Home Office

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.



Secretary of State

 Portrait

James Cleverly
Home Secretary

Junior Shadow Ministers / Deputy Spokesperson
Labour
Stephen Kinnock (Lab - Aberavon)
Shadow Minister (Home Office) (Immigration)
Dan Jarvis (Lab - Barnsley Central)
Shadow Minister (Home Office) (Security)
Alex Norris (Lab - Nottingham North)
Shadow Minister (Home Office) (Policing)
Ministers of State
Tom Tugendhat (Con - Tonbridge and Malling)
Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
Robert Jenrick (Con - Newark)
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
Chris Philp (Con - Croydon South)
Minister of State (Home Office)
Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con - Life peer)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con - Life peer)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Sarah Dines (Con - Derbyshire Dales)
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Laura Farris (Con - Newbury)
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Scheduled Event
Wednesday 6th December 2023
Home Office
Orders and regulations - Main Chamber
Draft Strikes (Minimum Service Levels: Border Security) Regulations 2023 and associated regret motion
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Scheduled Event
Monday 11th December 2023
Home Office
Legislation - Main Chamber
Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill – committee stage (day 1)
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Scheduled Event
Tuesday 12th December 2023
Home Office
Orders and regulations - Grand Committee
Draft Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Codes of Practice) (Revision of Codes A, B, C, D and H and New Code I) Order 2023
View calendar
Scheduled Event
Tuesday 12th December 2023
Home Office
Orders and regulations - Grand Committee
Draft Immigration (Health Charge) (Amendment) Order 2023
View calendar
Scheduled Event
Wednesday 13th December 2023
Home Office
Legislation - Main Chamber
Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill – committee stage (day 2)
View calendar
Debates
Thursday 30th November 2023
Online Fraud Charter
Written Statements
Select Committee Docs
Wednesday 29th November 2023
09:30
Select Committee Inquiry
Monday 25th September 2023
Police and Crime Commissioners: 10 years on

The first Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) were elected in 2012. Just over ten years on from their introduction, this …

Written Answers
Monday 4th December 2023
Home Office: Public Expenditure
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which spending programmes their Department devolves for administration to (a) …
Secondary Legislation
Tuesday 28th November 2023
General Aviation (Persons on Board, Flight Information and Civil Penalties) Regulations 2024
These Regulations set out the advance reporting requirements for those operating general aviation flights to and from the UK along …
Bills
Tuesday 14th November 2023
Criminal Justice Bill 2023-24
A Bill To amend the criminal law; to make provision about criminal justice (including the powers and duties of the …
Dept. Publications
Monday 4th December 2023
18:42

Home Office Commons Appearances

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:
  • Urgent Questions where the Speaker has selected a question to which a Minister must reply that day
  • Adjornment Debates a 30 minute debate attended by a Minister that concludes the day in Parliament.
  • Oral Statements informing the Commons of a significant development, where backbench MP's can then question the Minister making the statement.

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.

Most Recent Commons Appearances by Category
Nov. 27
Oral Questions
Nov. 28
Urgent Questions
Nov. 30
Written Statements
Nov. 22
Westminster Hall
Nov. 29
Adjournment Debate
View All Home Office Commons Contibutions

Bills currently before Parliament

Introduced: 14th November 2023

A Bill To amend the criminal law; to make provision about criminal justice (including the powers and duties of the police) and about dealing with offenders; to make provision about confiscation and the use of monies in suspended accounts; to make other provision about the prevention and detection of crime and disorder; to make provision about begging, rough sleeping and anti-social behaviour; to make provision about the police; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 40%

Last Event - 2nd Reading
Tuesday 28th November 2023
(Read Debate)
Introduced: 8th November 2023

A Bill to amend the Investigatory Powers Act 2016; to make provision about information supplied by, or relating to, the Judicial Commissioners; and for connected purposes.

Lords - 40%

Last Event - 2nd Reading
Monday 20th November 2023
(Read Debate)
Next Event - Committee Stage
Monday 11th December 2023

Acts of Parliament created in the 2019 Parliament

Introduced: 22nd September 2022

A Bill to make provision about economic crime and corporate transparency; to make further provision about companies, limited partnerships and other kinds of corporate entity; and to make provision about the registration of overseas entities.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 26th October 2023 and was enacted into law.

Introduced: 7th March 2023

A Bill to Make provision for and in connection with the removal from the United Kingdom of persons who have entered or arrived in breach of immigration control; to make provision about detention for immigration purposes; to make provision about unaccompanied children; to make provision about victims of slavery or human trafficking; to make provision about leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom; to make provision about citizenship; to make provision about the inadmissibility of certain protection and certain human rights claims relating to immigration; to make provision about the maximum number of persons entering the United Kingdom annually using safe and legal routes; and for connected purposes.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 20th July 2023 and was enacted into law.

Introduced: 11th May 2022

Make provision about threats to national security from espionage, sabotage and persons acting for foreign powers; about the extra-territorial application of Part 2 of the Serious Crime Act 2007; about the award of damages in proceedings relating to national security and the payment of damages at risk of being used for the purposes of terrorism; about the availability of legal aid to persons connected with terrorism; and for connected purposes.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 11th July 2023 and was enacted into law.

Introduced: 24th May 2023

A Bill to make provision for immigration restrictions to be disregarded for the purposes of the British Nationality Act 1981 in historical cases in which such restrictions were in practice disregarded.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 29th June 2023 and was enacted into law.

Introduced: 11th May 2022

A Bill to make provision for new offences relating to public order; to make provision about stop and search powers; to make provision about the exercise of police functions relating to public order; to make provision about proceedings by the Secretary of State relating to protest-related activities; to make provision about serious disruption prevention orders; and for connected purposes.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 2nd May 2023 and was enacted into law.

