Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to close migrant hotels.

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

At its peak under the previous government, around 400 hotels were used to accommodate asylum seekers – costing £9 million per day. That figure is now under 200 - the government remains committed no longer using hotels to accommodate asylum seekers by the end of this Parliament.

Hotel closures are prioritised based on a wide range of criteria. The hotel exit plan will continue to be carefully managed to ensure that all supported asylum seekers are accommodated in suitable alternative accommodation, including large sites, elsewhere in the estate.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what percentage of absconders have remained in the UK as a result of (a) unresolved legal appeals and (b) last-minute claims in each of the last three years.

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 requests, the public resources required to compile the statistics, and importantly the quality and availability of data.

An individual who is pursuing a legal appeal or has submitted a last–minute claim would not usually be considered to be an absconder, as they would no longer be out of contact with the department. Similarly, requests for travel documentation would not usually take place at the point that someone is considered to be an absconder.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of absconders could not be removed because their home countries would not issue travel documents in each of the last three years.

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 requests, the public resources required to compile the statistics, and importantly the quality and availability of data.

An individual who is pursuing a legal appeal or has submitted a last–minute claim would not usually be considered to be an absconder, as they would no longer be out of contact with the department. Similarly, requests for travel documentation would not usually take place at the point that someone is considered to be an absconder.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what percentage of people on immigration bail absconded again in each of the last three years.

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 requests, the public resources required to compile the statistics, and importantly the quality and availability of data.

An individual who is pursuing a legal appeal or has submitted a last–minute claim would not usually be considered to be an absconder, as they would no longer be out of contact with the department. Similarly, requests for travel documentation would not usually take place at the point that someone is considered to be an absconder.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the estimated average time is before an absconder going missing and a police report is filed.

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 requests, the public resources required to compile the statistics, and importantly the quality and availability of data.

An individual who is pursuing a legal appeal or has submitted a last–minute claim would not usually be considered to be an absconder, as they would no longer be out of contact with the department. Similarly, requests for travel documentation would not usually take place at the point that someone is considered to be an absconder.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what percentage of absconders encountered by police have been detained by police in each of the last three years.

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 requests, the public resources required to compile the statistics, and importantly the quality and availability of data.

An individual who is pursuing a legal appeal or has submitted a last–minute claim would not usually be considered to be an absconder, as they would no longer be out of contact with the department. Similarly, requests for travel documentation would not usually take place at the point that someone is considered to be an absconder.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many absconders released on bail have committed further offences in each of the last three years.

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 requests, the public resources required to compile the statistics, and importantly the quality and availability of data.

An individual who is pursuing a legal appeal or has submitted a last–minute claim would not usually be considered to be an absconder, as they would no longer be out of contact with the department. Similarly, requests for travel documentation would not usually take place at the point that someone is considered to be an absconder.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refused asylum seekers are classified as absconders.

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 requests, the public resources required to compile the statistics, and importantly the quality and availability of data.

An individual who is pursuing a legal appeal or has submitted a last–minute claim would not usually be considered to be an absconder, as they would no longer be out of contact with the department. Similarly, requests for travel documentation would not usually take place at the point that someone is considered to be an absconder.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of absconders have only been found after an arrest for a separate offence in each of the last three years.

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 requests, the public resources required to compile the statistics, and importantly the quality and availability of data.

An individual who is pursuing a legal appeal or has submitted a last–minute claim would not usually be considered to be an absconder, as they would no longer be out of contact with the department. Similarly, requests for travel documentation would not usually take place at the point that someone is considered to be an absconder.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Home Office and its subcontractor are paying above market rates to hire Houses in Multiple Occupation for asylum accommodation.

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

This Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly. This includes our accommodation sites, as the Home Office continues to identify a range of options to minimise the use of hotels and ensure better use of public money, whilst maintaining sufficient accommodation to meet demand.

The procurement process is guided by principles of sustainability and measured growth, ensuring that accommodation is not only available but also suitable for long-term use and integrated within local communities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that the use of return hubs will not be subject to external judicial scrutiny.

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

The Government has been clear we will continue to work with international partners to tackle the global migration crisis. Our guiding principle will always be that any partnership must be workable and meet our international obligations.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether people living in the UK on family visas will be exempt from the sustained economic contribution requirement under proposed changes to earned settlement.

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

The new earned settlement model is currently subject to an ongoing public consultation, due to conclude on 12 February 2026. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria are applied to determine how many diplomatic visas are issued to countries with embassies in the UK.

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

His Majesty's Government does not set criteria for limiting the number of diplomatic staff accredited to the UK. However, as set out in the 1985 Government Report on the Review of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, His Majesty's Government may limit the size of a mission in cases where there are issues relating to the nature of a mission's activities, or to take account of the size of the UK mission in the country concerned. Such considerations are made on a case-by-case basis.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Metropolitan Police on its decision to retract approval for farmers to bring their tractors to London for a protest.

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

The right to peaceful protest is a vital part of our democracy and will not be curtailed by this government. However, these rights are not absolute and must be balanced with the rights and freedoms of others.

Section 12 of the Public Order Act 1986 allows the police to impose conditions on public processions protest as appears necessary to prevent serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community. Any conditions that are considered necessary by a senior police officer can be placed on the protest including the location, route and date of the protest or prohibiting individuals entering any public place specified.

The management of demonstrations is an operational matter for the police and Ministers are not involved in such decisions. Police forces work with organisers to plan protests and assess risks and manage safety.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she had with the Metropolitan Police prior to their decision to retract approval for farmers to bring their tractors to London for a protest.

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

The right to peaceful protest is a vital part of our democracy and will not be curtailed by this government. However, these rights are not absolute and must be balanced with the rights and freedoms of others.

Section 12 of the Public Order Act 1986 allows the police to impose conditions on public processions protest as appears necessary to prevent serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community. Any conditions that are considered necessary by a senior police officer can be placed on the protest including the location, route and date of the protest or prohibiting individuals entering any public place specified.

The management of demonstrations is an operational matter for the police and Ministers are not involved in such decisions. Police forces work with organisers to plan protests and assess risks and manage safety.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to help reduce violations of the Firearms Act 1968.

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

The Government’s priority is public safety, and we look to ensure our controls on firearms are as strong as possible and keep the legislation under active consideration. It is imperative that we do everything we can to stop firearms getting into hands of criminals and those who would misuse them with devastating consequences.

The Firearms Act 1968 provides the framework for action to be taken by police forces, and we have seen the number of firearms offences fall to 5,053 from 5,991 over the past 12 months - for the year ending June 2025. We work in partnership with the National Police Chiefs Council, police forces and the National Crime Agency to respond to emerging firearms risks, and for example, we have recently taken action against some types of blank firing firearms which have found to be readily convertible into lethal weapons so they can be removed from circulation.

We are also ensuring licensing of firearms, as set out in the Firearms Act 1968, is as effective and robust as possible. Recent measures to support this include the revised Statutory Guidance to Chief Officers issued in August this year, the rollout of new national training to firearms licensing police personnel, and the increase in licensing fees to support full cost recovery.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement entitled Consultation on a new legal framework for law enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies, published on 4 December 2025, HCWS1129, what assessment her Department has made of current police practice regarding the deployment of facial recognition and related technologies; how operational consistency across police forces will be ensured under the proposed new framework; and what plans she has to strengthen oversight mechanisms, including independent scrutiny, to guarantee that law enforcement agencies use these technologies only within clearly defined legal parameters and with transparent accountability.

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

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring the use of facial recognition and similar biometric technologies by law enforcement remains proportionate to the seriousness of the harm being addressed. The consultation launched on 4 December 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.

We do not intend to publish an impact assessment specifically on the potential implications for civil liberties as part of the consultation process. However, alongside the consultation we have published an equalities impact assessment which makes clear the Government’s commitment to building public trust by highlighting the specific legal frameworks that will be put in place and the statutory bodies for oversight, which will apply to everyone in England and Wales.

We recognise that to maintain public confidence we must ensure individual rights, privacy and data security are protected. We believe that the use of biometric and inferential technology should always be demonstrably ‘necessary’ and ‘proportionate’ to the objective being sought. Furthermore, a clear and consistent justification for interference with people’s rights is required. Threshold setting and decision making needs to be attributed to, and shared appropriately between, Parliament, Ministers, independent oversight bodies, and law enforcement organisations. The consultation seeks views on what factors are relevant to consider when assessing interference with privacy so as to ensure the legal framework reflects the views of the public.

When using 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.

Oversight of police practice regarding deployment of facial recognition and related technologies is currently provided by regulators and public bodies, including the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner, the Information Commissioner, HMICFRS, Equality and Human Rights Commission, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct. The courts system also plays a vital role in ensuring the law is upheld.

The Government recognises the importance of independent scrutiny to ensure operational consistency across forces under new framework. That is why the consultation explained the government’s proposal to create a single regulatory and oversight body to oversee law enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies.

The Government envisage giving this body the necessary powers to provide assurance that law enforcement use of biometric technologies is legal, responsible, and necessary. These powers could include setting standards to assure scientific validity, issuing codes of practice and investigating instances where a technology has been misused, hacked or accessed without authorisation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the Charity Commission about reports that the Al-Ikhlas Education Centre in Willesden has links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

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

The Government takes very seriously any alleged links between a charity and extremism or terrorism and will respond robustly to evidence of wrongdoing.

While we cannot comment on individual cases, the promotion of extremist views or terrorism in charities is unacceptable. The Charity Commission is alive to the risks of state threats to the charity sector and works with other agencies to protect the sector from the risks of being exploited.

The Charity Commission has consistently been clear that it will respond robustly where there proves to have been wrongdoing and I am confident that it has the ability to do so effectively. They have a range of powers at their disposal including freezing bank accounts, directing trustees to take corrective action, or disqualifying trustees, and will do so as appropriate.

The Charity Commission has published guidance that explains in which circumstances a report about serious wrongdoing should be made, which details should be provided, and what it will do after receiving a report.

Ministers and officials regularly meet with the Charity Commission to discuss a range of issues relating to the regulation of charities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the Charity Commission about reports of alleged links to Iran of (a) the Abrar Islamic Foundation, and (b) Dar Alhekma.

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

The Government takes very seriously any alleged links between a charity and extremism or terrorism and will respond robustly to evidence of wrongdoing.

