Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her department has considered the use of AI to help tackle the backlog of asylum applications.

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

The Asylum Case Summarisation (ACS) tool uses artificial intelligence (AI) to summarise asylum interview transcripts. The Asylum Policy Search (APS) tool is an AI search assistant that finds and summarises country policy information. The tools were designed as an aid for decision-makers to improve efficiency but do not, and cannot, replace any part of the decision-making process. APS has been rolled out and is accessible to all Asylum decision makers and ACS development continues, with a full roll out planned in the new year. Further tooling is being worked on including an asylum letter writing assistant for caseworkers which supports the decision-maker in the drafting of outcome letters. It does not make the decision for the decision-maker.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made in appointing a chair to the National Inquiry into group based child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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

On 9 December 2025 the Home Secretary announced to Parliament the appointment of Baroness Anne Longfield CBE as Chair of the new Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs, and Zoë Billingham CBE and Eleanor Kelly CBE as Panel.

The Chair will consult on the draft Terms of Reference published alongside this announcement with a view to making recommendations to the Home Secretary who will agree the final Terms of Reference in March 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress her Department has made on the national statutory inquiry into grooming gangs.

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

On 9 December 2025 the Home Secretary announced to Parliament the appointment of Baroness Anne Longfield CBE as Chair of the new Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs, and Zoë Billingham CBE and Eleanor Kelly CBE as Panel.

The Chair will consult on the draft Terms of Reference published alongside this announcement with a view to making recommendations to the Home Secretary who will agree the final Terms of Reference in March 2026.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to extend the scope of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to include decapod crustaceans; and what the timeline is for any work required prior to the decision.

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

The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 recognises decapod crustaceans as sentient beings. The Government is committed to an evidence-based and proportionate approach to setting welfare standards for decapod crustaceans, both for those caught for human consumption and those used in scientific research.

The Home Office is carefully considering next steps, in collaboration with other relevant departments, on whether decapod crustaceans should be regulated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. No timeline has yet been set and decisions will follow further evidence gathering.

The Government is committed to non-animal alternatives in science and has published a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption. The strategy is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/replacing-animals-in-science-strategy/replacing-animals-in-science-a-strategy-to-support-the-development-validation-and-uptake-of-alternative-methods

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many in-person inspections were carried out by Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority officers on farms in Scotland in 2025.

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

The GLAA does not record ‘Complaints’ about licensed entities. Instead, it records ‘General Issues’ (referrals from members of the public, victims, workers, etc.) which may or may not be negative in nature.

Since 1 January 2025, the GLAA has received 11 ‘General Issues’ referrals relating to Scottish farms.

Since 1 January 2025, GLAA Officers have undertaken 16 in person inspection visits to farms in Scotland. These figures include compliance and enforcement inspections, as well as joint operations with other enforcement bodies.

As of November 2025, the GLAA has a total headcount of 117, with 2 members of staff currently based in Scotland.

The GLAA deploys members of staff from all over the UK to support operations wherever they are required. It is therefore not possible to provide an accurate breakdown of the number of staff who cover Scotland as part of their roles and responsibilities, as this will change depending on demand.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints were received by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority with reference to farms in Scotland in 2025.

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

The GLAA does not record ‘Complaints’ about licensed entities. Instead, it records ‘General Issues’ (referrals from members of the public, victims, workers, etc.) which may or may not be negative in nature.

Since 1 January 2025, the GLAA has received 11 ‘General Issues’ referrals relating to Scottish farms.

Since 1 January 2025, GLAA Officers have undertaken 16 in person inspection visits to farms in Scotland. These figures include compliance and enforcement inspections, as well as joint operations with other enforcement bodies.

As of November 2025, the GLAA has a total headcount of 117, with 2 members of staff currently based in Scotland.

The GLAA deploys members of staff from all over the UK to support operations wherever they are required. It is therefore not possible to provide an accurate breakdown of the number of staff who cover Scotland as part of their roles and responsibilities, as this will change depending on demand.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the total number of Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority staff; and how many of these staff are a) based in Scotland and b) cover Scotland in their role responsibilities.

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

The GLAA does not record ‘Complaints’ about licensed entities. Instead, it records ‘General Issues’ (referrals from members of the public, victims, workers, etc.) which may or may not be negative in nature.

Since 1 January 2025, the GLAA has received 11 ‘General Issues’ referrals relating to Scottish farms.

Since 1 January 2025, GLAA Officers have undertaken 16 in person inspection visits to farms in Scotland. These figures include compliance and enforcement inspections, as well as joint operations with other enforcement bodies.

As of November 2025, the GLAA has a total headcount of 117, with 2 members of staff currently based in Scotland.

The GLAA deploys members of staff from all over the UK to support operations wherever they are required. It is therefore not possible to provide an accurate breakdown of the number of staff who cover Scotland as part of their roles and responsibilities, as this will change depending on demand.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Violence Against Women and Girls strategy and delivery plan will include (a) funding and (b) measures to help tackle technology-facilitated domestic abuse.

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

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) in all of its forms, including abuse facilitated by technology, is a top priority for this government, with an unprecedented mission to halve it within a decade. The rapid development of technology has provided additional spaces for VAWG and equipped perpetrators with new ways to harass, intimidate, stalk and coerce women and girls. We will set out plans to address technology-facilitated VAWG in our forthcoming Strategy.

Following the Chancellor’s announcement on 11th June, we are working through the details of funding for tackling VAWG over the Spending Review period of 2026-2029. We will provide further details on funding when departmental budget allocations have been finalised

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the level of economic loss from AI-enabled fraud and scams.

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

The Government does not hold an estimate of the full socio-economic cost from AI enabled fraud. Not all incidents of fraud are reported but reports to Action Fraud which reference the suspected use of artificial intelligence resulted in estimated losses of £0.69m in 2023, £4.55m in 2024 and £3.74m in the period of January to September 2025. Action Fraud was replaced by the improved Report Fraud service on 4 December. It is a self-reporting tool, meaning those making reports will not always be aware if AI has been used and it is not possible to independently verify the use of AI generated content.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answers of 9 December 2025 to Question 96618 and 25 November 2025 to Question 94151, what assessment she has made of the risk of those involved in committing acts of terrorism being included in the commemoration events.

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

On 21 August next year, the nation will come together to pay tribute to victimsand survivors of terrorism.

The National Day is dedicated to remembering and recognising victims andsurvivors of terrorism, rather than the perpetrators of such attacks.