Introduced: 6th July 2021

Make provision about nationality, asylum and immigration; to make provision about victims of slavery or human trafficking; to provide a power for Tribunals to charge participants where their behaviour has wasted the Tribunal’s resources; and for connected purposes.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 28th April 2022 and was enacted into law.

Introduced: 1st March 2022

A Bill to Set up a register of overseas entities and their beneficial owners and require overseas entities who own land to register in certain circumstances; to make provision about unexplained wealth orders; and to make provision about sanctions.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 14th March 2022 and was enacted into law.

Introduced: 3rd March 2020

To make provision in relation to domestic abuse; to make provision for and in connection with the establishment of a Domestic Abuse Commissioner; to prohibit cross-examination in person in family proceedings in certain circumstances; to make provision about certain violent or sexual offences, and offences involving other abusive behaviour, committed outside the United Kingdom; and for connected purposes.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 29th April 2021 and was enacted into law.

Introduced: 19th March 2020

A Bill to make provision about the application of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 where a building contains two or more sets of domestic premises; and to confer power to amend that order in future for the purposes of changing the premises to which it applies.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 29th April 2021 and was enacted into law.

Introduced: 24th September 2020

A Bill to make provision for, and in connection with, the authorisation of criminal conduct in the course of, or otherwise in connection with, the conduct of covert human intelligence sources.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 1st March 2021 and was enacted into law.

Introduced: 5th March 2020

A Bill to make provision to end rights to free movement of persons under retained EU law and to repeal other retained EU law relating to immigration; to confer power to modify retained direct EU legislation relating to social security co-ordination; and for connected purposes.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 11th November 2020 and was enacted into law.

Introduced: 7th January 2020

A bill to create a power of arrest, without warrant, for the purpose of extraditing people for serious offences

This Bill received Royal Assent on 22nd October 2020 and was enacted into law.

Introduced: 8th January 2020

To provide for the payment out of money provided by Parliament of expenditure incurred by the Secretary of State or a government department under, or in connection with, the Windrush Compensation Scheme.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 8th June 2020 and was enacted into law.

Home Office - Secondary Legislation

These Regulations set out the advance reporting requirements for those operating general aviation flights to and from the UK along with the time limits for the supply of such information, the form and manner in which the information is to be supplied and requirements as to the receipt of communications from the Secretary of State or an immigration officer.
These Regulations make various amendments of subordinate legislation in consequence of the enactment of the National Security Act 2023 (c. 32) (“the 2023 Act”) and the repeal of the Official Secrets Acts 1911 (c. 28), 1920 (c. 75) and 1939 (c. 121).
View All Home Office Secondary Legislation

Petitions

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).

Trending Petitions
Petition Open
16,115 Signatures
(3,268 in the last 7 days)
Petition Open
15,584 Signatures
(624 in the last 7 days)
Petition Open
8,335 Signatures
(529 in the last 7 days)
Petition Open
1,361 Signatures
(276 in the last 7 days)
Petitions with most signatures
Petition Debates Contributed
256,618
Petition Closed
16 Sep 2021
closed 2 years, 2 months ago

The right to peaceful assembly and protest are fundamental principles of any democracy and the proposed part of this bill that gives the police new powers to tackle disruptive peaceful protests should be removed from The Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.

188,650
Petition Closed
28 Aug 2022
closed 1 year, 3 months ago

Join other nations in providing a route to safety for refugees. Waive all visa requirements for Ukrainian passport holders arriving in the UK.

The Government is refusing to release official research on the characteristics of grooming gangs, claiming it is not in the “public interest”.

We, the British public, demand the release of the official research on grooming gangs undertaken by the Government in full.

View All Home Office Petitions

Departmental Select Committee

Home Affairs Committee

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.


