Submit Evidence (by 10 Dec 2024)

Disorder took place in several UK cities between 30 July and 7 August 2024, following the violent events in Southport on 29 July.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with police forces on how to effectively enforce the law in respect to buffer zones around abortion clinics.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Crown Prosecution Service published guidance on 31 October 2024, alongside further information from the College of Policing, setting out how the police and prosecutors should approach enforcing the new offence.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve support to victims of stalking.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is fully committed to tackling stalking as part of our ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.

Achieving this will require a dramatic improvement in the policing and criminal justice response to these crimes, including stalking. improving the police and wider criminal justice response and sustained support for victims.

To start that work, we have committed to giving women the right to know the identity of online stalkers and to strengthening the use of Stalking Protection Orders, and will set out further action on stalking in the coming weeks.

In addition, to help ensure support for victims, the Home Office part-funds the National Stalking Helpline, run by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether workers and short-term travellers will be able to travel from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland using an electronic travel authorisation.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The ETA scheme applies to passengers visiting or transiting the UK, who do not currently need a visa for short stays and who do not have a valid UK immigration status prior to travelling.

British and Irish nationals do not require an ETA, and an exemption also exists for legal residents of Ireland entering the UK from Ireland.

Other individuals crossing the land border into Northern Ireland will need to continue to enter in accordance with the UK’s immigration framework, including the requirement to obtain an ETA when the scheme is fully rolled out.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Migration Advisory Committee Review of the Seasonal Worker visa, published on 16 July, what is the status of the future of the Seasonal Workers Scheme.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is carefully considering the Migration Advisory Committee’s review of the Seasonal Worker route and will announce a detailed response in due course.

On 21 October 2024, the Government underlined its commitment to the horticultural and poultry sectors by confirming that the quota of visas for Seasonal Workers would be 43,000 visas for the horticultural sector in 2025, with 2,000 visas for the poultry sector.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 7022 on Home Office: Official Cars, if she will publish a list of senior officials with access to a government car.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

For security reasons specific details of allocations including make and model of vehicles are not issued.

The arrangements relating to the usage of vehicles in the Government Car Service are set out in the Civil Service Management Code.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 7022 on Home Office: Official Cars, how many of those vehicles are electric.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

For security reasons specific details of allocations including make and model of vehicles are not issued.

The arrangements relating to the usage of vehicles in the Government Car Service are set out in the Civil Service Management Code.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number of police officers that are restricted from active duty due to (a) physical and (b) psychological injury; and if she will make an estimate of the average period of time that officers have been on (i) long-term sick leave and (ii) restricted duties in each of the last five years.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number of police officers on recuperative duties (duties falling short of full deployment, undertaken by a police officer following an injury, accident, illness or medical incident), and those on long-term sick absence (that have lasted for more than 28 calendar days), as at 31 March each year in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.

Information on long-term sick absences each year as at 31 March 2007 to 2024, can be found in the ‘Absences Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64ba613a2059dc00125d2782/open-data-table-police-workforce-absence-260723.ods.

Information on the number of police officers on recuperative duties each year as at 31 March 2016 to 2024, can be found in the ‘Limited Duties Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/669fb849a3c2a28abb50d546/open-data-table-police-workforce-limited-duties-240724.ods.

The Home Office does not collect data on the specific length of time a police officer has been on long-term absence or recuperative duties.

The Home Office does not collect data on the reason for recuperative duties. As such it is not possible to separately determine the number of police officers on restrictive duties due to physical and psychological injury.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Metropolitan Police on investigating shoplifting offences where the value of goods stolen is less than £200.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Shoplifting is a damaging crime, which soared under the previous government, and we are determined to remove any perception that offenders will escape punishment.

To that end, this Government will end the effective immunity, introduced by the previous Government, granted to shoplifting of goods under £200.

This Government regularly engages with National Police Chiefs' Council retail crime leads, ensuring effective collaboration to help combat retail crime.

