Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on trends in the level of drug misuse crime.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The ONS publishes data from Crime Survey in England and Wales on the extent and trends of illicit drug use and it can be found here:
The Home Office publishes police recorded crime data for trafficking of drugs and possession of drugs and it can be found here:
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK children are currently missing with active investigations to locate their whereabouts.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold this data centrally.
Information about current missing persons incidents is held by individual police forces. The National Crime Agency’s UK Missing Persons Unit holds the national database for all missing incidents that are unresolved after 72hours, allowing the police to have access to missing persons information across force boundaries.
In addition, annual missing persons statistics, broken down to police force level,are published by the National Crime Agency’s Missing Person’s Unit in its annual data report which can be found here: Downloads - National Crime Agency
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when does she intend to launch the consultation on changes to firearms licensing.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We intend to publish this consultation shortly.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the definition of assault of a retail worker to include workers in other high street outlets serving customers.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Through our Crime and Policing Bill, this Government has introduced a new specific standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to help tackle the epidemic of shop theft and violence towards shop workers that we have seen in recent years, and protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.
For the purposes of this new offence, our definition of a ‘retail worker’ is intentionally narrow given the vital need to provide legal clarity and ensure there is no ambiguity for courts in identifying whether an individual is a retail worker, and the assault took place in the course of their work.
Asked by: Lewis Atkinson (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of funding of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) receives core funding from the Home Office.
In 2025/26 HMICFRS is receiving £28m to enable it to carry out its statutory functions. Additional in-year funding is provided if there is a requirement for extra inspections that are commissioned and are not part of the agreed inspection programme.
As part of Home Office’s work to allocate its Spending Review settlement for the period 2026/27 to 2028/29 work has been undertaken to assess the required level of funding allocated to all areas of Home Office activity including HMICFRS.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of higher education providers require Student Visa applicants to prove their knowledge of English before issuing a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
To make a successful Student visa application, all international students must meet the relevant English Language requirement that applies to their circumstances, in line with Appendix Student of the Immigration Rules. The methods that a Student may rely on to meet their English Language requirement are outlined in Appendix English Language of the Immigration Rules. Whilst most acceptable methods require submission of evidence with the application, where the student is studying a course at degree level of above at a Higher Education Provider with a track record of compliance, the sponsor can make a self assessment. The Home Office does not record data on which methods students have relied on for the purposes of meeting the English Language requirements in a manner that enables comparative figures to be produced.
All student sponsors have a duty to assess that each student’s English language ability is of the required level as specified in Appendix Student before they issue a CAS to the student. Sponsors are required to state the evidence used to assess the student’s English language ability on the CAS.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has considered applying the proposed income threshold for the earned settlement scheme on a household basis rather than an individual basis for Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.
BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.
We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation, including any transitional arrangements and the requirements for income thresholds.
Once the changes are implemented, we will publish clear guidance for BN(O) visa holders to help them understand any new requirements.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply, including the current B1 English language requirement.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the proposed earned settlement requirements will apply retrospectively to Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders who relocated under the original scheme.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.
BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.
We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation, including any transitional arrangements and the requirements for income thresholds.
Once the changes are implemented, we will publish clear guidance for BN(O) visa holders to help them understand any new requirements.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply, including the current B1 English language requirement.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the additional workload that would fall on police firearms licensing units if Section 1 licence conditions were applied to Section 2 shotgun certificates.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has committed to publishing a public consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns. This was set out in the Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February 2025.
Recommendations to strengthen the controls on shotguns had been made to Government by the Coroner following the inquest into the deaths of those who were shot and killed in Keyham, Plymouth in August 2021. Similar recommendations had also been made by the Independent Office for Police Conduct following its investigation into the Plymouth shootings, and by the Scottish Affairs Committee following a fatal shooting with a shotgun in Skye in August 2022.
We intend to publish the consultation shortly and we will carefully consider all of the views put forward in response to it, before taking any decision on whether and what changes may be necessary in the interests of public safety. The Government will also provide an assessment of the impact of any changes that we intend to bring forward, including to policing and to the business community in rural areas, at the relevant time.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has assessed the potential economic impact on (a) rural communities, (b) sporting shooting activities and (c) conservation work of merging shotgun and rifle licensing regimes.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has committed to publishing a public consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns. This was set out in the Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February 2025.
Recommendations to strengthen the controls on shotguns had been made to Government by the Coroner following the inquest into the deaths of those who were shot and killed in Keyham, Plymouth in August 2021. Similar recommendations had also been made by the Independent Office for Police Conduct following its investigation into the Plymouth shootings, and by the Scottish Affairs Committee following a fatal shooting with a shotgun in Skye in August 2022.
We intend to publish the consultation shortly and we will carefully consider all of the views put forward in response to it, before taking any decision on whether and what changes may be necessary in the interests of public safety. The Government will also provide an assessment of the impact of any changes that we intend to bring forward, including to policing and to the business community in rural areas, at the relevant time.