11 Members of the Home Affairs Committee
Diana Johnson Portrait
Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Home Affairs Committee Chair since 15th December 2021
Tim Loughton Portrait
Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 2nd March 2020
Adam Holloway Portrait
Adam Holloway (Conservative - Gravesham)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 2nd March 2020
Simon Fell Portrait
Simon Fell (Conservative - Barrow and Furness)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 2nd March 2020
Diane Abbott Portrait
Diane Abbott (Independent - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 11th May 2020
Carolyn Harris Portrait
Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 7th March 2022
Lee Anderson Portrait
Lee Anderson (Conservative - Ashfield)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 15th March 2022
James Daly Portrait
James Daly (Conservative - Bury North)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 27th June 2022
Marco Longhi Portrait
Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 9th January 2023
Alison Thewliss Portrait
Alison Thewliss (Scottish National Party - Glasgow Central)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 28th March 2023
Kim Johnson Portrait
Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Home Affairs Committee Member since 27th November 2023
Home Affairs Committee: Previous Inquiries
Home Office preparedness for Covid-19 (Coronavirus) Online Harms Gangs and youth crime The work of the Metropolitan Police Child sexual exploitation and the response to localised grooming: follow-up The work of HM Passport Office The work of the Immigration Directorates (2014 Q1) The work of the Border Force Home Affairs Committee - The work of the Home Secretary Radicalisation in schools Police, the media, and high-profile criminal investigations The work of the National Crime Agency 2014 Undercover policing: follow-up The work of the Immigration Directorates (2013 Q2-3) Leadership and standards in the police: follow-up The work of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector Of Constabulary Drugs Female Genital Mutilation The work of the Immigration Directorates (2013 Q4) Reform of the Police Federation The work of the National Crime Agency The work of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner Police investigations and the role of the CPS The work of the Immigration Directorates (Q2 2015) Countering extremism inquiry Reform of the Police Funding Formula inquiry The work of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration Migration crisis inquiry Psychoactive substances inquiry Counter-radicalisation one-off session Immigration: the situation in Calais one-off session The work of the Home Office The work of the Home Secretary The work of the Metropolitan Police inquiry Immigration: skill shortages inquiry International exchange of criminal records Police National Database inquiry Police bail Policing in London Police Information Notices ("Harassment warnings") The work of the Immigration Directorates (2014 Q3) Counter-terrorism (2015) Female genital mutilation: follow-up The work of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary European Arrest Warrant The work of the Immigration Directorates (2014 Q2) Serious and organised crime The work of the Permanent Secretary Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 College of Policing Out-of-Court Disposals Statutory Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill Police and Crime Commissioners Tobacco smuggling EU Justice and Home Affairs opt-out Policing and mental health Police and Crime Commissioners The work of the Home Office Immigration Cap Firearms Control Policing Immigration Cap - Terms Of Reference Second evidence session on Immigration Caps Specialist Operations Firearms submissions received Unauthorised tapping into or hacking of mobile communications Work of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre Rules governing enforced removals from the UK Extradition Lessons from the American experience of policing Impact of proposed restrictions on Tier 4 migration Government's review of Counter-Terrorism The work of the Home Secretary (2012) New Landscape of Policing Roots of Violent Radicalisation Policing Large Scale Disorder The work of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner (2012) The work of the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police The work of the UK Visas & Immigration Section E-crime Private Investigators Independent Police Complaints Commission Localised child grooming Leadership and standards in the police service Policing in London Olympics security Asylum The work of the UK Border Agency Human trafficking Counter-terrorism (2014) Hate crime and its violent consequences inquiry Counter-terrorism inquiry Domestic abuse inquiry Serious violence inquiry Windrush Children inquiry Immigration detention inquiry Post-Brexit migration policy inquiry EU policing and security cooperation inquiry Modern slavery inquiry Post Brexit migration inquiry Government preparations for Brexit inquiry Asylum accommodation inquiry Work of the Home Office inquiry Islamophobia inquiry The Macpherson Report: Twenty Years On inquiry English Channel crossings inquiry EU Settlement Scheme inquiry Home Office preparations for Brexit inquiry Police conduct and complaints inquiry Child migrants inquiry EU policing and security issues inquiry Immigration inquiry Brook House Immigration Removal Centre inquiry The work of the Home Secretary inquiry Policing for the future inquiry Home Office delivery of Brexit: immigration inquiry Home Office delivery of Brexit: policing and security cooperation inquiry Harassment and intimidation near abortion clinics Home Office delivery of Brexit: customs operations inquiry Immigration policy: principles for building consensus inquiry Antisemitism inquiry English-language testing inquiry Police diversity inquiry Prostitution inquiry The work of the Immigration Directorates (Q3 2015) inquiry College of Policing inquiry Police and Crime Commissioners inquiry Proceeds of crime inquiry Asylum accommodation The work of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse Policing for the future: changing demands and new challenges The work of the Immigration Directorates (Q2 2016) inquiry Female Genital Mutilation inquiry Sharia councils inquiry The work of the Immigration Directorates (Q4 2015) inquiry The work of the Immigration Directorates (Q1 2016) inquiry Implications of the UK's exit from the European Union inquiry Hate crime and its violent consequences inquiry Migration and asylum Policing priorities Channel crossings Human Trafficking Pre-legislative scrutiny of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Draft Bill Fraud Police and Crime Commissioners: 10 years on Violence and abuse towards retail workers Post-Transition management of the border The UK’s offer of visa and settlement routes for residents of Hong Kong Asylum accommodation Counter-terrorism Domestic abuse English Channel crossings EU policing and security cooperation EU Settlement Scheme Government preparations for Brexit Home Office delivery of Brexit: policing and security cooperation Home Office delivery of Brexit: immigration Home Office preparations for Brexit Immigration detention Immigration policy: principles for building consensus Brook House Immigration Removal Centre The work of the Home Secretary Post Brexit migration Hate crime and its violent consequences Post-Brexit migration policy Islamophobia The Macpherson Report: Twenty Years On Modern slavery Police conduct and complaints Policing for the future Serious violence Windrush Children Work of the Home Office

50 most recent Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department

28th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2023 to Question 2778 on Immigration: Employment, and Freedom of Information release 31192, published on 11 June 2014, how many illegal working enforced visits were made by the UK Border Agency by employment sector in each year since 2012.

To maintain the highest standards of accuracy, the Home Office refers to published data, as this has been subject to rigorous quality assurance under National Statistics protocols prior to publication.

Information about the number of illegal working enforcement visits conducted by Immigration Enforcement by employment sector is not available in our published data.

Our published data on enforcement visits (including illegal working visits) is available at the following link - Statistics relating to the Illegal Migration Act - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
29th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many allowed (a) entry clearance and (b) in-country appeal decisions are awaiting implementation as of 29 November 2023.

The requested information cannot be accurately extracted from our internal systems. To provide this information would require a manual trawl of successful appeals and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
28th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November to Question 1561 on Visas: Applications, what is the (a) target time and (b) average time taken to process a skilled worker visa.

The Home Office makes every attempt to meet the service level agreement standard, but in certain cases additional checks are required which can mean visa requests take longer to process.

Data on performance against service standards is published through migration transparency data and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigration

The Home Office also publishes information on visa processing times for applications inside and outside the UK at: Visa processing times - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
28th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 5 November 2019 to Question 4944 on Passports: Republic of Ireland, how many British passports were printed for residents of the Republic of Ireland whose applications were processed by the Belfast passport office between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023.

