Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department will review the classification of neighbour harassment involving intrusive CCTV surveillance.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The police have a range of powers to deal with any behaviour that causes harassment, alarm or distress to others. The Government fully supports the police in their use of these powers to maintain public order and keep communities safe.

Individuals that use CCTV to film outside their property boundary have to comply fully with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published guidance which details the obligations the CCTV user will need to comply with: https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/home-cctv-systems/.

Where there is sufficient evidence of harassment or stalking from a domestic camera system, this may lead to prosecution for a criminal offence of harassment or stalking under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. In addition to the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, another potential remedy in civil law is the tort of private nuisance, which is a common law tort that relates to a person’s private rights in relation to land.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to introduce the new safe and legal routes set out in Restoring Order and Control, updated on 21 November, and what estimate they have made of the number of refugees who will be able to enter through those routes.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The UK has a proud history of providing protection and we continue to welcome refugees and people in need through our safe and legal routes.

As announced in Restoring Order and Control, we are developing new capped sponsored refugee pathways across education, labour and community routes. This transformative change to safe and legal routes will revolutionise the way in which we offer opportunities to refugees. Policy development is underway, and the Home Office is working at pace with partners to design and operationalise these routes as soon as practicable.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the protection work and study visa proposed in Restoring Order and Control, updated on 21 November, what the fee level will be; what criteria will be used to govern entry through that route; and how soon asylum seekers will be able to earn settlement on that route.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The full details of the Core Protection offer, and the Protection Work and Study route, remain subject to further policy development which will be set out in due course. Settlement requirements will also be considered as part of our consultation. We are currently consulting on how the settlement system should be reformed and how those reforms should be implemented.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the asylum policy in Restoring Order and Control, updated on 21 November, whether asylum seekers who are awaiting a decision after 12 months will be able to apply for jobs.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Asylum seekers are eligible to apply for permission to work in the UK if their claim has been outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own. There are no current plans to change this policy.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 5 November 2025, to Question 86340, on Asylum: Housing, for what policy reason the monetary value of Grant 7 and Grant 6 payments to individual local authorities is confidential.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office do not publicly publish our grant payment levels by Local Authority to protect our relationship with Local Government.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government on what basis they have amended immigration rules in respect of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) to enable EUSS status holders to obtain an EUSS (Family) Travel permit from outside the United Kingdom without updating their UK Visas and Immigration account.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Changes to the EUSS travel permit (in Appendix EU (Family Permit)) were laid on 9 December and will come into force on 30 December. They enable all EUSS status holders to obtain an EUSS travel permit where they are unable to update their UK Visas and Immigration account, for example with the details of a new travel document, from outside the UK. This will help ensure EUSS status holders are not refused boarding by a carrier, or do not experience further difficulties when Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs) are enforced from 25 February 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the proposals in A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, published on 20 November, and Restoring Order and Control, updated on 21 November, on child poverty.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The earned settlement model, proposed in A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026. Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following that consultation. The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessment, which we have committed to publish in due course.

Our proposals in Restoring Order and Control are designed to encourage refugees to contribute and integrate into UK society and the economy. We will have due regard to our section 55 duties and consider the best interests of children as the policy is further developed.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people are in the total absconder pool of foreign national offenders for which the latest data is available.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many irregular migrants are in the total absconder pool for which the latest data is available.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the size of the total absconder pool in the most recent period for which reporting is available.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Border Force queue samples exceeded published service standards in each month since July 2024, broken down by EU/EEA and non-EU/EEA passengers.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The number of sampled queues cleared within the respective EEA and non-EEA service standards are provided within the published transparency data:

Migration transparency data - GOV.UK

Specific figures on how many queue samples fell outside of service standards for EEA and non-EEA are not available in an accessible format.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress the Defending Democracy Taskforce has made on protecting democratic institutions.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Taskforce is driving forward a whole of government response to the threats to our democratic institutions.

Recent progress includes developing new legislation to address the abhorrent harassment and intimidation experienced by elected representatives, provision of personal cyber security advice and the roll out of new National Protective Security Authority security guidance to help protect those working in our democracy.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to provide security protections for faith communities.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

Protecting the right of all faith communities to worship in peace and without fear is fundamental.

This year, the Government is investing £70.9 million to strengthen security at places of worship and other community sites.

This includes an additional £10 million each for Jewish and Muslim communities, taking protective security funding for these groups to record levels.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with mobile phone companies on improving anti-theft technology.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is determined to crack down on snatch theft and other crimes which target people's mobile devices. It is working closely with industry and law enforcement to help reduce these crimes.

The Government hosted a mobile phone summit on 6 February, at which all participants, including law enforcement, the Mayor of London, mobile manufacturers and other technology companies, agreed to collaborate in tackling this problem. Since the summit, the Government has continued to engage closely with relevant partners as they progress their work to develop solutions to break the business model of mobile phone thieves.

The Minister for Policing and Crime and officials continue to hold discussions to monitor progress with relevant partners, including technology companies; most recently this month.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been charged with non fatal strangulation in the last 6 months.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects information on the number of investigative outcomes for offences recorded by the police in England and Wales, including for the subcodes ‘008/78 Racially or religiously aggravated non-fatal strangulation or suffocation’ and ‘008/77 non-fatal strangulation or suffocation’.

In the six months to 30^th June 2025, there were 3,621 charge/summons outcomes recorded by the police in England and Wales (excluding Humberside police, who were unable to provide data to the Home Office Data Hub for this period) for these non-fatal strangulation offences.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Chief Constable of Norfolk on levels of organised criminal activity in Great Yarmouth.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is committed to tackling the threat from Serious and Organised Crime (SOC) and ensuring that law enforcement has the resources it needs to do so effectively. Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs), which are collaborations between multiple police forces, play a vital role in supporting forces and partners to address SOC threats. Norfolk Constabulary form part of the Eastern Region ROCU.

Significant investment has been made in strengthening ROCUs. Between April 2021 and March 2023, Chief Constables, PCCs and Mayors allocated 725 additional officers to ROCUs. With continued Home Office support, ROCUs have grown further, with 2,209 officers in place as of April 2025—an increase of over 60% since March 2021. These officers are tackling a range of SOC threats, helping to reduce crime and keep communities safe.

Additionally, Clear, Hold, Build (CHB) is a place-based, three phased operational framework, designed by the Home Office which aims to reduce the Serious and Organised Crime (SOC) threat and crime levels in high-harm local areas and build sustained community resilience which prevents this harm returning.

There are currently 65 CHB sites operational in England and Wales, across 42 police forces.

Ultimately, operational decisions, including how resources are allocated to reduce levels of organised crime, are matters for Chief Constables and directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), and Mayors with PCC functions, based on their local knowledge and experience.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether data is available on the average length of time people spend living in the UK before acquiring Indefinite Leave to Remain, including (a) all individuals, (b) those on work routes, and (c) those on family routes.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on individuals granted indefinite leave to remain, by initial leave type, and number of years into their journey in the ‘Migrant journey’ annual release. Data are published in table ‘MJ_D01’ of the ‘Migrant journey detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from 2005 to 2024.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the average workforce size of businesses that are eligible to sponsor worker visas.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Any UK business can apply for a sponsor licence, provided they comply with relevant requirements. Of the businesses listed on the register of licenced sponsors, the vast majority are Small and Medium-sized enterprises.

This Government will continue to reduce net migration, reduce our reliance on overseas recruitment and back British workers by investing in our resident workforce.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Restoring Control Over the Immigration System: White Paper, whether families accessing Free School Meals under the No Recourse to Public Funds extension could be subject to penalties of 5 or 10 years under the earned settlement scheme.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Data regarding how many people in the UK are subject to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition (NRPF) is currently in development and not ready for release. We will continue to explore what further information on NRPF can be produced. We are unable at this time to provide a specific timeframe for data publication or indeed confirm what will be published.

The earned settlement model is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026. Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following that consultation.

The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Consideration will then be given, if appropriate, to how transitional arrangements may be designed to ease the impact of policy change, especially for individuals or groups already afforded permissions by the previous system.

The final model will also be subject to equality impact assessment, which the government has committed to publish in due course.

Free school meals are not classed as a 'public fund' for immigration purposes. It is the Department for Education who set the eligibility criteria for who can access free school meals.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to help tackle rural crime in Staffordshire.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are supporting forces across the UK, including Staffordshire Police, to tackle the crimes that particularly affect rural communities.

We have given £365,000 in funding to the National Rural Crime Unit, a further £450,000 to the National Wildlife Crime Unit, and we have worked closely with the NPCC to deliver their Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy which was launched recently.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints have been referred to Professional Standards Unit in last five years, how were they categorised and how many were (a) upheld and (b) rejected.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Professional Standards Unit (PSU) received 1265 referrals of complaint between 1 April 2020 to 5 December 2025

The complaints were categorised as, Assault, Corruption, Failure in Duty or Care, Honesty and Integrity Issues, Racism and other Discrimination, Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment, Theft, Unfair Treatment and Unprofessional Conduct

Of the referrals received, 291 were investigated by the PSU with the remaining referrals cascaded to local complaint teams in the Home Office.

42 investigations substantiated or partially substantiated the allegations made by the complainant and 249 were unsubstantiated.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for the total spend on (i) LinkedIn membership fees (ii) other subscriptions by her Department in the last financial year.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office spent £98,800 on 13 LinkedIn Corporate Recruiter licences in 2024-25. There was further spend on other Recruitment services. The Home Office does not pay for LinkedIn membership services for individual members of staff.

By “other subscriptions” we are assuming that this is in relation to subscriptions to professional bodies. We do not hold readily available information on professional subscriptions as our financial systems do not have a specific marker for this type of expenditure. This level of detailed analysis could only be undertaken at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to support wards receiving funding through the Pride in Place programme in a) Telford, b) West Midlands and c) England.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

On 25 September, the Government launched its overarching Pride in Place Strategy, committing up to £5 billion in funding and support to 339 communities.

