Asked by: Sam Carling (Labour - North West Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has considered the merits of allowing police to issue Community Protection Warnings and Notices to 10-16 year-olds.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Breach of a CPN is a criminal offence. Lowering the age that someone can receive a CPN from 16 to 10 years old risks putting young people into the criminal justice system.
While early and informal prevention-based approaches should generally be the first step where ASB is being perpetrated by a child, for the most serious cases of child-perpetrated anti-social behaviour, we already have powers available. The Civil Injunction is available for children from 10-18 and enables youth courts to make behavioural conditions to prevent ASB. It is for the youth court to determine if, on the balance of probabilities, the legal test is met, and it is just and convenient in the circumstances to grant a Youth Injunction.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the statement by the Secretary of State for the Home Office on 26 January (HC Deb col 610), what steps they are taking to correct and define new large language models for facial recognition to ensure errors and potential racial bias are removed.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Facial recognition algorithms provided by or procured with Home Office funding for police use are required to be independently tested for accuracy and bias. Independent testing is important because it helps determine the setting in which an algorithm can safely and fairly be used.
Where potential bias or performance issues are identified, the Home Office works with policing partners to ensure their guidance, practices, and oversight processes minimise any risks arising from use of the technology.
On 4 December last year, we launched a public consultation on when and how biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies should be used, and what safeguards and oversight are needed. Following analysis of the responses, we will publish a formal government response in due course.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the numbers of animals being used in tests in order to satisfy international regulators despite a non-animal alternative being accepted in the UK; and what steps is she taking to reduce those numbers.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Animals in Science Regulation Unit has published guidance for applicants intending to conduct research under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 for regulated bodies outside the UK, available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/research-and-testing-using-animals (see section entitled ‘Research for regulatory bodies outside the UK’).
In summary, where there is a difference between the requested test and the lowest impact test used elsewhere, there must be associated benefit commensurate with allowing the higher impact test for that jurisdiction. This is aligned with the legally binding principle of the implementation of the 3Rs - Replacement, Reduction and Refinement.
This Government has recently launched an Alternatives Strategy to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of non-animal alternatives. The strategy is backed by £75 million in investment for delivery with plans to establish a UK Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the sustainability of current funding arrangements for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Support for looked after children, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, is the statutory responsibility of local authorities. The primary source of funding for local authority children's social care is through the Local Government Funding Settlement (and Devolved equivalents).
In addition to the funding for children's social care that local authorities receive through the Local Government Finance Settlement, and equivalent finance arrangements which apply to the Devolved Governments, the Home Office provides additional funding contributions to support local authorities in meeting the costs incurred looking after unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average cost per unaccompanied asylum-seeking child to local authorities was in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Support for looked after children, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, is the statutory responsibility of local authorities. The primary source of funding for local authority children's social care is through the Local Government Funding Settlement (and Devolved equivalents).
In addition to the funding for children's social care that local authorities receive through the Local Government Finance Settlement, and equivalent finance arrangements which apply to the Devolved Governments, the Home Office provides additional funding contributions to support local authorities in meeting the costs incurred looking after unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to close asylum hotels, particularly the Four Points Hotel in Horley.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government inherited a broken asylum system, with tens of thousands stuck in a backlog and claims not being processed, wasting millions in taxpayer money. We will empty asylum hotels as soon as possible, and by the end of this Parliament. That is a complex process that must be delivered through a controlled, managed and orderly plan of work.
For the safety, security, and wellbeing of those we accommodate, we do not publicly comment on individual hotels which may or may not be utilised by the Home Office, nor do we provide details of those we accommodate at any site.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2025 to Question 101646 on Offences against Children, whether guidance will explicitly address the concerns outlined in the Casey Review that Child Sexual Exploitation cases were being dropped or downgraded from rape to lesser charges where a 13 to 15 year-old has been 'in love' or 'had consented to' sex with the perpetrator.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Guidance accompanying the new mandatory reporting duty will make clear that child sexual abuse must never be tolerated. The government will work closely with those impacted by the introduction of the duty to ensure it is clearly understood ahead of commencement.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2025 to Question 101646 on Offences against Children, whether guidance to volunteer groups will explicitly state that child sexual abuse must not be tolerated under any circumstances, even where apparent consent is claimed.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Guidance accompanying the new mandatory reporting duty will make clear that child sexual abuse must never be tolerated. The government will work closely with those impacted by the introduction of the duty to ensure it is clearly understood ahead of commencement.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2025 to Question 101647 on Anti-social Behaviour: Children, whether she will provide a forum for volunteer groups to ask questions that may arise as a result of the new guidance.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Guidance accompanying the new mandatory reporting duty will make clear that child sexual abuse must never be tolerated. The government will work closely with those impacted by the introduction of the duty to ensure it is clearly understood ahead of commencement.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the proposed change to qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain will apply to current and former non-citizen armed forces personnel and their families.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Armed Forces Covenant is a national commitment that those who serve or have served in HM Armed Forces should not face disadvantage due to their service. The government recognises the sacrifices made by service personnel and their families — including the loss of civilian freedoms — in defence of the UK.
The government is committed to upholding the Covenant by ensuring fair treatment for all who serve or have served, including non-UK personnel. Any changes to the settlement pathway, including the qualifying period for settlement, will be carefully considered to ensure they remain fully consistent with the principles of the Covenant — meaning service personnel and their dependants must be treated fairly and must not face additional barriers as a result of their service.
The Earned Settlement consultation is open until 12 February and seeks views on the treatment of armed forces members under the earned settlement system. However, we are not proposing that HM Armed Forces, and their family members should have a different pathway to settlement than they do today.