The first duty of the government is to keep citizens safe and the country secure. The Home Office has been at the front line of this endeavour since 1782. As such, the Home Office plays a fundamental role in the security and economic prosperity of the United Kingdom.
This short inquiry is aimed at influencing the content of the Government’s new VAWG strategy, which is expected later this …
Oral Answers to Questions is a regularly scheduled appearance where the Secretary of State and junior minister will answer at the Dispatch Box questions from backbench MPs
Other Commons Chamber appearances can be:Westminster Hall debates are performed in response to backbench MPs or e-petitions asking for a Minister to address a detailed issue
Written Statements are made when a current event is not sufficiently significant to require an Oral Statement, but the House is required to be informed.
Home Office does not have Bills currently before Parliament
Home Office has not passed any Acts during the 2024 Parliament
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
Close the borders! Suspend ALL immigration for 5 years!
Sign this petition Gov Responded - 17 Jan 2025We believe our country is facing serious challenges both from legal and illegal migration, and think the only way to deal with this is to suspend all immigration temporarily for 5 years.
Commons Select Committees are a formally established cross-party group of backbench MPs tasked with holding a Government department to account.
At any time there will be number of ongoing investigations into the work of the Department, or issues which fall within the oversight of the Department. Witnesses can be summoned from within the Government and outside to assist in these inquiries.
Select Committee findings are reported to the Commons, printed, and published on the Parliament website. The government then usually has 60 days to reply to the committee's recommendations.
The Home Office does not routinely publish data on sponsor revocations for specific sectors. However, between July 2022 and December 2024, the government revoked more than 470 sponsor licences in the care sector to clampdown on abuse and exploitation. More than 39,000 workers have been associated with these sponsors since October 2020.
From our analysis we believe that up to 10,000 of these individuals are now in alternative sponsored work within the Health and Care sector.
Where someone cannot reasonably be expected to prepare for or pass the test on medical grounds, the requirement can be waived by request at Knowledge of language and Life in the UK Test exemption: long term physical or mental condition - GOV.UK.
If a candidate needs assistance to access the test or needs special adjustments at a test centre, candidates can contact the provider of the tests, PSI, to make arrangements at no extra cost. These adjustments include extra time, closed sessions, BSL interpreters, monitor screen colour/contrast adjustments and height adjustable desks.
The test for severely visually impaired or blind candidates is offered with extra time, with a reader and a scribe, and the test is delivered in a separate room. Assistance dogs are also allowed. All test centres are wheelchair accessible.
Please note statistics on the number of exemptions made are not currently recorded or held centrally.
The Government provides a safe and legal route to bring families together through its family reunion policy. This allows individuals with a form of protection status in the UK to sponsor their partner or children to stay with or join them here, provided they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country of origin to seek protection.
We recognise that family members of those with protection status in the UK may be particularly vulnerable. Where the applicant is an unaccompanied child, under the age of 18, we may write to them to obtain any further information which may be required. Such applicants do not need to make a request for prioritisation.
Furthermore, immediate family members of British nationals and those settled in the UK who wish to come and live in the UK can apply under one of the existing family visa routes. Fee waivers are available for those unable to afford the fee.
The Home Office is finalising potential claims for costs incurred in 2024/25 and will announce any updates regarding the funding at these costs in 2025/26 in the normal way in due course.
The Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, referenced by the report, continues to provide certainty and security for Ukrainians, allowing those with permission under one of the Ukraine schemes to apply for a further 18 months to stay in the UK. This will allow a continuation of rights to work, live and study as well as access to healthcare and welfare support in the UK.
We continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders and keep the schemes under review in line with the ongoing conflict.
In response to the invasion, the Government set up three generous schemes – the Ukraine Family Scheme, Home for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme and the Ukraine Extension Scheme – and have provided temporary sanctuary for over 300,000 Ukrainians fleeing the war.
The Homes for Ukraine scheme remains open, uncapped and free of charge for Ukrainians in need of sanctuary to apply to come to the UK.
On the 4 February 2025 the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme opened to applications. This enables Ukrainians and their eligible family members who are already in the UK with Ukraine scheme permission, or Leave outside the Rules in certain circumstances, to apply for a further 18 months' permission in the UK.
The scheme will provide the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare and education as the existing Ukraine schemes.
As part of the application process, individuals will be asked to provide evidence to prove their identity. For documents not in English, applicants must upload a certified English translation. Providing translations up front helps us to progress applications quicker.