The flagship Pride in Place Programme will provide up to £20 million in flexible funding and support to 244 places over the next decade. This will serve as the cornerstone of this Government’s support for communities, incorporating the existing 25 trailblazer areas announced at Spending Review and the 75 Phase 1 Plan for Neighbourhoods programme areas that were announced in March.

The neighbourhoods selected to receive funding and support from the Pride in Place Programme include Woodside in Telford and 28 places in the West Midlands. In addition, 7 local authorities across the West Midlands have been awarded funding through the Pride in Place Impact Fund, with each receiving up to £1.5m over two years. In total, the Government is investing up to £570.5 million across the West Midlands through the Pride in Place Programme and the Pride in Place Impact Fund.

Each area selected through the Pride in Place Programme will receive dedicated delivery support from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure the successful delivery of the programme. This support will be provided by the Communities Delivery Unit, which will work in partnership with Neighbourhood Boards and local authorities, and will include access to place-specific data, guidance and capability support tailored to local needs.

The Communities Delivery Unit will establish a Network for Neighbourhoods across the UK to build connection and learning between community leaders, convene the partners that support and strengthen community organisations, groups and social clubs, and embed participatory approaches in how local decisions are made. With the Pride in Place Programme at its heart, the Network will share learning and best practice across the Neighbourhood Boards and beyond, to support strong, capable and empowered communities to lead change locally.

The Communities Delivery Unit in the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government will also work with other government departments to identify relevant programmes, data and support that Pride in Place neighbourhoods can draw on as they develop their local plans.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of staff in each grade in her Department were rated in the top performance category in the last year.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office introduced a no-rating performance management system for delegated grades in 2021 in line with external good practice. Therefore, the department cannot compare progression with performance markings / categories.

The performance management framework for Senior Civil Servants is a Cabinet Office policy, applied across the Civil Service departments including the Home Office.

In the last performance year, the proportion of staff rated in the top performance category (“Exceeding”) for Senior Civil Servants is 25.

• Senior Civil Service 1: 17 individuals (representing 6% of all SCS1 Home Office staff)

• Senior Civil Service 2: 6 individuals (representing 10% of all SCS2 Home Office staff)

• Senior Civil Service 3: <5 individuals (representing >20% of all SCS3 Home Office staff)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the draft Statutory Instrument, The Public Order Act 2023 (Interference With Use or Operation of Key National Infrastructure) Regulations 2025 on the availability of public information on animal testing.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy, and we will always defend that right. But, where disruption from protest risks undermining our sovereign capability to prepare and respond to a pandemic, we must take action to protect key infrastructure and supply chains.

The Life Sciences industry is of vital importance to this country. The sector provides crucial research to further medical capabilities in the UK and plays a central role in our pandemic preparedness capabilities. During the Covid-19 pandemic, our national response depended on having the tools and expertise to rapidly develop new vaccines and treatments.

On 11 November, the OLS published a strategy setting out the steps that the Government will take over the next 5 years towards achieving a world where the use of animals in science is eliminated in all but exceptional circumstances. Until that goal can be achieved, the immediate and critical issue remains that the sector is being targeted by protestors who oppose current clinical research methods.

That is why the Government is taking the proportionate step to amend section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023. This change will extend the definition of Key National Infrastructure within the Act to include the Life Sciences sector. The offence within the Act of interference with the use or operation of Key National Infrastructure will apply to the Life Sciences sector in addition to the existing sectors covered under section 7(6) of the Act. In turn, this change will reduce supply chain interference, protect the sector’s ability to operate in the UK, and ultimately support the UK’s pandemic preparedness and national health resilience.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish an Equalities Impact Assessment for her proposed earned settlement model.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following the conclusion of the ongoing public consultation.

An equality impact assessment will then be published in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the draft Statutory Instrument, The Public Order Act 2023 (Interference With Use or Operation of Key National Infrastructure) Regulations 2025 on the right to protest against animal testing.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy, and we will always defend that right. But, where disruption from protest risks undermining our sovereign capability to prepare and respond to a pandemic, we must take action to protect key infrastructure and supply chains.

The Life Sciences industry is of vital importance to this country. The sector provides crucial research to further medical capabilities in the UK and plays a central role in our pandemic preparedness capabilities. During the Covid-19 pandemic, our national response depended on having the tools and expertise to rapidly develop new vaccines and treatments.

On 11 November, the OLS published a strategy setting out the steps that the Government will take over the next 5 years towards achieving a world where the use of animals in science is eliminated in all but exceptional circumstances. Until that goal can be achieved, the immediate and critical issue remains that the sector is being targeted by protestors who oppose current clinical research methods.

That is why the Government is taking the proportionate step to amend section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023. This change will extend the definition of Key National Infrastructure within the Act to include the Life Sciences sector. The offence within the Act of interference with the use or operation of Key National Infrastructure will apply to the Life Sciences sector in addition to the existing sectors covered under section 7(6) of the Act. In turn, this change will reduce supply chain interference, protect the sector’s ability to operate in the UK, and ultimately support the UK’s pandemic preparedness and national health resilience.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has made to his Malaysian counterpart on the forced disappearance of religious activists; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Malaysia’s High Court’s ruling of November 2025 on the sharing of expertise and training between UK and Malaysian police forces.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Secretary has not engaged with Malaysian counterparts since July 2024.

Any police assistance provided to international partners is governed by the FCDO Overseas Security and Justice Assessment (OSJA) process. The OSJA process is an essential tool to ensure that the UK's overseas security and justice assistance meets our human rights and international humanitarian law (IHL) obligations, increases respect for the rule of law, and supports UK values.

All requests for England and Wales police officers or staff to deploy overseas to deliver training or capacity building activity (such as the sharing of expertise) is considered by the Home Office under S26 of the Police Act 1996 on a case-by-case basis, in line with the associated OSJA of the proposed activity.

Any assistance provided to Malaysia will have been assessed using OSJA, as well as other risk assessment processes.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish a new national Hate Crime Action Plan.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is determined to tackle all forms of hate crime wherever in the country it occurs, and whoever is responsible for committing it. We expect the police to fully investigate these appalling offences and work with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.

The Home Office is already working closely with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and other government departments, to strengthen the response to hate crime going forward so we can tackle this offending head on.

The Government funds an online hate crime reporting portal called True Vision, designed so victims of all types of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. We also continue to fund the National Online Hate Crime Hub which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with online hate crime

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy papers entitled Spending Review 2025, published on 30 June 2025, and Budget 2025, published on 28 November 2025, what their Department’s capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be in each year of the Spending Review period; how much capital funding has been allocated to each of their Department’s programmes; and how much and what proportion of the capital DEL allocation remains unallocated in each year.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Spending Review 2025, published on 30 June 2025 sets out the Home Office settlement from HM Treasury. This includes the Home Office’s Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits (CDEL), which are detailed in Table 5.4: Capital Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL)(1) within Section 5. Departmental Settlements of the document Spending Review 2025 (HTML) - GOV.UK.

The department is considering how the settlement will be allocated and further detail on allocation by spending areas for 2026-27 will be published during Q1 of 2026-27 as part of the Home Office Main Estimates memorandum.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce incidences of freight crime.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

We fully recognise the serious and growing threat that freight crime poses to businesses, drivers, and the wider economy. This Government is determined to crack down on it. The incidences of freight crime, where criminals rip the sides of lorries and take the goods inside, is frightening for those dedicated HGV drivers across the UK, and the perception this crime is low risk and high reward is unacceptable.

There are strong links between freight crime and serious organised crime, which is a major threat to the national security and prosperity of the UK and estimated to cost the economy at least £47 billion annually.

This Government is committed to tackling serious and organised crime in all its forms. We work closely with Opal, the police’s national intelligence unit focused on serious organised acquisitive crime, which has multiple thematic desks, including a vehicle crime intelligence desk which covers freight crime.

We will continue to work with law enforcement agencies and other invested stakeholders to change the unacceptable perception that freight crime is low risk and high reward and find solutions which will tackle it.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in her Department in the last year.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not publish specific information on settlement agreements and special severance payments for departing staff.

The Home Office does publish the overall payments made to staff exiting the department each year and this is outlined in the annual report and accounts. For 2024-25 this is featured on page 170. Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 2025

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of expanded police powers to use facial recognition on the privacy of residents in Devon.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has not assessed the potential impact of expanded use of facial recognition on the privacy of residents in Devon, specifically, although the Government recognises that facial recognition will usually involve some degree of interference with people’s rights, such as the right to privacy, which must be minimised, necessary and proportionate to a policing purpose.

The existing legal framework governing police use of facial recognition requires compliance with data protection, equalities, and human rights laws, national guidance, the Code of Practice for surveillance cameras, and is supplemented by specific policies published by individual forces.