We will closely engage victims and survivors throughout the preparations toensure arrangements are sensitive to their needs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Home Office policy paper, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, published on 17 November, what assessment they have made of the impact of stopping refugee family reunion for those on the core protection route on refugees' (1) ability to economically contribute to the United Kingdom, and (2) reliance on state support.

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

The Government’s Asylum Policy Statement outlines the current challenges, the Government’s objectives, and a comprehensive package of measures to restore order, control, fairness and public confidence in the UK’s system. Specific Impact Assessments will be undertaken as policies are developed more fully. These will be kept under review to ensure that there are no unintended impacts on people with protected characteristics.

Further details on asylum reform, including support and contributions, will also be announced in due course.

The Asylum and Returns Policy Statement sets out the intention that we will review protection status for people who do not switch out of Core Protection. This is part of the wider package that seeks to incentivise people to switch (alongside the ability to earn down the time to settlement, and sponsor family members).

We cannot predict with any certainty what proportion of people will switch, although the system will be designed to ensure that switching is a viable option for the majority of people.

For those who do remain on Core Protection, reviews will be conducted on a targeted basis so that we can make the most efficient use of resources. The renewal stage will generally involve a simple security check, and we will set business rules to identify cases that warrant a manual intervention.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Home Office policy paper, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, published on 17 November, what assessment they have made of the cost to the (1) Home Office, and (2) legal aid budget, of reassessing refugee applications every 30 months over a 20-year period.

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

The Government’s Asylum Policy Statement outlines the current challenges, the Government’s objectives, and a comprehensive package of measures to restore order, control, fairness and public confidence in the UK’s system. Specific Impact Assessments will be undertaken as policies are developed more fully. These will be kept under review to ensure that there are no unintended impacts on people with protected characteristics.

Further details on asylum reform, including support and contributions, will also be announced in due course.

The Asylum and Returns Policy Statement sets out the intention that we will review protection status for people who do not switch out of Core Protection. This is part of the wider package that seeks to incentivise people to switch (alongside the ability to earn down the time to settlement, and sponsor family members).

We cannot predict with any certainty what proportion of people will switch, although the system will be designed to ensure that switching is a viable option for the majority of people.

For those who do remain on Core Protection, reviews will be conducted on a targeted basis so that we can make the most efficient use of resources. The renewal stage will generally involve a simple security check, and we will set business rules to identify cases that warrant a manual intervention.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Home Office policy paper, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, published on 17 November, what assessment they have made of the impact on local government finances relating to their duties to support destitute asylum seekers once the Government revoke their own duty to support.

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

The Government’s Asylum Policy Statement outlines the current challenges, the Government’s objectives, and a comprehensive package of measures to restore order, control, fairness and public confidence in the UK’s system. Specific Impact Assessments will be undertaken as policies are developed more fully. These will be kept under review to ensure that there are no unintended impacts on people with protected characteristics.

Further details on asylum reform, including support and contributions, will also be announced in due course.

The Asylum and Returns Policy Statement sets out the intention that we will review protection status for people who do not switch out of Core Protection. This is part of the wider package that seeks to incentivise people to switch (alongside the ability to earn down the time to settlement, and sponsor family members).

We cannot predict with any certainty what proportion of people will switch, although the system will be designed to ensure that switching is a viable option for the majority of people.

For those who do remain on Core Protection, reviews will be conducted on a targeted basis so that we can make the most efficient use of resources. The renewal stage will generally involve a simple security check, and we will set business rules to identify cases that warrant a manual intervention.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Home Office policy paper, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, published on 17 November, what assessment they have made of the impact of stopping refugee family reunion on the number of women and children arriving in the United Kingdom by irregular routes.

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

The Government’s Asylum Policy Statement outlines the current challenges, the Government’s objectives, and a comprehensive package of measures to restore order, control, fairness and public confidence in the UK’s system. Specific Impact Assessments will be undertaken as policies are developed more fully. These will be kept under review to ensure that there are no unintended impacts on people with protected characteristics.

Further details on asylum reform, including support and contributions, will also be announced in due course.

The Asylum and Returns Policy Statement sets out the intention that we will review protection status for people who do not switch out of Core Protection. This is part of the wider package that seeks to incentivise people to switch (alongside the ability to earn down the time to settlement, and sponsor family members).

We cannot predict with any certainty what proportion of people will switch, although the system will be designed to ensure that switching is a viable option for the majority of people.

For those who do remain on Core Protection, reviews will be conducted on a targeted basis so that we can make the most efficient use of resources. The renewal stage will generally involve a simple security check, and we will set business rules to identify cases that warrant a manual intervention.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many hotels were housing asylum seekers in (1) July 2023, (2) July 2024, and (3) either July 2025 or the most recent month for which data is available.

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

This Government recognises that hotels are not a sustainable solution for accommodating asylum seekers and remains committed to ending their use, already reducing the number in operation. We do not provide a running commentary on hotel numbers, our objective is to close all asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament, reducing costs to the taxpayer and restoring control to local communities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 25 November (HL11798), whether those in charge of hotels in which asylum seekers are house are required to inform the Home Office of any residents who have disappeared and what steps are taken to locate such residents.

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

Home Office accommodation is non-detained, asylum seekers are free to come and go from the sites.

The Home Office expects the highest standards from accommodation providers, who are expected to conduct regular checks across the asylum estate including reporting police for disappearing of asylum seekers. A detailed breakdown of all of the services to be undertaken by accommodation providers and the standards we expect can be found in the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts.

Schedule 2 to AASC contract provides:

Accurate and auditable daily site registers maintained in accordance with the Home Office’s requirements. The Provider must inform the Home Office as soon as they become aware of an unauthorised absence of an asylum seeker from the relevant Initial Accommodation

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 25 November (HL11798), whether those in charge of hotels in which asylum seekers are housed are required to keep accurate and up-to-date records of (1) current residents, and (2) residents who have disappeared.

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

Home Office accommodation is non-detained, asylum seekers are free to come and go from the sites.

The Home Office expects the highest standards from accommodation providers, who are expected to conduct regular checks across the asylum estate including reporting police for disappearing of asylum seekers. A detailed breakdown of all of the services to be undertaken by accommodation providers and the standards we expect can be found in the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts.

Schedule 2 to AASC contract provides:

Accurate and auditable daily site registers maintained in accordance with the Home Office’s requirements. The Provider must inform the Home Office as soon as they become aware of an unauthorised absence of an asylum seeker from the relevant Initial Accommodation

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Home Office policy paper, Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy, published on 17 November, whether they intend to detain in immigration detention centres children who were once accepted as refugees but subsequently not so, following a 30-month review of their status.