Operational commitments were made by the police in its October 2023 Retail Crime Action Plan. The plan contains a commitment for police across England and Wales to prioritise attendance where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured by police personnel.

This Government will also introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of asylum seekers who will be accommodated at Wethersfield in (a) 2024 and (b) each of the next five years.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The government inherited an asylum system under unprecedented strain. We have taken immediate action to restart asylum processing which will save an estimated £7 billion for the taxpayer over the next ten years, and are delivering a major uplift in returns to remove people with no right to be in the UK. Over the long term this will reduce our reliance on hotels and costs of accommodation.

Occupancy at the Wethersfield site is currently capped at 580 as part of the Special Development Order. This means that during current operation of the site, the population will not exceed 580.

Once the relevant Special Development Order conditions have been discharged, regular occupancy will be capped at 800.

The number of residents on the site at any one time is likely to vary due to a number of factors, including individuals having moved to onward dispersed accommodation while their claims are being considered.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to continue to use the Wethersfield site to provide accommodation for asylum seekers.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The government inherited an asylum system under unprecedented strain. We have taken immediate action to restart asylum processing which will save an estimated £7 billion for the taxpayer over the next ten years, and are delivering a major uplift in returns to remove people with no right to be in the UK. Over the long term this will reduce our reliance on hotels and costs of accommodation.

Occupancy at the Wethersfield site is currently capped at 580 as part of the Special Development Order. This means that during current operation of the site, the population will not exceed 580.

Once the relevant Special Development Order conditions have been discharged, regular occupancy will be capped at 800.

The number of residents on the site at any one time is likely to vary due to a number of factors, including individuals having moved to onward dispersed accommodation while their claims are being considered.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Hanson of Flint on 24 October (HL Deb col 742) , whether they intend to introduce physical proof of immigration status for EU citizens living in the UK; and if so, when.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

eVisas are a key part of delivering a border and immigration system which will be more digital and streamlined by 2025, a change that will enhance the applicant’s experience, deliver excellent value, and increase the immigration system’s security and efficiency.

Successful EUSS applicants are given a UK Visas and Immigration account, which they can use to view and share their immigration status with others securely and in real-time. The Withdrawal Agreement explicitly allows for status to be provided in digital form. We will continue working towards a border and immigration system that is digital by default, and issuing immigration status in the form of an eVisa is part of this.

As with all such major change programmes, we are keeping our eVisa systems under review during the implementation period to identify and address any emerging issues.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Hanson of Flint on 24 October (HL Deb col 744), when they will carry out their review of the digitisation of immigration status; and when the results will be known.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

eVisas are a key part of delivering a border and immigration system which will be more digital and streamlined by 2025, a change that will enhance the applicant’s experience, deliver excellent value, and increase the immigration system’s security and efficiency.

Successful EUSS applicants are given a UK Visas and Immigration account, which they can use to view and share their immigration status with others securely and in real-time. The Withdrawal Agreement explicitly allows for status to be provided in digital form. We will continue working towards a border and immigration system that is digital by default, and issuing immigration status in the form of an eVisa is part of this.

As with all such major change programmes, we are keeping our eVisa systems under review during the implementation period to identify and address any emerging issues.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers have medically retired from active duty due to (a) physical and (b) psychological (i) injury and (ii) trauma in the last five years.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number of police officers leaving the police service in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.

Information on the number of police officers leaving via medical retirement, between the years ending 31 March 2007 to 2024, can be found in the ‘Leavers Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/669a917cce1fd0da7b59294f/open-data-table-police-workforce-leavers-240724.ods

The Home Office does not collect data on the specific reason for medical retirement.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure police officers are more able to (a) identify and (b) respond to stalking crimes.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is fully committed to tackling stalking as part of our ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.

Achieving this will require a dramatic improvement in the policing and criminal justice response to these crimes, including stalking. improving the police and wider criminal justice response and sustained support for victims.