The Government launched a public consultation on 04/12/2025 on the use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies which, will help inform the design of a new legal framework for these technologies. The consultation explores when and how these technologies should be used and asks the public what factors are relevant to consider when assessing interference with privacy.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in the past twelve months, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies broken down by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B) conduct.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Please find table below outlining disciplinary cases by performance and conduct.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) the Department and (b) its executive agencies in the last year; and how many formal performance warnings were issued to staff whose absence exceeded departmental triggers.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The current Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) is 8.12. Regarding the number of performance warnings issued to staff, this can only be obtained through disproportionate effort.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the levels of recruitment and retention in Lincolnshire Police in the past 10 years.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Forces are expected to manage their recruitment and retention activities to ensure that they meet officer headcount targets linked to funding arrangements set out in the Police Funding Settlement.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of joiners and leavers in England and Wales, on an annual basis, in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales

Information on the number of joiners to the police service, by police force area and worker type, between the years ending 31 March 2007 and 31 March 2025 can be found in the Joiners Open Data table here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687a363b312ee8a5f0806b7b/open-data-table-police-workforce-joiners-230725.ods

Information on the number of leavers from the police service, by police force area and worker type, between the years ending 31 March 2007 and 31 March 2025 can be found in the Leavers Open Data table here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687a364d312ee8a5f0806b7c/open-data-table-police-workforce-leavers-230725.ods

Information on the length of service of police officer leavers, by police force area, between the years ending 31 March 2024 and 31 March 2025 can be found in the Length of Service Open Data table here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687a36caa5561a5a7e726b7d/open-data-table-police-workforce-length-of-service-230725.ods

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will have discussions with the police to establish a National Police Trust funded from money seized from the proceeds of crime.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to depriving criminals of their illicit gains and reinvesting recovered proceeds to tackle crime and protect communities.

Funds recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) are distributed via the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS). The Scheme aims to enhance asset recovery performance by incentivising law enforcement agencies to recover criminal assets, and by supporting local and national initiatives that strengthen asset recovery efforts. Its overarching goal is to reduce crime and deliver justice.

Under ARIS, up to 50% of receipts are returned to operational partners, with an additional £13.9 million ring-fenced annually for national and regional capabilities. Agencies, including police forces, have discretion over how ARIS allocations are spent and may choose to support wider initiatives if appropriate.

The Government is committed to reviewing ARIS and is working closely with law enforcement agencies, including policing partners, to ensure the Scheme continues to strengthen asset recovery and the effective reinvestment of criminal proceeds.

Detail on the current use of ARIS funding can be found in the Asset Recovery Statistical Bulletin (ASB) at section 7: Asset recovery statistical bulletin: financial years ending 2020 to 2025.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to ensure that police officers receive adequate training and guidance to enable them to maintain public order while respecting freedom of (a) expression, (b) religion and belief and (c) thought.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to protecting freedom of expression while ensuring that individuals can access abortion services without harassment or intimidation.

Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO), as introduced by the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, allow local authorities to deal with a particular nuisance or problem in a specific area that is detrimental to the local community’s quality of life, by imposing conditions on the use of that area which apply to everyone. It is an offence for a person, without a reasonable excuse, to do anything they are prohibited from doing by a PSPO or to fail to comply with a requirement in the PSPO. PSPOs have previously been applied by local authorities within the vicinity of abortion facilities, as a decision independent of government.

On 31 October 2024, Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023 came into force, introducing safe access zones of 150 metres around all abortion clinics in England and Wales. Within these zones, it is an offence to intentionally or recklessly influence someone’s decision to use or provide abortion services, obstruct them, or cause harassment or distress. Ministers cannot comment on individual cases.

The legislation on safe access zones does not specify behaviours; it is for the police, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and courts, who are operationally independent, to determine whether an act meets the threshold. CPS guidance confirms that vigils or silent prayer could fall within scope depending on intent and circumstances (in annex A): https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/offences-during-protests-demonstrations-or-campaigns.

The Home Office works with the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs’ Council to ensure officers receive appropriate training and guidance on public order powers and human rights obligations. The College of Policing produces the Public Order Public Safety authorised professional practice (APP) which covers policing of safe access zones.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has provided guidance to police forces on their approach towards (a) Isabel Vaughan-Spruce and (b) people engaging in silent thought, absent of any accompanying behaviour, near to abortion facilities.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to protecting freedom of expression while ensuring that individuals can access abortion services without harassment or intimidation.

Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO), as introduced by the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, allow local authorities to deal with a particular nuisance or problem in a specific area that is detrimental to the local community’s quality of life, by imposing conditions on the use of that area which apply to everyone. It is an offence for a person, without a reasonable excuse, to do anything they are prohibited from doing by a PSPO or to fail to comply with a requirement in the PSPO. PSPOs have previously been applied by local authorities within the vicinity of abortion facilities, as a decision independent of government.

On 31 October 2024, Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023 came into force, introducing safe access zones of 150 metres around all abortion clinics in England and Wales. Within these zones, it is an offence to intentionally or recklessly influence someone’s decision to use or provide abortion services, obstruct them, or cause harassment or distress. Ministers cannot comment on individual cases.

The legislation on safe access zones does not specify behaviours; it is for the police, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and courts, who are operationally independent, to determine whether an act meets the threshold. CPS guidance confirms that vigils or silent prayer could fall within scope depending on intent and circumstances (in annex A): https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/offences-during-protests-demonstrations-or-campaigns.

The Home Office works with the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs’ Council to ensure officers receive appropriate training and guidance on public order powers and human rights obligations. The College of Policing produces the Public Order Public Safety authorised professional practice (APP) which covers policing of safe access zones.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on silent prayer and silent thought.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to protecting freedom of expression while ensuring that individuals can access abortion services without harassment or intimidation.

Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO), as introduced by the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, allow local authorities to deal with a particular nuisance or problem in a specific area that is detrimental to the local community’s quality of life, by imposing conditions on the use of that area which apply to everyone. It is an offence for a person, without a reasonable excuse, to do anything they are prohibited from doing by a PSPO or to fail to comply with a requirement in the PSPO. PSPOs have previously been applied by local authorities within the vicinity of abortion facilities, as a decision independent of government.

On 31 October 2024, Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023 came into force, introducing safe access zones of 150 metres around all abortion clinics in England and Wales. Within these zones, it is an offence to intentionally or recklessly influence someone’s decision to use or provide abortion services, obstruct them, or cause harassment or distress. Ministers cannot comment on individual cases.

The legislation on safe access zones does not specify behaviours; it is for the police, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and courts, who are operationally independent, to determine whether an act meets the threshold. CPS guidance confirms that vigils or silent prayer could fall within scope depending on intent and circumstances (in annex A): https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/offences-during-protests-demonstrations-or-campaigns.

The Home Office works with the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs’ Council to ensure officers receive appropriate training and guidance on public order powers and human rights obligations. The College of Policing produces the Public Order Public Safety authorised professional practice (APP) which covers policing of safe access zones.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) name, (b) job title, (c) annual remuneration, (d) time commitment and (e) expected end date is for each direct ministerial appointment in her Department.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Tim Goodson was appointed as a Member of the Offensive Weapons Homicide Reviews Oversight Board for a period of 15 months, from 19 November 2024 which will end on 18 April 2026. The Member receives a remuneration of £300 per day, based on an expected time commitment of 5 days per month attendance.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of legislation in tackling expressions of Holocaust denial that constitute threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour under the Public Order Act 1986.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society, and the Government is committed to tackling it in all its forms.

The Home Secretary launched an independent review of public order and hate crime legislation on 5 October. This review will assess whether police powers remain fit for purpose, are used consistently, and strike the right balance between protecting the public and safeguarding the right to lawful protest.

Under the Public Order Act 1986, expressions of Holocaust denial may constitute an offence where they meet the legal thresholds for threatening or abusive conduct under Section 5, or intentional harassment, alarm or distress under Section 4A.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people resident in the UK are recorded on the National DNA Database.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

As of 30 September 2025, a total of 7,490,730 subject samples were retained on the National DNA Database. It is estimated that these samples correspond to 6,210,328 individuals.

The Home Office is unable to confirm how many of these records pertain specifically to individual’s resident in the United Kingdom as the National DNA Database does not hold address details.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman’s national security vetting has been reviewed in the last 12 months: and whether the office holder has access to material classified as top secret.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Police Ombudsman is accountable to the Northern Ireland Assembly, through the Northern Ireland Minister for Justice. The Office of the Ombudsman is a NDPB of the NI Department of Justice.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 84932 on Business and Tourism: Greater London, if she will make an assessment of the potential economic impact of organised protests on tourism and businesses in London.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not plan to make a formal assessment of the potential economic impact of organised protests on tourism or businesses in London. Responsibility for tourism policy rests primarily with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, while business resilience and economic analysis are led by the Department for Business and Trade.

The Government continues to work closely with police to ensure their public order powers are used effectively and we continue to work closely with the Metropolitan Police Service and to ensure that lawful protest is facilitated while minimising disruption to the public and economic activity.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of animals in the UK who are bred for, but not used for, scientific research.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

The Home Office does not currently collect statistics on the number of animals in Great Britain that were bred for use in scientific procedures but were killed or died without being used in procedures.

Additional statistics were previously collected as required by European Directive 2010/63/EU. In 2017, the Home Office published these additional statistics covering the number of non-genetically altered animals that were bred for scientific procedures but were killed or died without being used in procedures, and the number of animals (genetically altered and non-genetically altered) subject to tissue sampling for the purposes of genotyping.

The Home Office is no longer required to collect and release additional statistics. Future publication of this data is under review.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the number of police officers.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to ensuring that the police have the resources they need.

This year we are providing a total of up to £376.8 million specifically to support forces to achieve officer headcounts as set out in the 2025/26 police funding settlement.

We are also providing £200 million to kickstart the delivery of 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2025 to Question 90131, how many decisions by operational managers in relation to the cost of returning someone to their final place of stay and supporting welfare and safety a) have involved discretionary payments of £500 or more and b) have involved discretionary payments of up to £500; and what was the total cost of all such payments in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The specific information requested is not centrally held and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral answer of 26 November 2025, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 1331, on West Midlands Police: Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans, what discussions she has had with her Dutch counterpart on the Ajax v Maccabi Tel Aviv Europa League game in November 2024.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Policing Minister wrote to the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police on 24 November to request an urgent update clarifying the provenance of the intelligence gathered by his force and his confidence in this. The Chief Constable replied on 28 November.