The Ukraine schemes are temporary sanctuary visa schemes rather than humanitarian protection schemes and are not routes to settlement. This approach recognises the Ukrainian Government’s desire for the future return of its citizens. It is important that our approach reflects their wishes.
Other visa routes are available for those wishing to settle permanently in the UK, provided they meet the eligibility criteria of those routes.
In response to the invasion, the Government set up three generous schemes – the Ukraine Family Scheme, Home for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme and the Ukraine Extension Scheme – and have provided temporary sanctuary for over 300,000 Ukrainians fleeing the war.
The Homes for Ukraine scheme remains open, uncapped and free of charge for Ukrainians in need of sanctuary to apply to come to the UK.
On the 4 February 2025 the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme opened to applications. This enables Ukrainians and their eligible family members who are already in the UK with Ukraine scheme permission, or Leave outside the Rules in certain circumstances, to apply for a further 18 months' permission in the UK.
The scheme will provide the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare and education as the existing Ukraine schemes.
As part of the application process, individuals will be asked to provide evidence to prove their identity. For documents not in English, applicants must upload a certified English translation. Providing translations up front helps us to progress applications quicker.
The Ukraine schemes are temporary sanctuary visa schemes rather than humanitarian protection schemes and are not routes to settlement. This approach recognises the Ukrainian Government’s desire for the future return of its citizens. It is important that our approach reflects their wishes.
Other visa routes are available for those wishing to settle permanently in the UK, provided they meet the eligibility criteria of those routes.
In response to the invasion, the Government set up three generous schemes – the Ukraine Family Scheme, Home for Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme and the Ukraine Extension Scheme – and have provided temporary sanctuary for over 300,000 Ukrainians fleeing the war.
The Homes for Ukraine scheme remains open, uncapped and free of charge for Ukrainians in need of sanctuary to apply to come to the UK.
On the 4 February 2025 the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme opened to applications. This enables Ukrainians and their eligible family members who are already in the UK with Ukraine scheme permission, or Leave outside the Rules in certain circumstances, to apply for a further 18 months' permission in the UK.
The scheme will provide the same rights and entitlements to access work, benefits, healthcare and education as the existing Ukraine schemes.
As part of the application process, individuals will be asked to provide evidence to prove their identity. For documents not in English, applicants must upload a certified English translation. Providing translations up front helps us to progress applications quicker.
The Ukraine schemes are temporary sanctuary visa schemes rather than humanitarian protection schemes and are not routes to settlement. This approach recognises the Ukrainian Government’s desire for the future return of its citizens. It is important that our approach reflects their wishes.
Other visa routes are available for those wishing to settle permanently in the UK, provided they meet the eligibility criteria of those routes.
The median age of computers issued to officials is 1.8 years old.
The Home Office remains committed to ensuring the wellbeing and safety of those staying in asylum accommodation. There are mechanisms in place to allow asylum seekers to request assistance, provide feedback and/or report issues, including any related to the provision of food for themselves or their children.
The Government remains committed to ensuring that all asylum and human rights claims are carefully considered in accordance with our international obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention. This means that we do not remove anyone who faces persecution or serious harm on return to their country of origin.
This Government inherited an asylum system under exceptional strain, with tens of thousands of people stuck in limbo without any prospect of having their claims processed. At their peak use under the previous government, in the autumn of 2023, more than 400 asylum hotels were being leased by the Home Office, at a cost of almost £9 million a day.
Inevitably, due to the size of the backlog we inherited, the Government has been forced to continue with the use of hotels for the time being. This is not a permanent solution, and the small increase in the number in use at the end of last year was a temporary but necessary step to manage pressures in the system, which is now in the process of being reversed.
It remains our absolute commitment to end the use of hotels over time, as part of our reduction in overall asylum accommodation costs.
The average time taken to process a substantive decision is not currently available from published data, and could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
However, the Home Office does publish data on the number of asylum claims awaiting an initial decision by duration. This data can be found at table Asy_D03 of the ‘Asylum and resettlement summary tables’.
Additionally, data on the percentage of applications processed within 6 months is published in table ASY_01 of the ‘Immigration and Protection’ data of the Migration Transparency Data collection.
We are restoring order to the asylum system so that every part – border security, case processing, appeals and returns – operate swiftly.
As a result, asylum decision making increased by 52% in the last three months of 2024.
The Home Office continues to take action to speed up asylum processing whilst maintaining the integrity of the system.