To start that work, we have committed to giving women the right to know the identity of online stalkers and to strengthening the use of Stalking Protection Orders, and will set out further action on stalking in the coming weeks.

In addition, to help ensure support for victims, the Home Office part-funds the National Stalking Helpline, run by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to establish Young Futures Hubs in (a) Gloucester and (b) across the country.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to rolling out a new Youth Futures programme, including a network of Young Futures Hubs which will bring together services to help improve the way young people can access the support they need.

Officials from across a range of departments are already working together, using evidence of what works to start to shape how the prevention partnerships and hubs will work in practice. As part of this we are engaging with local communities, the police, charities, and other key partners to support the design of the programme and explore options for it’s delivery, ensuring we are making use of the vast knowledge and experience that already exists. This includes considerations of the most suitable locations as well as how best to engage with those young people who would benefit most from their support.

We will provide further detail on the future timelines for delivery as the work develops.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) officials from her Department and (b) police officers have visited Pitcairn Island in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

I can confirm that no officials from the Home Office or UK police officers have visited Pitcairn Island in the last 12 months.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in their Department work outside of the UK; where these staff work; and what the cost is of salaries for these staff.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

For security reasons, we do not give out figures of how many operational staff are working at a given time or on a specific operational deployment.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 21 October (HL1180), what assessment they have made of the decline in the number of full-time equivalent police officers employed in road policing roles over the last 10 years; and how many (1) traffic collisions, and (2) injuries to drivers, pedestrians and other road users, there have been in each year over the same period.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government has not conducted any such assessment.

As a general rule, how the police enforce the law is a matter for individual Chief Constables who will decide on the deployment of officers in dealing with all the issues for which the force is responsible, taking into account any specific local problems and demands.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of operating the Wethersfield site for asylum accommodation in each of the next five years.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

Cost information is prospective and commercially sensitive, and as such is not available to be released.

The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab). It does not publish a breakdown of statistics which disaggregates asylum accommodation costs by type or location.

Asylum seekers who are resident in accommodation where meals are provided, such as Wethersfield, are in receipt of 8.86 per week. Further details about support asylum seekers may be entitled to can be found at Asylum support: What you'll get - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) average and (b) total cost of financial support provided to asylum seekers at the Wethersfield site was in the last 12 months.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

Cost information is prospective and commercially sensitive, and as such is not available to be released.

The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab). It does not publish a breakdown of statistics which disaggregates asylum accommodation costs by type or location.

Asylum seekers who are resident in accommodation where meals are provided, such as Wethersfield, are in receipt of 8.86 per week. Further details about support asylum seekers may be entitled to can be found at Asylum support: What you'll get - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of small boat arrivals there will be by the end of (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not make estimates of this kind.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Gower.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out a mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all of the levers available to us to deliver this.

The Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target perpetrators, and we are working closely with the voluntary and community sector to help victims. We have several ways to estimate the scale of sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation make up a significant proportion of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support). The most recent statistics show that in 2023, sexual exploitation accounted for 10% (1,679) of all referrals, a 2% increase from the previous year, with 9% (1,470) of referrals relating to women. The Home Office does not hold data specific to Gower. However, between January and June 2024, there were 7 potential victims of modern slavery referred to the NRM who reported (either part or whole) sexual exploitation which was disclosed as occurring in West Glamorgan.

To help support people at risk of being sexually exploited, Changing Lives has received £1.36m from the Home Office over three years (2022-2025) for their Net-Reach project, which provides online outreach, early intervention and intensive support for women and girls at high-risk of exploitation and abuse.

In addition, the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract provides support to adult potential and confirmed victims of modern slavery in England and Wales. This support includes a support worker to help them access support services, including medical treatment, legal aid, legal representatives, and legal advice.

Online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a legal pathway for Palestinian children in Gaza to travel to the UK to receive medical treatment.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Government is determined to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and rapidly increase aid, ensuring humanitarian support is reaching people there. We have been assisting British nationals and other eligible people to leave Gaza, liaising closely with the Israeli and Egyptian authorities.