While we cannot comment on individual cases, the promotion of extremist views or terrorism in charities is unacceptable. The Charity Commission is alive to the risks of state threats to the charity sector and works with other agencies to protect the sector from the risks of being exploited.

The Charity Commission has consistently been clear that it will respond robustly where there proves to have been wrongdoing and I am confident that it has the ability to do so effectively. They have a range of powers at their disposal including freezing bank accounts, directing trustees to take corrective action, or disqualifying trustees, and will do so as appropriate.

The Charity Commission has published guidance that explains in which circumstances a report about serious wrongdoing should be made, which details should be provided, and what it will do after receiving a report.

Ministers and officials regularly meet with the Charity Commission to discuss a range of issues relating to the regulation of charities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has she made of the potential implications for her policies of the availability of crossbows through online purchases.

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

The Government is actively considering the introduction of further controls around crossbows. This follows a call for evidence on strengthening controls on crossbows on public safety grounds, which ran from 14 February to 9 April 2024, and tested ideas for whether there should be some form of licensing regime that would provide further controls on the use, ownership and supply of crossbows including whether sellers should be licensed in some way. We will publish the Government’s response to the call for evidence shortly, which will include what action we intend to take.

Crossbows are age restricted items and it is an offence, under the Crossbows Act 1987, for anyone under the age of 18 to purchase a crossbow or parts of a crossbow. The Government is taking action to strengthen the law on age verification for the online sale and delivery of crossbows through measures currently in the Crime and Policing Bill.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they are giving to exemptions to the proposed ban on ransomware payments for operators of critical national infrastructure.

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

Protecting the UK from cyber threats is a top priority for this Government. Ransomware measures are being considered as part of a wider all-of-Government approach to reduce cyber threats, alongside the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill by DSIT.

It is long-standing Government advice, and that of the National Cyber Security Centre, to not pay ransoms as there is no guarantee of a return to business-as-usual provision. .

We have consulted on this, and as published in the Government response to ransomware legislative proposals: reducing payments to cyber criminals and increasing incident reporting (accessible) - GOV.UK, there was split feedback regarding whether a targeted ban should have an exceptions(/exemptions) process. 43% of respondents agreed, 40% disagreed, 17% didn’t know. Qualitative responses cited national security and public safety as reasons for the need.

As with all feedback provided in the consultation response, the Government is considering the most appropriate and proportionate course of action and developing the policy in collaboration with industry and the relevant Government departments. No final decision has yet been made, and the Government is looking very carefully at all options.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve night time safety in bars and clubs.

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

The Government works closely with local authorities and industry to ensure venues licensed to sell alcohol, such as bars and clubs, operate safely. Under the Licensing Act 2003, which applies to England and Wales, premises must promote the four statutory licensing objectives - public safety, the prevention of crime and disorder, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm.

If a matter arises at a premises that undermines any of these objectives, the relevant licensing authority may review the licence and take appropriate action up to and including suspending or revoking the licence.

We also encourage licence holders to adopt recognised safeguarding initiatives which provide support for individuals who feel unsafe in the night-time economy.

Furthermore, from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2026, we are running a Winter of Action to target night-time economy offences, retail crime and anti-social behaviour across England and Wales. Led by Police and Crime Commissioners and Deputy Mayors, local plans will be delivered in partnership with police forces and community safety organisations to address the issues that matter most in town centres.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement entitled Consultation on a new legal framework for law enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies, published on 4 December 2025, HCWS1129, what assessment she has made of the safeguards required to ensure that the use of facial recognition and similar biometric technologies by law enforcement remains proportionate to the seriousness of the harm being addressed; what steps she plans to take to ensure that the legal framework maintains public confidence in the protection of individual rights, privacy and data security; and whether she intends to publish an impact assessment on the potential implications for civil liberties as part of the consultation process.

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

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring the use of facial recognition and similar biometric technologies by law enforcement remains proportionate to the seriousness of the harm being addressed. The consultation launched on 4 December 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.

We do not intend to publish an impact assessment specifically on the potential implications for civil liberties as part of the consultation process. However, alongside the consultation we have published an equalities impact assessment which makes clear the Government’s commitment to building public trust by highlighting the specific legal frameworks that will be put in place and the statutory bodies for oversight, which will apply to everyone in England and Wales.

We recognise that to maintain public confidence we must ensure individual rights, privacy and data security are protected. We believe that the use of biometric and inferential technology should always be demonstrably ‘necessary’ and ‘proportionate’ to the objective being sought. Furthermore, a clear and consistent justification for interference with people’s rights is required. Threshold setting and decision making needs to be attributed to, and shared appropriately between, Parliament, Ministers, independent oversight bodies, and law enforcement organisations. The consultation seeks views on what factors are relevant to consider when assessing interference with privacy so as to ensure the legal framework reflects the views of the public.

When using 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.

Oversight of police practice regarding deployment of facial recognition and related technologies is currently provided by regulators and public bodies, including the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner, the Information Commissioner, HMICFRS, Equality and Human Rights Commission, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct. The courts system also plays a vital role in ensuring the law is upheld.

The Government recognises the importance of independent scrutiny to ensure operational consistency across forces under new framework. That is why the consultation explained the government’s proposal to create a single regulatory and oversight body to oversee law enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies.

The Government envisage giving this body the necessary powers to provide assurance that law enforcement use of biometric technologies is legal, responsible, and necessary. These powers could include setting standards to assure scientific validity, issuing codes of practice and investigating instances where a technology has been misused, hacked or accessed without authorisation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement entitled Consultation on a new legal framework for law enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies, published on 4 December 2025, HCWS1129, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of police practice in the deployment of facial recognition and other biometric technologies; and whether she plans to enhance oversight and independent scrutiny of that deployment.

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

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring the use of facial recognition and similar biometric technologies by law enforcement remains proportionate to the seriousness of the harm being addressed. The consultation launched on 4 December 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.

We do not intend to publish an impact assessment specifically on the potential implications for civil liberties as part of the consultation process. However, alongside the consultation we have published an equalities impact assessment which makes clear the Government’s commitment to building public trust by highlighting the specific legal frameworks that will be put in place and the statutory bodies for oversight, which will apply to everyone in England and Wales.

We recognise that to maintain public confidence we must ensure individual rights, privacy and data security are protected. We believe that the use of biometric and inferential technology should always be demonstrably ‘necessary’ and ‘proportionate’ to the objective being sought. Furthermore, a clear and consistent justification for interference with people’s rights is required. Threshold setting and decision making needs to be attributed to, and shared appropriately between, Parliament, Ministers, independent oversight bodies, and law enforcement organisations. The consultation seeks views on what factors are relevant to consider when assessing interference with privacy so as to ensure the legal framework reflects the views of the public.

When using 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.

Oversight of police practice regarding deployment of facial recognition and related technologies is currently provided by regulators and public bodies, including the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner, the Information Commissioner, HMICFRS, Equality and Human Rights Commission, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct. The courts system also plays a vital role in ensuring the law is upheld.

The Government recognises the importance of independent scrutiny to ensure operational consistency across forces under new framework. That is why the consultation explained the government’s proposal to create a single regulatory and oversight body to oversee law enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies.

The Government envisage giving this body the necessary powers to provide assurance that law enforcement use of biometric technologies is legal, responsible, and necessary. These powers could include setting standards to assure scientific validity, issuing codes of practice and investigating instances where a technology has been misused, hacked or accessed without authorisation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claims (a) approved and (b) rejected since July 2024 involved face-to-face interviews.

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

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated 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, how many and what proportion of immigrants detained following their arrival in the UK by small boats have been searched for drugs in each of the past five years.

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

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to questions 71052, 71053 and 71054 on 4^th September.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the prevalence of drug smuggling among illegal migrants who arrive in the UK via the Channel.

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

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to questions 71052, 71053 and 71054 on 4^th September.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of Answers to Parliamentary written questions on absconded foreign national offenders and irregular migrants.

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

The Secretary of State for the Home Department has no plans to commission an independent review into the Department’s handling, recording, and disclosure of absconder data. The Department already undertakes:

• Regular internal audits and quality assurance checks to monitor data integrity and reporting standards.
• Compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, including data protection legislation and parliamentary accountability.
• Existing independent scrutiny mechanisms, such as oversight by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration and parliamentary committees, which provide assurance on operational performance and data handling.

The Department remains committed to maintaining robust and transparent processes, ensuring compliance with all relevant standards and obligations. It is also dedicated to continuous improvement and will review and strengthen its procedures whenever necessary.

The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Written Parliamentary Questions. Departmental performance on Written Parliamentary Questions is published at the end of each session by the Procedure Committee and is therefore publicly available.

All Parliamentary Questions are reviewed and cleared by Ministers prior to publication including those referring to absconders.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she received internal representations on the adequacy of Ministerial replies to Parliamentary Questions on absconders prior to their publication.

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

The Secretary of State for the Home Department has no plans to commission an independent review into the Department's handling, recording, and disclosure of absconder data. The Department already undertakes:

• Regular internal audits and quality assurance checks to monitor data integrity and reporting standards.
• Compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, including data protection legislation and parliamentary accountability.
• Existing independent scrutiny mechanisms, such as oversight by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration and parliamentary committees, which provide assurance on operational performance and data handling.

The Department remains committed to maintaining robust and transparent processes, ensuring compliance with all relevant standards and obligations. It is also dedicated to continuous improvement and will review and strengthen its procedures whenever necessary.

The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Written Parliamentary Questions. Departmental performance on Written Parliamentary Questions is published at the end of each session by the Procedure Committee and is therefore publicly available.

All Parliamentary Questions are reviewed and cleared by Ministers prior to publication including those referring to absconders.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will commission an independent review into her Department's handling, recording and disclosure of absconder data.

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

The Secretary of State for the Home Department has no plans to commission an independent review into the Department’s handling, recording, and disclosure of absconder data. The Department already undertakes:

• Regular internal audits and quality assurance checks to monitor data integrity and reporting standards.
• Compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, including data protection legislation and parliamentary accountability.
• Existing independent scrutiny mechanisms, such as oversight by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration and parliamentary committees, which provide assurance on operational performance and data handling.