Since coming into office in July 2024, the Government has ensured the removal of 24,000 failed asylum seekers, foreign criminals and other migration offenders with no right to be in the UK, the highest nine-month total since 2017.
Specific resource has been allocated to process Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) Scheme applications, which will allow for fluctuations in application volumes. As of 24 March, we had 30.9 full time equivalent staff working on UPE.
No such data is available, and no such estimates have been made.
There are already rules that can prevent those arriving illegally from gaining citizenship.
On 10 February 2025, the Home Office strengthened measures to make it clear that anyone who enters the UK illegally or who arrives without a required valid entry clearance or electronic valid authorisation having made a dangerous journey, including small boat arrivals, now faces having a British citizenship application refused on the basis that they will not normally be considered to be of good character. This change means that:
However, each citizenship application will continue to be considered on a case-by-case basis. The Secretary of State may choose to apply discretion to grant citizenship on an exceptional basis where there are particularly exceptional, compelling, or mitigating circumstances.
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Home Office International Operations (HOIO) in Nigeria hold Ad Hoc meetings with The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to help combat the threat of human trafficking from West Africa.
The functions of National Security Technology and Innovation Exchange will be taken forward within other national security teams, building on the capabilities, practices and networks successfully established since it was formed in 2021.
Spiking is an appalling crime that undermines the people's right to feel safe when they are simply enjoying a night out.
The Government is currently delivering a range of measures to tackle this vile practice, specifically targeted at raising awareness, identifying perpetrators, and gathering evidence. They include:
The Home Office works closely with the hospitality and third sectors, as well as law enforcement to ensure that we are delivering measures on spiking which make it more difficult to carry out in the first place, that venues and the emergency services are proving the best possible response, and that victims are listened to and feel supported.
A wide range of spiking training, resources, support and advice options are available across a number of organisations, many of whom are referenced on the Government's spiking web pages or within our training package.
Stalking is an insidious crime that can leave victims living in fear every day, and tackling it forms a key part of our mission on to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) over the next decade.
That is why the Home Office is:
- investing £13.1 million next financial year (25/26) to set up a new National Policing Centre for VAWG and Public Protection which will drive consistency in the police response to these crimes;
- introducing provisions for new multi-agency statutory guidance on stalking which will set a robust framework for how agencies such as the police, local authorities and health should work together, including statutory guidance for the police on when they should release identifying information about stalking perpetrators to victims;
- conducting a review of stalking legislation to determine whether the law should be changed and strengthened to take tougher action against perpetrators, and better protect victims; and
- the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are updating their joint protocol on the handling of stalking offences, so police and prosecutors are better equipped to recognise and respond to stalking. The CPS will also shortly launch a revised training module on stalking to support prosecutors.
Home Office officials engage regularly with the police and Welsh Government on this issue to understand how measures to improve identification, investigation and prosecution of stalking will apply to Wales.
In addition, we have established a VAWG Strategy Advisory Board which is feeding directly into the development of the new VAWG Strategy and has representatives from Wales, including the Independent Adviser on VAWG for Wales.
We have already announced a series of measures designed to strengthen the police response to violence against women and girls (VAWG), protect victims and hold perpetrators to account across England and Wales. This includes:
The Home Office also continues to fund a range of organisations providing vital frontline support to victims of VAWG.
The audit will conclude within three months of commencement and Baroness Casey will submit a written report, which will detail the evidence and findings across the areas detailed at section 2 of the Terms of Reference (which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-audit-on-group-based-child-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse-terms-of-reference/national-audit-on-group-based-child-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse-terms-of-reference).
The report will provide recommendations on what further local, regional or national work may be necessary, and it will be made publicly available by the Home Secretary in due course.
Home Office International Operations (HOIO) has UK based staff operating in Ghana and Nigeria. These teams work with host countries to support on combatting Serious Organised Crime.
The National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) was created to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response to county lines.
The NCLCC, which is funded through our County Lines Programme has been vital in strengthening the law enforcement response and enabling police forces to work together to tackle this complex issue.
The NCLCC also has a role in sharing best practice and manage a dedicated fund which supports local police forces tackle the scourge of county lines. Whilst the NCLCC does not have a dedicated role in working with the National Rural Crime Unit and dedicated rural crime taskforces, NCLCC routinely works with a range of law enforcement and wider partners to tackle the county lines threat across England and Wales.
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 contains significant powers to assist police forces in identifying, freezing and recovering criminal assets. Police forces utilise confiscation orders to deprive offenders of the proceeds of their criminal conduct. A confiscation order is imposed by the court against a convicted defendant, ordering them to pay the amount they benefited from their criminal activity.