There are provisions that allow Palestinians to come to the UK for Private Medical Treatment under the Immigration Rules. Where a relevant application is made consideration will be given to exceptional circumstances or where there are compelling or compassionate grounds. The government is keeping all existing visa pathways under review in response to events in Gaza.

Israel should engage with its partners to urgently establish sustained, safe and timely passage for patients who need medical or surgical interventions not available in Gaza.

The UK is supporting the provision of essential healthcare to civilians in Gaza, including support to UK-Med for operating their field hospitals. On 16 October, Minister Falconer announced £1m for WHO Egypt to help Egypt’s Ministry of Health support medically evacuated civilians from Gaza who are receiving care in Egypt.

It should be noted that the World Health Organisation (WHO) position is that people who are medically evacuated should stay as close to home as possible, so that they remain amongst those who are more likely to understand their language and culture, and so that their return home, when ready, is easier.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the resources available to process family visa applications from British-Palestinians.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Government is assisting British nationals to leave Gaza. The FCDO is also providing consular assistance to those with British nationality, or dual nationality including British, who are in Gaza or who have left Gaza to a third country. Dual national British-Palestinians are not required to make a visa application as they have the right of abode in the UK.

Our embassy staff are ready to provide support as appropriate. They continue to support British nationals and other eligible persons who have exited Gaza to access the necessary medical, consular and administrative support.

Immediate family members of British nationals and those settled in the UK who wish to come and live in the UK can apply under one of the existing family visa routes.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which levels of study the Future opportunity Market testing for Home Office English Language Testing (HOELT) services, notice reference: 2024/S 000-027422, published on 28 August 2024, applies to.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The new service will cover the policies in place across all visa routes where there is a requirement for language ability to be tested as part of the visa application process.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) regulate and (b) monitor (i) MBR Acres and (ii) other breeding facilities to ensure compliance with animal welfare standards.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) provides protections for animals bred in the UK for use in scientific procedures. All establishments licenced to breed protected animals under ASPA are required to comply with the published Code of Practice, which sets out standards for the appropriate care and accommodation of animals, including dogs.

The Animals in Science Regulation Unit conducts both announced and unannounced audits to ensure establishments compliance with the terms of their licences, the Code of Practice and with ASPA.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a visa scheme to enable displaced Palestinians living in (a) Gaza, (b) Egypt and (c) other countries to be reunited with family members in the UK.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Government is determined to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and rapidly increase aid, ensuring humanitarian support is reaching people there.

The government is keeping existing visa pathways under review in response to events. Palestinian nationals who wish to come to the UK can do so via the existing range of visa routes available.

Our embassy staff are ready to provide support as appropriate. They continue to support British nationals and other eligible persons who have exited Gaza to access the necessary medical, consular and administrative support.

Any application for a UK visa will be assessed against the requirements of the Immigration Rules. Immediate family members of British citizens and those settled in the UK who wish to come and live in the UK can apply under one of the existing family visa routes.

There are also routes available for dependants of those who are in the UK on most work routes and certain postgraduate student routes.

Individuals with protection status or settlement on a protection route may

sponsor their partner or child (under 18), to join or stay with them in the UK,

providing they formed part of the pre-flight family unit before the sponsor fled

their country to seek protection.

Where a relevant application is made, consideration will be given to compelling compassionate factors that are raised.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost of Aspen cards was to the public purse in each of the last five years.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide accommodation and other support to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.

The Home Office publishes information on asylum expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).

Prior to 2023/24 asylum support costs were not published separately.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Ireland about potential returns from that country of irregular migrants to the United Kingdom.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Following our departure from the EU, the UK agreed to a reciprocal operational arrangement with Ireland which allows for the return and readmission of asylum seekers.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has responded to the regulation 28 prevention of future deaths report issued on 20 May 2024 in the case of deaths in the Forbury Gardens terror attack of 20 June 2020, to which a response was due under statute by 15 July 2024.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

The deaths of James Furlong, Joseph Ritchie-Bennett and David Wails in the Forbury Gardens terror attack of 20 June 2020 were a tragedy. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of James, Joseph and David, and with all of those individuals impacted by this incident.