The Department remains committed to maintaining robust and transparent processes, ensuring compliance with all relevant standards and obligations. It is also dedicated to continuous improvement and will review and strengthen its procedures whenever necessary.

The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Written Parliamentary Questions. Departmental performance on Written Parliamentary Questions is published at the end of each session by the Procedure Committee and is therefore publicly available.

All Parliamentary Questions are reviewed and cleared by Ministers prior to publication including those referring to absconders.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support the police in taking enforcement action against the illegal use of (a) ebikes and (b) escooters.

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

Tackling anti-social behaviour and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.

The police have a suite of powers available to them to tackle the illegal use of e-bikes and e-scooters and we expect police to deploy them appropriately.

The Crime and Policing Bill will give police greater powers to clamp down on anti-social behaviour involving vehicles including e-bikes and e-scooters, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizure. This will allow police to put an immediate stop to offending.

The Government also recently consulted on proposals to allow the police to dispose of seized vehicles quicker, including e-bikes and privately owned e-scooters, which have been used anti-socially or illegally.

These combined measures will help tackle the scourge of e-bikes and e-scooters ridden anti-socially or illegally and will send a clear message to would-be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

Enforcement of road traffic law, including in relation to the illegal use of e-bikes and e-scooters, are operational matter for Chief Constables in partnership with Police and Crime Commissioners who decide how to deploy available resources, taking into account any specific local problems and demands.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum claims (a) approved and (b) rejected since July 2024 involved interviews over video calls.

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

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated 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, if she will publish the minutes of meetings between her Department and Wealden District Council on the proposed use of the Crowborough Training Camp to accommodate asylum seekers.

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

The Home Office engages regularly with Wealden District Council regarding Crowborough Training Camp. The department does not routinely publish minutes of such meetings.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when asylum seekers are expected to be accommodated at the Crowborough Training Camp.

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

We are continuing to assess the feasibility of the Crowborough site. No final decision has been made, and as such no arrival date for service users has been confirmed.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the the3Million report The Digital Status Crisis, published on 10 November; and whether they plan to increase resources to fix the failures of the current eVisa system.

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

We consistently monitor the transition to eVisas, and encourage people to report any issues so they can be addressed. We listen to feedback from visa holders, stakeholders and MPs and address concerns, such as introducing greater flexibility for carriers to accept BRPs that expired on 31 December 2024 until 1 June 2025, to smooth the transition for those travelling internationally without compromising on border security.

We have considered the3Million report ‘The Digital Status Crisis’. We welcome feedback, but do not recognise the picture that the3Million report presents regarding the eVisa transition or the figures they present. In total, we have issued over 10 million digital IDs in the form of eVisas. Over 4.5m online (UKVI) accounts were created between March 2024 and July 2025, enabling people to access their eVisa.

We recognise that some people will be anxious about switching to and navigating a digital system, or may encounter an issue. We are committed to ensuring that accessing and using eVisas is as straightforward as possible for all status holders. We are providing clear guidance and direct support for vulnerable, and less digitally confident people to help them.

The Home Office has a robust support model in place that strives to ensure that all people, including the most vulnerable, are properly supported to access their eVisa and use the View and Prove service. People who need support can contact the UKVI Resolution Centre, which provides support via email and webchat to those creating their UKVI account, and telephone support to those using the online immigration status services. This includes supporting users through the online journey by:

o helping them to access or recover their account

o helping them to update their personal details

o sharing status on behalf of users if they are unable to do so themselves

Employers and landlords in England can use the Employer Checking Service (ECS) and Landlord Checking Service (LCS) to check the status of people who cannot currently provide digital status evidence.

Status holders can also get help to access their eVisa from Grant Funded Organisations or Local Authorities, or through the Assisted Digital Service if they are digitally excluded.

We have increased the number of support services available to vulnerable people and have delivered £4m of grant funding to 72 voluntary and community sector organisations across the UK.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was completed on the first phase of the roll out of eVisas to EEA nationals on 9 November 2020, which built on the Policy Equality Statement (PES) for the EUSS which was produced in 2017 and published on the gov.uk website on 18 November 2020:

Policy equality statement: EU Settlement Scheme (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).(opens in a new tab)

A separate EIA considering equalities issues in relation to the use of digital only right to work and rent checks was published on gov.uk in June 2022:

Digital only right to work and rent checks: equality impact assessment (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)

We are also in the process of reviewing our eVisas EIA, setting out further analysis of the equalities issues to reflect the current stage in the roll out of eVisas, and we will continue to keep the issue under review.

The Department publishes a range of data on its digital status programme and will be, in due course, publishing management information on the volumes of eVisa error corrections webforms received.

All our digital status online services are designed to be compliant with relevant accessibility legislation. The design and development of the View and Prove service was completed and tested in line with accessibility standards within WCAG 2.2 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), and the accessibility statement is linked on the service. It is currently compliant in 53 of 57 categories, and work is ongoing to meet the remaining criteria early in 2026, whereupon the Accessibility Statement will also be refreshed. View and Prove itself is not assessed against the UK Digital Identity & Attributes Trust Framework, but the underlying services follow the principles of the framework.

The accessibility statements for the employer and landlord checking services are available here:

Accessibility statement for Employer’s Checking Service – Employer checking service – GOV.UK

Accessibility statement for Request a Home Office right to rent check – Request a right to rent check – GOV.UK

The View and Prove service is part of the wider delivery of the Government’s eVisa strategy within the Future Borders and Immigration System Programme. It is one of many Digital Status Services, and the Programme is still delivering significant new functionality in support of all these services, which is why it is currently in a Beta phase. We aim to move the View and Prove service from Beta into Live status once these enhancements have been delivered in mid/late 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have plans to conduct an independent review of the eVisa system; and whether they will increase transparency on the volume and range of errors of the eVisa system reported to the Home Office.

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

We consistently monitor the transition to eVisas, and encourage people to report any issues so they can be addressed. We listen to feedback from visa holders, stakeholders and MPs and address concerns, such as introducing greater flexibility for carriers to accept BRPs that expired on 31 December 2024 until 1 June 2025, to smooth the transition for those travelling internationally without compromising on border security.

We have considered the3Million report ‘The Digital Status Crisis’. We welcome feedback, but do not recognise the picture that the3Million report presents regarding the eVisa transition or the figures they present. In total, we have issued over 10 million digital IDs in the form of eVisas. Over 4.5m online (UKVI) accounts were created between March 2024 and July 2025, enabling people to access their eVisa.

We recognise that some people will be anxious about switching to and navigating a digital system, or may encounter an issue. We are committed to ensuring that accessing and using eVisas is as straightforward as possible for all status holders. We are providing clear guidance and direct support for vulnerable, and less digitally confident people to help them.

The Home Office has a robust support model in place that strives to ensure that all people, including the most vulnerable, are properly supported to access their eVisa and use the View and Prove service. People who need support can contact the UKVI Resolution Centre, which provides support via email and webchat to those creating their UKVI account, and telephone support to those using the online immigration status services. This includes supporting users through the online journey by:

o helping them to access or recover their account

o helping them to update their personal details

o sharing status on behalf of users if they are unable to do so themselves

Employers and landlords in England can use the Employer Checking Service (ECS) and Landlord Checking Service (LCS) to check the status of people who cannot currently provide digital status evidence.

Status holders can also get help to access their eVisa from Grant Funded Organisations or Local Authorities, or through the Assisted Digital Service if they are digitally excluded.

We have increased the number of support services available to vulnerable people and have delivered £4m of grant funding to 72 voluntary and community sector organisations across the UK.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was completed on the first phase of the roll out of eVisas to EEA nationals on 9 November 2020, which built on the Policy Equality Statement (PES) for the EUSS which was produced in 2017 and published on the gov.uk website on 18 November 2020:

Policy equality statement: EU Settlement Scheme (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).(opens in a new tab)

A separate EIA considering equalities issues in relation to the use of digital only right to work and rent checks was published on gov.uk in June 2022:

Digital only right to work and rent checks: equality impact assessment (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)

We are also in the process of reviewing our eVisas EIA, setting out further analysis of the equalities issues to reflect the current stage in the roll out of eVisas, and we will continue to keep the issue under review.

The Department publishes a range of data on its digital status programme and will be, in due course, publishing management information on the volumes of eVisa error corrections webforms received.

All our digital status online services are designed to be compliant with relevant accessibility legislation. The design and development of the View and Prove service was completed and tested in line with accessibility standards within WCAG 2.2 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), and the accessibility statement is linked on the service. It is currently compliant in 53 of 57 categories, and work is ongoing to meet the remaining criteria early in 2026, whereupon the Accessibility Statement will also be refreshed. View and Prove itself is not assessed against the UK Digital Identity & Attributes Trust Framework, but the underlying services follow the principles of the framework.

The accessibility statements for the employer and landlord checking services are available here:

Accessibility statement for Employer’s Checking Service – Employer checking service – GOV.UK

Accessibility statement for Request a Home Office right to rent check – Request a right to rent check – GOV.UK

The View and Prove service is part of the wider delivery of the Government’s eVisa strategy within the Future Borders and Immigration System Programme. It is one of many Digital Status Services, and the Programme is still delivering significant new functionality in support of all these services, which is why it is currently in a Beta phase. We aim to move the View and Prove service from Beta into Live status once these enhancements have been delivered in mid/late 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what accessibility assessments have been conducted of the View and Prove immigration status service; whether they will publish those assessments; and whether those assessments meet the standards of the UK digital identity and attributes trust framework.

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

We consistently monitor the transition to eVisas, and encourage people to report any issues so they can be addressed. We listen to feedback from visa holders, stakeholders and MPs and address concerns, such as introducing greater flexibility for carriers to accept BRPs that expired on 31 December 2024 until 1 June 2025, to smooth the transition for those travelling internationally without compromising on border security.

We have considered the3Million report ‘The Digital Status Crisis’. We welcome feedback, but do not recognise the picture that the3Million report presents regarding the eVisa transition or the figures they present. In total, we have issued over 10 million digital IDs in the form of eVisas. Over 4.5m online (UKVI) accounts were created between March 2024 and July 2025, enabling people to access their eVisa.

We recognise that some people will be anxious about switching to and navigating a digital system, or may encounter an issue. We are committed to ensuring that accessing and using eVisas is as straightforward as possible for all status holders. We are providing clear guidance and direct support for vulnerable, and less digitally confident people to help them.

