Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress she has made on the implementation of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to strong neighbourhood policing for everyone in England and Wales, wherever they live. On 10 April, the Prime Minister and Home Secretary outlined further details about our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, including that by July, every community, will have named and contactable officers dedicated to addressing issues facing their communities. Local communities and businesses will also have ongoing opportunities to engage with neighbourhood teams and raise local concerns and priorities through regular local beat meetings.
The Guarantee was developed through close working with the National Police Chief’s Council and other policing leads, and we continue to work closely with them to ensure it is delivered across all police forces in England and Wales.
The Government has made £200 million available in FY 25/26 to support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales, including up to 3000 additional neighbourhood officers by March 2026.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support she is providing to (a) Lancashire Police and (b) other forces to tackle tool theft.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
We recognise the deeply damaging impact theft has on victims who rely on the tools of their trade to earn a living. We are determined to prevent those thefts from happening in the first place and, where they do occur, ensure those perpetrating them receive a criminal justice response. To do that, we need more police in our communities, tackling the local crimes that impact on people’s livelihoods. That is why this Government has increased funding for the policing system in England and Wales by up to £1.2 billion in 25/26 (compared with the 24/25 settlement), including an additional £200 million to kickstart delivery of our commitment to 13,000 neighbourhood policing roles. We will ensure that everyone has a named, contactable officer, responsive to local problems, including tool theft.
Alongside this, the Home Office funds, and works with, the police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) and senior policing leads to prevent the theft of tools and tackle the re-sale of stolen equipment. The NBCC shares information about theft with police forces and businesses and provides advice about preventing crime. The NBCC’s tool theft prevention guide can be found here: tool-theft-crime-prevention.pdf
The Home Office and National Vehicle Crime Working Group have additionally secured a significant new commitment which will improve the security of vans, which may be targeted in relation to tool theft. Thatcham Research (an independent, not for profit, automotive risk intelligence organisation) has agreed expand their New Vehicle Security Assessment (NVSA) to increase van security. From February 2027, vans will have locks and alarms on the back doors (previously NVSA only covers the cab area of vans) and a motion sensor on the load area of the van. This is supported by crime prevention advice for tradespeople developed by the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives: Secured by Design - Vans & Tool Theft.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average time taken to process applications for asylum and refugee status; how many applications are outstanding; and what is the longest outstanding time of a current application.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum on gov.uk as part of the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of asylum claims awaiting an initial decision is published in Asy_D03 of the asylum detailed tables. As at 31 March 2025, there were 78,745 cases awaiting an initial decision.
The average time taken to process claims is not currently available from published statistics and could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at a disproportionate cost. However, the Home Office publishes on gov.uk the age of cases awaiting an initial decision in table Asy_02 of the Immigration and Protection transparency data. As at 31 March 2025, 58% of cases that were awaiting an initial decision had been waiting for more than 6 months, and 31% of the total cases had been awaiting an initial decision for more than 12 months.
The longest outstanding time for a claim awaiting an initial decision is not currently available from published statistics and could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Mann (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum claims from Eritreans have been (1) lodged, and (2) accepted or refused, since 2014.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
2014, 35,611 Eritreans have claimed asylum. In the same timeframe, 26,594 were granted protection or other leave and 5,157 were refused.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Government's 2024 election manifesto's commitment to hold an investigation or inquiry into events at Orgreave on 18 June 1984, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) preserve and (b) protect from destruction all (i) documents and (ii) records held by (A) police forces and (B) relevant public bodies relating to those events.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Police forces are independent of government and decisions concerning the management of their records are for them to make in accordance with their respective review, retention and disposal policies. However, the Government expects any such decisions to be made in accordance with relevant legislation and national guidance.
Further details about the Government’s manifesto commitment for an investigation or inquiry into the events at Orgreave will be made available in due course.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Northumbria Police sought (a) permission, (b) guidance, and (c) clearance from her Department prior to the destruction of (i) documents and (ii) records on 29 and 30 April 2024 relating to (A) events at Orgreave on 18 June 1984 and (B) the 1984-85 miners’ strike.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Police forces are independent of government and decisions concerning the management of their records are for them to make in accordance with their respective review, retention and disposal policies. However, the Government expects any such decisions to be made in accordance with relevant legislation and national guidance.
Further details about the Government’s manifesto commitment for an investigation or inquiry into the events at Orgreave will be made available in due course.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will investigate the destruction of documents by Northumbria Police on (a) 29 and (b) 30 April 2024 relating to the 1984 miners’ strike and Orgreave.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Police forces are independent of government and decisions concerning the management of their records are for them to make in accordance with their respective review, retention and disposal policies. However, the Government expects any such decisions to be made in accordance with relevant legislation and national guidance.
Further details about the Government’s manifesto commitment for an investigation or inquiry into the events at Orgreave will be made available in due course.
Asked by: Lord Caine (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what checks are being carried out by the Police Service of Northern Ireland at or near the border with the Republic of Ireland on vehicles travelling into Northern Ireland in order to prevent illegal migration.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK and Ireland have a close and collaborative relationship on migration and border security, and we are jointly committed to protecting the Common Travel Area and safeguarding it from abuse.
The CTA supports the long-standing principle of free movement for British and Irish citizens between the UK, Ireland, and Crown Dependencies and the Government is committed to maintaining these arrangements. Non-British or Irish individuals arriving in the UK, including those crossing the land border into Northern Ireland, are required to enter in line with the UK’s immigration framework.
There are – and will continue to be – no routine immigration controls on the Ireland-Northern Ireland land border, nor on journeys within the Common Travel Area (CTA).
The Police Service of Northern Ireland are devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Asked by: Lord Wharton of Yarm (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to help the government of Bangladesh to extradite individuals in the United Kingdom who are accused of corruption in Bangladesh.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
All extradition requests received by the UK are subject to an independent legal process, with clear safeguards and protections set out in the Extradition Act 2003. The UK Government does not intervene in any of these judicial decisions.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to support the Interpersonal Abuse and Violence Against Men and Boys (Strategy) Bill.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave him on 29 April to Question 47887.