. A visa issued does not necessarily mean the person has entered the country.
The latest data goes up to the end of September 2024. Data up to the end of December 2024 is due to be published on 27 February 2025. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ pages of the workbooks.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many legal migrants have come to the UK since 5 July 2024; and from which countries.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office publishes statistics on people coming to the UK on different routes, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. The ‘How many people come to the UK each year?’ chapter gives an overview.
The Office for National Statistics publish information on International migration, including the number of long-term migrants coming to the UK.
Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many illegal migrants have been deported since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We pledged to deliver the highest rate of removals since 2018 and this has been surpassed, with a surge in returns activity since the election leading to nearly 19,000 people with no right to be in the UK being removed. Of the total returns since 5 July 2024, 2,925 have been of foreign national offenders (FNOs), an increase of 21% compared to 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, with reference to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit annual report 2023, published on 17 December 2024, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's polices of case in which seven birds were caught in bags, accidentally not released and found dead four days later; and what steps she plans to take to help prevent such instances in future.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) has published its compliance framework (www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-testing-and-research-compliance-with-aspa) which explains how it identifies and investigates potential incidents of non-compliance and decides on appropriate and proportionate measures and remedies where non-compliance has been found to occur. The Regulator’s published compliance policy aims to reduce the risk of future non-compliance.
For this particular case, two letters of reprimand were issued to the establishment.
All cases of non-compliance are thoroughly investigated, and the outcomes are published in ASRU’s annual report. No further assessment has been made.