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

Pathways for unaccompanied children, families with children, and other vulnerable asylum seekers will be reviewed with full consideration of our EQIA and Section 55 duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK.

As now, children will not be detained in Immigration Removal Centres.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussion she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the estimate of the number of grooming gangs operating in Manchester.

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

Baroness Casey’s rapid national audit into group-based child sexual exploitation set out stark findings on the scale and nature of grooming gang offending. This government is absolutely committed to exposing the failures that have happened across the country and making sure that it can never happen again. We accepted all of Baroness Casey’s twelve recommendations and are working across government to implement these as quickly as possible. The Home Secretary announced the leadership and draft terms of reference of the new Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs on 9 December 2025.

To improve our understanding of and response to these crimes, the Home Office funds a number of policing capabilities, including the Tackling Organised Exploitation programme which uses data and intelligence to increase law enforcement’s capability to respond to organised exploitation. We also fund the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to improve how the police investigate child sexual exploitation and bring more offenders to justice. The Taskforce work directly with forces to improve data collection and analyse data on a national level. On 10 December 2025, the Taskforce published an annual data report for group-based offending in 2024, which can be found here: https://www.hydrantprogramme.co.uk/latest-news/new-police-recorded-csae-crime-data-analysis.

Neither the Taskforce nor the Home Office publishes data on offending within specific cities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussion she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the estimate of the number of grooming gangs operating in Liverpool.

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

Baroness Casey’s rapid national audit into group-based child sexual exploitation set out stark findings on the scale and nature of grooming gang offending. This government is absolutely committed to exposing the failures that have happened across the country and making sure that it can never happen again. We accepted all of Baroness Casey’s twelve recommendations and are working across government to implement these as quickly as possible. The Home Secretary announced the leadership and draft terms of reference of the new Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs on 9 December 2025.

To improve our understanding of and response to these crimes, the Home Office funds a number of policing capabilities, including the Tackling Organised Exploitation programme which uses data and intelligence to increase law enforcement’s capability to respond to organised exploitation. We also fund the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to improve how the police investigate child sexual exploitation and bring more offenders to justice. The Taskforce work directly with forces to improve data collection and analyse data on a national level. On 10 December 2025, the Taskforce published an annual data report for group-based offending in 2024, which can be found here: https://www.hydrantprogramme.co.uk/latest-news/new-police-recorded-csae-crime-data-analysis.

Neither the Taskforce nor the Home Office publishes data on offending within specific cities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many grooming gangs her Department is aware of operating in London.

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

Baroness Casey’s rapid national audit into group-based child sexual exploitation set out stark findings on the scale and nature of grooming gang offending. This government is absolutely committed to exposing the failures that have happened across the country and making sure that it can never happen again. We accepted all of Baroness Casey’s twelve recommendations and are working across government to implement these as quickly as possible. The Home Secretary announced the leadership and draft terms of reference of the new Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs on 9 December 2025.

To improve our understanding of and response to these crimes, the Home Office funds a number of policing capabilities, including the Tackling Organised Exploitation programme which uses data and intelligence to increase law enforcement’s capability to respond to organised exploitation. We also fund the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to improve how the police investigate child sexual exploitation and bring more offenders to justice. The Taskforce work directly with forces to improve data collection and analyse data on a national level. On 10 December 2025, the Taskforce published an annual data report for group-based offending in 2024, which can be found here: https://www.hydrantprogramme.co.uk/latest-news/new-police-recorded-csae-crime-data-analysis.

Neither the Taskforce nor the Home Office publishes data on offending within specific cities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to apply for UK membership of Eurodac.

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

The UK-EU Summit on 19 May set out a framework for future cooperation on migration issues. We are working closely with EU partners to deliver new capability as it is crucial part of our response to Illegal Migration. We will not provide a running commentary of these negotiations

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent immigration rules abuse where people on tourist visas claim asylum.

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

All visitors must be able to demonstrate that they are genuine and will leave the UK at the end of their visit. The Visitor route is not intended to facilitate individuals travelling to the UK with the intention of claiming asylum. Visitor visa applications are rigorously assessed against the Immigration Rules.

We are committed to further strengthening the integrity of visa decision making by continuing to apply greater scrutiny to those where there is evidence to demonstrate a greater risk of an asylum claim once in the UK — ensuring that visas are only issued to genuine visitors.

This government has also taken decisive action to address instances of individuals using visa-free travel to reach the UK and claim asylum. As a result, we have introduced visa requirements for Jordan, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Botswana. Where we have data available (the requirement for Botswana was only introduced on 14 October 2025) this action has been extremely effective: asylum seekers from Jordan, Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago have fallen by 93% and asylum seekers at port have fallen by 99% from their peak prior to the introduction of a visa requirement compared to Q3 2025.

Where countries are not cooperating on the return of their nationals who have no right to be in the UK, including failed asylum seekers, we will not hesitate to use the visa system (particularly visit visas) to bring about better cooperation. As announced on 17 November, we have told Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Namibia that if they do not comply with international rules and norms, we will impose visa penalties on them.

Unless other countries heed this lesson, further sanctions will follow.

Any asylum claim that is then subsequently lodged from within the UK and admitted to the UK asylum system, is given full and careful consideration. Our approach is to promptly consider asylum claims, with a rapid appeals process, so that claims from genuine asylum seekers can be accepted, and those that are not, can be rejected.

The Government’s recently published Asylum Policy Statement sets out significant reforms to the UK’s asylum and illegal migration system. The Statement outlines the current challenges, the Government’s objectives, and a comprehensive package of measures to restore order, control, fairness and public confidence in the system.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to end the for-profit system of housing people seeking asylum.

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

The Home Office is undertaking reforms to the asylum accommodation estate, including pilot schemes to repurpose derelict buildings and to develop other community-led alternatives to the use of hotels. This work will help inform the future operating model, currently being developed as part of the Asylum Support Accommodation Programme, which is leading on plans for the replacement of the current Asylum Accommodation Support Contracts (AASC).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the nationalities of people detained for removal caught working illegally as delivery drivers.

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

The Home Office takes the issue of illegal working seriously and continues to take robust enforcement action against those who breach immigration laws.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Croydon Magistrates' Court's 8 December sentencing of a resident of the Four Points Hotel in Horley, what steps she is taking to end the use of the Four Points Hotel to house asylum seekers.