Following the introduction of a new passport application processing system that distributes work digitally across all available work locations, the data for the number of applications processed is not broken down by office. The information requested is therefore not held in a reportable format from 2020 onwards.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
27th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help stop private agents selling free visa appointments in (a) India, (b) Pakistan, (c) Nepal and (d) Bangladesh.

We are continuing to monitor abuse and will continue to consider other interventions. We are also working collaboratively with FCDO on the issue.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
24th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have received a health and care worker visa since the establishment of that visa category.

The Home Office publishes data on Entry clearance visas in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on ‘Skilled Worker – Health and Care’ visas granted are published in table Vis_D02 of the Entry clearance detailed dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate to 2023 Q3 (July to September) time period.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
24th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a specific timeframe for Section 95 applications to be completed.

The Home Office endeavours to complete applications as fast as possible.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
28th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the King's Speech 2023, whether he has had discussions with the Leader of the House on the timetable for introducing Protect Duty legislation.

I continue to engage with my Ministerial colleagues on the Government’s important legislative program, including the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, also known as Martyn’s Law.

The pre-legislative scrutiny of the bill provided important feedback which I have been carefully considering, Ahead of introduction to Parliament, the Government will launch a public consultation on the Standard Tier ensuring the Bill strikes the right balance between public protection and avoiding undue burdens on smaller premises.

Tom Tugendhat
Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
28th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse was for (a) financial support and (b) accommodation for people (i) seeking asylum and (ii) arriving through other humanitarian routes in each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority.

The Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide accommodation and other support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute while their application for asylum is being considered. Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system. The Home Office is currently spending around £8.3m per day on hotel accommodation. Total expenditure on asylum and humanitarian routes is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Home Office does not publish a breakdown which disaggregates the cost of financial support and accommodation for asylum seekers and refugees by local authority.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
27th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will recall all licences for companies to carry out animal testing.

This Government recognises that scientific research using animals plays a vital part in our understanding of how biological systems work in health and disease. The use of animals in science supports the development of new medicines and cutting-edge medical technologies, for humans and animals, as well as supporting the safety and sustainability of our environment.

The Government is also clear that animals must be protected. The legal framework in the UK requires that animals are only ever used in science where there are no alternatives, where the number of animals used is the minimum needed to achieve the scientific benefit, and where the potential harm to animals is limited to that needed to achieve the scientific benefit.

The Government has no plans to ban all animal testing but is committed to fully implementing the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement), and promoting non-animal alternatives wherever possible.

Tom Tugendhat
Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
29th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average length of time taken was to process an EU settlement scheme application in the latest period for which data is available.

The following link contains more details in regards to EUSS processing times: EU Settlement Scheme: current estimated processing times for applications - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

All applications made under the scheme are determined on a case-by-case basis depending on their individual circumstances.

The latest link to our quarterly statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/eu-settlement-scheme-quarterly-statistics-september-2023

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
28th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports of the sale of (a) knives and (b) other illegal weapons on online shopping apps.

Organisations who sell knives to those aged under 18 face a range of fines from £500 to £1 million.

The government keeps knife crime legislation under continual review and has taken action in a number of areas.

The Criminal Justice Bill includes new measures for tackling knife crime, including increasing the maximum penalty for selling specified weapons or for selling any knives to under 18s to 2 years.

This measure will bring the offence within the remit of PACE powers, which is key to the police’s ability to investigate some of the more serious offences, for example, those who sell knives privately to under 18s, or those who sell prohibited weapons through social media or personal messaging applications.

The Criminal Justice Bill will strengthen measures which we took in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 around age verification for online sales, including stopping knives being sent to residential addresses after they are bought online, unless the seller has arrangements in place with the delivery company to ensure that the product would not be delivered into the hands of a person under 18.

Further controls have been introduced through the Online Safety Act 2023 which sets out a series of priority offences which includes the sale of weapons. Companies will need to proactively mitigate the risk that their services are used for illegal activity or to share this illegal content, to design their services to mitigate the risk of this occurring and to remove any content that does appear as soon as they are made aware of it.

Ofcom published the first draft codes of practice on illegal content for consultation on 9 November 2023. Government expects these to be finalised in late 2024.These codes of practice will set out the steps companies can take to fulfil the duties for illegal content. In scope services will either need to follow these codes, or show their approach is equally effective.

On 30 August 2023 the Government response to our consultation on new knife legislation was published confirming that the Government will seek to legislate to ban certain types of large knives and machetes. The ban on zombie style machetes and knives will be implemented by secondary legislation when parliamentary time allows.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
28th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of age verification and identity checks by (a) Temu and (b) other online shopping apps for sales of (i) knives and (ii) other age-restricted items.

Organisations who sell knives to those aged under 18 face a range of fines from £500 to £1 million.

The government keeps knife crime legislation under continual review and has taken action in a number of areas.

The Criminal Justice Bill includes new measures for tackling knife crime, including increasing the maximum penalty for selling specified weapons or for selling any knives to under 18s to 2 years.

This measure will bring the offence within the remit of PACE powers, which is key to the police’s ability to investigate some of the more serious offences, for example, those who sell knives privately to under 18s, or those who sell prohibited weapons through social media or personal messaging applications.

The Criminal Justice Bill will strengthen measures which we took in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 around age verification for online sales, including stopping knives being sent to residential addresses after they are bought online, unless the seller has arrangements in place with the delivery company to ensure that the product would not be delivered into the hands of a person under 18.

Further controls have been introduced through the Online Safety Act 2023 which sets out a series of priority offences which includes the sale of weapons. Companies will need to proactively mitigate the risk that their services are used for illegal activity or to share this illegal content, to design their services to mitigate the risk of this occurring and to remove any content that does appear as soon as they are made aware of it.

