Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will publish data on the number of ‘change of circumstances’ applications received last year from people with No Recourse to Public Funds status due to homelessness, and how many applicants gained access to public funds as a result.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Information on change of conditions is published at Migration transparency data - GOV.UK in the Immigration and protection dataset.
When an individual is considered for assessment of Change of Conditions, various No Recourse to Public Funds conditions are checked, with ‘destitution’ being one of these conditions.
The specific information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the a) number and b) proportion of dependent visa holders who are employed.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
An estimate of the number and proportion of dependant visa holders who are employed is not available, as not all the required information is held.
HMRC and Home Office have introduced a data sharing process to match visa data to administrative tax data. The Home Office published a research report on 12 May 2025 on the earnings, employment, and Income Tax liabilities of visa holders on Sponsored Work (Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, and Senior or Specialist Worker (Global Business Mobility)) and Family routes. This report covers the cohort of visa holders (and their dependants) whose visas were granted between April 2019 and March 2023
The publication estimated that at least 45% of adult dependants of those granted Skilled Worker entry clearance visas and 63% of those granted Skilled Worker extensions of stay had PAYE earnings in financial year 2023 to 2024. For Health and Care Worker dependants, this was 67% and 70%, and for Global Business Mobility dependants, 25% and 24%, respectively.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of British citizens born (a) in the UK and (b) abroad who have been deported after their citizenship was revoked in each of the last 5 years.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The British Nationality Act 1981 provides the Secretary of State with the power to deprive an individual of their British citizenship where:
The Government considers that deprivation on ‘conducive grounds’ is an appropriate response to activities such as those involving:
The Home Office publishes data relating to those deprived of British Citizenship on ‘conducive to the public good’ grounds. These are published in the Government Transparency Report: Disruptive and Investigatory Powers. Reports have been published up to 2024.
The figures from the previous five years of individuals who have been deprived of their British citizenship for this reason, are below:
Year | Number of individuals |
2021 | 8 |
2022 | 3 |
2023 | 2 |
2024 | 1 |
2025 | Not yet published |
In the interest of safeguarding national security, we do not break down these figures into sub-categories.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether support for a proscribed terrorist organisation automatically qualifies for deprivation of citizenship on the understanding of being conducive to the public good.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The British Nationality Act 1981 provides the Secretary of State with the power to deprive an individual of their British citizenship where:
The Government considers that deprivation on ‘conducive grounds’ is an appropriate response to activities such as those involving:
The Home Office publishes data relating to those deprived of British Citizenship on ‘conducive to the public good’ grounds. These are published in the Government Transparency Report: Disruptive and Investigatory Powers. Reports have been published up to 2024.
The figures from the previous five years, of individuals who have been deprived of their British citizenship for this reason, are below:
Year | Number of individuals |
2021 | 8 |
2022 | 3 |
2023 | 2 |
2024 | 1 |
2025 | Not yet published |
In the interest of safeguarding national security, we do not break down these figures into sub-categories.
This report also references s66 of the Immigration Act 2014, which allows the Secretary of State to deprive a person of their British citizenship on the ground it is conducive to the public good even if it would leave them stateless. To date, this power has not been used.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has considered introducing a statutory requirement for annual DBS renewals for individuals engaged in regulated activity with children and vulnerable adults.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Criminal record certificates issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) have a vital role to play in reducing the risk of harm but should always be used as part of an organisation’s broader safeguarding practices and policies, including for example taking up references from previous employers.
Where an individual joins the Update Service provided by DBS, they are able to keep their certificate up to date by giving employers permission to check if anything has changed on their certificate, as long as the role is in the same workforce as the existing certificate. The Update Service allows employers to undertake instant online checking of DBS certificates. This system regularly re-checks a registered individual and if new information is found triggers a “change in status”. This means that when the employer undertakes a status check, they will be informed that new information has come to light since the DBS certificate was issued and that they should apply for a new DBS check.
The Update Service is free to use for volunteers and costs £16 a year for paid employees. Further information and details of how to subscribe can be found at https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service.
Except in some sectors like health and education, where DBS checks are mandated by the sector through statutory guidance or regulatory requirements, the use of DBS checks is at the discretion of the employer. It is the responsibility of individual sectors and organsations to decide the frequency of checks on their employees working in regulated activity.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the safeguarding risks posed by (a) DBS certificates not automatically updating after issue and (b) the current DBS system in general.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Criminal record certificates issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) have a vital role to play in reducing the risk of harm but should always be used as part of an organisation’s broader safeguarding practices and policies, including for example taking up references from previous employers.
Where an individual joins the Update Service provided by DBS, they are able to keep their certificate up to date by giving employers permission to check if anything has changed on their certificate, as long as the role is in the same workforce as the existing certificate. The Update Service allows employers to undertake instant online checking of DBS certificates. This system regularly re-checks a registered individual and if new information is found triggers a “change in status”. This means that when the employer undertakes a status check, they will be informed that new information has come to light since the DBS certificate was issued and that they should apply for a new DBS check.
