Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, since the introduction of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, how many breaches have been detected.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
We will not be providing a running commentary of breaches of FIRS identified or numbers of registrations received. This is because doing so runs contrary to our policy on publication of information, which centres around an annual report as the key mechanism for providing transparency on the running of the scheme.
The annual report will set out, among other things, the number of registrations, the number of information notices issued, the number of persons charged with an offence and the number of persons convicted of an offence. The first report will be published as soon as practicable after 30 June 2026.
Where evidence of a criminal offence has been committed, including failure to register with FIRS, the Government will refer the matter to the police.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that entry routes to the UK remain open for people in Hong Kong.
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 and is committed to maintaining lawful routes of entry for people from Hong Kong, including the BN(O) route.
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 exemptions from the mandatory requirements.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.
We will also consider the requirements for English language qualifications in nationality applications, and any changes will be announced at a later date.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether mandatory settlement requirements for BN(O) visa holders will be retrospectively changed.
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 and is committed to maintaining lawful routes of entry for people from Hong Kong, including the BN(O) route.
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 exemptions from the mandatory requirements.
In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.
We will also consider the requirements for English language qualifications in nationality applications, and any changes will be announced at a later date.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will commit to publishing the data on the find rate and arrest rate for child strip searches.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Stop and search is a vital tool for tackling crime, but it must be exercised fairly and lawfully. Using ethnicity as a factor in deciding whether to stop and search someone, except where pursuing a specific description, is unlawful. Code A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, referencing the Equality Act 2010, prohibits stops based on physical appearance. Supervision of officers and their use of stop and search powers rests with chief constables.
The Government supports the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Police Race Action Plan, which promotes an anti-racist culture and commits chief constables to address disproportionality, ensuring decisions are based on evidence, not ethnicity. On stop and search in particular, the plan commits that chief constables will identify and address disproportionality in the use of stop and search, particularly in relation to searches of children.
Police performance is assessed by HMICFRS, which reviews stop and search as part of its inspection framework. Where misconduct is identified, the Independent Office for Police Conduct can impose sanctions, ensuring poor performance is addressed.
Stop and search disproportionately impacts particular ethnic groups, disparity rates have fallen recently. Last year, Black people were 3.8 times more likely to be stopped and searched than White people, 9.7 times in 2018/19. Data is key to tackling disparities, and the Home Office continues to work with forces to improve the collection and accuracy of ethnicity data. I am also aware that stop and search has the potential to impact young people, their families and educational attainment. We continue to monitor research on police powers to inform policy development.
Strip search is one of the most intrusive powers available to the police, and the Government is clear that such searches must only be conducted when absolutely necessary. While there will be circumstances in which such searches are required in order to protect people, prevent harm, or secure evidence, this must be done with full regard for the dignity and welfare of the individual involved, particularly where the individual is a child.
As set out in the Government’s Manifesto, we are committed to introducing new legal safeguards around the strip search of children. We are working closely with policing stakeholders to deliver this commitment.
The Government recognises the importance of transparency in ensuring that police powers, particularly those involving children, are properly used and subject to effective public scrutiny. Data on strip search is published by the Home Office on an annual basis. The latest data can be found here:
Police custody and pre-charge bail, year ending March 2024 - GOV.UK
Stop and search, arrests, and mental health detentions, March 2025 - GOV.UK
We keep this under regular review.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that Schengen Area Passport Validity requirements are clearly and effectively communicated by (a) airlines and (b) travel operators.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The EU will be liaising with airlines flying to the Schengen zone on the publication/notification of any requirements.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to consult political parties on the methodology for the allocation of Conference Security Grant for 2026.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office will be conducting an internal review of departmental funding for Party Political Conferences, including allocations from the Conference Security Grant, to ensure public funds are used effectively. The Home Office will consult relevant stakeholders on these arrangements.
The UK government’s security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, including disclosure of costs, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect future security operations.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has considered amending the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to allow county councils to issue closure notices and apply directly for closure orders.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The closure power, under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, enables police or local councils to quickly close premises which are causing or likely to cause nuisance or disorder.
County councils may already issue a closure notice and apply directly for closure orders in England and Wales providing that there is no district council in the area.
This Goverment keeps all legislative options under review.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the projected overall financial saving from abolishing the role of Police and Crime Commissioners.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government expects to save at least £100m in this Parliament as a result of abolishing Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs).
At least £20m per annum will be reinvested back into policing from 28/29, in addition to savings from cancelling future PCC elections which will be retained by the exchequer.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the letter of 2 January 2026 from the hon. Member for West Suffolk.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office will make public the findings from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services on the information and intelligence used by West Midlands Police to assess and categorise the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match on 6 November, and how accurately this reflected intelligence received from the Netherlands Police, as soon as this is provided.
The Home Office does not hold any information on whether the Muslim Brotherhood or other organisations subject to government non-engagement shared information with West Midlands Police in relation to this match.
Similarly, the Home Office does not hold any information on discussions between West Midlands Police and the Metropolitan Police, MI5, Cabinet Office, or the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre in relation to this match.
A reply to the Honourable Member for West Suffolk’s letter of 2 January 2026 will be sent in due course.
Section 40 of the Police Act 1996 enables the Home Secretary to direct a PCC or Mayor where a force is failing, in exceptional circumstances.
The power for the Home Secretary to require a police authority to call on a Chief Constable to retire was removed through the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 and the power to dismiss Chief Constables now rests with Police and Crime Commissioners.
The Home Secretary has already taken action and commissioned HMICFRS to review the information and intelligence used by West Midlands Police.
The findings from this are due to be provided on 12 January.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
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 the proposed 15-year qualifying period for Indefinite Leave to Remain under the earned settlement model on the retention of migrant meat hygiene inspectors currently employed on Skilled Worker visas.
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.
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.
Details of the earned settlement scheme, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.