Ofcom published the first draft codes of practice on illegal content for consultation on 9 November 2023. Government expects these to be finalised in late 2024.These codes of practice will set out the steps companies can take to fulfil the duties for illegal content. In scope services will either need to follow these codes, or show their approach is equally effective.

On 30 August 2023 the Government response to our consultation on new knife legislation was published confirming that the Government will seek to legislate to ban certain types of large knives and machetes. The ban on zombie style machetes and knives will be implemented by secondary legislation when parliamentary time allows.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
28th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 18 October 2023 to Question 202514 and the absence of a reference to that potential legislation in the King's Speech, what plans his Department has to bring forward legislative proposals on banning machetes and zombie knives.

Organisations who sell knives to those aged under 18 face a range of fines from £500 to £1 million.

The government keeps knife crime legislation under continual review and has taken action in a number of areas.

The Criminal Justice Bill includes new measures for tackling knife crime, including increasing the maximum penalty for selling specified weapons or for selling any knives to under 18s to 2 years.

This measure will bring the offence within the remit of PACE powers, which is key to the police’s ability to investigate some of the more serious offences, for example, those who sell knives privately to under 18s, or those who sell prohibited weapons through social media or personal messaging applications.

The Criminal Justice Bill will strengthen measures which we took in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 around age verification for online sales, including stopping knives being sent to residential addresses after they are bought online, unless the seller has arrangements in place with the delivery company to ensure that the product would not be delivered into the hands of a person under 18.

Further controls have been introduced through the Online Safety Act 2023 which sets out a series of priority offences which includes the sale of weapons. Companies will need to proactively mitigate the risk that their services are used for illegal activity or to share this illegal content, to design their services to mitigate the risk of this occurring and to remove any content that does appear as soon as they are made aware of it.

Ofcom published the first draft codes of practice on illegal content for consultation on 9 November 2023. Government expects these to be finalised in late 2024.These codes of practice will set out the steps companies can take to fulfil the duties for illegal content. In scope services will either need to follow these codes, or show their approach is equally effective.

On 30 August 2023 the Government response to our consultation on new knife legislation was published confirming that the Government will seek to legislate to ban certain types of large knives and machetes. The ban on zombie style machetes and knives will be implemented by secondary legislation when parliamentary time allows.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
27th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 60 g) of the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, published by his Department on 27 March 2023, whether that stakeholder engagement has been completed; which stakeholders were consulted; and if he will publish the results of the engagement.

‘Cuckooing’ is most commonly associated with the county lines drug distribution model. That’s why, as part of our ambitious 10-year Drugs Strategy, we are investing up to £145m over three years to tackle drugs supply and county lines activity, taking action against county lines holders and safeguarding children and vulnerable people.

The targeted stakeholder engagement exercise, announced as part of the Government’s Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan in March 2023, was conducted over the spring/summer of this year. Officials engaged on the potential merits and scope of a new offence to tackle cuckooing with a variety of key stakeholders such as the police, CJS partners, local authorities, other Government departments, specialists in the field which included academics and NGOs, and the Devolved Governments.

The results of the engagement exercise revealed there are a range of powers and tools available to disrupt cuckooing activity and officials continue to work closely with police and wider partners to both raise awareness of cuckooing and share effective practice to tackle this abhorrent practice.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
28th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the effectiveness of Diamorphine Assisted Treatment in tackling drug-related crime.

Diamorphine Assisted Treatment (DAT) is an option that remains open to local areas under the existing legal framework, and we support those areas who pursue this approach, where the relevant licences are obtained from the Home Office. DAT is aimed at those who are already engaging with treatment but are not responding to opioid substitution therapy.

Evidence supporting the value of targeted injectable opioid treatment (“IOT”) programmes, including heroin/diamorphine assisted treatment (“DAT”), in both the UK and other countries has been published and informed the UK clinical guidelines for drug misuse and dependence, as well as guidance on commissioning and developing IOT services.

There is mixed evidence for the effectiveness of DAT in tackling drug-related crime compared with other forms of opioid substitution therapy. However, the crime reduction benefits of effective drug treatment, including IOT, is well documented and investing in improved capacity and quality of drug treatment services is an important part of the Government’s approach to reduce drug-related crime as is set out in the Drug Strategy.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
27th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the spend by the Border Force on the (a) upkeep, (b) care and (c) maintenance of border security dogs was in each year since 2015.

Border Force does not hold the spend on the upkeep, care and maintenance of border security dogs in each year since 2015 in an easily accessible format.

Home Office overall annual reports and accounts are available on the www.gov.uk website, which includes Border Force.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
27th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of starting the 28 day notice period for the end of asylum support 10 days after the issue of a Biometric Residence Permit.

Following the service of an asylum decision, an individual continues to be an asylum seeker for the purpose of asylum support until the end of the relevant prescribed period, also known as the ‘grace period’ or ‘move on period’. This period is 28 calendar days from when an individual is notified of a decision to accept their asylum claim and grant them leave. There are no current plans to extend this period (of 28 days).

Individuals should make plans to move on from asylum support as soon as they are served their asylum decision. We offer support to all individuals through Migrant Help or their partner organisation in doing this. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market, on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
28th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) e-cigarette and vaping and (b) tobacco products were seized at UK borders in each of the last 10 years.

On point a, Border Force does not hold data on eCigarettes and vaping in an easily accessible format.

Border Force regularly publishes data on tobacco products seized at the UK border.

The latest transparency returns can be found at the link here; Border Force transparency data: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
24th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which spending programmes their Department devolves for administration to (a) local government in England and (b) other local spending bodies; and what the budget is of each such programme for each year for which budgets are agreed.