The Home Office response to the Regulation 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths was submitted to the Judge Coroner on 9 September 2024 and can now be viewed on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-0276-Response-from-the-Home-Office.pdf. The Home Office and other interested persons received an extension from the original deadline of 15 July 2024 due to the timing of the General Election.

In this response, the Home Secretary fully supported the Judge Coroner’s conclusion that the Home Office has made improvements since this tragic incident and that effective monitoring of these improvements is required. The Home Secretary will be overseeing the rigorous and robust implementation of recommendations and new commitments made.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to address the intelligence failings outlined in the regulation 28 prevention of future deaths report issued on 20 May 2024 in the case of deaths in the Forbury Gardens terror attack of 20 June 2020.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

The deaths of James Furlong, Joseph Ritchie-Bennett and David Wails in the Forbury Gardens terror attack of 20 June 2020 were a tragedy. Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of James, Joseph and David, and with all of those individuals impacted by this incident.

The Home Office response to the Regulation 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths was submitted to the Judge Coroner on 9 September 2024 and can now be viewed on the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024-0276-Response-from-the-Home-Office.pdf. The Home Office and other interested persons received an extension from the original deadline of 15 July 2024 due to the timing of the General Election.

In this response, the Home Secretary fully supported the Judge Coroner’s conclusion that the Home Office has made improvements since this tragic incident and that effective monitoring of these improvements is required. The Home Secretary will be overseeing the rigorous and robust implementation of recommendations and new commitments made.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 21 October (HL1232), why the number of foreign national offenders removed from the UK who have served a custodial sentence of at least 12 months is not separately available in Government statistics.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Since moving to a new caseworking system in October 2022, we are continually reviewing the quality and usefulness of HO management information data sourced from this new system, for use in Home Office internal policy-making and also for possible public release. Data relating to returns of foreign national offenders is of great public interest, and we are reviewing ways we can better meet the public need for information on this topic in future.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 October 2024 to Question 7600 on Asylum: Finance, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing an estimate of the lifetime fiscal (a) cost of and (b) income generated by people granted asylum.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

As has been the case under successive governments, there is no published estimate available of the requested information.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to (a) improve the efficiency of the application process for the Windrush compensation scheme and (b) limit further delays.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

We recognise that justice has taken far too long for the Windrush community, and this Government will not allow the Windrush Compensation Scheme to fail the victims that deserve our compassion and rightly expect their trauma and experiences to be both heard and understood.

Since February 2024, processes have been in place so that where individuals were unable to work because they could not demonstrate their lawful status in the UK, their National Insurance record is corrected so their State Pension entitlement is not affected.

Officials are working at pace to consider how losses from Private and Occupational pensions could also be accounted for. This is a complex issue, and we will continue to work closely with stakeholders and victims as the work progresses.

The Windrush Compensation Scheme is committed to continuing to listen to and to work with victims and stakeholders to ensure all aspects of the Scheme operating effectively for those affected.

On 8 July 2024, a new single named caseworker process was implemented. This was in direct response to stakeholder and victim feedback. This change has streamlined the process, improving consistency, increasing transparency, and removing duplication that led to avoidable delay.

On 24 October 2024, the Home Secretary made a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament announcing an injection of £1.5m grant funding to enable organisations to provide advocacy and support for individuals who need additional help with the application process, out of recognition that for many filing a claim is intimidating and requires them to revisit past traumas. This will ensuring claimants feel supported, improving the efficiency of the process.

This assistance will be offered alongside but separate from existing claims support, giving individuals increased flexibility and choice regarding the type of help they want and where they can access it.

