Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) people were arrested, and (2) vehicles were seized, in the vicinity of Trafalgar Square on 26 November.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental tool of civic expression and will not be curtailed by this Government. However, these rights are not absolute and must be balanced with the rights and freedoms of others.
The management of demonstrations are an operational matter for the police. It is not for Government to direct the police in how they should manage protest activity. The police must enforce the law without fear nor favour and assess each protest and the potential disruption it may cause on its own merits.
The Home Office does not hold confirmed data on the number of arrests made or vehicles seized.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how long they anticipate it will take for every police force in England and Wales to replace existing taser devices with the new Taser 10 models
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Taser provides specially trained officers with an important tactical option to protect the public and save lives.
The deployment of Taser, including Taser 10, remains an operational decision for Chief Officers in line with their Strategic Threats and Risk Assessments.
Asked by: Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what direction they gave to police, if any, about the decision to ban tractors from entering Whitehall on 26 November.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental tool of civic expression and will not be curtailed by this Government. However, these rights are not absolute and must be balanced with the rights and freedoms of others.
The management of demonstrations are an operational matter for the police. It is not for Government to direct the police in how they should manage protest activity. The police must enforce the law without fear nor favour and assess each protest and the potential disruption it may cause on its own merits.
The Home Office does not hold confirmed data on the number of arrests made or vehicles seized.
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 steps her Department has taken to assess how live facial recognition systems are used in other countries and how those approaches may be used in the UK.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office routinely makes international comparisons in policy development work. As part of designing a new legal framework for law enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies, international comparisons will be considered.
The Government launched a public consultation on this framework on 4 December.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the annual revenue earned in the UK by global technology platforms from fraudulent advertising.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics.
Under the Online Safety Act, the largest social media and search services will soon be required to address fraudulent adverts on their platforms. Ofcom are due to consult on these duties next year.
Companies in the sector are also working with the government through the Online Advertising Taskforce, to enhance voluntarily initiatives to tackle the drivers of illegal advertising.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the total cost of redundancies that will be incurred as a result of the decision to abolish Police and Crime Commissioners.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
No civil servants will lose their jobs as a result of the decision. The Home Office will work with Offices of Police and Crime Commissioners and local authorities on local transition arrangements, including any impact on local staffing, ahead of implementation in 2028. Following the approach taken for previous transfers of police governance in mayoral areas, costs of transition are expected to be met locally through existing budgets.
It will be for local areas to determine the staffing they need under these new arrangements and no decisions have yet been taken on this. We expect new arrangements to be lower cost as a result of rationalising support arrangements and joining up local service delivery, which can fund more neighbourhood police on the beat across the country.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants they expect will be made redundant as a result of their decision to abolish Police and Crime Commissioners.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
No civil servants will lose their jobs as a result of the decision. The Home Office will work with Offices of Police and Crime Commissioners and local authorities on local transition arrangements, including any impact on local staffing, ahead of implementation in 2028. Following the approach taken for previous transfers of police governance in mayoral areas, costs of transition are expected to be met locally through existing budgets.
It will be for local areas to determine the staffing they need under these new arrangements and no decisions have yet been taken on this. We expect new arrangements to be lower cost as a result of rationalising support arrangements and joining up local service delivery, which can fund more neighbourhood police on the beat across the country.
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, pursuant to Answer of 8th December 2025 to Question 95558, how many of the 153 individuals returned to France under the agreement have subsequently attempted to re-enter the UK illegally.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Anyone who re-enters illegally may face immediate detention and, where appropriate, we will seek to expedite removal. This will not count as a new removal in the reciprocal scheme.
The system is working: two individuals who returned to the UK having already been removed were detected, detained, and their cases were expedited for return.
We continue close cooperation with France to strengthen border security and disrupt criminal smuggling gangs. Our ongoing partnership with French law enforcement has prevented over 21,000 crossing attempts to the UK this year.
Asked by: Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat - Bicester and Woodstock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many members of the Independent Monitoring Board for Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre have been appointed; and what the names of those members are.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Campsfield Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) opened on 1 December 2025 following completion of Phase 1 construction. As of 8 December there are currently 9 individuals detained at the IRC. Further information regarding Campsfield IRC can be found in the factsheet: Campsfield immigration removal centre: factsheet - GOV.UK
As with all IRCs, Campsfield IRC is operated in line with Detention Centre Rules 2001, published operating standards for IRCs and Detention Services Orders; a framework which ensures the safety and security of those detained in our care.
Independent scrutiny is a vital part of assurance that our detention facilities are safe, secure, and humane. Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB) are required to monitor IRCs as the appointed visiting committee as set out in the Detention Centre Rules 2001 and the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. There are currently four members of the IMB for Campsfield IRC.
Asked by: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with (a) UK Border Force, and (b) her counterparts in the French Government on reducing the waiting times for UK-bound passengers at passport control at Paris Gare du Nord.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Border Force work closely with partners to minimise passenger wait times and deploy officers flexibly and when required to meet demand and support passengers.
We have introduced ePassport Gates to Paris Gare Du Nord station in two waves, the last being timed to ensure that we had maximum gate coverage within the allotted space provided to us by SNCF prior to the Paris Olympics.
Since eGate deployment, we have lowered the age of people able to use eGates and the number of nationalities that are also able to use them. We have also installed new front desk technology that is quicker and more robust than its predecessor.
We are also prioritising the deployment of new eGates to Paris and other parts of the rail network when they become available which will help streamline increased passenger fluidity during peak times.
Border Force enjoys a strong operational relationship with Eurostar which has allowed us to successfully plan and deploy our resources at peak times – evidenced by the successful recent operational deliveries of the Paris Olympics in the summer of 2024, and both the Easter bank holiday and summer holiday periods in 2025 that were equally as challenging from a passenger flow perspective.