The Government has set itself a mission that, by 2030, every part of England that wants one will have a devolution deal, with powers at or approaching the highest level of devolution, with a simplified, long-term funding settlement.

At Spring Budget, the government announced the trailblazer devolution deals with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and West Midlands Combined Authorities (WMCA), which included a commitment to introduce single funding settlements at the next Spending Review for these MCAs. At Autumn Statement, the Government published a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GMCA and WMCA, setting out how the single settlements will work.

The Government also announced an ambitious new ‘level 4’ of the devolution framework, including a single transport funding settlement for eligible institutions, and a ‘consolidated’ pot at the next multi-year SR covering two DLUHC investment themes – local growth and place, and housing and regeneration. Following successful delivery of the ‘consolidated’ pot, and learning from the trailblazers, Level 4 institutions will then become eligible to receive a single settlement from the subsequent multi-year Spending Review.

Details of major funding programmes, including those administered by local government or other local bodies, are available on gov.uk.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
29th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish the charge rate for crimes reported in the Mid Bedfordshire constituency in each of the last 10 years.

The Home Office publishes information on the number of crimes, and their investigative outcomes, on a quarterly basis, broken down by Police Force Area. These can be accessed here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables

The Home Office does not hold information at Parliamentary Constituency level.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
22nd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what research his Department has commissioned on the (a) impact on communities and (b) economic cost of hate crime in the past three years.

We keep our approach to tackling hate crime under review, taking into account the international evidence base and our internal research. Over the last three years we have undertaken internal research and commissioned external research from IPSOS UK and RAND Europe where necessary.

Laura Farris
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
15th Nov 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to (1) the remarks by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 10 May (HL Deb col 1922), and (2) the Supreme Court's decision on the government's Rwanda policy, what methodology they used in designating Rwanda as a safe country for the offshore processing of asylum claims.

We undertook an analysis of a wide range of publicly available evidence from a variety of reliable sources about Rwanda’s asylum system and human rights situation. The information was carefully selected in accordance with internationally established country-of-origin information research methods.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
27th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Rwanda on the number of Home Office officials that will be sent to help Rwanda upgrade its asylum processing capabilities.

We have been working at pace with the Government of Rwanda to help strengthen the operation of their asylum system. We will continue to progress this, in light of the Supreme Court judgment, and a range of options for further support are being considered. Conversations between governments remain confidential.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
23rd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2023 to Question 1700 on Asylum: Finance, what his Department considers to be a timely manner.

Decision times will vary by case, as each application is different; we aim to reach a decision as swiftly as possible.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
22nd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons some asylum applications take longer to be considered than others.

We have taken action to accelerate decision-making and rapidly speed up processing times to eliminate the backlog of legacy initial asylum decisions by the end of 2023. Separate work is ongoing to more efficiently process all other asylum claims admitted to the UK asylum system awaiting consideration.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
22nd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department holds data on average waiting times to proceed through Border Force security on arrival at London Heathrow Airport.

Border Force measures and monitors wait times at all major UK ports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, and Birmingham to ensure the flow of legitimate travel into UK.

The latest Border Force transparency data shows that 95% of arrivals to the UK were cleared within the service standard in the second quarter of this year and in July, 90% of passengers surveyed were satisfied with their experience at UK border control. The most recent data is available on Gov.UK; www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q2-2023.

We do not publish port level wait times for commercial sensitivity as it may provide an unfair advantage to certain ports if others are seen to be performing more badly. The way data is captured is also different across ports so will not be a like for like comparison.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
22nd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time has been to pass Border Force security on arrival at London Gatwick Airport in the last 12 months.

Border Force measures and monitors wait times at all major UK ports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, and Birmingham to ensure the flow of legitimate travel into UK.

The latest Border Force transparency data shows that 95% of arrivals to the UK were cleared within the service standard in the second quarter of this year and in July, 90% of passengers surveyed were satisfied with their experience at UK border control. The most recent data is available on Gov.UK; www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q2-2023.

We do not publish port level wait times for commercial sensitivity as it may provide an unfair advantage to certain ports if others are seen to be performing more badly. The way data is captured is also different across ports so will not be a like for like comparison.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
22nd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time has been to pass Border Force security on arrival at London Luton Airport in the last 12 months.

Border Force measures and monitors wait times at all major UK ports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, and Birmingham to ensure the flow of legitimate travel into UK.

The latest Border Force transparency data shows that 95% of arrivals to the UK were cleared within the service standard in the second quarter of this year and in July, 90% of passengers surveyed were satisfied with their experience at UK border control. The most recent data is available on Gov.UK; www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q2-2023.

We do not publish port level wait times for commercial sensitivity as it may provide an unfair advantage to certain ports if others are seen to be performing more badly. The way data is captured is also different across ports so will not be a like for like comparison.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
22nd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time has been to pass Border Force security on arrival at London Stansted Airport in the last 12 months.

Border Force measures and monitors wait times at all major UK ports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, and Birmingham to ensure the flow of legitimate travel into UK.

The latest Border Force transparency data shows that 95% of arrivals to the UK were cleared within the service standard in the second quarter of this year and in July, 90% of passengers surveyed were satisfied with their experience at UK border control. The most recent data is available on Gov.UK; www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q2-2023.

We do not publish port level wait times for commercial sensitivity as it may provide an unfair advantage to certain ports if others are seen to be performing more badly. The way data is captured is also different across ports so will not be a like for like comparison.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
22nd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time has been to pass Border Force security on arrival at Birmingham International Airport in the last 12 months.

Border Force measures and monitors wait times at all major UK ports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, and Birmingham to ensure the flow of legitimate travel into UK.

The latest Border Force transparency data shows that 95% of arrivals to the UK were cleared within the service standard in the second quarter of this year and in July, 90% of passengers surveyed were satisfied with their experience at UK border control. The most recent data is available on Gov.UK; www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q2-2023.