The Home Secretary also confirmed that she will establishing a Windrush Commissioner; an independent advocate for all those affected. This role will oversee the compensation scheme's delivery, the implementation of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, and act as a trusted voice for families and communities, driving improvements and promoting lasting change.

In addition, as promised, the Home Secretary has re-established a Windrush Unit in the Home Office reporting to the Departmental Ethics Adviser and dedicated to driving forward the action needed to ensure that what happened to the Windrush generation can never happen again to any part of our society. The new unit stands ready to support the Windrush Commissioner when appointed.

This renewed work and the recruitment of a dedicated Windrush Commissioner must drive enduring change that matters to the Windrush community and has wider impact across the whole department and across Government.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her planned timeline is for the review of accounting for the loss of private and occupational pensions under the Windrush Compensation Scheme.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

We recognise that justice has taken far too long for the Windrush community, and this Government will not allow the Windrush Compensation Scheme to fail the victims that deserve our compassion and rightly expect their trauma and experiences to be both heard and understood.

Since February 2024, processes have been in place so that where individuals were unable to work because they could not demonstrate their lawful status in the UK, their National Insurance record is corrected so their State Pension entitlement is not affected.

Officials are working at pace to consider how losses from Private and Occupational pensions could also be accounted for. This is a complex issue, and we will continue to work closely with stakeholders and victims as the work progresses.

The Windrush Compensation Scheme is committed to continuing to listen to and to work with victims and stakeholders to ensure all aspects of the Scheme operating effectively for those affected.

On 8 July 2024, a new single named caseworker process was implemented. This was in direct response to stakeholder and victim feedback. This change has streamlined the process, improving consistency, increasing transparency, and removing duplication that led to avoidable delay.

On 24 October 2024, the Home Secretary made a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament announcing an injection of £1.5m grant funding to enable organisations to provide advocacy and support for individuals who need additional help with the application process, out of recognition that for many filing a claim is intimidating and requires them to revisit past traumas. This will ensuring claimants feel supported, improving the efficiency of the process.

This assistance will be offered alongside but separate from existing claims support, giving individuals increased flexibility and choice regarding the type of help they want and where they can access it.

The Home Secretary also confirmed that she will establishing a Windrush Commissioner; an independent advocate for all those affected. This role will oversee the compensation scheme's delivery, the implementation of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, and act as a trusted voice for families and communities, driving improvements and promoting lasting change.

In addition, as promised, the Home Secretary has re-established a Windrush Unit in the Home Office reporting to the Departmental Ethics Adviser and dedicated to driving forward the action needed to ensure that what happened to the Windrush generation can never happen again to any part of our society. The new unit stands ready to support the Windrush Commissioner when appointed.

This renewed work and the recruitment of a dedicated Windrush Commissioner must drive enduring change that matters to the Windrush community and has wider impact across the whole department and across Government.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to take steps to lower the burden of proof for Windrush compensation scheme claims.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

We recognise that justice has taken far too long for the Windrush community, and this Government will not allow the Windrush Compensation Scheme to fail the victims that deserve our compassion and rightly expect their trauma and experiences to be both heard and understood.

Since February 2024, processes have been in place so that where individuals were unable to work because they could not demonstrate their lawful status in the UK, their National Insurance record is corrected so their State Pension entitlement is not affected.

Officials are working at pace to consider how losses from Private and Occupational pensions could also be accounted for. This is a complex issue, and we will continue to work closely with stakeholders and victims as the work progresses.

The Windrush Compensation Scheme is committed to continuing to listen to and to work with victims and stakeholders to ensure all aspects of the Scheme operating effectively for those affected.

On 8 July 2024, a new single named caseworker process was implemented. This was in direct response to stakeholder and victim feedback. This change has streamlined the process, improving consistency, increasing transparency, and removing duplication that led to avoidable delay.