The Home Office routinely engages with international partners as part of its departmental interests in policing, border security and immigration. Officials have met with Dutch counterparts in recent weeks on these matters, including as part of efforts to ensure full transparency around the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the fixture against Aston Villa in November. Ministers have not directly engaged with Ministers from the Netherlands on this specific matter.

To ensure full independent scrutiny, the Home Secretary has commissioned His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to inspect how police forces in England and Wales provide risk assessment advice to local Safety Advisory Groups and other bodies responsible for licensing high-profile public events. HMICFRS has been asked to provide an initial response on the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match by 31 December.

Additionally, the Home Affairs Select Committee held an evidence session on 1 December to examine the decision-making process and intelligence assessments. The government awaits the Committee’s findings. Correspondence between the Committee and relevant parties is routinely published on the Committee’s official website.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral answer of 26 November 2025, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 1331, on West Midlands Police: Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans, what discussions her Department had with West Midlands Police in relation to their meeting with Dutch police authorities on 1 October 2025.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Policing Minister wrote to the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police on 24 November to request an urgent update clarifying the provenance of the intelligence gathered by his force and his confidence in this. The Chief Constable replied on 28 November.

The Home Office routinely engages with international partners as part of its departmental interests in policing, border security and immigration. Officials have met with Dutch counterparts in recent weeks on these matters, including as part of efforts to ensure full transparency around the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the fixture against Aston Villa in November. Ministers have not directly engaged with Ministers from the Netherlands on this specific matter.

To ensure full independent scrutiny, the Home Secretary has commissioned His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to inspect how police forces in England and Wales provide risk assessment advice to local Safety Advisory Groups and other bodies responsible for licensing high-profile public events. HMICFRS has been asked to provide an initial response on the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match by 31 December.

Additionally, the Home Affairs Select Committee held an evidence session on 1 December to examine the decision-making process and intelligence assessments. The government awaits the Committee’s findings. Correspondence between the Committee and relevant parties is routinely published on the Committee’s official website.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for her assessment on the effectiveness of Stalking Prevention Orders.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG), is a top priority for this Government and the VAWG Strategy published on 18 December sets out clear action to tackle stalking as a part of this.

Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) are an essential tool, designed to protect victims of stalking at the earliest possible opportunity and address the perpetrator’s behaviours before they become entrenched or escalate in severity.

We know that the use of SPOs could be improved to better support victims and disrupt perpetrators. Therefore, the Government’s manifesto committed to strengthen the use of SPOs.

We are delivering on this commitment by introducing a power for the courts to issue Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) on conviction or acquittal of their own volition through the Crime and Policing Bill. We are also strengthening the use of SPOs including through setting up SPO intensification sites in select forces which aim to drive up use of SPOs and provide opportunities to test innovative approaches to enforce conditions and monitor breaches, which could be adopted nationwide.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the level of the impact of digital ID on the number of undocumented workers in the grey economy.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Due to the hidden nature of illegal working, there is no reliable estimate on the scale of the issue.

The Digital ID programme is part of a broader strategy to tackle illegal immigration. By making it harder for people without the right to work to gain employment, the government plans to reduce incentives for unlawful entry.

The digital ID will build on the existing digital right to work checks for foreign nationals where eVisa share codes are currently used, further streamlining the process. Digital IDs will:

o Make it easier for employers to comply by standardising and simplifying right to work checks

o Make it easier for British citizens to demonstrate a right to work.

o Remove the reliance on physical documents in the UK, making it harder for forged documents to be used as proof of right to work.

The Cabinet Office will launch a public consultation in the coming weeks and has already started engaging key groups.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce pull factors for migrants seeking to arrive in the UK illegally.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

In November, I announced the most significant reforms to our asylum system in a generation. They are designed to tackle the incentives that draw people to this country illegally.

o We know that the generosity of refugee status draws people here – so we are making it temporary, not permanent.

o We know the ability to work in the illegal economy lures people here – and so we are cracking down on illegal working.

o And we know that effective removals disincentive illegal entry – and returns are up 23% since this Govt took office.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the dependents of doctors eligible for the earned settlement scheme will be able to qualify for faster settlement routes.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The earned settlement model, proposed in A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.

A Fairer Pathway to Settlement proposes a reduction in qualifying period for settlement for those in public service occupations.

However, full details of the earned settlement scheme, including treatment of dependants, will be finalised following that consultation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral answer of 26 November 2025, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 1331, on West Midlands Police: Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of public disorder outside Villa Park on 6 November 2025.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to ensuring that football matches are safe, inclusive events for all. Decisions regarding match-day operations, including the decision to exclude away fans from attending the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match at Villa Park on 6 November, were made locally by Birmingham City Council’s Safety Advisory Group, following a risk assessment by West Midlands Police. These bodies are operationally independent of government.

The match proceeded without serious disorder or disruption, supported by a significant policing operation involving around 700 officers. While the event was largely peaceful, the government recognises the concerns raised about the intelligence underpinning the decision to exclude away fans.

To ensure full independent scrutiny, the Home Secretary has commissioned His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to inspect how police forces in England and Wales provide risk assessment advice to local Safety Advisory Groups and other bodies responsible for licensing high-profile public events. HMICFRS has been asked to provide an initial response on the intelligence the West Midlands Police relied upon when assessing risk for the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match by 31 December.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of domestic properties Mears Housing currently owns in Northern Ireland which were previously used for housing asylum seekers but are vacant as of 1 December 2025.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold this data.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of reported levels of misidentification of (a) women, (b) ethnic minorities, and (c) young people by live facial recognition systems.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Police use of live facial recognition (LFR) is governed by equality, human rights, and data protection laws, and can only be used for a policing purpose where necessary, proportionate, and fair. LFR technology is not automated decision-making; it suggests possible matches not definite ones. Following a possible alert, it is always a specially trained police officer on the ground who decides what action, if any, to take.

Facial recognition algorithms provided by or procured with Home Office funding for police use are required to be independently tested for bias. Independent testing is important because it helps determine the setting in which an algorithm can safely and fairly be used.

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has independently tested the LFR algorithm used by the police. At the settings used by South Wales Police, the Metropolitan Police Service, and in the 10 LFR vans rolled out in August 2025, the NPL found that the algorithm had an 89% chance of correctly identifying someone on the watchlist of people wanted by the police or the courts. At worst, the algorithm had a 1 in 6,000 chance of generating a false alert on a watchlist containing 10,000 images. In practice, police have reported that the false alert rate has been far better than this. Importantly, the NPL also found no statistically significant differences in performance based on gender, age, or ethnicity, at the settings used by the police.

The Government is committed to ensuring that facial recognition technology is used proportionately, responsibly, and with strong safeguards in place to protect the public. On 4 December 2025, we therefore launched a public consultation that sets out proposals for a new legal framework and strengthened oversight of facial recognition and other biometric technologies. The Government proposes creating a new oversight body to consolidate and clarify existing regulatory roles, ensuring responsible use of these technologies.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle phone theft in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Mobile phone theft causes significant distress to victims and fuels wider criminality, and the Government is determined to reduce it.

Our aim is to disrupt, design-out and disincentivise mobile phone theft. We are working closely with law enforcement partners, the tech companies and other industry representatives to make swift progress to deliver practical and effective measures to crack down on this criminality and break the business model of mobile phone thieves.

This includes relevant partners playing their part to disrupt the resale of stolen phones, explore technological solutions to make devices harder to register or resell, and helping the public protect themselves and their devices. In addition, the Government is giving the police the power to enter premises to search for and seize stolen items which have been electronically tracked to the premises without requiring a warrant from a court, where it is not reasonably practicable to obtain a warrant without seriously prejudicing the entry and search purpose. This will significantly enhance the ability of the police to act swiftly and effectively.

The Government will deliver real results on crime by reducing opportunities for theft and ensuring offenders are caught and that victims see swift and effective action.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps does she plan to take to amend the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 to reflect the absorption of the Police and Crime Commissioner role into that of metro mayors.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government committed in the English Devolution White Paper to transfer Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) functions to mayors of strategic authorities by default, wherever possible.

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, currently before Parliament, contains provisions that amend relevant primary legislation, including the Police Reform and Social Responsibility 2011 Act, to achieve this aim. Subject to the Bill receiving Royal Assent, transfers of functions to mayors will take place in areas where the boundaries of the mayoral strategic authority and policing area align, at a date set by the Secretary of State by Order.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the rates of false positives generated by live facial recognition systems.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Police use of live facial recognition (LFR) is governed by equality, human rights, and data protection laws, and can only be used for a policing purpose where necessary, proportionate, and fair. LFR technology is not automated decision-making; it suggests possible matches not definite ones. Following a possible alert, it is always a specially trained police officer on the ground who decides what action, if any, to take.

Facial recognition algorithms provided by or procured with Home Office funding for police use are required to be independently tested for bias. Independent testing is important because it helps determine the setting in which an algorithm can safely and fairly be used.

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has independently tested the LFR algorithm used by the police. At the settings used by South Wales Police, the Metropolitan Police Service, and in the 10 LFR vans rolled out in August 2025, the NPL found that the algorithm had an 89% chance of correctly identifying someone on the watchlist of people wanted by the police or the courts. At worst, the algorithm had a 1 in 6,000 chance of generating a false alert on a watchlist containing 10,000 images. In practice, police have reported that the false alert rate has been far better than this. Importantly, the NPL also found no statistically significant differences in performance based on gender, age, or ethnicity, at the settings used by the police.

The Government is committed to ensuring that facial recognition technology is used proportionately, responsibly, and with strong safeguards in place to protect the public. On 4 December 2025, we therefore launched a public consultation that sets out proposals for a new legal framework and strengthened oversight of facial recognition and other biometric technologies. The Government proposes creating a new oversight body to consolidate and clarify existing regulatory roles, ensuring responsible use of these technologies.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps are being taken to help prevent the misidentification of innocent individuals by live facial recognition systems.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Police use of live facial recognition (LFR) is governed by equality, human rights, and data protection laws, and can only be used for a policing purpose where necessary, proportionate, and fair. LFR technology is not automated decision-making; it suggests possible matches not definite ones. Following a possible alert, it is always a specially trained police officer on the ground who decides what action, if any, to take.