We do not publish port level wait times for commercial sensitivity as it may provide an unfair advantage to certain ports if others are seen to be performing more badly. The way data is captured is also different across ports so will not be a like for like comparison.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
27th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average level of funding for Bedfordshire Police was on a per-officer basis in each of the last three years.

Core funding for police forces is set out at the annual Police Settlement. The main sources of PCC funding are the local council police precept and government grants, which are distributed on a funding formula basis.

Local resourcing decisions are 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 their resourcing and estates. They are best placed to make decisions with their communities based on their local knowledge and experience, reflecting the operational independence of forces.

Bedfordshire Police funding will be up to £143.4 million in 2023/24, an increase of up to £15.2 million when compared to 2022/23. This is a continued increase in funding from the previous two financial years from £137.3 million in 2022/23 and £129.2 million in 2021/22.

Bedfordshire will also receive additional funding committed by the Home Office for the 2023-24 Pay Award of up to c£2.9 million for 2023-24.

During the Police Uplift Programme, the number of officers in Bedfordshire Police has increased from 1,351 in March 2021, to 1,411 in March 2022 and stood at 1,455 the end of March 2023.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
27th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many warrants were (a) applied for, (b) granted and (c) rejected under section 26 of the Theft Act 1968 by each police force in each of the last five calendar years.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on use of police powers, as part of the ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical bulletin, available here: Police powers and procedures England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

However, data is not collected on warrants under the Theft Act 1968.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
23rd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time was to clear Border Force security on arrival at Bristol International Airport in the last 12 months.

Border Force measures and monitors wait times at all major UK ports to ensure the flow of legitimate travel into UK.

The latest Border Force transparency data shows that 95% of arrivals to the UK were cleared within the service standard in the second quarter of this year and in July, 90% of passengers surveyed were satisfied with their experience at UK border control. The most recent data is available on Gov.UK; www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q2-2023.

We do not publish port level wait times for commercial sensitivity as it may provide an unfair advantage to certain ports if others are seen to be performing more badly. The way data is captured is also different across ports so will not be a like for like comparison.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
23rd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time was to clear Border Force security on arrival at London City Airport in the last 12 months.

Border Force measures and monitors wait times at all major UK ports to ensure the flow of legitimate travel into UK.

The latest Border Force transparency data shows that 95% of arrivals to the UK were cleared within the service standard in the second quarter of this year and in July, 90% of passengers surveyed were satisfied with their experience at UK border control. The most recent data is available on Gov.UK; www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q2-2023.

We do not publish port level wait times for commercial sensitivity as it may provide an unfair advantage to certain ports if others are seen to be performing more badly. The way data is captured is also different across ports so will not be a like for like comparison.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
23rd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time was to clear Border Force security on arrival at Manchester Airport in the last 12 months.

Border Force measures and monitors wait times at all major UK ports to ensure the flow of legitimate travel into UK.

The latest Border Force transparency data shows that 95% of arrivals to the UK were cleared within the service standard in the second quarter of this year and in July, 90% of passengers surveyed were satisfied with their experience at UK border control. The most recent data is available on Gov.UK; www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q2-2023.

We do not publish port level wait times for commercial sensitivity as it may provide an unfair advantage to certain ports if others are seen to be performing more badly. The way data is captured is also different across ports so will not be a like for like comparison.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
23rd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time was to clear Border Force security on arrival at Belfast International Airport in the last 12 months.

Border Force measures and monitors wait times at all major UK ports to ensure the flow of legitimate travel into UK.

The latest Border Force transparency data shows that 95% of arrivals to the UK were cleared within the service standard in the second quarter of this year and in July, 90% of passengers surveyed were satisfied with their experience at UK border control. The most recent data is available on Gov.UK; www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q2-2023.

We do not publish port level wait times for commercial sensitivity as it may provide an unfair advantage to certain ports if others are seen to be performing more badly. The way data is captured is also different across ports so will not be a like for like comparison.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
23rd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time was to clear Border Force security on arrival at East Midlands Airport in the last 12 months.

Border Force measures and monitors wait times at all major UK ports to ensure the flow of legitimate travel into UK.

The latest Border Force transparency data shows that 95% of arrivals to the UK were cleared within the service standard in the second quarter of this year and in July, 90% of passengers surveyed were satisfied with their experience at UK border control. The most recent data is available on Gov.UK; www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q2-2023.

We do not publish port level wait times for commercial sensitivity as it may provide an unfair advantage to certain ports if others are seen to be performing more badly. The way data is captured is also different across ports so will not be a like for like comparison.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
23rd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time was to clear Border Force security on arrival at Cardiff Airport in the last 12 months.

Border Force measures and monitors wait times at all major UK ports to ensure the flow of legitimate travel into UK.

The latest Border Force transparency data shows that 95% of arrivals to the UK were cleared within the service standard in the second quarter of this year and in July, 90% of passengers surveyed were satisfied with their experience at UK border control. The most recent data is available on Gov.UK; www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q2-2023.

We do not publish port level wait times for commercial sensitivity as it may provide an unfair advantage to certain ports if others are seen to be performing more badly. The way data is captured is also different across ports so will not be a like for like comparison.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
23rd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time was to clear Border Force security on arrival at Glasgow Airport in the last 12 months.

Border Force measures and monitors wait times at all major UK ports to ensure the flow of legitimate travel into UK.

The latest Border Force transparency data shows that 95% of arrivals to the UK were cleared within the service standard in the second quarter of this year and in July, 90% of passengers surveyed were satisfied with their experience at UK border control. The most recent data is available on Gov.UK; www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q2-2023.