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

Hotel closure will be 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, whether her Department is taking steps with the French authorities on the development of an app for remote registration at the Short Straits crossing following the rollout of the EU Entry Exit System.

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

We continue to engage Member States, including France, on the use of technology for remote EES registration. Ultimately, this is a matter for the European Commission and Member States.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of irregular migrants currently residing in Great Yarmouth and the resource implications for local authorities.

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

The Home Office has, since 2022, operated a system of Full Dispersal which works to ensure that asylum accommodation is spread equitably and fairly across the UK. Procurement of accommodation is driven by a set of evidence-based plans, which are reviewed regularly with Local Government, and which consider a range of factors, including the availability of housing, pressure on services and community cohesion, to ensure that no one area is overburdened.

Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including accommodation type, and broken down into Local Authority area, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab of our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent the concentration of high-need migrant cohorts in deprived coastal communities such as Great Yarmouth.

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

The Home Office has, since 2022, operated a system of Full Dispersal which works to ensure that asylum accommodation is spread equitably and fairly across the UK. Procurement of accommodation is driven by a set of evidence-based plans, which are reviewed regularly with Local Government, and which consider a range of factors, including the availability of housing, pressure on services and community cohesion, to ensure that no one area is overburdened.

Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including accommodation type, and broken down into Local Authority area, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab of our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on ending the use of asylum hotels; and what the savings will be for a) Southport, b) the North West and c) the UK.

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, and the government remains committed to closing every hotel by the end of this Parliament. We have already saved £700 million in hotel costs. Now we are recouping millions more in excess profits. And, by the end of this parliament, we will have closed every asylum hotel.

The Home Office publishes all available information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (opens an new tab).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to page 122 of the OBR, Economic and Fiscal Outlook, November 2025, CP1439, 26 November 2025, what is her department’s estimated spending on asylum in 2024-25 and each year of the Spending Review.

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

Asylum support spend in FY 2024/25 was £4.0 billion and for 2025/26 the budget is £3.6 billion. As per the Spending Review, by FY 2028/29, we plan to reduce this by £1.1 billion, bringing the total spend down to £2.5 billion. The allocations process is ongoing to profile this expenditure and confirm budgets for each year, which will then be published in the Main Estimate.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing asylum expenditure data by constituency.

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

The department publishes asylum expenditure data at national or regional level, which is more robust and meaningful for policy and operational purposes.

All available information on asylum expenditure is published in the Home Office Annual Report and accounts at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab). Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, and by local authority can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of migrants that arrived in the UK by small boat that possess a criminal record either in the UK or abroad.

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

The Home Office conducts mandatory identity and security checks on all small boat arrivals.

As part of this process, the Home Office collects biometric data—such as facial images and fingerprints—to verify identity. These biometrics are checked against Home Office systems and other law enforcement databases, including Interpol’s wanted list. This enables us to identify individuals, assess whether they pose a risk to public safety, and determine any breaches of immigration law. These checks are essential to maintaining a secure, fair, and effective immigration system.

Under previous legislation anyone convicted of a serious crime with a conviction of 12 months or more and are considered a danger to the UK, will be denied asylum and will be considered for removal from the UK. This Government has gone further under the new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act to ensure anyone convicted of any offence under Schedule 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 will be excluded from the protection of the Refugee Convention.

Those refused protection status who cannot be removed will be subject to regular review until they can be removed at the earliest opportunity.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what action her Department is taking to tackle anti-social behaviour in rural towns and villages in South Shropshire constituency.

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

Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour is a top priority for this Government.

Under the Government's Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we are putting neighbourhood officers back into communities and restoring public confidence by bringing back community-led, visible policing. West Mercia Police will receive £3,108,283 as part of the funding settlement for 2025-26.

In addition, the Home Office is providing £66.3 million funding in 2025-26 to all 43 forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime, serious violence and anti-social behaviour. As part of the Hotspot Action Fund, West Mercia Police will be in receipt of £1,000,000.

The Winter of Action which commenced on the 1 December 2025 and will run to 31 January 2026, is currently underway, focusing on making town centres safer across England and Wales. This initiative builds on the Safer Streets Summer Initiative, continuing efforts to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour, while also addressing retail crime and night-time economy offences, particularly during darker evenings when risks to public safety increase. West Mercia have listed 14 areas, and Shropshire have listed 3 areas as part of the Winter of Action.

Through our Crime and Policing Bill, we are making our streets and neighbourhoods safer by strengthening the powers available to the police and other agencies to tackle anti-social behaviour. This includes introducing new Respect Orders to give local agencies stronger enforcement capability to tackle the most persistent adult anti-social behaviour offenders, and powers for the police to seize nuisance off-road bikes, and other vehicles which are being used in an anti-social manner, without having to first give a warning to the offender.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of cameras used in facial recognition technology are made in the UK.

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

The information requested is not held by the Home Office. Decisions on the procurement of cameras used in facial recognition technology are for individual police forces and other relevant authorities. Procurement decisions by police forces must comply with UK procurement law, including the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Procurement Act 2023, and relevant Cabinet Office guidance on supply chain risk. They are also expected to follow the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice issued under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. In addition, forces have been advised to consider supply chain security and have received guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Cabinet Office on the use of Chinese-manufactured surveillance equipment.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of (a) named day questions and (b) ordinary written questions were responded to by her Department within the required timescale in (i) May 2025, (ii) June 2025, (iii) July 2025, (iv) August 2025, (v) September 2025, (vi) October 2025 and (vii) November 2025.

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

The Government recognises the importance of the effective and timelyhandling of written parliamentary questions (PQs).The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the government’s consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral answer of 26 November 2025, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 1331, on West Midlands Police: Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans, whether she has asked the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police if (a) West Midlands Police and (b) Safety Advisory Group were subject to partisan campaigning calling for the banning of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv Europa League game of 6 November 2025.

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

I wrote to the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police on 24 November to request an urgent update clarifying the provenance of the intelligence gathered by his force and his confidence in this. The Chief Constable replied on 28 November. I again wrote on 10 December, in the interests of transparency, seeking clarification of the engagement the West Midlands Police undertook with Jewish community stakeholders to inform its community impact assessment.

The Home Office routinely engages with international partners as part of its departmental interests in policing, border security and immigration. Officials have met with Dutch counterparts in recent weeks on these matters, including as part of efforts to ensure full transparency around the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the fixture against Aston Villa in November.