Facial recognition algorithms provided by or procured with Home Office funding for police use are required to be independently tested for bias. Independent testing is important because it helps determine the setting in which an algorithm can safely and fairly be used.

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has independently tested the LFR algorithm used by the police. At the settings used by South Wales Police, the Metropolitan Police Service, and in the 10 LFR vans rolled out in August 2025, the NPL found that the algorithm had an 89% chance of correctly identifying someone on the watchlist of people wanted by the police or the courts. At worst, the algorithm had a 1 in 6,000 chance of generating a false alert on a watchlist containing 10,000 images. In practice, police have reported that the false alert rate has been far better than this. Importantly, the NPL also found no statistically significant differences in performance based on gender, age, or ethnicity, at the settings used by the police.

The Government is committed to ensuring that facial recognition technology is used proportionately, responsibly, and with strong safeguards in place to protect the public. On 4 December 2025, we therefore launched a public consultation that sets out proposals for a new legal framework and strengthened oversight of facial recognition and other biometric technologies. The Government proposes creating a new oversight body to consolidate and clarify existing regulatory roles, ensuring responsible use of these technologies.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what powers the independent inquiry into grooming gangs will have to compel the production of evidence.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs is a statutory inquiry, under the Inquiries Act 2005, with full powers to compel evidence.

The Home Secretary has published draft Terms of Reference, which include consideration of ethnicity, religion and culture. The Chair is currently consulting on these draft terms; however, the Home Secretary has made clear that the inclusion of ethnicity, religion and culture is not subject to change.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help tackle drug dealing in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

To deliver on our pledge to halve knife crime in the next decade, it is crucial that we tackle the gangs that lure children and young people into crime and run county lines through violence and exploitation. County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs and break the organised crime groups behind the trade.

Between July 2024 and June 2025, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 2,300 deal lines closed, 6,200 arrests (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,100 deal line holders), 3,200 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 600 knives seized.

While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces. This is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate a national law enforcement response. We also have a dedicated fund to help local police forces, including Surrey Police, tackle county lines.

As part of the Programme, the NCLCC regularly coordinates weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, which all police forces take part in. The most recent of these took place 23-29 June 2025 and resulted in 241 lines closed, as well as 1,965 arrests, 1,179 individuals safeguarded, and 501 weapons seized. In Surrey, proactive activity during this period resulted in 7 deal lines seized, 16 arrests, and 4 weapons seized.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will amend the terms of reference of the independent inquiry into grooming gangs to examine the role of religion and culture in the abuse.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs is a statutory inquiry, under the Inquiries Act 2005, with full powers to compel evidence.

The Home Secretary has published draft Terms of Reference, which include consideration of ethnicity, religion and culture. The Chair is currently consulting on these draft terms; however, the Home Secretary has made clear that the inclusion of ethnicity, religion and culture is not subject to change.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the evaluation of the serious violence reduction order pilot.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) were piloted for two years throughout Merseyside, Sussex, Thames Valley and West Midlands police force areas. The pilot took place between 19 April 2023 and 18 April 2025.

The pilot has been independently evaluated and looks at the effectiveness of SVROs, including the use of the SVRO stop and search power and the effectiveness of SVROs in reducing reoffending and knife carrying.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people have been stopped and arrested for attempting to take girls abroad for female genital mutilation in each of the last five years.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime, it is child abuse, and it can destroy lives. On Thursday 18 December, we published the VAWG Strategy setting out the strategic direction and concrete actions to deliver on the Government’s VAWG ambition, including on FGM.

The Home Office routinely collects and publishes data on police recorded crime that has been flagged as FGM. In the year ending March 2025, there were 109 FGM offences recorded by the police. We do not collect data on whether these cases involve a risk of FGM taking place abroad or within England and Wales. This data also only represents cases reported to and recorded by the police as FGM. For that reason, it does not reflect the true scale of the crime.

FGM is not confined to one group. It affects many communities and is carried out in various forms. That is why improving our understanding of the scale and nature of this horrific crime is essential to ensure there is adequate support available. Building on a feasibility study conducted by the University of Birmingham in 2024, the Home Office has commissioned a study this financial year to test the viability of producing a national prevalence estimate for FGM (and forced marriage).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of which ethnic minorities in the UK are more vulnerable to female genital mutilation.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime, it is child abuse, and it can destroy lives. On Thursday 18 December, we published the VAWG Strategy setting out the strategic direction and concrete actions to deliver on the Government’s VAWG ambition, including on FGM.

The Home Office routinely collects and publishes data on police recorded crime that has been flagged as FGM. In the year ending March 2025, there were 109 FGM offences recorded by the police. We do not collect data on whether these cases involve a risk of FGM taking place abroad or within England and Wales. This data also only represents cases reported to and recorded by the police as FGM. For that reason, it does not reflect the true scale of the crime.

FGM is not confined to one group. It affects many communities and is carried out in various forms. That is why improving our understanding of the scale and nature of this horrific crime is essential to ensure there is adequate support available. Building on a feasibility study conducted by the University of Birmingham in 2024, the Home Office has commissioned a study this financial year to test the viability of producing a national prevalence estimate for FGM (and forced marriage).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Hanson of Flint on 24 November (HL Deb Col 1128), what plans they have to publish information on (1) student visas revoked as a result of criminality, (2) the number of overseas students who have been deported after the revocation of their student visas, and (3) the number of overseas students detained pending deportation.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

This matter was debated in the Lords on 24 November 2025, where Members voted not to mandate publication of this data. Home Office analysts are exploring what information is available and will keep the matter under ongoing review.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with Welsh Government officials on the application of relevant measures set out in the violence against women and girls strategy, published on 18 December 2025, in Wales.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Throughout the development of the VAWG Strategy we have engaged with the Welsh Government, Scottish Government, and Northern Ireland Executive, including through roundtables with Welsh stakeholders and representation of the Wales National Advisor on VAWG as part of our Strategy Advisory Board. Each Devolved Government has its own strategy, and ours has been informed by best practices drawn from the approaches of all three, including Wales. We are committed to sharing learning and best practice to make our work complementary. VAWG is a national and international emergency, and we will continue working with the Welsh Government, Scottish Government, and Northern Ireland Executive to ensure a coordinated UK-wide response.

Tackling violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence (VAWDASV) has been a long-standing priority for the Welsh Government, as demonstrated through the ground-breaking Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act. Its second Strategy (May 2022) further set out its vision to end VAWG, domestic abuse and sexual violence in Wales. The VAWDASV Blueprint approach brings together devolved and reserved public authorities, non-governmental organisations, specialist services and survivors whose voices are integral to securing a future without VAWG to deliver this vision. We look forward to continuing to work closely with our Welsh Government colleagues as we deliver on our commitments within the Strategy to ensure a cohesive, joined-up approach.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which specific measures set out in the Tackling violence against women and girls strategy, published on 18 December, apply to (a) England only and (b) England and Wales.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This Strategy applies to areas under UK Government responsibility. Commitments on crime, policing, and justice apply to England and Wales, while those on health, social care, housing, transport, and education apply to England only, as these are devolved matters. Reserved areas, such as online safety and immigration, apply across the UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many work visas were issued to residents of China last year.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas by visa type, nationality and year in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’.

Data on grants of work visas to Chinese nationals are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset.

Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from January 2005 up to the end of September 2025.

Please note that nationals of China may be resident in other countries at the point of application.

Chinese (main applicants) were granted 4499 work visas in 2024, including 1699 in the skilled worker category.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence there is that the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners weakened local police accountability; and whether they will publish any such evidence.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) were established in 2012 with the promise of making the police more accountable and connected to the communities they serve. But data shows that awareness of PCCs has remained low, with only a quarter of electors turning out at last year’s elections.

Furthermore, as recognised in a House Of Commons research briefing on Police and Crime Commissioners published in October 2024, despite the efforts of many individual PCCs the model of a direct 1:1 relationship between elected Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables has not always facilitated effective management of police forces; and the model has siloed policing under a separate directly elected individual, creating structural, and in some cases political barriers, to collaboration across local services.

We will work with policing and local government stakeholders to ensure that future governance arrangements maintain strong oversight of policing, whilst maximising the join-up of local services.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to take account of the absence of a structure of elected Mayors in Wales in the process of replacing police and crime commissioners.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

We recognise that there are no plans to create elected mayors in Wales and that the devolved nature of local government creates unique circumstances. Whilst we wish to harmonise arrangements across England and Wales as far as possible, we will work with stakeholders in Wales, including the Welsh Government, to ensure the governance model replacing police and crime commissioners provides strong and effective police governance for Wales.

We are establishing transition working groups to consider the design and implementation of the future governance arrangements. One of these will specifically focus on design and implementation in Wales.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, by when her Department expects to complete its ongoing work to to provide a remedy for those members of the Police Pension Scheme who opted out of, and are now left unable to opt back into, the 1987 pension scheme.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government recognises concerns that the current legislation does not fully deliver the intended remedy for a small cohort of members who opted out of the police pension scheme and are now unable to return to their original scheme.

This is a complex issue and officials in the Home Office and HM Treasury are exploring solutions through the existing McCloud remedy compensation framework and amendments to scheme regulations. The aim is to provide a remedy for the small number of affected members as soon as possible once a suitable solution has been identified.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has issued guidance to police forces on issuing contracts for live facial recognition technology.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has not issued guidance to police forces on issuing contracts for live facial recognition technology. However, the Live Facial Recognition Commercial Framework produced by BlueLight Commercial is available to support police forces making procurement decisions before they issue contracts.

