Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support is offered to potential victims of torture, trafficking or modern slavery who may face removal under the 'one in, one out' scheme.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The pilot was agreed with both France and the European Commission in order to ensure it is compliant with domestic, European and International law. Eligibility criteria are set out in the Agreement.
The pilot operates within existing legal frameworks and policies. All individuals will have their cases reviewed regularly in line with standard policies and guidance, and this includes both while detained and if any claims of being a victim of torture or of human trafficking and modern slavery are raised.
Decisions on continuing suitability for detention are made on a case-by-case basis.
Detained individuals are advised of their right to legal representation, and how they can obtain such representation, within 24 hours of their arrival at an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC). Ahead of pilot launch and throughout its duration, the Home Office has engaged with officials from the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary to ensure individuals have access to justice. The Home Office continues to engage with a wide range of NGOs and other external stakeholders.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of streamlining visa arrangements for musicians, performers, and other cultural professionals working between the UK and the EU.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The UK immigration system is generous in its provisions for musicians, performers and other cultural professionals, with different pathways for non-visa nationals (such as EU/EEA nationals) in the creative sector to come to the UK without requiring a visa. We continually keep our policies under review and the Government has committed to supporting touring artists at the UK-EU summit in May last year.
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 assessment she has made of the humanitarian and mental health impact of asylum delays for Hong Kongers fleeing political persecution; and what steps the Government will take to ensure their claims are processed swiftly.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office takes safeguarding issues extremely seriously. Protecting vulnerable people is a key cross-cutting departmental priority.
We recognise that that all asylum seekers are potentially vulnerable. During the asylum decision making process we aim to ensure that particularly vulnerable claimants are identified and that they are given help in accessing appropriate services.
A claimant or their legal representative can also request their case is prioritised by emailing or writing to the relevant decision-making unit responsible for their claim.
Individual claims may be prioritised on a case-by-case basis due to exceptional and compelling circumstances. Please see Case by case prioritisation on GOV.UK for further information about how individual asylum claims may be prioritised.
The Home Office continues to invest in a programme of transformation and business improvement initiatives, including innovative tooling to speed up decision-making, reduce the time people spend in the asylum system.
The number of people awaiting an initial decision as of September 2025 is down 54% from the peak in June 2023, and we continue to make good progress. This shows that the steps we have already taken to streamline the asylum process and increase our efficiency are paying off and is an important achievement in building an asylum system that is efficient, sustainable and flexible.
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the proposed earned settlement system will apply to Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders and their families; and whether new income, compliance or conduct requirements could extend the qualifying period or make some of those visa holders ineligible for settlement, particularly those with low or no taxable earnings, prior use of public funds or minor immigration breaches.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, will raise the standard qualifying period for settlement from five years to ten years.
The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK. BN(O) visa holders will attract a five-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after five years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.
As part of the earned settlement model, we are proposing a series of tests that will measure a person’s contribution to this country and either reduce or increase the amount of time to settlement. This will include work undertaken by the individual. This earned settlement model and the tests which measure contribution are currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.
The consultation also seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement and we will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers.
Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following the close of that consultation. In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to revise the Home Office's social media use policy.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office’s social media channels are a vital tool to inform the public of policy and delivery updates the department is responsible for. The channels are routinely monitored and their use reviewed to ensure content is being produced in the appropriate manor for public consumption. Home Office social media policy is line with the relevant departmental and Government Communication Service guidance, as well as the Civil Service Code.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of a) threats, b) surveillance and c) other forms of intimidation by the Iranian state on Iranian activists residing in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Though we do not routinely comment on operational matters or specific threats, the UK will always stand up to threats from foreign states. Any attempt by a foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated, and will be thoroughly investigated.
The National Security Act 2023 strengthens our powers to counter state threats, including from Iran, and provides the security services and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to deter, detect, and disrupt these threats. Last year, new training for front police officers and staff was rolled out to increase their understanding of state threats, which will improve law enforcement’s ability to detect and investigate incidents which may be state directed.
The UK Government, law enforcement and our international partners continue to work together to identify, deter and respond to threats from Iran. In September, the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) issued a public statement condemning transnational repression and other malign activities by Iran.
The Government's top priority is our national security, and we will continue to use all appropriate tools at our disposal to protect the UK, and its people, from any Iran-linked threats.
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 calls were made to police to report incidents of domestic abuse over the Christmas period in December 2024 and 2025.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office collects information from the police on the number of domestic abuse-related incidents from police forces in England and Wales on a quarterly basis. However, these data cannot be further broken down by specific time periods, such as weeks or months.
The latest published data, for the year ending March 2025, are available here: Domestic abuse prevalence and victim characteristics - Office for National Statistics
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her planned timetable is for reviewing the legal framework for domestic abuse.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office is conducting a scoping review into the legal framework of domestic abuse to ensure it captures the experience of adolescents, which will conclude this year.
Asked by: Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Freedom From Violence and Abuse Strategy, what plans her Department has to ensure the incidence of online abuse is captured in the monitoring of achieving the aim to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We will monitor progress of the Freedom From Violence and Abuse Strategy through a performance framework, details of which are included on pages 69-70 of the Strategy.
The performance framework includes a sub-metric on the prevalence of online harms.
We will report on the development and latest trends in our measures as part of our annual progress reports.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure that police training on violence against women and girls includes training on technology-facilitated abuse.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office has already invested £13.1 million this year into the new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP). This funding includes an additional £2 million to deliver a comprehensive package of training enhancements across public protection. Through the NCVPP, we are working closely with the College of Policing to develop strengthened, specialist training for officers across all operational levels - frontline, specialist, and leadership. Grounded in academic research and behaviour change science, new training programmes will ensure that all officers are well equipped to investigate these crimes and provide support to victims. This includes the development of new modules to equip officers with the skills to investigate technology-facilitated and online harm.