The gathering and assessment of police intelligence is a matter for West Midlands Police, and the United Kingdom Football Policing Unit who undertake the role of National Football Information Point.

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

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

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral answer of 26 November 2025, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 1331, on West Midlands Police: Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans, whether she has asked the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police to publicly disclose the list of (a) individuals and (b) organisations which provided information to that police force in relation to the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv Europa League game of 6 November 2025.

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

I wrote to the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police on 24 November to request an urgent update clarifying the provenance of the intelligence gathered by his force and his confidence in this. The Chief Constable replied on 28 November. I again wrote on 10 December, in the interests of transparency, seeking clarification of the engagement the West Midlands Police undertook with Jewish community stakeholders to inform its community impact assessment.

The Home Office routinely engages with international partners as part of its departmental interests in policing, border security and immigration. Officials have met with Dutch counterparts in recent weeks on these matters, including as part of efforts to ensure full transparency around the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the fixture against Aston Villa in November.

The gathering and assessment of police intelligence is a matter for West Midlands Police, and the United Kingdom Football Policing Unit who undertake the role of National Football Information Point.

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

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

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Oral Answer of 26 November 2025, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 1331, on West Midlands Police: Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans, what recent discussions she has had with the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police on the Hind Rajab Foundation providing information to that police force in relation to the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv Europe League game of 6 November 2025.

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

I wrote to the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police on 24 November to request an urgent update clarifying the provenance of the intelligence gathered by his force and his confidence in this. The Chief Constable replied on 28 November. I again wrote on 10 December, in the interests of transparency, seeking clarification of the engagement the West Midlands Police undertook with Jewish community stakeholders to inform its community impact assessment.

The Home Office routinely engages with international partners as part of its departmental interests in policing, border security and immigration. Officials have met with Dutch counterparts in recent weeks on these matters, including as part of efforts to ensure full transparency around the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the fixture against Aston Villa in November.

The gathering and assessment of police intelligence is a matter for West Midlands Police, and the United Kingdom Football Policing Unit who undertake the role of National Football Information Point.

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

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

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral answer of 26 November 2025, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 1331, on West Midlands Police: Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans, whether she has asked the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police if that police force received intelligence input from other police forces in England in relation to the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv Europa League game of 6 November 2025.

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

I wrote to the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police on 24 November to request an urgent update clarifying the provenance of the intelligence gathered by his force and his confidence in this. The Chief Constable replied on 28 November. I again wrote on 10 December, in the interests of transparency, seeking clarification of the engagement the West Midlands Police undertook with Jewish community stakeholders to inform its community impact assessment.

The Home Office routinely engages with international partners as part of its departmental interests in policing, border security and immigration. Officials have met with Dutch counterparts in recent weeks on these matters, including as part of efforts to ensure full transparency around the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the fixture against Aston Villa in November.

The gathering and assessment of police intelligence is a matter for West Midlands Police, and the United Kingdom Football Policing Unit who undertake the role of National Football Information Point.

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

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

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Pursuant to the oral answer of 26 November 2025, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 1331, on West Midlands Police: Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans, following statements from Dutch police authorities on the assessment of West Midlands Police about (a) Maccabi Tel Aviv fans and (b) violence around the Ajax v Maccabi Tel Aviv Europa League game in November 2024, what recent discussions she has had with the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police.

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

I wrote to the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police on 24 November to request an urgent update clarifying the provenance of the intelligence gathered by his force and his confidence in this. The Chief Constable replied on 28 November. I again wrote on 10 December, in the interests of transparency, seeking clarification of the engagement the West Midlands Police undertook with Jewish community stakeholders to inform its community impact assessment.

The Home Office routinely engages with international partners as part of its departmental interests in policing, border security and immigration. Officials have met with Dutch counterparts in recent weeks on these matters, including as part of efforts to ensure full transparency around the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the fixture against Aston Villa in November.

The gathering and assessment of police intelligence is a matter for West Midlands Police, and the United Kingdom Football Policing Unit who undertake the role of National Football Information Point.

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

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

Question to the Home Office:

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

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

I wrote to the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police on 24 November to request an urgent update clarifying the provenance of the intelligence gathered by his force and his confidence in this. The Chief Constable replied on 28 November. I again wrote on 10 December, in the interests of transparency, seeking clarification of the engagement the West Midlands Police undertook with Jewish community stakeholders to inform its community impact assessment.

The Home Office routinely engages with international partners as part of its departmental interests in policing, border security and immigration. Officials have met with Dutch counterparts in recent weeks on these matters, including as part of efforts to ensure full transparency around the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending the fixture against Aston Villa in November.

The gathering and assessment of police intelligence is a matter for West Midlands Police, and the United Kingdom Football Policing Unit who undertake the role of National Football Information Point.

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

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

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what evidential basis the Minister of State for Immigration said on 3 September 2025 that her Department does not hold any central record of the requested information on foreign nationals who have absconded after being served with a deportation order.

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

The information requested on the number of foreign national offenders (including the previous request under UIN 74872) and irregular migrants who are classified as absconders is not currently available from published statistics. Nor is the breakdown of those figures by risk category, criminal history and nationality.

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

Whilst local management information is held on absconder numbers and updated in line with operational need, this is used only for local management purposes. This data has not been verified or checked for accuracy to a standard that would make it suitable for publication, or to be provided to Members of Parliament. Obtaining the detailed information that has been requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple Home Office systems and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

With regard to the question about foreign national offenders who have been either re-apprehended or deported, such individuals in these circumstances would no longer be classified as absconders on Home Office systems. Similarly, irregular migrants in the total absconder pool who have been located or removed from the UK would no longer be classified as absconders.

With regard to the assessment of the potential public safety risk posed by foreign national offenders and irregular migrants recorded in the total absconder pool, joint working between Immigration Enforcement (IE), National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) helps tackle threats posed by high-harm foreign national offenders within the community. This initiative is not directly linked to individuals who have absconded.

This initiative has developed a harm score threat assessment to ensure that multiagency efforts are able to utilise a risk-based prioritisation approach. The release of the methods utilised to calculate these risks would prejudice ongoing operational activity and is therefore not considered to be in the public interest to disclose this methodology.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2025 to Question 74872 on Deportation, whether this remains the case.

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

The information requested on the number of foreign national offenders (including the previous request under UIN 74872) and irregular migrants who are classified as absconders is not currently available from published statistics. Nor is the breakdown of those figures by risk category, criminal history and nationality.