Decisions on the contracting of live facial recognition technology are for individual police forces and other relevant authorities. Procurement decisions by police forces must comply with UK procurement law, including the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Procurement Act 2023, and relevant Cabinet Office guidance on supply chain risk. They are also expected to follow the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice issued under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Information Commissioner’s Office on live facial recognition technology and its utilisation by police forces.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office meets regularly with the Information Commissioner’s Office to discuss law enforcement use of facial recognition technology.

We will continue to work closely with them as we consult on a new legal framework for law enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many foreign national offenders have been deported in each month since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Over 7,000 FNOs have been returned from the UK under this government, and we will continue to do everything we can to remove these vile criminals from our streets.

There is no monthly breakdown available from published statistics.

The Home Office publishes data on FNO returns in the quarterly Immigration System Statistics release. Quarterly data on enforced, voluntary and port FNO returns (of which ‘deportations’ are a legal subset) are published in table ‘Ret_D03’ of the returns detailed datasets accompanying the release.

The Home Office also recently published figures on FNO returns (which include both enforced and voluntary returns) between 1 March 2023 and 31 October 2025, which can be found here: Returns from the UK from 1 March 2023 to 31 October 2025 - GOV.UK.

Work is currently underway to publish more detailed information on FNOs subject to deportation. Further information on this work can be found at: Statistics on foreign national offenders and the immigration system - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what statutory basis live facial recognition technology is deployed by police forces in England and Wales; and whether her Department plans to introduce primary legislation before any expansion of its use.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

There is an established basis for the police to use live facial recognition technology. When deploying facial recognition technology, police forces must comply with existing legislation including the Human Rights Act 1998, Equality Act 2010, Data Protection Act 2018, Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, as well as their own published policies. For live facial recognition, police forces must also follow the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice (APP) on Live Facial Recognition. Forces also need to comply with the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice, which is supplemented by published policing policies.

On 4 December the Government launched a consultation on law enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies. Although there is a legal basis for police use of facial recognition, the current legal framework is complicated, inflexible and difficult to understand, which in turn limits the extent to which facial recognition and similar technologies can be confidently used.

That is why the government is consulting on a new legal framework to inform potential legislation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to allow for Parliamentary scrutiny of proposals to expand the use of live facial recognition technology.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

There is an established basis for the police to use live facial recognition technology. When deploying facial recognition technology, police forces must comply with existing legislation including the Human Rights Act 1998, Equality Act 2010, Data Protection Act 2018, Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, as well as their own published policies. For live facial recognition, police forces must also follow the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice (APP) on Live Facial Recognition. Forces also need to comply with the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice, which is supplemented by published policing policies.

On 4 December the Government launched a consultation on law enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies. Although there is a legal basis for police use of facial recognition, the current legal framework is complicated, inflexible and difficult to understand, which in turn limits the extent to which facial recognition and similar technologies can be confidently used.

That is why the government is consulting on a new legal framework to inform potential legislation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to prevent the expansion of live facial recognition technology beyond counter-terrorism and serious crime into routine policing, retail monitoring, or crowd surveillance.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Live facial recognition technology, which involves processing live video footage of people passing a camera, is used in England and Wales to help locate people who are wanted by the police, in public spaces. The College of Policing has produced national guidance in the form of an Authorised Professional Practice (APP), setting out when the police can use live facial recognition and the categories of people they can look for. These include individuals wanted by the police or the courts, suspects, missing or vulnerable people, or those posing a risk of harm to themselves or others. In each case, inclusion on a watchlist must be justified and authorised, and must pass the tests of necessity, proportionality and use for a policing purpose.

On 4 December the Government launched a consultation on establishing a new legal framework which focuses on the use of facial recognition and similar technologies by law enforcement organisations, for a law enforcement purpose.

The consultation seeks views on whether seriousness of harm should be a factor to decide how and when law enforcement organisations can acquire, retain, and use biometrics, facial recognition, and similar technology. The consultation also asks for views on what factors are relevant to consider when assessing ‘seriousness’ of harm and for which purposes should law enforcement organisations be allowed to use these technologies.

The consultation also explains that the new legal framework will apply to law enforcement organisations. This would include all police forces in England and Wales, and national and specialist law enforcement agencies like the British Transport Police and National Crime Agency and for law enforcement activity by other public bodies such as the Environment Agency, HMRC or Border Force.

We are aware that facial recognition and similar technologies are used more broadly across the public and private sectors. For example, we know that nightclubs use it to help identify barred patrons. Where that is the case they must comply with all relevant existing legislation including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 and guidance, with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as the principal regulator.

Through the consultation we will therefore also consider whether public and private sector organisations ought to have due regard to the new legal framework and especially to any best practice established as a result.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to expand the use of live facial recognition technology for non-criminal matters.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Live facial recognition technology, which involves processing live video footage of people passing a camera, is used in England and Wales to help locate people who are wanted by the police, in public spaces. The College of Policing has produced national guidance in the form of an Authorised Professional Practice (APP), setting out when the police can use live facial recognition and the categories of people they can look for. These include individuals wanted by the police or the courts, suspects, missing or vulnerable people, or those posing a risk of harm to themselves or others. In each case, inclusion on a watchlist must be justified and authorised, and must pass the tests of necessity, proportionality and use for a policing purpose.

On 4 December the Government launched a consultation on establishing a new legal framework which focuses on the use of facial recognition and similar technologies by law enforcement organisations, for a law enforcement purpose.

The consultation seeks views on whether seriousness of harm should be a factor to decide how and when law enforcement organisations can acquire, retain, and use biometrics, facial recognition, and similar technology. The consultation also asks for views on what factors are relevant to consider when assessing ‘seriousness’ of harm and for which purposes should law enforcement organisations be allowed to use these technologies.

The consultation also explains that the new legal framework will apply to law enforcement organisations. This would include all police forces in England and Wales, and national and specialist law enforcement agencies like the British Transport Police and National Crime Agency and for law enforcement activity by other public bodies such as the Environment Agency, HMRC or Border Force.

We are aware that facial recognition and similar technologies are used more broadly across the public and private sectors. For example, we know that nightclubs use it to help identify barred patrons. Where that is the case they must comply with all relevant existing legislation including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 and guidance, with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as the principal regulator.

Through the consultation we will therefore also consider whether public and private sector organisations ought to have due regard to the new legal framework and especially to any best practice established as a result.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral Answer of 26 November 2025, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 1331, on West Midlands Police: Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans, whether West Midlands Police sent notice of the decision to recommend a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters to her Department before it went to the Safety Advisory Group.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Officials were first informed on 2 October 2025 that West Midlands Police were considering a range of options to manage safety and security risks around the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match, including the potential restriction of away fans.

During this period, officials maintained contact solely with the United Kingdom Football Policing Unit to monitor developments and keep ministers updated. Neither ministers nor officials were involved in the decision-making process of West Midlands Police, the Safety Advisory Group, or Birmingham City Council, nor did they express any view on the options under consideration.

These decisions are operational matters for the police, working with the local Safety Advisory Group and Birmingham City Council, and are taken independently of central government.

The Home Office did not receive formal notice of any recommendation before the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans was announced on 16 October.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral Answer of 26 November 2025, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 1331, on West Midlands Police: Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans, whether her Department gave any view about the decision to recommend a ban before the Safety Advisory Group took its position.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Officials were first informed on 2 October 2025 that West Midlands Police were considering a range of options to manage safety and security risks around the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match, including the potential restriction of away fans.

During this period, officials maintained contact solely with the United Kingdom Football Policing Unit to monitor developments and keep ministers updated. Neither ministers nor officials were involved in the decision-making process of West Midlands Police, the Safety Advisory Group, or Birmingham City Council, nor did they express any view on the options under consideration.

These decisions are operational matters for the police, working with the local Safety Advisory Group and Birmingham City Council, and are taken independently of central government.

The Home Office did not receive formal notice of any recommendation before the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans was announced on 16 October.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral Answer of 26 November 2025, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 1331, on West Midlands Police: Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans, what actions did (a) ministers, and (b) officials take after they were informed of the options under consideration on 2 October 2025.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Officials were first informed on 2 October 2025 that West Midlands Police were considering a range of options to manage safety and security risks around the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match, including the potential restriction of away fans.

During this period, officials maintained contact solely with the United Kingdom Football Policing Unit to monitor developments and keep ministers updated. Neither ministers nor officials were involved in the decision-making process of West Midlands Police, the Safety Advisory Group, or Birmingham City Council, nor did they express any view on the options under consideration.

These decisions are operational matters for the police, working with the local Safety Advisory Group and Birmingham City Council, and are taken independently of central government.

The Home Office did not receive formal notice of any recommendation before the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans was announced on 16 October.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take in response to the Independent Reviewer of State Threats Legislation report State Threats Legislation in 2024, published on 16 December; and what plans they have to create a code of practice for police forces in relation to espionage offences.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The National Security Act 2023 provides our intelligence and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to deter, detect, and disrupt state threats including new espionage offences.

The Government is committed to transparency on the operation of these new powers and is considering all of the recommendations made by Jonathan Hall KC in his first annual report as Independent Reviewer of State Threats Legislation, including that additional safeguards are necessary to prevent unjustified interference with public protest near prohibited places. The Government will respond formally to Mr Hall’s report in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to table amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill to enable private prosecutions of shop thieves.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

We would encourage retailers to report all instances of shop theft to the police. We have no plans to include an amendment to enable private prosecutions of shop thieves to the Bill. Shops and retailers can currently make their own decision to bring private prosecutions against shop thieves if they have the needed evidence.

