Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consideration the Home Office has given to mandating annual publication of police force level data on hate crime recording compliance.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Hate crime has no place in our society, and the Government is committed to ensuring it is recorded accurately and addressed effectively.
The accuracy and consistency of crime recording, including hate crime, is the responsibility of individual police forces, who must comply with the Home Office Counting Rules. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) independently inspects, monitors and reports on the efficiency and effectiveness of the police, including crime recording practices. However, HMICFRS does not publish annual compliance reports specifically on hate crime recording.
Home Office statisticians work closely with forces to ensure accurate data is provided for the annual statistical publication on hate crime in England and Wales. The latest release, covering the year ending March 2025, is available on GOV.UK. Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2025 - GOV.UK
The College of Policing sets national guidance and standards for policing, including Authorised Professional Practice on hate crime. The Home Office works closely with the College and other policing partners to review and update recording protocols as needed. This ensures forces have clear, consistent guidance for recording hate crime across all protected characteristics.
The government is carefully considering the 34 recommendations made by the Law Commission in its 2021 review of hate crime legislation; this does not contain any formal recommendation on how police should record hate crimes.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on implementing the Law Commission’s recommendations on hate crime recording.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Hate crime has no place in our society, and the Government is committed to ensuring it is recorded accurately and addressed effectively.
The accuracy and consistency of crime recording, including hate crime, is the responsibility of individual police forces, who must comply with the Home Office Counting Rules. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) independently inspects, monitors and reports on the efficiency and effectiveness of the police, including crime recording practices. However, HMICFRS does not publish annual compliance reports specifically on hate crime recording.
Home Office statisticians work closely with forces to ensure accurate data is provided for the annual statistical publication on hate crime in England and Wales. The latest release, covering the year ending March 2025, is available on GOV.UK. Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2025 - GOV.UK
The College of Policing sets national guidance and standards for policing, including Authorised Professional Practice on hate crime. The Home Office works closely with the College and other policing partners to review and update recording protocols as needed. This ensures forces have clear, consistent guidance for recording hate crime across all protected characteristics.
The government is carefully considering the 34 recommendations made by the Law Commission in its 2021 review of hate crime legislation; this does not contain any formal recommendation on how police should record hate crimes.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they made an equality impact assessment of the proposals in A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, published on 20 November; if so, when they plan to publish that assessment; and, if not, why not.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The proposed earned settlement policy is currently subject to a public consultation. This was launched on 20 November and is due to close on 12 February 2026.
This public consultation directly asks for opinions on how English language proficiency should be assessed. This, and the wider details of the earned settlement policy, will be finalised in light of the information collected in that consultation.
An equality impact assessment has been developed alongside the policy. There are specific questions in relation to equalities as part of the consultation to inform the final equality impact assessment, which A Fairer Pathway to Settlement has already committed to publishing in due course.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish an assessment of the trial use of live facial recognition in immigration enforcement in November; and whether it will be used or trialled again for immigration enforcement purposes before the close of the consultation on a new legal framework for law enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Immigration Enforcement carried out two live facial recognition deployments in collaboration with South Wales Police and Greater Manchester Police. The Department are reviewing these operations and considering the next steps. The results of these deployments are available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the impact of bias in retrospective facial recognition searches of the Police National Database.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is aware of the risk of bias in facial recognition algorithms and supports policing in managing that risk. Hence the Home Office, in collaboration with the Office of the Police Chief Scientific Adviser and the National Police Chiefs’ Council, commissioned independent testing of the facial recognition algorithm currently used by specially trained operators in police forces to search the Police National Database. Contracts were agreed in March 2024.
Independent testing helps to ensure algorithms are used at settings where statistically significant bias is reduced to negligible levels. Where potential bias is identified, the Home Office supports policing to ensure they have the operational processes in place to ensure the risk of any material impact is minimised.
Manual safeguards, embedded in police training, operational practice, and guidance, require all potential matches returned from the Police National Database to be checked by a trained user and investigating officer. These safeguards pre-date the National Physical Laboratory testing but they were reviewed once the results were known.
Home Office Ministers were first made aware of a bias in the algorithm used by specially trained operators in police forces to search the Police National Database in October 2024. Initial findings were shared with the Home Office between March 2024 and October 2024, and the final report was provided by NPL in April 2025 and updated for publication in October 2025.
A replacement system with a new algorithm has also been procured by the Home Office and independently tested. This testing has been published and shows that the system can be used with no statistically significant bias. It is due to be operationally tested early next year and will be subject to further evaluation.
The Home Office briefed the Information Commissioners Office on the findings of the independent report ahead of its publication and we continue to work closely with the ICO as we consult on a new legal framework for law enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies.