The Home Office has a robust support model in place that strives to ensure that all people, including the most vulnerable, are properly supported to access their eVisa and use the View and Prove service. People who need support can contact the UKVI Resolution Centre, which provides support via email and webchat to those creating their UKVI account, and telephone support to those using the online immigration status services. This includes supporting users through the online journey by:

o helping them to access or recover their account

o helping them to update their personal details

o sharing status on behalf of users if they are unable to do so themselves

Employers and landlords in England can use the Employer Checking Service (ECS) and Landlord Checking Service (LCS) to check the status of people who cannot currently provide digital status evidence.

Status holders can also get help to access their eVisa from Grant Funded Organisations or Local Authorities, or through the Assisted Digital Service if they are digitally excluded.

We have increased the number of support services available to vulnerable people and have delivered £4m of grant funding to 72 voluntary and community sector organisations across the UK.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was completed on the first phase of the roll out of eVisas to EEA nationals on 9 November 2020, which built on the Policy Equality Statement (PES) for the EUSS which was produced in 2017 and published on the gov.uk website on 18 November 2020:

Policy equality statement: EU Settlement Scheme (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).(opens in a new tab)

A separate EIA considering equalities issues in relation to the use of digital only right to work and rent checks was published on gov.uk in June 2022:

Digital only right to work and rent checks: equality impact assessment (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)

We are also in the process of reviewing our eVisas EIA, setting out further analysis of the equalities issues to reflect the current stage in the roll out of eVisas, and we will continue to keep the issue under review.

The Department publishes a range of data on its digital status programme and will be, in due course, publishing management information on the volumes of eVisa error corrections webforms received.

All our digital status online services are designed to be compliant with relevant accessibility legislation. The design and development of the View and Prove service was completed and tested in line with accessibility standards within WCAG 2.2 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), and the accessibility statement is linked on the service. It is currently compliant in 53 of 57 categories, and work is ongoing to meet the remaining criteria early in 2026, whereupon the Accessibility Statement will also be refreshed. View and Prove itself is not assessed against the UK Digital Identity & Attributes Trust Framework, but the underlying services follow the principles of the framework.

The accessibility statements for the employer and landlord checking services are available here:

Accessibility statement for Employer’s Checking Service – Employer checking service – GOV.UK

Accessibility statement for Request a Home Office right to rent check – Request a right to rent check – GOV.UK

The View and Prove service is part of the wider delivery of the Government’s eVisa strategy within the Future Borders and Immigration System Programme. It is one of many Digital Status Services, and the Programme is still delivering significant new functionality in support of all these services, which is why it is currently in a Beta phase. We aim to move the View and Prove service from Beta into Live status once these enhancements have been delivered in mid/late 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government why the View and Prove immigration status service is labelled as a beta service; and what is the timeline for that service to be in a fully live stage.

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

We consistently monitor the transition to eVisas, and encourage people to report any issues so they can be addressed. We listen to feedback from visa holders, stakeholders and MPs and address concerns, such as introducing greater flexibility for carriers to accept BRPs that expired on 31 December 2024 until 1 June 2025, to smooth the transition for those travelling internationally without compromising on border security.

We have considered the3Million report ‘The Digital Status Crisis’. We welcome feedback, but do not recognise the picture that the3Million report presents regarding the eVisa transition or the figures they present. In total, we have issued over 10 million digital IDs in the form of eVisas. Over 4.5m online (UKVI) accounts were created between March 2024 and July 2025, enabling people to access their eVisa.

We recognise that some people will be anxious about switching to and navigating a digital system, or may encounter an issue. We are committed to ensuring that accessing and using eVisas is as straightforward as possible for all status holders. We are providing clear guidance and direct support for vulnerable, and less digitally confident people to help them.

The Home Office has a robust support model in place that strives to ensure that all people, including the most vulnerable, are properly supported to access their eVisa and use the View and Prove service. People who need support can contact the UKVI Resolution Centre, which provides support via email and webchat to those creating their UKVI account, and telephone support to those using the online immigration status services. This includes supporting users through the online journey by:

o helping them to access or recover their account

o helping them to update their personal details

o sharing status on behalf of users if they are unable to do so themselves

Employers and landlords in England can use the Employer Checking Service (ECS) and Landlord Checking Service (LCS) to check the status of people who cannot currently provide digital status evidence.

Status holders can also get help to access their eVisa from Grant Funded Organisations or Local Authorities, or through the Assisted Digital Service if they are digitally excluded.

We have increased the number of support services available to vulnerable people and have delivered £4m of grant funding to 72 voluntary and community sector organisations across the UK.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was completed on the first phase of the roll out of eVisas to EEA nationals on 9 November 2020, which built on the Policy Equality Statement (PES) for the EUSS which was produced in 2017 and published on the gov.uk website on 18 November 2020:

Policy equality statement: EU Settlement Scheme (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).(opens in a new tab)

A separate EIA considering equalities issues in relation to the use of digital only right to work and rent checks was published on gov.uk in June 2022:

Digital only right to work and rent checks: equality impact assessment (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)

We are also in the process of reviewing our eVisas EIA, setting out further analysis of the equalities issues to reflect the current stage in the roll out of eVisas, and we will continue to keep the issue under review.

The Department publishes a range of data on its digital status programme and will be, in due course, publishing management information on the volumes of eVisa error corrections webforms received.

All our digital status online services are designed to be compliant with relevant accessibility legislation. The design and development of the View and Prove service was completed and tested in line with accessibility standards within WCAG 2.2 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), and the accessibility statement is linked on the service. It is currently compliant in 53 of 57 categories, and work is ongoing to meet the remaining criteria early in 2026, whereupon the Accessibility Statement will also be refreshed. View and Prove itself is not assessed against the UK Digital Identity & Attributes Trust Framework, but the underlying services follow the principles of the framework.

The accessibility statements for the employer and landlord checking services are available here:

Accessibility statement for Employer’s Checking Service – Employer checking service – GOV.UK

Accessibility statement for Request a Home Office right to rent check – Request a right to rent check – GOV.UK

The View and Prove service is part of the wider delivery of the Government’s eVisa strategy within the Future Borders and Immigration System Programme. It is one of many Digital Status Services, and the Programme is still delivering significant new functionality in support of all these services, which is why it is currently in a Beta phase. We aim to move the View and Prove service from Beta into Live status once these enhancements have been delivered in mid/late 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds for each police force on the time taken to resolve complaints brought in relation to policing standards and policy.

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

The Home Office does not hold complete data on the time taken to resolve police complaints.

As overseers of the police complaints system in England and Wales, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) collect and publish data on public complaints, including information on the time taken to finalise complaint allegations.

Published information can be found at:

https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/our-work/research-and-statistics/police-complaints-statistics

Breakdowns of timeliness by allegation type (nature of allegation) are not published.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the number of serving police officers taking their own lives is recorded.

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

The Home Office does not currently collect information centrally on the number of police officer suicides. The Office for National Statistics publishes data on the number of suicides registered in England and Wales by occupation. The latest available data can be found here: Suicide by occupation in England and Wales: 2023 and 2024, provisional - Office for National Statistics

This Government has been clear that the health and wellbeing of our police workforce is a priority, and we are committed to making improvements in wellbeing support for officers and staff. This includes exploring options to improve the current monitoring and data recording processes for police officer suicides.

The National Police Wellbeing Service has created a national suicide action plan which aims to educate and support the workforce, reduce stress and improve data recording. In addition, the Service has put in place a 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Support Line to provide urgent support for our police when they need it the most.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there are any plans to ensure that future funding formulas for the police take account of (a) seasonality and (b) rurality.

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

This Government is committed to ensuring that policing has the resources it needs and the allocation of funding to police forces remains an important consideration.

The Chancellor has announced a real terms increase in police spending power over the next three years. As with previous years, decisions on police force funding allocations for 2026-27, including the police main grant, will be set out at the forthcoming police funding settlement.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government which proposals in (1) Restoring Order and Control (CP1418), published on 17 November, and (2) A Fairer Pathway to Settlement (CP1448) will be implemented by (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation.

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

For the policies set out in both Restoring Order and Control and A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, legislative plans will be set out in due course. In the case of A Fairer Pathway to Settlement this will follow the current public consultation, which will allow for specific policy details to be finalised.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government which proposals in Restoring Order and Control (CP1418), published on 17 November, will be subject to consultation and what will be the timing of any such consultations.

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

Three of the measures in ‘Restoring Order and Control’ will be subject to consultation. They are:

• Exploring a change to taxpayer-funded benefits to prioritise access for those who are making an economic contribution to the UK.

• The process for enforcing the removal of families, including children, and

• The implementation of the provisions of the Immigration Act 2016, which allow the removal of support from families who have exhausted all appeals and are not cooperating with the returns process, provided there is no genuine obstacle to their departure.

Other areas will involve engagement with relevant stakeholders.

Updates on these consultations will follow in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle domestic abuse in Surrey Heath constituency.

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

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a top priority for this Government with a manifesto mission to halve VAWG in a decade. We will deliver a cross-government transformative approach, underpinned by a new strategy which we aim to publish as soon as possible.

In advance of the strategy, we have already introduced measures designed to strengthen the police response to VAWG, protect victims and hold perpetrators to account. These include: funding to rollout Drive Project to tackle high-risk and high-harm domestic abuse perpetrators across England and Wales; embedding the first domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms in five police forces; measures to tackle spiking; measures focusing on preventing and tackling ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA), and launching the new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in selected police forces and courts which go further than any existing orders.

The Home Office has provided the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Surrey with an annual funding allocation of £998,248 for 2025/26 for interventions around perpetrators of domestic abuse. PCCs in England and Wales receive annual grant funding from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), to commission local practical, emotional, and therapeutic support services for victims of all crime types.

Furthermore, this government has increased funding to local authorities, which includes Surrey Heath constituency, to £160 million for 2025-26, an uplift of £30 million from the previous year, to provide further support in safe accommodation for domestic abuse survivors, including tailored support for protected groups.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on the forthcoming guidance to local authorities on statutory duties under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989; and what steps she is taking to ensure that safeguarding and the best interests of the child are explicitly embedded in that guidance.