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

Whilst local management information is held on absconder numbers and updated in line with operational need, this is used only for local management purposes. This data has not been verified or checked for accuracy to a standard that would make it suitable for publication, or to be provided to Members of Parliament. Obtaining the detailed information that has been requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple Home Office systems and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

With regard to the question about foreign national offenders who have been either re-apprehended or deported, such individuals in these circumstances would no longer be classified as absconders on Home Office systems. Similarly, irregular migrants in the total absconder pool who have been located or removed from the UK would no longer be classified as absconders.

With regard to the assessment of the potential public safety risk posed by foreign national offenders and irregular migrants recorded in the total absconder pool, joint working between Immigration Enforcement (IE), National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) helps tackle threats posed by high-harm foreign national offenders within the community. This initiative is not directly linked to individuals who have absconded.

This initiative has developed a harm score threat assessment to ensure that multiagency efforts are able to utilise a risk-based prioritisation approach. The release of the methods utilised to calculate these risks would prejudice ongoing operational activity and is therefore not considered to be in the public interest to disclose this methodology.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding is available from her Department for local crime prevention measures in rural areas.

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

Rural crime can have devastating consequences for countryside communities and the agricultural sector.

We are improving the protections for rural communities, with tougher measures to clamp down on equipment theft, anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing and stronger measures to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping.

This financial year the Home Office has provided the first Government funding since 2023 for the National Rural Crime Unit (£365,000) as well as continuing funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit (£450,000). The National Rural Crime Unit work with police forces and rural communities to promote the use of crime prevention measures such as Rural Watch.

We have also worked closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to deliver their updated Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy for 2025-2028. The strategy highlights how policing can assist in the prevention of crime in rural areas.

It is the responsibility of Chief Constables and locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), including Mayors who exercise PCC or equivalent functions, to take decisions around the allocation of their funding and resources.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when total absconder pool figures were first compiled; and how frequently those figures have been updated since.

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

The information requested on the number of foreign national offenders (including the previous request under UIN 74872) and irregular migrants who are classified as absconders is not currently available from published statistics. Nor is the breakdown of those figures by risk category, criminal history and nationality.

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

Whilst local management information is held on absconder numbers and updated in line with operational need, this is used only for local management purposes. This data has not been verified or checked for accuracy to a standard that would make it suitable for publication, or to be provided to Members of Parliament. Obtaining the detailed information that has been requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple Home Office systems and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

With regard to the question about foreign national offenders who have been either re-apprehended or deported, such individuals in these circumstances would no longer be classified as absconders on Home Office systems. Similarly, irregular migrants in the total absconder pool who have been located or removed from the UK would no longer be classified as absconders.

With regard to the assessment of the potential public safety risk posed by foreign national offenders and irregular migrants recorded in the total absconder pool, joint working between Immigration Enforcement (IE), National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) helps tackle threats posed by high-harm foreign national offenders within the community. This initiative is not directly linked to individuals who have absconded.

This initiative has developed a harm score threat assessment to ensure that multiagency efforts are able to utilise a risk-based prioritisation approach. The release of the methods utilised to calculate these risks would prejudice ongoing operational activity and is therefore not considered to be in the public interest to disclose this methodology.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) foreign national offenders and (b) irregular migrants are in the total absconder pool by risk category, criminal history and nationality.

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

The information requested on the number of foreign national offenders (including the previous request under UIN 74872) and irregular migrants who are classified as absconders is not currently available from published statistics. Nor is the breakdown of those figures by risk category, criminal history and nationality.

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

Whilst local management information is held on absconder numbers and updated in line with operational need, this is used only for local management purposes. This data has not been verified or checked for accuracy to a standard that would make it suitable for publication, or to be provided to Members of Parliament. Obtaining the detailed information that has been requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple Home Office systems and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

With regard to the question about foreign national offenders who have been either re-apprehended or deported, such individuals in these circumstances would no longer be classified as absconders on Home Office systems. Similarly, irregular migrants in the total absconder pool who have been located or removed from the UK would no longer be classified as absconders.

With regard to the assessment of the potential public safety risk posed by foreign national offenders and irregular migrants recorded in the total absconder pool, joint working between Immigration Enforcement (IE), National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) helps tackle threats posed by high-harm foreign national offenders within the community. This initiative is not directly linked to individuals who have absconded.

This initiative has developed a harm score threat assessment to ensure that multiagency efforts are able to utilise a risk-based prioritisation approach. The release of the methods utilised to calculate these risks would prejudice ongoing operational activity and is therefore not considered to be in the public interest to disclose this methodology.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the findings of the report by the National Physical Laboratory, published on 4 December 2025, on the use of facial recognition technologies by the police.

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

The Government has already taken action to address the findings of the National Physical Laboratory’s report on the algorithm used for retrospective facial recognition within the Police National Database.

The Home Office commissioned the report as the provider of the system, to enable police forces as the users of the system to assure themselves that they were meeting their Public Sector Equality Duty, specifically with respect to bias mitigation. The National Police Chiefs Council have led on this for policing by reviewing training and guidance. The Home Office has also commissioned His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to ensure these mitigations are consistent and robust.

Furthermore, a replacement system with a new algorithm has been procured and independently tested. This testing has been published and shows that the system can be used with no statistically significant bias. It is due to be operationally tested early next year and will be subject to further evaluation.

On 4 December 2025, we also started a public consultation that asks for views on a new legal framework for law enforcement use of facial recognition and other biometric technologies. The consultation includes questions on oversight arrangements and proposes creating a new regulatory and oversight body. We envisage this body would directly address issues such as potential bias in algorithms, potentially through powers, subject to legislation, to provide assurance that law enforcement use of biometric technologies is legal, responsible, and necessary.

Given the importance of this issue, we have also asked the HMICFRS, alongside the Forensic Science Regulator, to review law enforcement’s use of facial recognition. They will assess the effectiveness of the mitigations, which the National Police Chiefs Council supports.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many civil servants are assigned to locating absconded foreign national offenders and irregular migrants; and whether performance targets are in place for reducing the size of the absconder pool.

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

The cost of collating information on absconders will depend on a range of variable factors, including the level of detail required and where the information is held. Extracting information from multiple databases and datasets may also involve manual scrutiny of individual records. Given these variables, any general estimate would be unreliable with assessments instead being made in response to individual requests and the specific circumstances.

