Apr. 01 2026
Source Page: Letter dated 24/03/2026 from Shabana Mahmood MP to the Home Affairs Select Committee regarding the appointment of an independent reviewer to conduct an overarching review into the death of Sir David Amess. 1p.Report Apr. 01 2026
Committee: Home Affairs Committee (Department: Home Office)Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the monitoring of domestic extremist groups.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government is delivering a fundamental reset of how we counter extremism, ensuring we have the tools, capabilities, and partnerships to match the scale and nature of an evolving threat.
As announced in the Government’s Protecting What Matters publication, the Home Office is expanding the Prevent Disruptions team, which horizon scans for extremist influence and events, with additional resource to understand and disrupt extremist networks at a national and local level. This builds on strong action by the team over the past two years, where the highest harm extremists from across the political spectrum were targeted and stopped from spreading their divisive views.
We will also publish an annual ‘State of Extremism’ report which will arm frontline, public sector workers with the information they need to identify and confront extremism in the UK.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2026 to question 114022 on Extradition, how many of the requests received were from Bangladesh.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Further to our response to question 114022, which requested the number of Category 2 Type B requests we had received between 5th July 2024 and the date of that request 23rd February 2026.
In accordance with our policies and after careful consideration we have decided not to release the information on requests received from Bangladesh between 5th July 2024 and today’s date. This is because disclosure of figures where five or fewer requests have been made may lead to the identification of an individual request. This might prejudice ongoing law enforcement proceedings.
Please note that this information is taken from local management information and has not been quality assured to the level of published National Statistics. As such it should be treated as provisional and therefore subject to change.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled New UK–Nigeria partnership to speed up removals, published on 19 March 2026, whether additional resources have been allocated to immigration enforcement as a result of that agreement.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 18 March 2026, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a UK-Nigeria Migration Partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Nigerian Interior Minister, the Hon. Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
The Home Office pro-actively engages with key international partners to maintain, strengthen and improve returns cooperation and supporting processes. The UK uses a range of returns agreements and operational arrangements to support removals. It would not be appropriate to comment on discussions with individual countries, as this could undermine ongoing negotiations.
All returns under the UK–Nigeria partnership are conducted in accordance with UK law and international obligations, with safeguarding considerations applied throughout the process. Existing protections for vulnerable individuals, including identification of potential victims of modern slavery, which includes women and children, continue to apply.
The partnership streamlines the returns process, reducing processing and detention time, which in turn reduces operational costs. No additional resources have been allocated to Immigration Enforcement as a result of the UK–Nigeria partnership. The agreement is focused on improving efficiency and delivery within existing resources.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled New UK–Nigeria partnership to speed up removals, published on 19 March 2026, whether similar return agreements are being negotiated with other countries.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 18 March 2026, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a UK-Nigeria Migration Partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Nigerian Interior Minister, the Hon. Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
The Home Office pro-actively engages with key international partners to maintain, strengthen and improve returns cooperation and supporting processes. The UK uses a range of returns agreements and operational arrangements to support removals. It would not be appropriate to comment on discussions with individual countries, as this could undermine ongoing negotiations.
All returns under the UK–Nigeria partnership are conducted in accordance with UK law and international obligations, with safeguarding considerations applied throughout the process. Existing protections for vulnerable individuals, including identification of potential victims of modern slavery, which includes women and children, continue to apply.
The partnership streamlines the returns process, reducing processing and detention time, which in turn reduces operational costs. No additional resources have been allocated to Immigration Enforcement as a result of the UK–Nigeria partnership. The agreement is focused on improving efficiency and delivery within existing resources.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled New UK–Nigeria partnership to speed up removals, published on 19 March 2026, what savings are expected from faster removals.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 18 March 2026, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood signed a UK-Nigeria Migration Partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Nigerian Interior Minister, the Hon. Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
The Home Office pro-actively engages with key international partners to maintain, strengthen and improve returns cooperation and supporting processes. The UK uses a range of returns agreements and operational arrangements to support removals. It would not be appropriate to comment on discussions with individual countries, as this could undermine ongoing negotiations.
All returns under the UK–Nigeria partnership are conducted in accordance with UK law and international obligations, with safeguarding considerations applied throughout the process. Existing protections for vulnerable individuals, including identification of potential victims of modern slavery, which includes women and children, continue to apply.
The partnership streamlines the returns process, reducing processing and detention time, which in turn reduces operational costs. No additional resources have been allocated to Immigration Enforcement as a result of the UK–Nigeria partnership. The agreement is focused on improving efficiency and delivery within existing resources.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing enforceable duties on chief officers of police to ensure that officers comply with (1) the "Believe, React, Fast" duty to require a prompt and appropriate response to reports of domestic abuse and rape and serious sexual offences, including risk assessment, recording and safeguarding, and (2) the Gaia Principle, campaigned for by the Gemini Project, requiring diligent identification and consideration of all relevant intelligence relating to suspects.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We expect all reports of a sexual offence to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure. Police officers must follow all reasonable lines of enquiry, and this includes seeking out relevant information on suspects in VAWG offences.
The National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection is supporting police forces to implement Operation Soteria, helping ensure sexual offence investigations are always suspect-focused, and rolling out Raneem’s Law to embed independent domestic abuse specialists in police control rooms.
Police officers are already required to act diligently in the exercise of their duties, as part of the statutory standards of professional behaviour, a breach of which can result in disciplinary action. In addition, the Code of Ethics, published by the College of Policing in 2024, includes guidance on ethical and professional behaviour in policing. This makes it clear that the police must “gather, verify and assess all appropriate and available information”, which correlates with the policing commitment to pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry.
The recently published Police Reform White Paper outlined this Government’s commitment to drive quality, consistency and efficiency in policing and ensure it is set up to deliver for the public. These reforms will create a more consistent service by holding police forces accountable for delivery, supported by new powers to intervene where forces fall short.
Asked by: Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve information sharing between the Community Security Trust and the Counter Terrorism Policing Operations Centre.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises the importance of effective engagement between policing and communities, including representative bodies, in protecting communities from hate crime, terrorism, and wider security threats.
Whilst it would not be appropriate to comment on specific arrangements, the Government continues to support strong partnership working between the police and communities, including through established relationships with organisations such as the Community Security Trust.
Asked by: Lord Bird (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Child Poverty Strategy, published on 5 December 2025, what discussions the Home Office have had with the Department for Education about the guidance to local authorities on statutory duties under section 17 of the Children Act 1989; and what steps they have taken to ensure that safeguarding and the best interests of children are considered in that guidance.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 establishes the general duty of local authorities in England to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need and, so far as is consistent with that duty, to promote the upbringing of such children by their families.
I can confirm that the Home Office is working with the Department for Education alongside other government departments and the NRPF network to produce guidance to assist local authorities in their duties to those with No Recourse to Public Funds as part of the Child Poverty Strategy.
The duty Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 duty does not apply to the Home Office. Instead, Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 places a duty on the Home Office to make arrangements for ensuring that immigration, asylum, nationality and general customs functions are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK.
The statutory guidance, called ‘Every Child Matters’, issued under Section 55 (3), sets out the key arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children as they apply both generally to public bodies who deal with children in the UK (Part 1) and specifically to the Home Office (Part 2).