We do not publish port level wait times for commercial sensitivity as it may provide an unfair advantage to certain ports if others are seen to be performing more badly. The way data is captured is also different across ports so will not be a like for like comparison.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
23rd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time was to clear Border Force security on arrival at Newcastle Airport in the last 12 months.

Border Force measures and monitors wait times at all major UK ports to ensure the flow of legitimate travel into UK.

The latest Border Force transparency data shows that 95% of arrivals to the UK were cleared within the service standard in the second quarter of this year and in July, 90% of passengers surveyed were satisfied with their experience at UK border control. The most recent data is available on Gov.UK; www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q2-2023.

We do not publish port level wait times for commercial sensitivity as it may provide an unfair advantage to certain ports if others are seen to be performing more badly. The way data is captured is also different across ports so will not be a like for like comparison.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
23rd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time was to clear Border Force security on arrival at Leeds-Bradford Airport in the last 12 months.

Border Force measures and monitors wait times at all major UK ports to ensure the flow of legitimate travel into UK.

The latest Border Force transparency data shows that 95% of arrivals to the UK were cleared within the service standard in the second quarter of this year and in July, 90% of passengers surveyed were satisfied with their experience at UK border control. The most recent data is available on Gov.UK; www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q2-2023.

We do not publish port level wait times for commercial sensitivity as it may provide an unfair advantage to certain ports if others are seen to be performing more badly. The way data is captured is also different across ports so will not be a like for like comparison.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
23rd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time has been to pass Border Force security on arrival at Liverpool John Lennon Airport in the last 12 months.

Border Force measures and monitors wait times at all major UK ports to ensure the flow of legitimate travel into UK.

The latest Border Force transparency data shows that 95% of arrivals to the UK were cleared within the service standard in the second quarter of this year and in July, 90% of passengers surveyed were satisfied with their experience at UK border control. The most recent data is available on Gov.UK; www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q2-2023.

We do not publish port level wait times for commercial sensitivity as it may provide an unfair advantage to certain ports if others are seen to be performing more badly. The way data is captured is also different across ports so will not be a like for like comparison.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
23rd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time across the UK's passenger airports to pass Border Force security was on arrival in the last 12 months.

Border Force measures and monitors wait times at all major UK ports to ensure the flow of legitimate travel into UK.

The latest Border Force transparency data shows that 95% of arrivals to the UK were cleared within the service standard in the second quarter of this year and in July, 90% of passengers surveyed were satisfied with their experience at UK border control. The most recent data is available on Gov.UK; www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-q2-2023.

We do not publish port level wait times for commercial sensitivity as it may provide an unfair advantage to certain ports if others are seen to be performing more badly. The way data is captured is also different across ports so will not be a like for like comparison.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
27th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his oral contribution in response to the question from the hon. Member for Glasgow North of 27 November 2022, Official Report, what the evidential basis is for stating that allowing asylum seekers the right to work would increase the number travelling to the UK.

A wide body of evidence points towards key pull factors to the UK including language, diaspora, presence of friends and family, economic opportunity, and availability of education. Any effects exerted by asylum policies and welfare systems on individual decision making around ultimate country of destination are much less well understood and difficult to isolate. That is why we have no plans to work provisions and are trebling the fines for illegal working.

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
27th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been granted (a) permission to stay and (b) to join their families in the UK through the family reunion process in each year from 2018 to 2022.

The Home Office does not publish information on how many people have been granted permission to stay through the family reunion process, (in-country grants of leave to remain).

The Home Office publishes data on the number of Family Reunion visas granted, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data covering the period January 2010 onwards are published in table FAM_D01 (with more detailed data in the Data – FAM_D01 tab) from Family reunion visa grants detailed datasets, year ending September 2023. (Downloads new file).

Robert Jenrick
Minister of State (Home Office) (Immigration)
22nd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to increase the number of community policing teams in the West Midlands.

Decisions about how neighbourhood policing is delivered, including the deployment and composition of community policing teams, are for operationally independent Chief Constables. They are best placed to use their local knowledge and experience to serve local communities. Democratically elected PCCs are responsible for holding Chief Constables to account for the running of their force.

We are ensuring that policing has the resources it needs. As a result of the Police Uplift Programme there are now almost 150,000 officers in police forces across England and Wales - the highest number on record. As at 31 March 2023, West Midlands Police had recruited 1,376 additional officers against a total three-year uplift allocation of 1,218 officers.

The number of police officers within local policing roles in England and Wales is the highest since comparable data began. As at 31 March 2023, West Midlands Police had 3,629 full time equivalent police officers employed in local policing roles, a 4.2% increase on the previous year (3,483 FTE in March 2022).

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
22nd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many dogs have been destroyed by police since 2019.

The Home Office does not collect data on the number of dogs destroyed by the police.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
22nd Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will hold discussions with the Federation of Wholesale Distributors on trends in the level of crime affecting the wholesale sector.

The Government is concerned about recent increases in crime affecting the retail and wholesale sector, including organised theft. We take this very seriously and are committed to tackling it.

I recently met the Federation of Wholesale Distributors, as part of a meeting with senior policing leads and representatives of the retail sector, to discuss shoplifting and retail crime and action we have taken.. Home Office officials are also taking forward further discussions with the Federation of Wholesale Distributors about the crime affecting them specifically.

On the 23 October, the National Police Chiefs Council published a Retail Crime Action Plan, which includes a commitment to prioritise police attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database using facial recognition technology to further aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals.

The 23 October also saw the launch of Pegasus, a unique private-public partnership that will radically improve the way retailers are able to share intelligence with policing, to better understand the tactics used by organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders. This will include development of a new information sharing platform and training for retailers.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)