If the defendant has benefited from the crime but has no assets, the court will record the amount of the benefit and make a nominal order. If the defendant later acquires assets, or further assets are discovered, the prosecution can apply to the court to increase the amount that a defendant must pay.
Police forces have dedicated ‘Asset Confiscation Enforcement’ (ACE) teams that provide a coordinated response to confiscation enforcement and tackling priority enforcement orders to ensure proceeds of crime are recovered.
Financial investigation practices and legislation are regularly reviewed. The Crime and Policing Bill includes reforms which will bolster confiscation, by giving the courts more powers to make realistic and proportionate confiscation orders, expedite the enforcement of unpaid orders, and streamline confiscation proceedings. These reforms will improve asset recovery outcomes ensuring criminals are deprived of their benefit from crime and lead to more funds being returned to victims; and more funds reinvested into law enforcement.
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 contains significant powers to assist police forces in identifying, freezing and recovering criminal assets. Police forces utilise confiscation orders to deprive offenders of the proceeds of their criminal conduct. A confiscation order is imposed by the court against a convicted defendant, ordering them to pay the amount they benefited from their criminal activity.
If the defendant has benefited from the crime but has no assets, the court will record the amount of the benefit and make a nominal order. If the defendant later acquires assets, or further assets are discovered, the prosecution can apply to the court to increase the amount that a defendant must pay.
Police forces have dedicated 'Asset Confiscation Enforcement' (ACE) teams that provide a coordinated response to confiscation enforcement and tackling priority enforcement orders to ensure proceeds of crime are recovered.
Financial investigation practices and legislation are regularly reviewed. The Crime and Policing Bill includes reforms which will bolster confiscation, by giving the courts more powers to make realistic and proportionate confiscation orders, expedite the enforcement of unpaid orders, and streamline confiscation proceedings. These reforms will improve asset recovery outcomes ensuring criminals are deprived of their benefit from crime and lead to more funds being returned to victims; and more funds reinvested into law enforcement.
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) is the primary framework for recovering the proceeds of crime. POCA is crime agnostic and can be applied for any crime type where the criminal has benefited from crime. If a defendant is convicted of a criminal offence, such as high-profile theft, an order can be placed on the individual to pay the equivalent value of their criminal benefit.
POCA also provides for the recovery of any assets that are suspected to be derived from criminality, regardless of a criminal conviction.
The Home Office publishes an annual statistical bulletin which outlines the high-level trends on the use of POCA powers and other relevant legislation. Within the bulletin a breakdown by offence group is provided of which Theft is a category. Over the past six years of collecting data, criminal confiscation receipts for theft are of a value of £40.1 million and a further £224.8 million was restrained to pay toward confiscation.
Further detail of these figures can be found in the published tables 6, 7 and 8 as part of the Annual Statistical Bulletin on Asset Recovery.
The Home Office has not in the past monitored the procurement and management of vehicles by individual police forces in England and Wales, and does not therefore hold the specific information requested for this question.
The Home Office has not in the past monitored the procurement and management of vehicles by individual police forces in England and Wales, and does not therefore hold the specific information requested for this question.
The Home Office has not in the past monitored the procurement and management of vehicles by individual police forces in England and Wales, and does not therefore hold the specific information requested for this question.
The Home Office has not in the past monitored the procurement and management of vehicles by individual police forces in England and Wales, and does not therefore hold the specific information requested for this question.
The Home Office has not in the past monitored the procurement and management of vehicles by individual police forces in England and Wales, and does not therefore hold the specific information requested for this question.
The Home Office has not in the past monitored the procurement and management of vehicles by individual police forces in England and Wales, and does not therefore hold the specific information requested for this question.
The Home Office has not in the past monitored the procurement and management of vehicles by individual police forces in England and Wales, and does not therefore hold the specific information requested for this question.
The Home Office has not in the past monitored the procurement and management of vehicles by individual police forces in England and Wales, and does not therefore hold the specific information requested for this question.
The Home Office has not in the past monitored the procurement and management of vehicles by individual police forces in England and Wales, and does not therefore hold the specific information requested for this question.