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

This Government remains firmly committed to safeguarding children from a range of harms. This includes ensuring that statutory safeguarding partners, including the police, have the right resources, tools and training to identify and respond and work together effectively.

I have continued to discuss these important issues with cross-government Ministerial colleagues and will be writing a joint letter out to safeguarding partners on this important issue, alongside ensuring relevant guidance remains up to date.

The new Centre for VAWG and Public protection will also ensure that the response by police continues to be improved, including supporting best practice in working together to ensure a robust multiagency response in supporting children.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the time taken to process certificate of sponsorship applications.

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

It is the responsibility of individual businesses to monitor the visa expiry dates of their overseas employees and to take appropriate action to ensure continuity of employment.

The published service standard for non-complex Undefined Certificate of Sponsorship (UCoS) allocations and renewals is 18 weeks, as outlined on GOV.UK. Businesses may also opt to use the priority service, which aims to process requests within 5 working days.

Responsibility for submitting timely applications or updates lies with the sponsoring business.

Where necessary, the Home Office conducts additional checks to maintain the integrity of the immigration system, which may delay the processing of applications to assure ourselves that requests are genuine and full-time work and employment will be given to a prospective employee, for their own protection.

UK visa sponsorship for employers: Your responsibilities - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab)

The Home Office is currently operating within the published service standards for all Sponsorship applications and keeps all service offerings under review.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help protect children from AI-generated abuse online.

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

The Government recognises the serious and evolving threat posed by artificial intelligence being misused to create child sexual abuse material. We have taken world-leading action to address this risk.

AI-generated child sexual abuse material is not a victimless crime. The material often includes depictions of real children, escalating the risk of contact abuse. The volume and realism of this material can make it increasingly challenging for safeguarding partners to identify and protect children. Offenders can also use these images to groom and blackmail children.

Working in partnership with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Alan Turing Institute, and the Accelerated Capability Environment, the Home Office has led the Deepfake Detection Challenge. This initiative brought together experts and stakeholders to develop and evaluate detection tools, which are essential in addressing serious harms including online child sexual abuse. As offenders increasingly exploit AI, we must harness its potential for good.

A key outcome has been the creation of a UK Government Benchmarking capability which enables scientific evaluation of detection technologies, offering data to support informed procurement decisions for the most effective solutions. The next phase will continue to identify and benchmark AI-driven solutions.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing specific offences to make it illegal to possess, create, or distribute AI tools designed to generate child sexual abuse material, as well as so-called “paedophile manuals” that instruct offenders on how to exploit AI for abuse. These offences carry penalties of up to five years’ imprisonment for AI tools and up to three years for manuals.

We have recently announced a further amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to empower authorised bodies- including AI developers and child protection organisations- to scrutinise AI systems to prevent them generating harmful content. This will help to improve safeguards within AI models to prevent them being misused to create child abuse material.

Where AI models fall under the Online Safety Act as a user-to-user service or an online search provider, companies are required to provide highly effective age assurance to protect children from exposure to harmful or inappropriate content.

We recognise there are concerns about AI chatbots, or AI companions, and the risks of harm to children these may pose. At the recent Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, we confirmed that we are considering if all AI chatbots are covered by the Online Safety Act and what more may need to be done. If it requires legislation, then this is what we will do.

We have been clear as a government that our steps so far with the Online Safety Act are the foundation for a safer online experience for children. But it is not the end of the conversation.

The UKG will also be supporting to host an event in the new year with the NSPCC focusing on children and AI.

Our approach combines robust legislation, proactive technology safeguards, and international cooperation to keep children safe online and we will not hesitate to go further.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2025 to Question 47655 on Sexual Harassment, what progress she has made on implementation of the Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023.

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

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a top priority for this Government and we have committed to an unprecedented ambition to halve VAWG within a decade.

Public sexual harassment is a crime that often leaves victims, who are disproportionately likely to be women, feeling very unsafe. That is why tackling it is an integral part of our mission on VAWG.

The VAWG Strategy will set out the strategic direction and concrete actions to deliver on the Government’s VAWG ambition, including action to tackle public sexual harassment.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which Departments and schemes will include families with No Recourse to Public Funds within their eligibility criteria following the introduction of new guidance; and what steps she will take to monitor and enforce consistency of support.

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

The new guidance being produced by the Home Office is designed to assist local authorities in supporting families with NRPF, as set out in the Child Poverty Strategy. The guidance will provide clarity around statutory duties and key safeguards for local authorities, ensuring a clear and consistent approach. The guidance does not alter the eligibility criteria for any current schemes or benefits.

Children whose families are subject to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition (NRPF) can currently access schemes and benefits such as free school meals, 15 hours of free childcare for disadvantaged two-year-olds and 15 hours free childcare for three- to four-year-old.

The Home Office will continue to work across government where relevant to ensure that migrant children with NRPF are specifically considered when reviewing or deciding on eligibility for schemes and benefits.

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 impact of live facial recognition on security and passenger flow at UK borders and airports; and what evaluation has been undertaken in relation to the accuracy and reliability of facial recognition in those settings.

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

Facial comparison technology is currently in operation at the eGates at the UK border. eGates provide a safe, secure and efficient method for millions of passengers to cross our border each year. Technology deployed at the UK border is rigorously tested to ensure it is robust, resilient and effective.

The Immigration White Paper, published May 2025, sets out our vision to revolutionise the border by using technology to make visible changes to security and the passenger flow.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consideration her Department has made of possible exemptions for health care workers on indefinite leave to remain rules to ensure sufficient staffing levels remain within the NHS.

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

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 final model will also be subject to an economic impact assessment, which we have committed to publish in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the 20-year baseline for refugees on core protection routes for Hong Kongers (a) born after 1997 and (b) whose parents did not register for BN(O) status; whether B1 English-language qualifications will remain valid for BN(O) visa holders approaching eligibility for Indefinite Leave to Remain; and what her Department's plans are for BN(O) residents who contribute to society in non-financial ways, including carers, elderly people, students and stay-at-home parents.

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

The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.

BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements. Children of BN(O) status holders born after 1997 are eligible for the BN(O) route and will therefore qualify for the same reduction.

We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation, including which groups might be exempted from requirements to demonstrate earnings.

In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply, including the current B1 English language requirement.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her statement, entitled A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, of 20 November, if she will explain the impact of the changes on pathways to settlement on the children of British National (Overseas) visa holders.

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

The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.

BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements. Children of BN(O) visa holders will also remain on the 5-year path to settlement in line with their parents.

We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, including on how dependants should be accommodated within an earned settlement system, and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation.

In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support people with British Nationals (Overseas) visas in relation to the changes set out in the Command Paper entitled A Fairer Pathway to Settlement.

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

The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.

BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements.

We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation.

Once the changes are implemented, we will publish clear guidance for BN(O) visa holders to help them understand any new requirements.

In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment has been made of adequacy of the (a) support and (b) guidance available for those who are unable to access their e-visas.

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

The Home Office has a robust support model in place that strives to ensure that all people, including the most vulnerable, are properly supported to access their eVisa and use the View and Prove service:

We have delivered £4.4m of grant funding across 18 months to 72 voluntary and community sector organisations across the UK to support customers who needed help transitioning from a physical document to an eVisa.

People who need support can contact the UKVI Resolution Centre, which provides support via email and webchat to those creating their UKVI account, and telephone support to those using the online immigration status services. This includes supporting users through the online journey by:

o helping them to access or recover their account

o helping them to update their personal details

o sharing status on behalf of users if they are unable to do so themselves

Should anyone find themselves needing support with creating their UKVI account or getting access to their eVisa, the latest updates and guidance can be found on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/evisa.

Employers and landlords in England can use the Employer Checking Service (ECS) and Landlord Checking Service (LCS) to check the status of people who are having difficulty providing digital status evidence.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was completed on the first phase of the roll out of eVisas to EEA nationals on 9 November 2020, which built on the Policy Equality Statement (PES) for the EUSS which was produced in 2017 and published on the gov.uk website on 18 November 2020:

Policy equality statement: EU Settlement Scheme (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).(opens in a new tab)

A separate EIA considering equalities issues in relation to the use of digital only right to work and rent checks was published on gov.uk in June 2022:

Digital only right to work and rent checks: equality impact assessment (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab)

We are also in the process of reviewing our eVisas EIA, setting out further analysis of the equalities issues to reflect the current stage in the roll out of eVisas, and we will continue to keep the issue under review.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of allowing individuals to provide a physical proof of residency for applications under the EU Settlement Scheme.

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

The Home Office seeks to process all applications to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) as swiftly as possible.

Details of the processing times can be found on the GOV.UK website – (EU Settlement Scheme: current estimated processing times for applications - GOV.UK) which advises on expected processing times and common reasons why an application may take longer to conclude.

As it is now more than four years since the deadline to apply to the main scheme, the majority of applications are from people who already hold an initial grant of pre-settled status who are seeking settled status. To improve customer service we have introduced an automated process to automatically convert eligible pre-settled status holders to settled status, without the need for them to make a further application.

The EUSS automation process reduces the burden on tens of thousands of customers and supports our ambition to ensure people have the right EUSS status.

The EU Settlement Scheme was the first fully digital immigration route. As such, customers provide evidence to support their applications online, rather than sending in physical evidence. This approach ensures that applicants can retain their key documents.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which government departments and schemes will explicitly include families with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) within their eligibility criteria following the introduction of new guidance; and what steps will be taken to monitor and enforce consistency of support across these schemes.

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

The new guidance being produced by the Home Office is designed to assist local authorities in supporting families with NRPF, as set out in the Child Poverty Strategy. The guidance will provide clarity around statutory duties and key safeguards for local authorities, ensuring a clear and consistent approach. The guidance does not alter the eligibility criteria for any current schemes or benefits.

Children whose families are subject to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition (NRPF) can currently access schemes and benefits such as free school meals, 15 hours of free childcare for disadvantaged two-year-olds and15 hours free childcare for three- to four-year-old.

The Home Office will continue to work across government where relevant to ensure that migrant children with NRPF are specifically considered when reviewing or deciding on eligibility for schemes and benefits.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to improve the process for applications under the EU Settlement Scheme.

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

The Home Office seeks to process all applications to the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) as swiftly as possible.