The Home Office has a range of tools to trace those who abscond, the number of staff involved in tracing activity varies across Immigration Enforcement depending on operational need, with c.65 staff currently dedicated to tracing activities, aswell as resources elsewhere within the Migration and Borders System, who are responsible for recording information when individuals are found or come back into contact. The number of absconders recorded on Home Office systems can fluctuate and there are no formal targets linked to a reduction in the number. The Home Office works closely with the police, other government agencies, commercial companies and international partners to trace absconders and bring them back into contact. Where new contact details are found we will consider the most appropriate intervention for the person including arrest and detention.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of collating information on absconders.

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

The cost of collating information on absconders will depend on a range of variable factors, including the level of detail required and where the information is held. Extracting information from multiple databases and datasets may also involve manual scrutiny of individual records. Given these variables, any general estimate would be unreliable with assessments instead being made in response to individual requests and the specific circumstances.

The Home Office has a range of tools to trace those who abscond, the number of staff involved in tracing activity varies across Immigration Enforcement depending on operational need, with c.65 staff currently dedicated to tracing activities, aswell as resources elsewhere within the Migration and Borders System, who are responsible for recording information when individuals are found or come back into contact. The number of absconders recorded on Home Office systems can fluctuate and there are no formal targets linked to a reduction in the number. The Home Office works closely with the police, other government agencies, commercial companies and international partners to trace absconders and bring them back into contact. Where new contact details are found we will consider the most appropriate intervention for the person including arrest and detention.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many irregular migrants in the total absconder pool (a) have been located, (b) have been removed from the UK and (c) remain at large as of the most recent date for which data is available.

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

The information requested on the number of foreign national offenders (including the previous request under UIN 74872) and irregular migrants who are classified as absconders is not currently available from published statistics. Nor is the breakdown of those figures by risk category, criminal history and nationality.

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

Whilst local management information is held on absconder numbers and updated in line with operational need, this is used only for local management purposes. This data has not been verified or checked for accuracy to a standard that would make it suitable for publication, or to be provided to Members of Parliament. Obtaining the detailed information that has been requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple Home Office systems and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

With regard to the question about foreign national offenders who have been either re-apprehended or deported, such individuals in these circumstances would no longer be classified as absconders on Home Office systems. Similarly, irregular migrants in the total absconder pool who have been located or removed from the UK would no longer be classified as absconders.

With regard to the assessment of the potential public safety risk posed by foreign national offenders and irregular migrants recorded in the total absconder pool, joint working between Immigration Enforcement (IE), National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) helps tackle threats posed by high-harm foreign national offenders within the community. This initiative is not directly linked to individuals who have absconded.

This initiative has developed a harm score threat assessment to ensure that multiagency efforts are able to utilise a risk-based prioritisation approach. The release of the methods utilised to calculate these risks would prejudice ongoing operational activity and is therefore not considered to be in the public interest to disclose this methodology.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential public safety risk posed by foreign national offenders and irregular migrants recorded in the total absconder pool; and what risk categories are used in that assessment.

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

The information requested on the number of foreign national offenders (including the previous request under UIN 74872) and irregular migrants who are classified as absconders is not currently available from published statistics. Nor is the breakdown of those figures by risk category, criminal history and nationality.

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

Whilst local management information is held on absconder numbers and updated in line with operational need, this is used only for local management purposes. This data has not been verified or checked for accuracy to a standard that would make it suitable for publication, or to be provided to Members of Parliament. Obtaining the detailed information that has been requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple Home Office systems and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

With regard to the question about foreign national offenders who have been either re-apprehended or deported, such individuals in these circumstances would no longer be classified as absconders on Home Office systems. Similarly, irregular migrants in the total absconder pool who have been located or removed from the UK would no longer be classified as absconders.

With regard to the assessment of the potential public safety risk posed by foreign national offenders and irregular migrants recorded in the total absconder pool, joint working between Immigration Enforcement (IE), National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) helps tackle threats posed by high-harm foreign national offenders within the community. This initiative is not directly linked to individuals who have absconded.

This initiative has developed a harm score threat assessment to ensure that multiagency efforts are able to utilise a risk-based prioritisation approach. The release of the methods utilised to calculate these risks would prejudice ongoing operational activity and is therefore not considered to be in the public interest to disclose this methodology.

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: Operating status of the FAL (i) The Forensic Archive Ltd (FAL) is an arms-length body of the Home Office

Found: falls between the Whitehall remits of the Department for Science, Technology and Innovation, the 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: Home Secretary 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF www.gov.uk/home-office Dame Chi Onwurah DBE MP Chair

Found: , op cit, paragraph 37; and Hansard HC, Report, 3 June 1981 : Cols 979-980 per Timothy Raison, Home Office

Found: reducing unnecessary criminalisation in care developed jointly by the Department for Education, Home Office

Found: At the same time we are working with Home Office to support 27 forces to adopt audio-visual and multimedia

Found: I was also in touch with the CST and the Home Office, and I had a call with the Chief Rabbi last night

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.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the accuracy of Home Office travel data used in determining immigration status; whether this has involved 24,000 families having their child benefit stopped; whether any failures in accurate determinations would breach the principles of accuracy, fairness and transparency set out in the UK General Data Protection Regulation; and whether they plan to cease the use of Home Office data in assessing immigration status.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC do not use Home Office international travel data to determine immigration status. HMRC uses the data as a starting point for identifying potential unreported absences from the UK. Undetected changes to an individual’s residency status are a leading cause of Child Benefit error and fraud.

HMRC’s Chief Executive wrote to the Treasury Select Committee on 14 November 2025 about this matter including the corrective action that HMRC is taking. This letter was subsequently published by the Committee on 18 November 2025.

It was understood from the outset and made clear by the Home Office that its international travel data could not be used in isolation to determine Child Benefit entitlement, therefore requiring HMRC to conduct its own checks and enquires with recipients to establish eligibility. The same data was used during a pilot in 2024 which allowed HMRC to focus their enquiries on less than 2% of recipients while preventing £17m in incorrect payments. This led to the expansion of the measure and investment in an additional 180 counter-fraud staff, announced at the Budget in 2024 and is expected to save around £350 million over the next five years.

When using international travel data complemented by a check of UK employment using the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system, HMRC will no longer suspend payments at the outset of its enquiries. Instead, recipients will be given at least one month to evidence their entitlement. HMRC will continue to iterate the process where its monitoring and learning suggests that it should make further changes.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025 to Question 86754 on Railways: Industrial Disputes and 2 December 2025 to Question 93782 on British Transport Police: Industrial Disputes, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of Section 280 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 when applied to the British Transport Police.