The Home Office has also commissioned His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, with support from the Forensic Science Regulator, to conduct an inspection of police and relevant law enforcement agencies’ use of retrospective facial recognition.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Information Commissioner's Office on the issue of bias in retrospective facial recognition searches of the Police National Database.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is aware of the risk of bias in facial recognition algorithms and supports policing in managing that risk. Hence the Home Office, in collaboration with the Office of the Police Chief Scientific Adviser and the National Police Chiefs’ Council, commissioned independent testing of the facial recognition algorithm currently used by specially trained operators in police forces to search the Police National Database. Contracts were agreed in March 2024.
Independent testing helps to ensure algorithms are used at settings where statistically significant bias is reduced to negligible levels. Where potential bias is identified, the Home Office supports policing to ensure they have the operational processes in place to ensure the risk of any material impact is minimised.
Manual safeguards, embedded in police training, operational practice, and guidance, require all potential matches returned from the Police National Database to be checked by a trained user and investigating officer. These safeguards pre-date the National Physical Laboratory testing but they were reviewed once the results were known.
Home Office Ministers were first made aware of a bias in the algorithm used by specially trained operators in police forces to search the Police National Database in October 2024. Initial findings were shared with the Home Office between March 2024 and October 2024, and the final report was provided by NPL in April 2025 and updated for publication in October 2025.
A replacement system with a new algorithm has also been procured by the Home Office and independently tested. This testing has been published and shows that the system can be used with no statistically significant bias. It is due to be operationally tested early next year and will be subject to further evaluation.
The Home Office briefed the Information Commissioners Office on the findings of the independent report ahead of its publication and we continue to work closely with the ICO as we consult on a new legal framework for law enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies.
The Home Office has also commissioned His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, with support from the Forensic Science Regulator, to conduct an inspection of police and relevant law enforcement agencies’ use of retrospective facial recognition.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that any use of live facial recognition cameras by law enforcement bodies is subject to clear safeguards to protect privacy and human rights.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
When deploying facial recognition technology, police forces must comply with existing legislation including the Human Rights Act 1998, Equality Act 2010, Data Protection Act 2018, Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, as well as their own published policies. For live facial recognition, police forces must also follow the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice (APP) on Live Facial Recognition. Forces must also give due regard to the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice, which is supplemented by published policing policies.
On 4 December the Government launched a 10 week public consultation on law enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies. We are consulting on a new legal framework to create consistent, durable rules and appropriate safeguards for biometrics and facial recognition. This framework will aim to strike the right balance between public protection and privacy. The consultation will close week commencing 9 Feb 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to establish a system for recording deaths and serious injuries at the UK-France border; and why mortality data at that border is not routinely published.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office maintains a record of reported fatalities that have occurred as a result of attempts to make dangerous, illegal, and unnecessary crossings of the Channel by migrants in small boats. Most of these fatalities have taken place in French Territorial Waters, and so it would not be appropriate for UK authorities to publish information about fatal incidents occurring outside the UK's jurisdiction.
Those fatal incidents that have taken place in UK TTW are subject to UK coronial and official inquiry processes, and their reports are a matter of public record.
Serious injuries are extremely rare along the UK-France border and following interceptions by Border Force (canalised entry) and BSC (includes all Maritime interception, welfare receptions, initial interviewing and immigration processing on land), but there has always been violence and inhumane treatment perpetrated by people smuggling gangs across Europe and beyond. The UK and international partners are resolved on disrupting and dismantling these gangs.
Asked by: Lord Bailey of Paddington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer and remarks by Lord Hanson of Flint on 17 November (HL11520) and 10 November (HL Deb col 66), whether for-profit social housing providers will be granted the same powers as not-for-profit housing providers under the Crime and Policing Bill.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are strengthening the powers available to relevant agencies under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
For-profit Social Housing Providers have grown in prominence since the 2014 Act first came into force. While it is important that all agencies have the powers they need to tackle ASB, it is also important that changes to the agencies that can use the powers in the 2014 ASB Crime and Policing Act are considered carefully, on a case-by-case basis. The addition of for-profit social housing providers as applicant agencies for Respect Orders, Housing Injunctions and Youth Injunctions remains under consideration, as mentioned in previous answers.
We are, however, legislating in the Crime and Policing Bill to extend the power to issue Closure Notices to Registered Social Housing Providers, including For Profit Housing Providers. This will make it easier for Housing Providers to take swift action to prevent disruptive ASB.
Asked by: Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government why staff are "strongly advised" in the Immigration Enforcement Live Facial Recognition Policy Document published in November to refer to that document rather than being required to do so.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Immigration Enforcement live facial recognition policy document was based on standard police guidance. However, we can confirm that during operational deployments it was made clear to relevant Home Office members of staff that adherence to the agreed-upon policies and processes was mandatory.