Details of the processing times can be found on the GOV.UK website – (EU Settlement Scheme: current estimated processing times for applications - GOV.UK) which advises on expected processing times and common reasons why an application may take longer to conclude.

As it is now more than four years since the deadline to apply to the main scheme, the majority of applications are from people who already hold an initial grant of pre-settled status who are seeking settled status. To improve customer service we have introduced an automated process to automatically convert eligible pre-settled status holders to settled status, without the need for them to make a further application.

The EUSS automation process reduces the burden on tens of thousands of customers and supports our ambition to ensure people have the right EUSS status.

The EU Settlement Scheme was the first fully digital immigration route. As such, customers provide evidence to support their applications online, rather than sending in physical evidence. This approach ensures that applicants can retain their key documents.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with (a) UK Border Force, and (b) her counterparts in the French Government on reducing the waiting times for UK-bound passengers at passport control at Paris Gare du Nord.

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

Border Force work closely with partners to minimise passenger wait times and deploy officers flexibly and when required to meet demand and support passengers.

We have introduced ePassport Gates to Paris Gare Du Nord station in two waves, the last being timed to ensure that we had maximum gate coverage within the allotted space provided to us by SNCF prior to the Paris Olympics.

Since eGate deployment, we have lowered the age of people able to use eGates and the number of nationalities that are also able to use them. We have also installed new front desk technology that is quicker and more robust than its predecessor.

We are also prioritising the deployment of new eGates to Paris and other parts of the rail network when they become available which will help streamline increased passenger fluidity during peak times.

Border Force enjoys a strong operational relationship with Eurostar which has allowed us to successfully plan and deploy our resources at peak times – evidenced by the successful recent operational deliveries of the Paris Olympics in the summer of 2024, and both the Easter bank holiday and summer holiday periods in 2025 that were equally as challenging from a passenger flow perspective.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April to Question 46921, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of changes to e-gates on improving the speed of passenger flow.

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

eGates provide a safe, secure and efficient method of crossing the UK border for millions of passengers each year. All technology deployed at the border is rigorously tested to ensure it is resilient and effective.

We are moving into the next phase of our vision to use technology to make visible changes to security, flow and the passenger experience. In October this year we conducted a short Contactless Travel pilot which aims to increase passenger flow whilst maintain security. We will provide further details in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many premises have been investigated, restricted, or closed in the last five years due to concerns relating to extremist ideology.

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

It is a long-standing policy that the Home Office does not comment on specific cases.

Regardless of the worldview it draws from, if an ideology is causing harm by radicalising others into hatred, violence and extremism we will take action to prevent this and to safeguard susceptible individuals.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure proper support for venues transitioning to the requirements of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 during the implementation period.

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

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act, also known as Martyn’s Law, received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025.

An implementation period of at least 24 months is now underway, giving those responsible for premises and events sufficient time and support to meet their new obligations. It will also allow time for the Security Industry Authority (SIA) to establish its new regulatory function.

The Act is intended to improve protective security and organisational preparedness across the UK. It will require certain premises and events to ensure steps have been taken to prepare for potential terrorist attacks. Larger premises and events will be required to consider and, where appropriate, implement steps to reduce their vulnerability to acts of terrorism.

Statutory guidance will be published during the implementation period to help those responsible to understand the requirements set out in the legislation. The guidance is being designed to be easy to follow, requiring no specialist expertise or the use of third-party products or services.

The Home Office continues to engage with businesses and organisations, including through attendance at industry events and a nationwide webinar series to raise awareness and understanding for sectors in scope of the Act, and regularly issues communications and updates via ProtectUK, Gov.uk, SIA.gov.uk and the Home Office and SIA social media channels.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of protective security funding allocated to places of worship, schools and community centres in financial year 2025-26; and what steps she is taking to ensure such funding is adequate to meet current threat levels.

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

This Government is committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion at their chosen place of worship, and to making our streets and communities safer.

In 2025/26, up to £70.9 million is available to protect faith communities. This includes additional emergency funding of £10 million each this year to support the safety, security and peace of mind for both Jewish and Muslim communities.

The Government and police work closely together to review threats and strengthen protections for communities against terrorism and hate crime. The Home Office continuously reviews the adequacy of its protective security schemes for faith communities through evaluating information provided by policing and intelligence partners on threat levels, monitoring data on uptake of the schemes, and reviewing feedback from faith communities and other stakeholders.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which visa routes are currently open to nationals of countries designated as high-risk for terrorism-related activity.

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

The UK operates a robust and effective visa system, which is an important part of securing the UK border and a vital tool for the UK in reducing illegal immigration, tackling organised crime and protecting national security. A requirement to obtain a visa prior to travelling to the UK means that we can assess, based on a visa application and following background checks, whether an individual will comply with the Immigration Rules on arrival. It allows us to intervene and, where necessary, refuse a visa before the individual travels to the UK.

This Government will not stop at anything to protect border and national security, and the UK keeps its visa system under regular review. This is conducted on the basis of a range of factors including security, compliance and returns arrangements. However, it would not be appropriate to comment in detail on specific operational security matters.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has considered suspending visa routes from countries assessed as high-risk for terrorism;

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

The UK operates a robust and effective visa system, which is an important part of securing the UK border and a vital tool for the UK in reducing illegal immigration, tackling organised crime and protecting national security. A requirement to obtain a visa prior to travelling to the UK means that we can assess, based on a visa application and following background checks, whether an individual will comply with the Immigration Rules on arrival. It allows us to intervene and, where necessary, refuse a visa before the individual travels to the UK.

This Government will not stop at anything to protect border and national security, and the UK keeps its visa system under regular review. This is conducted on the basis of a range of factors including security, compliance and returns arrangements. However, it would not be appropriate to comment in detail on specific operational security matters.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria are used to designate a country as high-risk for terrorism and extremist activity for the purposes of visa policy.

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

The UK operates a robust and effective visa system, which is an important part of securing the UK border and a vital tool for the UK in reducing illegal immigration, tackling organised crime and protecting national security. A requirement to obtain a visa prior to travelling to the UK means that we can assess, based on a visa application and following background checks, whether an individual will comply with the Immigration Rules on arrival. It allows us to intervene and, where necessary, refuse a visa before the individual travels to the UK.

This Government will not stop at anything to protect border and national security, and the UK keeps its visa system under regular review. This is conducted on the basis of a range of factors including security, compliance and returns arrangements. However, it would not be appropriate to comment in detail on specific operational security matters.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what role the Prevent strategy currently plays in identifying and disrupting Islamist radicalisation; and whether changes are planned to improve its effectiveness.

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

Prevent aims to limit exposure to radicalising narratives, both online and offline, and to create an environment where radicalising ideologies are challenged and are not permitted to flourish.

The Prevent Duty Guidance sets out how local partners should address this issue by identifying and considering opportunities to disrupt those who use extremist narratives to spread hatred and division and radicalise others to terrorism.

This includes information sharing, risk assessment, and developing operational plans to proactively address the influences and narratives that may foster permissive environments within the community.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the she plans to apply the proposed salary threshold and RQF Level 6 requirements for Skilled Worker visas retrospectively to people already in the UK under existing visa conditions when they apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain; and whether she plans to implement transitional protections for families who entered the UK legally under previous rules.

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. Details of the earned settlement scheme, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many referrals to counter-extremism programmes have been made in each of the last five years, broken down by ideology.

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

i) Individuals referred to the Prevent programme

Prevent aims to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. It works to ensure that people who are susceptible to radicalisation are offered appropriate interventions and support, and that communities are protected against radicalising influences.

The Home Office publishes statistics annually on individuals referred into Prevent, which can be found here.

Links to the data on individuals referred in by the type of concern, or ideology, can be found below.

ii) Years 2024-2025, broken down by ideology. Table 16.

iii) Years 2023-2024, broken down by ideology. Table 6.

iv) Years 2022-2023, broken down by ideology. Table 6.

v) Years 2021-2022, broken down by ideology. Table 6.

vi) Years 2020-2021, broken down by ideology. Table 6.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the potential number of refugees who will enter the UK on a work and study visa in the next 5 years.

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

The Home Office has not made an estimate of the potential number of refugees who may enter the UK on work or study visas over the next five years.

Student visa applications are rigorously assessed, and any indication of non-genuine intent, such as using the route for purposes other than study, will lead to refusal.

While anyone in the UK has the right to claim asylum, asylum and human rights claims are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to support young adults and children on the private life route who (a) are nearing the completion of their five-year qualifying period for settlement and (b) may be affected by a proposed extension to a ten-year settlement period.

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. Details of the earned settlement scheme, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.

The consultation directly seeks views on retaining the current treatment of children and young adults who have grown up in the UK without an immigration status, allowing them to settle 5 years after regularising their status.

A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, as well as the May 2025 Immigration White Paper preceding it, have also both committed to retaining a five-year route to settlement for the spouses and children of British nationals.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to amend the reformed routes to private life for young adults and children introduced under Appendix Private Life to the Immigration Rules 2022.

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. Details of the earned settlement scheme, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.

The consultation directly seeks views on retaining the current treatment of children and young adults who have grown up in the UK without an immigration status, allowing them to settle 5 years after regularising their status.

A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, as well as the May 2025 Immigration White Paper preceding it, have also both committed to retaining a five-year route to settlement for the spouses and children of British nationals.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what oversight mechanisms exist to monitor institutions where extremist ideology may be promoted.

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

The Prevent duty requires specified authorities such as education, health, local authorities, police and criminal justice agencies (prisons and probation) to help prevent the risk of people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism which includes the need to reduce permissive environments.

It sits alongside long-established safeguarding duties on professionals to protect people from a range of other harms, such as substance abuse, involvement in gangs, and physical and sexual exploitation.

The duty helps to ensure that people who are susceptible to radicalisation are supported as they would be under safeguarding processes.

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 mainstream political engagement on reducing vulnerability to extremism; and if she will bring forward policy proposals to improve mainstream engagement to help prevent extremism.

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

Improving mainstream political engagement can have a positive impact on reducing vulnerability to extremism. It is so important that an all-party approach is taken to address the incredibly important issue of extremism. We are exploring options to improve our response to extremism.