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

Section 280 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 is applicable to the British Transport Police as it is for a Home Office force. The effect of section 280(1) is to remove police officers from the statutory protections set out in legislation for those who take industrial action. Therefore, if BTP constables were to strike they would have no access to the legal protections provided in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 that other workers have when they strike. The definition of “police service” is set out in section 280(2) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 and would include the constables of the British Transport Police.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that the British Transport Police works with (a) her Department, (b) Network Rail and (b) train operating companies to reduce pedal-cycle theft at railway stations, including through collaboration on prevention measures such as secure cycle parking, lighting and CCTV coverage.

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

The Department is committed to working with the rail industry and the British Transport Police (BTP) to ensure that the railway remains a safe environment for passengers and rail staff.

BTP works in partnership with rail operators to make stations hostile environments for potential bike thieves with measures focused on cycle storage. The force frequently works with rail operators, local partners and Home Office police forces, to run public events that raise awareness of preventative measures passengers can take to deter criminals, and offer services such as offering free bike marking.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when statutory guidance will be produced on the duty to collaborate under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024; and what plans the Government has to ensure its implementation following the decision to abolish PCCs and the upcoming changes to integrated care boards.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

We will work closely with the Home Office and the Department for Health and Social care as Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Integrated Care Board reforms unfold and this will inform our consideration of implementation of the Duty to Collaborate under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024. The Ministry of Justice has recently announced that it will be investing £550 million in victim support services over the next three years – the biggest investment in victim support services to date.

We are taking this opportunity to review and strengthen the commissioning and delivery of victims’ services. In light of the announcement to abolish the PCC function in May 2028, we will also explore changes to the delivery of victims funding to ensure this is delivered in the best way in the future.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 25 November (HL11797), what steps they take to ensure that those living in the vicinity of a prison are notified in the event that a foreign national offender is released without being deported immediately.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

There is no mechanism to notify the public living in the vicinity of a prison if a Foreign National Offender (FNO) is released.

When a FNO is released into the community, they are subject to supervision and monitoring by the probation service in the same way British citizens released from prison would be. The Home Office will pursue removal of FNOs whether in prison or the community where a deportation order has been made.

The HMPPS Victim Contact Scheme provides a service for the victims of offenders who are convicted of a specified violent, sexual or terrorism offence and are sentenced to twelve months or more imprisonment. Victims who decide to receive the service are allocated a Victim Liaison Officer who will keep the victim updated on key stages throughout the sentence, including when the offender (whether FNO or not) is released.

In the year-ending October 2025, over 5,400 FNOs have been returned which is 12% higher than the 12 months prior.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many meetings her Department has held with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency to discuss (a) number plate cloning and (b) the use of ghost plates.

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

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) co-chairs the Number Plate and ANPR Working Group with the National Police Chiefs Council. Members of the group include various police forces, the Department for Transport, the Home Office and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. The group meets bi-monthly to discuss number plate related matters, including cloned and ghost plates.

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 support SMEs to (a) implement cybersecurity measures and (b) procure AI systems securely; and whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing (i) subsidised support and (ii) guidance to tackle the cost pressures that prevent small businesses from adopting secure-by-design practices.

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

Improving the cyber security of our nation’s SMEs is critical to the resilience of the wider economy. The Government provides free tools, guidance, and training to help SMEs implement cyber security measures. This includes the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC’s) recently launched Cyber Action Toolkit which provides SMEs with tailored advice.

The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) and the NCSC, have introduced several voluntary Codes of Practice, covering Software, AI, and apps and app stores. These measures, co-designed with industry and experts, set minimum security requirements and support SMEs to securely adopt AI systems.

We will continue to work with industry and monitor the impact of these Codes of Practice. This will enable us to assess their effectiveness and consider further guidance and incentives to help SMEs confidently implement secure-by-design practices in a cost-efficient way. For immediate assistance, SMEs should get in touch with their regional Cyber Resilience Centre, which are run by the police and the Home Office, and offer free cyber advice and support to SMEs.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the written evidence submitted by the Home Office to the Home Affairs Select Committee inquiry on the Home Office's management of asylum accommodation, AAC0141, HC 580, which local authorities are participating in pilots relating to the Accommodation Strategy.

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

This Government is committed to ending the use of asylum hotels. To support that goal, we are investing £500 million in a new, more sustainable asylum accommodation model, developed in consultation with local authorities. This will help make available basic alternative accommodation so that it can be used on a temporary basis to house asylum seekers waiting for their cases to be processed. Our ambition is that this investment will leave a lasting legacy of housing for local communities and reduce pressure on local housing markets.

This new funding will complement ongoing Home Office reforms to the asylum accommodation estate, including pilot schemes to repurpose derelict buildings and to develop other community-led alternatives to the use of hotels.

MHCLG and the Home Office are working closely with councils and devolved partners to co-design this approach. Funding allocations to local authorities are yet to be finalised and will be confirmed in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which local authorities are participating in asylum seeking housing pilots; and how much funding has been allocated to those pilots.

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

This Government is committed to ending the use of asylum hotels. To support that goal, we are investing £500 million in a new, more sustainable asylum accommodation model, developed in consultation with local authorities. This will help make available basic alternative accommodation so that it can be used on a temporary basis to house asylum seekers waiting for their cases to be processed. Our ambition is that this investment will leave a lasting legacy of housing for local communities and reduce pressure on local housing markets.

This new funding will complement ongoing Home Office reforms to the asylum accommodation estate, including pilot schemes to repurpose derelict buildings and to develop other community-led alternatives to the use of hotels.

MHCLG and the Home Office are working closely with councils and devolved partners to co-design this approach. Funding allocations to local authorities are yet to be finalised and will be confirmed in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the British Transport Police's crime-screening policy introduced in August 2024, if she will publish the formal guidance for pedal-cycle theft (J13) and the operational factors used to determine when an offence is progressed to investigation; and if she will publish quarterly data showing the number of (a) pedal-cycle thefts reported, (b) investigated, and (c) closed without investigation, broken down by (i) cycle value and the (ii) availability of (A) CCTV and (B) witness evidence.

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

The British Transport Police (BTP), like their Home Office force counterparts, are operationally independent and decisions on whether to release guidance are for the Chief Constable to make.

Crime figures for the BTP are collated by the Home Office and published on the Office for National Statistics website.

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