Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many dinghies used to smuggle people across the English Channel have been destroyed by the (a) Border Force and (b) French authorities in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of asylum seekers in receipt of support, by support type and by local authority, is published in table Asy_D11 of the ‘Asylum support detailed datasets’.
Individuals receiving Section 4 support have had their asylum claim refused but they are destitute and there are reasons that temporarily prevent them from leaving the UK. Please note that Section 95 support data includes some failed asylum seekers who had children in their household when their appeal rights were exhausted.
The latest data relates to as at 30 June 2025. Data for as at 30 September 2025 will be published on 27 November 2025. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will hold discussions with her European counterparts on removing requirements for (a) proof of accommodation, (b) evidence of sufficient funds, (c) proof of medical insurance and (d) proof of a return ticket from the EU's Entry-Exit System for UK based travellers.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The government will continue to engage the European Commission and member states on their plans to implement the Entry/Exit System.
Questions asked to passengers as part of the new system are ultimately operational matters for the Commission and member states.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who breached the terms of their visa were subsequently granted indefinite leave to remain since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Obtaining the specific information requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple systems owned by multiple teams across the Home Office as well as the manual checking of records and, therefore, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Metropolitan Police leaders on the use of metrics to assess the efficacy of cultural reform programmes introduced following the Casey Review.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is clear that discriminatory attitudes and behaviours have no place in policing. All Londoners, including women and ethnic minorities, deserve to have trust and confidence in their police force. As part of our mission to take back our streets, we have committed to restoring neighbourhood policing and halving violence against women girls and knife crime in a decade.
Since the Casey Review’s publication in March 2023, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has set out his ‘New Met for London’ plan to improve confidence in the force. The London Policing Board holds the Commissioner to account for delivery of the plan, and I engage regularly with both the Commissioner and Mayor of London on progress.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help the Metropolitan Police restore public confidence among women and ethnic minorities.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is clear that discriminatory attitudes and behaviours have no place in policing. All Londoners, including women and ethnic minorities, deserve to have trust and confidence in their police force. As part of our mission to take back our streets, we have committed to restoring neighbourhood policing and halving violence against women girls and knife crime in a decade.
Since the Casey Review’s publication in March 2023, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has set out his ‘New Met for London’ plan to improve confidence in the force. The London Policing Board holds the Commissioner to account for delivery of the plan, and I engage regularly with both the Commissioner and Mayor of London on progress.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to strengthen the national framework for the Metropolitan Police’s vetting processes to (a) identify and (b) exclude applicants with discriminatory attitudes on the basis of characteristics protected under the Equality Act 2010.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Police forces are expected to carry out vetting in alignment with the national framework set out in the College of Policing’s statutory Vetting Code of Practice and accompanying Vetting Authorised Professional Practice (APP).
Vetting decision-making is made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account any risks posed by the individual to the public and the police service. The APP is clear that any adverse information uncovered during the vetting and recruitment processes - including evidence of discriminatory behaviour such as racism or homophobia - must be flagged and subject to additional scrutiny.
It also highlights that clearance should be declined where an applicant has a caution or conviction that demonstrated targeting of persons due to their vulnerabilities or protected characteristics.
To help ensure the system is as robust as possible, earlier this year the Government made changes to introduce a statutory duty for officers to hold and maintain vetting clearance, and provided a route to dismiss them should they fail to do so. We are building on this by introducing statutory vetting standards later this year, which forces must adhere to.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Naturewatch Foundation's report entitled Policing Wildlife Crime: Make Wildlife Count, published on 9 September 2025, what estimate she has made of the number and proportion of wildlife crimes which result in no further action.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to deliver their ‘Rural and Wildlife Crime strategy 2025-2029’. This is published by the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), accessed here:
The Home Office, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, directly funds the NWCU. The NWCU assists police forces and other law enforcement agencies in investigating wildlife crime.
The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of wildlife crime offences, and their investigative outcomes, recorded by the police in England and Wales, on a quarterly basis. The latest information, to the year ending March 2025, is available here:
Information to the year ending June 2025 will be published on 23 October.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Metropolitan Police leaders on safeguards to protect whistleblowers who report (a) misogyny and (b) racism.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Secretary and I have regular meetings with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and other police leaders on a range of issues including police conduct.
Police officers have a statutory duty to report wrongdoing by their colleagues when they see it, and the College of Policing’s Code of Practice for Ethical Policing puts a duty on Chief Officers to facilitate and protect whistleblowers. The Metropolitan Police Service has a specialist unit to handle any concerns raised by “whistleblowers” with provision to come forward anonymously and to provide additional support to those who are accorded “whistleblower status” over and above their protections in wider employment and whistleblowing law. In addition, the Independent Office for Police Conduct runs a dedicated telephone line for police officers and staff.
Part 2 of the Angiolini Inquiry is also considering a range of cultural issues in policing, including whistleblowing processes, and the Government will consider any recommendations it makes carefully.
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 people have been arrested for non-fatal strangulation in the last 12 months.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold the data requested.
The Home Office collects and publishes data on arrests in England and Wales, including reason for arrest, as part of the ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical series. The data is available here: Police powers and procedures England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK
However the data is collected by wider offence group, for example “Violence against the person”, therefore data on arrests for non-fatal strangulation is not available.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to recommendation 2 of the SACMILL statement on the medical implications of the Taser 10 conducted energy device system, published on 2 October 2025, what recent discussions she has had with the National Police Chiefs Council on implementing measures to (a) closely monitor the on-going performance of the Taser 10 and (b) react in a timely way if problems emerge.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Taser provides police officers with an important tactical option to protect the public and save lives. As with any use of force, Taser must only be used when it is reasonable, proportionate and necessary in the circumstances. The decision to approve Taser 10 has been taken on consideration of stringent testing and assessments.
In common with other conducted energy devices approved for use in policing, the operational performance of Taser 10 will be closely monitored, with officers required to complete a bespoke form after each use. Data from these forms will provide insights into the safety and efficacy of the system as well as any emerging trends. The National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) and respective forces will be able to review these forms nationally and locally to identify any patterns and factors for review such as any emerging technical issues with the device. The Home Office has regular discussions with the NPCC and other policing stakeholders to keep this under review. to keep this under review.
The College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice refers to the Statement of Medical Implications for Taser 10 by the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less Lethal Weapons (SACMILL) and learning is incorporated into CED training and guidance as well as post Taser healthcare procedures. All officers who are selected to use CEDs must have an appreciation of the physical and psychological effects of the device. This includes training officers to factor in the potential vulnerability of a person, and factors such as age and stature when assessing each situation.
A Child Rights Impact Assessment was conducted to inform the decision to approve Taser 10.