This Government takes extremism seriously. Efforts to counter extremism span a broad range of Government and law enforcement activity and we must persist in our efforts to challenge extremist narratives, disrupt the activity of radicalising groups, and directly tackle the causes of radicalisation.

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 her Department plans to apply the 5 and 10 year penalties for accessing public funds to those on limited leave to remain who are currently living in the UK and receiving benefits.

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.

Found: The Committee asked the Home Office to explain. 2.3 In a memorandum printed at Appendix 2, the Department

Found: This includes working with the new NCVPP to apply learning from Operation Soteria, a pioneering, Home Office-funded

Found: This includes working with the new NCVPP to apply learning from Operation Soteria, a pioneering, Home Office-funded

Found: mean life or death for people seeking asylum’, Foxglove. https://www.foxglove.org.uk/2025/05/19/home-office-chatgpt

Found: Introduction On August 13th, the Home Office released a statement saying that 10 new LFR vans are being

Found: Investigates (an investigative journalism unit based at the human rights organisation Liberty) 1 Home Office

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

Found: happens, the FCDO will continue to prevent potential cases of forced marriage and FGM via the FCDO-Home Office

Found: Create flexible space within individual homes (for home office, spare bedroom, workshop, etc) or within

Found: services—prison, probation and others—to co-operate in the prevention of homelessness, but should the Home Office

Found: Two weeks ago, the Home Office released evidence that shows that retrospective facial recognition algorithms

Found: language requirements create significant operational challenges for industry:  Under current Home Office

Found: this is a multifaceted policy area that really cuts across Government, with the Treasury, the Home Office

Found: – 9 Witnesses I: Alex Norris MP, Minister of State (Minister for Border Security and Asylum), Home Office

Found: Office for national security, which most people would automatically think was the purview of the Home Office

Found: Do your discussions with the Home Secretary and the Home Office concern an exemption for prison officer

Found: Yvette Cooper: If you go back 10 years or so, the security focus of the Foreign Office and the Home Office

Found: but I think it is about the wider tackling violence against women and girls strategy within the Home Office

Found: and migrants (accessible version) - GOV.UK On this occasion the statement was published by the Home Office

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the maximum penalty for dog fouling offences.

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

The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to anti-social behaviour. These powers include Public Space Protection Orders which can be used to, among other things, require dog owners to pick up their dog's faeces.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill, the Home Office are increasing the upper limit for a fixed penalty notice for breaches of a Public Spaces Protection Order from £100 to £500.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May to Question 50489, what recent discussions she has had with Eurostar and SNCF1 Gare Connexions on a) the expansion of the number of border control points and e-gates, and b) longer term plans to expand the terminal.

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

Departmental officials engage regularly with French counterparts and industry partners to discuss plans to support the growth of international rail services and to enable competition in the coming years.

Officials from my Department, Home Office and Border Force have had several discussions this year with SNCF Gare et Connexions representatives to discuss in detail their plans to expand the Gare du Nord cross-Channel terminal which will effectively double throughput capacity by 2030. We have also committed to work with SNCF to ensure appropriate provision is made for UK and French border controls in the newly expanded terminal and these conversations are continuing. SNCF’s plans were also presented to the Intergovernmental Commission (IGC), the bi-national body which oversees the operation of the Channel Tunnel and is attended by UK and French Government officials, at its most recent meeting in Paris in December.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address reports of search engines that use artificial intelligence being manipulated to direct consumers to fraudulent customer service phone numbers.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Frauds are increasingly sophisticated. The government is aware of reports that criminals are manipulating AI services to place scam customer service numbers at the top of search rankings.

Generative AI services which search live websites to deliver search results are regulated under the Online Safety Act. The Act also lists fraud as a priority offence, requiring companies to minimise its prevalence on their platforms and swiftly remove content when it appears. Ofcom have strong powers to ensure compliance.

The OSA is part of the solution, and the department continues to work with the Home Office as it prepares the new Fraud Strategy.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she plans to put in place measures to safeguard the (a) mental health and wellbeing and (b) ability to enrol in multi-year course programmes of children who be subject to temporary refugee status reviews every 30 months.

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

The department will work with the Home Office as they carefully consider the appropriate pathways and wider provision for asylum-seeking families with children. We will continue to focus on ensuring vulnerable children are protected and their welfare safeguarded.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed asylum policy changes on the continuity of education for children in families facing relocation or deportation.

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

The department will work with the Home Office as they carefully consider the appropriate pathways and wider provision for asylum-seeking families with children. We will continue to focus on ensuring vulnerable children are protected and their welfare safeguarded.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to review the use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology to ensure it can effectively detect vehicles with obscured or altered number plates.

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

No assessment of potential financial losses as a result of vehicles using obscured or false number plates has been made.

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.

The DVLA is part of the British Standard Institute (BSI) committee that has recently reviewed the current standard for number plates. The proposed amendments are intended to stop the production of number plates with raised characters 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. Officials are also considering options to ensure a more robust, auditable process which would enable tighter checks on number plate suppliers.

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

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate the Government has made of the financial losses suffered by businesses as a result of vehicles using obscured or false number plates to commit fuel theft or evade charges.

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

No assessment of potential financial losses as a result of vehicles using obscured or false number plates has been made.

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.

The DVLA is part of the British Standard Institute (BSI) committee that has recently reviewed the current standard for number plates. The proposed amendments are intended to stop the production of number plates with raised characters 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. Officials are also considering options to ensure a more robust, auditable process which would enable tighter checks on number plate suppliers.

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

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of search and rescue capacity in the English Channel; and what steps they are taking to strengthen life-saving provision.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

His Majesty's Government makes regular assessments of the adequacy of search and rescue capacity in the English Channel, in response to ever-changing operating patterns and the extremely high-risk appetite of the Organised Crime Networks that facilitate such crossings. In addition to the layered search and rescue response structure already in place, DfT, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), and the Home Office Border Security Command are investigating options to increase the rescue capacity of Government-contracted surface assets in the Channel, while the MCA and Border Security Command are advancing plans to enhance the future provision of aviation search assets.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that the upcoming Homelessness Strategy addresses homelessness among newly recognised refugees arising from the 28 day move-on period.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Through A National Plan to End Homelessness, the Cross-Government Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, the Home Office has committed to strengthen data sharing processes to ensure councils receive information from asylum accommodation providers for 100% of newly granted refugees at risk of homelessness, within two days of an asylum discontinuation of support notification. This supports early intervention by enabling councils to commence homelessness assessments.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Department or organisation will be responsible for meeting the costs associated with securing and preparing a new site for the Crowborough cadets, now that Crowborough Training Camp has ben earmarked to accommodate asylum seekers.

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

An alternative temporary venue in Crowborough to deliver weeknight training has been identified by the Army Cadet Force. Its suitability is being reviewed by the Royal Navy Cadet Force and Royal Air Force Air Cadets.

The Ministry of Defence continues to work with the Home Office to assess the potential impact that housing asylum seekers on military bases could have on our Cadet Forces and future activities, and to develop any necessary mitigating actions.

We have been clear that our priority remains ensuring these developments have limited impact on our Cadets, and we will always apply the appropriate safeguarding measures so that Cadet programmes can continue to be delivered.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which official, team, or directorate within his Department is responsible for identifying a new training location for the Crowborough cadets, now that Crowborough Training Camp has been earmarked to accommodate asylum seekers.

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

An alternative temporary venue in Crowborough to deliver weeknight training has been identified by the Army Cadet Force. Its suitability is being reviewed by the Royal Navy Cadet Force and Royal Air Force Air Cadets.

The Ministry of Defence continues to work with the Home Office to assess the potential impact that housing asylum seekers on military bases could have on our Cadet Forces and future activities, and to develop any necessary mitigating actions.

We have been clear that our priority remains ensuring these developments have limited impact on our Cadets, and we will always apply the appropriate safeguarding measures so that Cadet programmes can continue to be delivered.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many alternative sites are currently being assessed by his Department to accommodate the Crowborough cadets, following their proposed displacement from Crowborough Training Camp, to accommodate asylum seekers.

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

An alternative temporary venue in Crowborough to deliver weeknight training has been identified by the Army Cadet Force. Its suitability is being reviewed by the Royal Navy Cadet Force and Royal Air Force Air Cadets.

The Ministry of Defence continues to work with the Home Office to assess the potential impact that housing asylum seekers on military bases could have on our Cadet Forces and future activities, and to develop any necessary mitigating actions.

We have been clear that our priority remains ensuring these developments have limited impact on our Cadets, and we will always apply the appropriate safeguarding measures so that Cadet programmes can continue to be delivered.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps are being taken to increase mobile connectivity in South Shropshire constituency.

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

Our ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. Government continues to work closely with the mobile network operators (MNOs), ensuring that we have the right policy and regulatory framework in place to support investment, as well as identifying and addressing barriers to deployment where they exist and it is practical to do so.

In Ofcom’s Connected Nations Annual Report, published on 19 November 2025, it is reported that 4G is available across 88% of landmass in the South Shropshire constituency from all four MNOs, while 5G (combined standalone and non-standalone) is available outside 80% of premises in the constituency from at least one MNO.

Whilst the rollout of 5G infrastructure is primarily commercially driven, government’s Shared Rural Network programme continues to deliver 4G coverage improvements. The programme has upgraded and activated two government funded Home Office masts which are providing new coverage to the more rural parts of South Shropshire.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce reoffending rates among prolific offenders in Great Yarmouth town centre.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

In November 2024, the Home Office introduced Respect Orders to give police and local councils powers to ban persistent offenders from town centres. As well as prison sentences of up to two years, criminal courts will be able to issue unlimited fines and community orders, such as unpaid work, and curfews as punishment for breaching a Respect Order.

For those who persistently break the law, we are building 14,000 new prison places to make sure they are removed from the streets. Whilst in prison they will be expected to take part in education or learn new skills to make them more useful contributors to society after release.

The Probation Service's first priority is to protect the public. Anyone released from prison is subject to strict licence conditions, including exclusion zones where appropriate. If found to have breached these conditions they can be returned to prison.

The Probation Service puts in place services aimed at reducing re-offending by supporting the needs of people on probation in Great Yarmouth. These include providing support in obtaining and maintaining suitable accommodation, help with drug and alcohol dependency issues, assistance with personal wellbeing needs and a holistic service addressing all needs for women.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will establish a cross-government protocol with the Home Office and the Department of Health and Social Care setting out roles, referral routes and timescales between schools, police forces and health services when responding to allegations of child-on-child sexual abuse.