The Update Service is free to use for volunteers and costs £16 a year for paid employees. Further information and details of how to subscribe can be found at https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service.
Except in some sectors like health and education, where DBS checks are mandated by the sector through statutory guidance or regulatory requirements, the use of DBS checks is at the discretion of the employer. It is the responsibility of individual sectors and organsations to decide the frequency of checks on their employees working in regulated activity.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she will confirm funding for perpetrator intervention services for the next financial year.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The scale of violence against women and girls in our country is intolerable and this Government is treating it as the national emergency that it is.
We have committed to several measures in the recently published Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy that aim to disrupt perpetrators in the community and reduce revictimisation. We will:
This landmark investment into disrupting the behaviour of perpetrators is about shifting the way we combat domestic abuse, putting the responsibility for ending abuse on those who cause it.
We have confirmed continuation of funding of the current Domestic Abuse and Stalking Perpetrator Intervention Fund for a period of six months from April 2026 to provide continuity ahead of anticipated competitions.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2025 to Question 97805 on Police: Biometrics, what the (a) planned timescales and (b) terms of reference are for the two HMICFRS reviews referred to.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is aware of the risk of bias in facial recognition algorithms and supports policing in managing that risk. Initial findings from independent testing carried out by the National Physical Laboratory were shared with the Home Office in March 2024. The draft findings showed a potential bias in the algorithm used by specially trained operators in police forces to search the Police National Database (PND). The findings were explored with the National Physical Laboratory, and risks and mitigations were discussed with policing experts. Home Office Ministers were first made aware of the bias in October 2024. The final report was provided in April 2025 and updated for publication in October 2025.
The Government has tasked His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, with support from the Forensic Science Regulator, to look at whether people have been affected by the bias as part of the inspection of police and relevant law enforcement agencies’ use of retrospective facial recognition. HMICFRS have begun scoping and planning for the inspection, which will begin before the end of March 2026. The inspection terms of reference will be published by HMICFRS.
A facial recognition match is only ever one piece of intelligence, as part of a wider police investigation. Manual safeguards, embedded in police training, operational practice, and guidance, require all potential matches returned from the PND to be visually assessed by a trained user and investigating officer. These safeguards have always been in place to minimise the risk that the wrong person in the PND is subject to investigation.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to UIN 97805 answered on 15 December 2025, whether estimates have been made of the number of potential misidentifications made by police as a result of potential bias in the PND facial search algorithm.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is aware of the risk of bias in facial recognition algorithms and supports policing in managing that risk. Initial findings from independent testing carried out by the National Physical Laboratory were shared with the Home Office in March 2024. The draft findings showed a potential bias in the algorithm used by specially trained operators in police forces to search the Police National Database (PND). The findings were explored with the National Physical Laboratory, and risks and mitigations were discussed with policing experts. Home Office Ministers were first made aware of the bias in October 2024. The final report was provided in April 2025 and updated for publication in October 2025.
The Government has tasked His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, with support from the Forensic Science Regulator, to look at whether people have been affected by the bias as part of the inspection of police and relevant law enforcement agencies’ use of retrospective facial recognition. HMICFRS have begun scoping and planning for the inspection, which will begin before the end of March 2026. The inspection terms of reference will be published by HMICFRS.
A facial recognition match is only ever one piece of intelligence, as part of a wider police investigation. Manual safeguards, embedded in police training, operational practice, and guidance, require all potential matches returned from the PND to be visually assessed by a trained user and investigating officer. These safeguards have always been in place to minimise the risk that the wrong person in the PND is subject to investigation.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to UIN 97805 answered on 15 December 2025, when the Home Office first learned of potential bias in the current PND facial search algorithm.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is aware of the risk of bias in facial recognition algorithms and supports policing in managing that risk. Initial findings from independent testing carried out by the National Physical Laboratory were shared with the Home Office in March 2024. The draft findings showed a potential bias in the algorithm used by specially trained operators in police forces to search the Police National Database (PND). The findings were explored with the National Physical Laboratory, and risks and mitigations were discussed with policing experts. Home Office Ministers were first made aware of the bias in October 2024. The final report was provided in April 2025 and updated for publication in October 2025.
The Government has tasked His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, with support from the Forensic Science Regulator, to look at whether people have been affected by the bias as part of the inspection of police and relevant law enforcement agencies’ use of retrospective facial recognition. HMICFRS have begun scoping and planning for the inspection, which will begin before the end of March 2026. The inspection terms of reference will be published by HMICFRS.
A facial recognition match is only ever one piece of intelligence, as part of a wider police investigation. Manual safeguards, embedded in police training, operational practice, and guidance, require all potential matches returned from the PND to be visually assessed by a trained user and investigating officer. These safeguards have always been in place to minimise the risk that the wrong person in the PND is subject to investigation.