However, we are repealing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have prepared an impact assessment of the decision to abolish Police and Crime Commissioners; and if so, whether they will place a copy in the Library of the House.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The announcement of the Government’s intention to abolish the Police and Crime Commissioner model is the first of a series of reforms that will be set out in the forthcoming Police Reform White Paper, to drive quality, consistency and efficiency in policing and ensure it is set up to deliver for the public.

We will bring forward legislation to give effect to the reforms in the White Paper, including legislating for alternative police governance arrangements, when parliamentary time allows. An impact assessment will be published alongside this legislation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) discussions they have had, and (2) steps they have taken, to ensure that (a) policing of demonstrations of active support, (b) arrests, and (c) prosecutions, in relation to Palestine Action are carried out in a consistent manner throughout all parts of the UK.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The police are operationally independent of Government and have significant experience in policing protests and ensuring proscription orders are implemented fairly and in line with legislation. The police, through the College of Policing, also review and formulate guidance to ensure that the law is consistently applied in every part of the UK and by every police force. The Home Office also maintains regular contact with policing to ensure that there is appropriate oversight as the police carry out their statutory duties.

Decisions on arrests and prosecutions in relation to Palestine Action are a matter for the police and the prosecuting authorities in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Palestine Action was proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT), which clearly states what constitutes proscribed activity (including in support of a proscribed group). The law is applicable in all parts of the UK.

The Government is absolutely clear that support for proscribed organisations is unacceptable. The proscription of Palestine Action does not diminish the right to lawfully protest or support Palestinian rights. This government upholds the democratic right that people must be free to express their views, but they should do so within the bounds of the law.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government why 2020 was the year used as the basis for data to support the decision to abolish Police and Crime Commissioners and whether more up-to-date information is now available.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The cost of local police governance, according to data published by Office of Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales, was approximately £93m in 2023/24. We are working with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners to obtain more up to date information about the costs of police governance, to inform ongoing work on the design and implementation of alternative governance arrangements.

We expect to be able save at least £20m per annum from 2028/29 as a result of aligning back office and support arrangements for policing governance with wider local government functions. We will be undertaking work to identify further savings as part of our work on future governance arrangements.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence there is that the introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners has had an adverse impact on the (1) number, and (2) quality, of candidates for the post of chief constable and whether they will publish this evidence.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Following the announcement by the Policing Minister on 13 November that the government will abolish Police and Crime Commissioners, we are working with local government and policing to design new arrangements for the oversight of policing, including relationships between Chief Constables.

Further detail will be set out in the forthcoming Police Reform White Paper.

The Home Office does not collect data on Chief Constable tenure.

Despite the efforts of many individual PCCs, the model of a direct 1:1 relationship between elected Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables has not always facilitated effective management of police forces.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what evidence is available for their estimate that the abolition of Police and Crime Commissioners would save £20m a year.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The cost of local police governance, according to data published by Office of Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales, was approximately £93m in 2023/24. We are working with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners to obtain more up to date information about the costs of police governance, to inform ongoing work on the design and implementation of alternative governance arrangements.

We expect to be able save at least £20m per annum from 2028/29 as a result of aligning back office and support arrangements for policing governance with wider local government functions. We will be undertaking work to identify further savings as part of our work on future governance arrangements.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle hate crime in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The government is determined to tackle all forms of hate crime wherever in the country it occurs, and whoever is responsible for committing it.

We have a robust legislative framework in place to respond to hate crimes which target race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and transgender identity, and we back the police in taking strong action against the perpetrators of these heinous crimes.

The Home Secretary launched an independent review of public order and hate crime legislation on 5 October.  The review will ensure police powers remain fit for purpose, are used consistently, and strike the right balance between protecting the public and upholding the right to lawful protest.

It will address whether the existing legislation is effective and proportionate, whether it adequately protects communities from intimidation and hate and whether it strikes a fair and sustainable balance between the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest, and the need to prevent disorder and keep communities safe.

In addition, the government funds an online hate crime reporting portal, True Vision, designed so victims of all types of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. The government also funds the National Online Hate Crime Hub, which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with online hate crime, providing expert advice to police to support them in investigating these abhorrent offences.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to deliver effective community policing in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee makes sure that every neighbourhood has named, contactable officers dedicated to addressing the issues facing their communities, including in Surrey Heath.

£200 million has been made available in 2025/26 to support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel across England and Wales by the end of this Parliament, including up to 3,000 additional neighbourhood officers by the end of March 2026. Based on their £2,588,427 allocation from the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, Surrey Police are projected to grow by 25 FTE neighbourhood police officers in 2025/26.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of whether sentencing outcomes for immigration-related offences under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 reflect the seriousness of those offences.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 introduced new and tougher criminal offences for those attempting to enter the UK illegally. Specifically, it raised the maximum penalty for illegal entry from 6 months to 4 years’ imprisonment, increased the maximum penalty for entering in breach of a deportation order to 5 years and introduced life sentences for those facilitating a breach of immigration law. Individual sentences handed down by the courts are a matter for the judiciary, having regard to the Sentencing Council’s General Guideline.

We will continue to keep these offences under review in light of feedback on their operation and evidence as to their impact.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to sell her Department's vacant residential properties in Upper Bann constituency.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not own properties used to accommodate individuals in the asylum system.

Accommodation is sourced, managed, and maintained by contracted Service Providers under the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts (AASC), which set out obligations to provide suitable accommodation meeting statutory requirements.

These properties are not part of the Home Office estate, and the Department has no authority over their disposal.

Found: is jointly run by the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament. 63 HC Deb, 12 May 2025, Col47 64 Home Office

Found: recommendation to lead dedicated task forces targeting organised crime – this responsibility sits with the Home Office

Found: 8th Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage HC 35122 Number Title Reference 7th Asylum accommodation: Home Office

Found: Dan Jarvis MBE MP Security Minister 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF www.gov.uk/home-office

Found: Letter from the Second Permanent Secretary at the Home Office relating to the Committee’s evidence session

Found: Nationality data in prison is referred to the Home Office for them to consider deportation, and they

Found: Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office relating to oversight of Arm’s Length Bodies (

Found: Home Office, Home Office, and Home Office Oral Evidence

Found: Home Office, Home Office, and Home Office Oral Evidence

Found: How effective is PSNI co-ordination with the Home Office and other agencies in policing the Common Travel

Found: How effective is PSNI co-ordination with the Home Office and other agencies in policing the Common Travel

Found: the retail sector HC 355 8th Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage HC 351 7th Asylum accommodation: Home Office

Found: Slavery Act Finally in relation to the Modern Slavery Act, DBT is working closely with the Home Office

Found: Mobility With regards to your questions on business mobility, the Home Office will write to you separately

Found: When you look across Whitehall at the systems it runs, there are Home Office border control systems

Found: The Security Minister, my colleague in the Home Office—Minister Jarvis— has spoken about that as well

Found: The Security Minister, my colleague in the Home Office—Minister Jarvis— has spoken about that as well

Found: Despite all the hard work by forensic staff, policy staff in the Home Office and senior leaders in policing

Found: with partners on new threats in the form of mis- and dis-information, including engaging with the Home Office

Found: It could be across education, including what the Home Office is doing on immigration with visas and

Found: It could be across education, including what the Home Office is doing on immigration with visas and

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, given the forthcoming report of the Cranston Public Inquiry into the tragic loss of 27 lives in the English Channel in November 2021, has she undertaken a review of Channel small boat search and rescue operations and the capability provided by UK Border Force.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Cranston Public Inquiry will shortly be publishing its report into the tragic loss of 27 lives in the English Channel in November 2021.

Operational risks are assessed daily by the joint HM Coastguard and UK Border Security Command teams tasked with the delivery of small boat SAR. The capability that the Home Office provides through UK Border Force is an essential and welcome addition to the small boat SAR response network.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she plans to set out a timetable for the implementation of the recommendations of Baroness Bertin's Independent Pornography Review by May 2026.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’ commits to creating a joint team to address the issues in Baroness Bertin’s Review. The team will be formed by the Home Office, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Ministry of Justice and Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It will examine the evidence to inform the government’s approach to pornography policy.

Government has already taken action. Pornography showing strangulation or suffocation will be criminalised under the Crime and Policing Bill and will be a priority offence under the Online Safety Act.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer to question 37814 on 20 March 2025, when the outcome, recommendations and a departmental response arising from the review into the Science Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less-Lethal Weapons will be (a) published, and (b) notified to Parliament.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Government is undertaking a comprehensive review of the entire Arm's Length Body (ALB) landscape, as announced on 6 April 2025, and is a core part of creating a productive and agile state.

As stated in my previous answer of 7 November 2025, the closure of the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less Lethal Weapons (SACMILL) is an important step in Defence’s ALB reform journey.

The closure of the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Medical Implications of Less Lethal Weapons (MILLWEC)) was announced on GOV.UK on 30 November 2025. The closure was agreed by Ministerial write round.

The provision of independent medical advice on the use of less lethal weapons will now be delivered by MILLWEC, as established by the Home Office.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the operational costs of a) Mayors and b) Council Leaders enacting Police and Crime Commissioner functions.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

No overall assessment has been made yet of the full operational costs for Strategic and Local Authorities of taking on functions from Police and Crime Commissioners. We will be working with authorities to assess those costs as the details of the new system are developed and legislated for. We will work with the Home Office to ensure that the new arrangements are fully funded.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2025 to Question 99606 on Local Government: Essex, whether the existing Police and Crime Commissioners in the devolution priority areas will now serve their full terms until 2028; and in what year will the new combined authority mayors take up the policing powers currently undertaken by the Police and Crime Commissioners.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Home Office Ministers will announce in due course plans for the transfers of PCC functions in the Devolution Priority Programme.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2025 to Question 90716 on Asylum: Housing, which local government bodies the Government is currently working with.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is working closely with the Home Office, local authorities and their national membership bodies in addition to devolved partners to develop and deliver a new, more sustainable model for asylum accommodation.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which department has lead responsibility for policy on online pornography regulation; and with reference to Baroness Bertin's independent report entitled Creating a Safer World – the Challenge of Regulating Online Pornography, published in February 2025, what assessment she has made of that report's finding that fragmented Government responsibilities impede effective regulation of online pornography.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Baroness Bertin’s independent report made 32 recommendations, including on governance and oversight of pornography policy. The ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls’, published on 18 December 2025 commits to creating a joint team to address the issues detailed in the report. As this team is not yet set up, I am answering this question from the Cabinet Office, as there is currently no lead department for this work.