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

This government is taking the strongest action to tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation. This includes setting up a new national inquiry, with which government departments will cooperate fully, to ensure we are tackling this vile crime and supporting victims and survivors.

Working Together is the national multi-agency statutory guidance for all practitioners working with children and their families. Local safeguarding partners (local authorities, police and health) already have a statutory duty to set out in their threshold document and local protocols the process for referrals, assessments, support and services for children who need help or protection. This guidance underpins Ofsted’s Inspection of Local Authority Children’s Services framework.

We are also delivering the biggest reform to children’s social care in a generation, investing £2.4 billion in the Families First Partnership programme, introducing multi-agency child protection teams through our landmark Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill and establishing a national Child Protection Authority.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to lead international efforts to establish agreed standards for AI safety and ethics in fraud prevention; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK's on shaping global AI policies to combat scam operations.

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

The UK is leading international efforts to raise AI safety standards. Through the AI Security Institute we are building world-first public capabilities to test advanced AI systems and share methodologies internationally. We also work with our international partners across several multilateral organisations and standard bodies, including the G7, G20, UN, OECD, and GPAI to address a range of AI related issues.

Domestically, the Online Safety Act requires major platforms and search services to assess and mitigate fraud risks, including those amplified by AI, and take swift action to remove scam content on their platforms.

In addition, the Home Office will continue to ensure that Law Enforcement have the capabilities they need to tackle perpetrators who exploit the use of AI, while working closely with international partners and in partnership with the tech industry to build resilience and protect UK public and businesses.

Found: the Department for Transport has used computer vision for performing roadside surveys,70 and the Home Office

Found: The Home Office provides statutory guidance on implementing this legislation.

Found: ; The Record, UK delays introducing new cybersecurity legislation, again, 11 September 2025 6 Home Office

We ask the Government to create a 5-year ILR route for legal asylum seekers who entered the UK lawfully and have been living here legally while their asylum claims are pending.

Found: A 5-year settlement route would give fairness, stability, and dignity, reduce Home Office delays, and

We want the Government to remove Shabana Mahmood from the role of Home Secretary and appoint someone who makes fair decisions, listens to public concerns, and ensures policies do not unfairly extend settlement routes for people already in the UK.

Found: Many people feel recent Home Office proposals under Shabana Mahmood are unfair, especially for those

Ensure Skilled Worker visa holders already in the UK can complete their promised 5-year ILR pathway under the current rules, with no retroactive extensions or recalculations to their qualifying period when new settlement rules take effect.

Found: Migrants relied on clear Home Office rules when planning their lives and families.

Found: Office; Government Communication Headquarters; Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Home Office

Found: Services Network (ESN) The government masts referenced in this press notice are being built by the Home Office

Found: partnership with Greece bringing together the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Home Office

Found: Land Registry 20 HM Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor 21 HM Revenue and Customs 22 Home Office

Found: any time prior to the Commencement Date and/or during the term of this Contract appeared on the Home Office

Found: any time prior to the Commencement Date and/or during the term of this Contract appeared on the Home Office

Found: Other departments or agencies: Department for Health and Social Care, Department for Transport, Home Office

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

Found: -26_R07_PSF_v6 - WD9 1415 2025-26 Qtr1 - 25-26 Apr-25 418 HOF034 Home Office TOTAL DEL DEL ADMIN Home

Found: Inventory Artist/Maker Title Current location 410 Henry Marvell Carr Village of Dinton, January 1941 Home Office

Found: up to date In the following places:  One The FCDO main building on King Charles Street  Two The Home Office

Found: Competition, Markets and Regulatory Reform (CMRR) - DBT - CMRR - Office for Product Safety and Standards Home Office

Found: CMRR - Office for Product Safety and Standards

Found: Notwithstanding the existing data protection and records management framework, the Home Office has agreed

Found: Notwithstanding the existing data protection and records management framework, the Home Office has agreed

Found: The Home Office is in regular contact with police forces about protests, ensuring they have the powers

Found: with the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England (NHSE), the Welsh Government, the Home Office

Found: Child Placement Retired "Left institution" option Required to leave accommodation provided by Home Office

Found: Departure from institution : Required to leave accommodation provided by Home Office as asylum support

Found: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Q3 2025 Home Office

Found:

Found: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office [note 4] 532 391 0 141 6 HM Treasury 427 411 0 16 0 Home Office

Found: for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy … was responsible for regulating products and the Home Office

Found: Report from the Independent Family Returns Panel on recommendations to the Home Office for managing family

Found: 24 2 Chair’s Forward The Independent Family Returns Panel (IFRP) provides advice to the Home Office

Found:  Home Office Fire Statistics.  Insurance Industry Fire Loss Data.

Found: Home Office.

Found: The Home Office fire statistics for England do not provide much information regarding the experience

Found: The incident data is published by the Home Office. 11.10.6.

Found: In order to sponsor a worker an employer must hold a Home Office sponsor licence.

Found: Separately, we still await a response from the Home Office on the recommendations contained in our review

Found: In 2022, the Serious Violence Duty (Home Office, 2022) was Risk of Serious Violence of those already

Found: Services Network (ESN) The government masts referenced in this press notice are being built by the Home Office

Found: disadvantage insofar as the group is proportionately disadvantaged - see the discussion in Essop v Home Office

Found: partners including Viscount Camrose, Shadow Minister for AI, Lord Clement-Jones, Lee Barron MP and the Home Office

Found: 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF www.gov.uk/home-office Dr Sally Robinson Chair

Found: The Home Office has written a holding response to the Chair of the Animals in Science Committee’s advice

Found: For more advice on how to stay safe online, visit the Home Office Stop! Think Fraud website.

Found: and non-payroll) costs Comments 2025 November National Crime Agency Non-Ministerial Department Home Office

Found: sponsor team (including Home Office finance) • Fortnightly meetings with Home Office commercial •

Found: sponsor team (including Home Office finance) • Fortnightly meetings with Home Office commercial •

Found: The MCA acted as an intermediary before £175k was transferred to the Home Office.

Found: Related Policies/Procedures/Forms CNC Prevent Delivery Plan CNC Non-Home Office Policing Apprenticeship

Found: We consider an applicant to be employed in their arrival year if HMRC data matched with Home Office

Found: analysis using statistics from the Annual Population Survey (APS), Family Resources Survey (FRS), Home Office

Found: (MAC) is a non-statutory, non-time limited, non-departmental public body (NDPB) funded by the Home Office

Found: Separately, we still await a response from the Home Office on the recommendations contained in our review

Found: Security Agency - Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25 94 UKHSA has worked in partnership with the Home Office

Found: UKHSA has worked in partnership with the Home Office, NHS England, academia and voluntary organisations

Found: UKHSA has worked in partnership with the Home Office, NHS England, academia and voluntary organisations

Found: Proposals prepared by the Home Office and the SIA to implement MR7 include extending SIA licensing to

Found: Recommendations 7 and 8, Protect and Prepare 4th Floor NE, Peel Building, Homeland Security Group, Home Office

Found: Home Office fees); and • bank transaction fees, but excluding Counsel’s fees.

Found: Page 1 of 11 Published for Home Office staff on 16 December 2025

Found: with the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England (NHSE), the Welsh Government, the Home Office

Found: as: - Tara Service - Police Scotland - Migrant Help - Local authorities - Home Office

Found: London: Home Office. Council of Europe (2020).

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that existing households currently in need of housing are not adversely affected by pressures arising from issues concerning asylum seeker-related homelessness.

Answered by McAllan, Màiri - Cabinet Secretary for Housing

Our Housing Emergency Action Plan, published in September, is the Scottish Government’s ambitious route-map to ensuring that everyone in Scotland gets the support they need when facing homelessness. This financial year, the Scottish Government will invest £808 million in the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, including an £80 million targeted acquisitions fund to support local authorities with the most sustained temporary accommodation pressures. Our Housing Emergency Action Plan also committed £4.9 billion in a major affordable housing delivery programme to provide future funding certainty, positioning Scotland’s housing market as strong and open for investment. We will ensure action is taken to make the best use of existing housing, bring empty homes back into use, and support those who wish to – and are able to – buy their own home.

Local Authorities have a statutory duty to provide accommodation to anyone assessed as unintentionally homeless, with assessments based on housing need. I understand the pressures on housing and homelessness services local authorities are experiencing, and that in some areas, particularly Glasgow, this has been exacerbated by the Home Office’s streamlined asylum decision making process. I have written to the Secretary of State for the Home Office to ask for appropriate coordination to be put in place in response to the impact asylum policy decisions made at UK level are having on local authorities in Scotland, and for adequate funding to be provided to local authorities to ensure they are able to meet the housing needs of all.

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to help ensure a more even national distribution of asylum seekers and refugees across local authority areas.

Answered by Stewart, Kaukab - Minister for Equalities

Asylum is the process by which someone applies to the UK Government to have their refugee status recognised. Asylum is reserved to the UK Government, this includes the provision of asylum accommodation and support to those who would otherwise be destitute while waiting for a decision on their asylum application.

The Scottish Government supports widening of asylum dispersal in principle and expects the UK Government to effectively engage with local authorities and COSLA on operational planning.

The Home Office must work constructively with local authorities in Scotland to ensure any asylum dispersal plans developed do not adversely impact services and enable people seeking asylum to be supported within communities.

The Scottish Government has repeatedly raised the impact of reserved decisions on local authorities and services, particularly increased asylum decision making without provision of resources or adequate planning and urge the UK Government to avoid placing a greater strain on councils, especially in Glasgow where the situation is already unsustainable.

Found: Welsh Government resources on an area that is not devolved was to bridge a funding gap created by Home Office

Found: Since the 2021 inspection Operation Willow Beck has been developed in conjunction with Home Office,

Found: funding for the four Welsh police forces is delivered through a three-way arrangement involving the Home Office

Found: 31 March 2004 is equal to the supported borrowing figure for the relevant year available to the Home Office

Found: Commissioners, Provisional Police Settlement 2026-27 Following the announcement today by the Home Office

Found: Sources: Fire Incident Recording System;Fire statistics England (Home Office);Fire and Rescue Incident