In 2018, the Home Office agreed a series of targets for the representatives of its workforce, which it intended to achieve by 2024. More information on these targets can be found here: Home Office workforce diversity statistics: 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK
Through our Safer Streets Mission, we are determined to crack down on burglary and other crimes that make people feel unsafe in our communities. This includes delivering on our commitment to strengthen neighbourhood policing. Through our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, there will be thousands of additional police officers, police community support officers and special constables in neighbourhood policing roles, with each neighbourhood having a named, contactable officer dealing with local issues.
As set out in the final Police Funding Settlement, published on 30 January, overall funding for policing will total up to £19.6 billion in 2025-26, an increase of up to £1.1 billion when compared to the 2024-25 settlement. This includes £200 million for neighbourhood policing.
The Government funds the independent Fire Standards Board (FSB) to develop and maintain a comprehensive set of professional standards for fire and rescue services in England. The FSB has published 19 national standards for fire and rescue services: these cover a range of topics relating to operational management, leadership and ethics.
The Government has accepted, in principle, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s recommendation to establish a national college of fire and rescue. The Inquiry report suggested a range of potential functions for a college to fulfil, including the development of policies and procedures to ensure both the effectiveness of fire and rescue services and the safety of firefighters and the public. The Government response to the Inquiry’s report notes that a necessary first step in the process will be to consult on the functions a college should have and how it could best be structured and delivered. We expect to launch this consultation later in the year.
Any future college function relating to national standards would build on the work already undertaken by the FSB.
The Home Office works closely with businesses across a wide range of shared interests and priorities, from prevention of fraud and cybercrime to tackling the sale of dangerous knives. A particular focus of this cooperation over the past year has been shop theft.
Town centres play a key role in the success of local economies. However, some town centres have become a shadow of their former selves with anti-social behaviour (ASB) and crime being both a cause and effect of their decline. As set out in our Plan for Change, this Government is focusing on town centres, including how the police and businesses can work together to make them safer for our communities.
Our Retail Crime Forum ensures we bring together and regularly engage with retailers and policing, promoting collaboration between the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement.
Pegasus is a unique private-public partnership and an excellent example of business and policing working together. Through Pegasus, retailers have agreed to fund a specialist analysis team within Opal, the national police intelligence unit for serious organised acquisitive crime. We will provide £5 million over the next three years to continue to fund the team.
The National Business Crime Centre recently hosted a Safer Action Business Days (SaBA) national week of action. SaBA Days is a joint approach by police, business, private security, Business Crime Reduction Partnerships and Business Improvement Districts working in partnership to focus resources into designated location to create a significant impact to reduce crime.
The previous government ran two consultations in 2023 and 2024 to consider the future of this temporary easement, each accompanied by an impact assessment. The most recent impact assessment, published alongside the 2024 consultation, can be found at Impact Assessment - licensing the pavement area.
A new impact assessment relating to the lapse of the easement was not required as new policy or legislation was not being introduced. To assist businesses that have made use of the easement, the Government has amended statutory licensing guidance to make it easier and cheaper for businesses to apply for and obtain a licensing variation.
There is a comprehensive legal framework governing the use of data by policing, such as the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984, UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Human Rights Act 1998.
The access and use of data on policing databases is reviewed and the Human Rights Act is considered and incorporated into policies relating to these datasets.
The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.
When assessing good character, it is normally appropriate to disregard immigration breaches if it is accepted this was outside of the applicant’s control. Given illegal entry is normally considered outside a child's control, most children would not be held accountable for their immigration breach. The 10 February 2025 amendments to the good character policy did not alter this position.
The European Union is responsible for visa policy in relation to short stays in the territory of Schengen states, including visa requirements. Short stays are stays of no more than 90 days within any 180-day period, as set out in EU legislation. The UK and the EU operate independent visa policies.
The Home Office has interpreted the question to mean boats carrying a) 51 – 60 people; b) 61 – 70 people, and so on. The Home Office does not record this information in terms of boats ‘entering UK waters’ but as numbers of people who arrived in the UK for each individual boat.
51 - 60 | 61 - 70 | 71 - 80 | 80+ | |
2021-22 | 38 | 12 | 2 | 6 |
2022-23 | 241 | 40 | 4 | 1 |
2023-24 | 201 | 100 | 31 | 4 |
2024-25 (to 27 Mar) | 169 | 176 | 102 | 26 |
The Home Office has interpreted the question to mean the periods 6 April – 5 April for the years quoted. The following reflect the numbers of days in each financial year where crossing attempts were considered likely given forecast weather and sea conditions.
(a) 2021-22 – 109
(b) 2022-23 – 104
(c) 2023-24 – 102
(d) 2024-27/03/2025 – 182