The team will be formed by the Home Office, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Ministry of Justice and Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It will examine the evidence to inform the government’s approach to pornography policy, including the question of departmental responsibility.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England has issued guidance to clinicians on appropriate language to use when recording, reporting and discussing cases of female genital mutilation.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Home Office, the Department for Education, and the Department of Health and Social Care issued multi-agency statutory guidance on female genital mutilation (FGM), which as updated in July 2020. The guidance ensures that health and other staff understand their role in responding to FGM, and that there are policies and procedures in place to protect women and girls who have undergone or are at risk of FGM.

NHS England is currently updating the e-learning training for the Healthcare FGM Module for publication in 2026. This training has a section on communication and includes the importance of sensitive language, including asking healthcare staff to check which terminology the woman or girl prefers. The training will provide healthcare staff with the skills to consider, recognise, and discuss FGM with the women and girls they support, and provide sensitive and trauma-informed response.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much money is allocated to providing illegal migrants with (a) dental and (b) health care.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department and NHS England do not hold the information requested. The overall management of asylum seekers including provision of health and dental health care is a matter for the Home Office.

All asylum seeker accommodation providers have a duty and requirement to assist people who need it to access healthcare.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what safeguards are now in place to prevent malpractice in English language proficiency tests used for university entrance, following the issues identified by Ofqual with Pearson’s PTE Academic Online test.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Universities are autonomous bodies, independent from government, and responsible for their own admissions decisions.

Where English is not an applicant's first language, it is right that a provider assures themselves that the applicant has a reasonable likelihood of successfully meeting the academic requirements of the course.

Universities are free to decide their entry criteria, including which language proficiency tests they require applicants to sit, with many higher education providers able to self-assess the English ability of their students.

Additionally, the UK’s student visa arrangements specify the level of English required by those coming here to study. This standard is rigorously enforced by the Home Office.

The online version of this test was introduced by Pearson in response to both the significant disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to international students and has since been discontinued.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the annual cost is of providing student loan financing to students who are not UK citizens; and whether she has made an estimate of the potential impact of restricting student loan eligibility to British citizens on costs to her Department.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Higher education student finance is targeted on those persons with a lawful and substantial residential connection to the UK. To qualify, most persons must be ‘settled’ in the UK. There are limited exceptions to this, such as for individuals granted international protection by the Home Office, for example persons with refugee status, who may be eligible for support without meeting the standard residency and settlement criteria.

In the 2024/25 academic year, the Student Loans Company (SLC) made payments totalling £3,794 million for Fee and Maintenance Loans (full-time and part-time) to undergraduate students domiciled in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the EU who declared they were non-UK nationals.

Previous PQs have reported figures based on nationality as declared when creating a student finance account, rather than the verified status at loan approval. The SLC has robust procedures in place to check eligibility for student finance, including data-sharing with the Home Office and HM Passport Office. Eligibility is dependent on a successful identity check, immigration status and residency history. No funding is approved without complete, verified, and eligible nationality, status and residence history.

The department has not made any estimate of costs on the potential impact of restricting student loan eligibility to British citizens.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what additional funding they provided to the Scottish Government through the Barnett Formula when they announced the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee policy on 4 December 2024.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Funding for the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee announced on 4 December is being met from within the Home Office settlement agreed at Spending Review 2025. At Spending Reviews, the Barnett formula is applied to the overall change in UKG departments DEL budget. Because the formula is not applied to individual programmes, the consequentials associated with these individual programmes cannot be identified.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing mandatory security features for number plates to prevent (a) cloning and (b) unauthorised reproduction.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime.

Officials are considering options to ensure more robust application and audit processes which would enable tighter checks on number plate suppliers. On-road enforcement of number plate offences is a matter for the police.

Officials are also considering potential options for making number plates more secure.

The DVLA is part of the British Standards Institute committee that has recently reviewed the existing number plate standard. The committee has proposed a number of amendments which are intended to stop the production of number plates with raised characters, often referred to as 3D or 4D number plates and will prevent easy access to plates with ‘ghost’ characteristics. The proposals will also prevent suppliers from adding acrylic letters and numbers to the surface of the number, meaning any finished number plate must be flat. The proposed changes have been subject to a public consultation which closed on 13 December 2025.

Standards on the use of automated number plate reader technology are a matter for the Home Office which issues guidance on its use as part of the National ANPR Standards for Policing and Law Enforcement.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems in detecting vehicles using (a) cloned or (b) ghost number plates.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other government departments to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime.

Officials are considering options to ensure more robust application and audit processes which would enable tighter checks on number plate suppliers. On-road enforcement of number plate offences is a matter for the police.

Officials are also considering potential options for making number plates more secure.

The DVLA is part of the British Standards Institute committee that has recently reviewed the existing number plate standard. The committee has proposed a number of amendments which are intended to stop the production of number plates with raised characters, often referred to as 3D or 4D number plates and will prevent easy access to plates with ‘ghost’ characteristics. The proposals will also prevent suppliers from adding acrylic letters and numbers to the surface of the number, meaning any finished number plate must be flat. The proposed changes have been subject to a public consultation which closed on 13 December 2025.

Standards on the use of automated number plate reader technology are a matter for the Home Office which issues guidance on its use as part of the National ANPR Standards for Policing and Law Enforcement.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on waiving visa fees for the dependents of Commonwealth veterans.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

This Government is committed to waiving visa fees for non-UK veterans, including Commonwealth citizens, who have served for four or more years, and their dependants. We are working closely with the Home Office to deliver this commitment.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2025 to Question 66600 on Slingshots: Regulation, what steps her Department is taking to strengthen the laws to protect wildlife from attacks with (a) catapults and (b) slingshots.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government takes crimes against wildlife seriously, including those involving the use of catapults and slingshots. Although these are not listed as prohibited weapons in the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, within this legislation, as well as the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006, there are a range of offences around deliberate attempts to kill, injure or inflict harm on wildlife.

The Government believes that there is already sufficient legislation in place which protects wildlife from targeted use of catapults. Defra therefore has no current plans for legislative change.

However, Defra recognises that the misuse of catapults is causing great concern to some communities. We are working with the Home Office to find solutions to this problem with the aim of increasing protection to our wildlife from crimes involving these weapons.

Found: could be legally required to use that instead to satisfy UK regulatory requirements. 31 The Home Office

We ask the Government to keep the current 5-year route to ILR for all Humanitarian Protection holders who have already started it, and to treat this route as a legal duty and a promise that must be honoured without retrospective changes. The route must stay stable to protect trust in the system.

Found: families have made life decisions and long-term plans based on the 5-year ILR route granted by the Home Office

“Parliament should reduce the long-residency requirement from 20 to 16 years and allow ILR for anyone who can prove continuous residence and good character, giving long-term residents fairness, stability, and a clear path to secure status.”

Found: Reducing the requirement would recognise their real ties, promote fairness, ease Home Office burdens,

Found: Requirements: CAPEX Costs (£) Start of Procurement End of Procurement  Notes Border Force Maritime Home Office

Found: supplier contacted us to regarding an opportunity that Crown Commercial Service had run for the Home Office

Found: supplier contacted us to regarding an opportunity that Crown Commercial Service had run for the Home Office

Found: The government’s 3-year Roads Policing Review (RPR), jointly led by the DfT and the Home Office, conducted

Found: Purpose and Method: commissioned by the Home Office to improve transparency and 3Rs under ASPA; evaluated

Found: Licence analysis review: response from the Home Office The Home Office has responded to the Animals

Found: work of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs should be addressed to: ACMD Secretariat Home Office

Found: td class="govuk-table__cell">CSG Transformation

Found: These bodies included the, Cabinet Office, Home Office, Information Commissioners Office and TV licencing

Found: recruit, retain and motivate suitably able and qualified officers; • the funds available to the Home Office

Found: James Cleverly - Secretary of State for the Home Department at the Home Office - advice under the Business

Found: Think Fraud, a campaign from the Home Office.

Found: development of the regulatory blueprint had finished, the SIA, working closely with colleagues in the Home Office

Found: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Home Office.

Found: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Home Office.

Found: The government’s 3-year Roads Policing Review (RPR), jointly led by the DfT and the Home Office, conducted

Found: Drug driving – the tip of an iceberg • DfT, in collaboration with the Department for Health, the Home Office

Found: [redacted. out of scope] • The Home Office[redacted. s.28(1)] made clear that devolution of immigration

Found: s30(b)(ii)] According to the end of year NRM statistics for 2024 that was published by the Home Office

Found: authority would participate) Since July 2024, has the council engaged in correspondence with the Home Office

Found: The Welsh Government has made frequent requests for this information but was informed by the Home Office

Found: The Welsh Government has made frequent requests for this information but was informed by the Home Office

Found: patient data sharing between NHS Wales and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Home Office

Found: Regulator Resourcing Split between different regulators LPA - 5hr BCB - 5hr FRA - 2hr PRP / Home Office

Found: Communications with UK Government Copies of correspondence between Welsh Government and: • Home Office