On 24 October 2024, the Home Secretary made a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament announcing an injection of £1.5m grant funding to enable organisations to provide advocacy and support for individuals who need additional help with the application process, out of recognition that for many filing a claim is intimidating and requires them to revisit past traumas. This will ensuring claimants feel supported, improving the efficiency of the process.

This assistance will be offered alongside but separate from existing claims support, giving individuals increased flexibility and choice regarding the type of help they want and where they can access it.

The Home Secretary also confirmed that she will establishing a Windrush Commissioner; an independent advocate for all those affected. This role will oversee the compensation scheme's delivery, the implementation of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, and act as a trusted voice for families and communities, driving improvements and promoting lasting change.

In addition, as promised, the Home Secretary has re-established a Windrush Unit in the Home Office reporting to the Departmental Ethics Adviser and dedicated to driving forward the action needed to ensure that what happened to the Windrush generation can never happen again to any part of our society. The new unit stands ready to support the Windrush Commissioner when appointed.

This renewed work and the recruitment of a dedicated Windrush Commissioner must drive enduring change that matters to the Windrush community and has wider impact across the whole department and across Government.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 4.20 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, how much funding will be provided to police forces to help increase the number of neighbourhood officers and Police Community Support Officers; and in which financial years will this funding be made available.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Autumn Budget confirmed that the core government grant for police forces will increase. Further details and force level allocations will be set out at the provisional settlement in December.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been arrested due to instances of violence involving a machete in the last 12 months.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not currently hold data centrally on the number of people arrested due to instances of violence involving a machete.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of arrests made by police in England and Wales, broken down by offence group, on an annual basis. The latest data, covering the period to March 2024, is available here: Stop and search, arrests and mental health detentions, March 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

However, the data is collected by broader offence group only, such as ‘Violence against the person’, and further details are not provided.

Policing is a devolved matter.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken with relevant authorities to reduce shop lifting in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Shoplifting increased at an unacceptable level under the previous government, and we have seen more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers. We will not stand for this. Everybody has a right to feel safe on the job.

To that end, this Government will end the effective immunity, introduced by the previous Government, granted to low level shoplifting of goods under £200, and introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers are currently employed in neighbourhood policing in Lancashire.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the primary function of police officers, as at 31 March each year, in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was spent by police forces on celebrating Pride Month in June (a) 2023 and (b) 2024.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold this information.

Decisions on how funding and resources are utilised are an operational matter for Chief Constables and locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners, who are best placed to make resourcing decisions within their communities based on their local knowledge and experience.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to take forward the plans for community hubs supporting young people’s mental health mentioned in the Labour Party Manifesto 2024; if so, which Department is responsible for their delivery; whether these hubs will be open-access; and how many they intend to fund through the programme.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to rolling out a network of Young Futures Hubs. These will bring together services to help improve children and young people’s access to support to reduce crime and improve mental health and careers opportunities.

This is a cross-government endeavour and expertise has been brought together from across departments to deliver on this manifesto commitment. The government will be engaging with national and local partners, local communities and children and young people to explore options for the design and delivery of the hubs.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many assessments for destitution her Department has made for people subject to No Recourse to Public Funds conditions in each of the last five years.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

We are unable to provide this information as it is not routinely published, and it can only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

When an individual goes through the process of assessment for Change of Conditions, various No Recourse to Public Funds conditions are checked, with ‘destitution’ being one of these conditions.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the National Rural Crime Unit since its inception.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The National Rural Crime Unit is a specialist unit, and its activities exemplify the importance of collaboration in this area, involving farmers, policymakers and police working together at national and local level to examine how UK farming businesses can be better protected against crime.

The National Rural Crime Unit has recovered stolen property, including agricultural machinery and vehicles, worth £10 million since 2023. It has also co-ordinated operational responses across the UK that resulted in multiple arrests as well as disrupting organised crime groups.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much has been spent since April 2015 on (1) establishing the Emergency Services Network, and (2) running the existing Airwave service.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The ESMCP 2021 Full Business Case estimated the total cost of providing critical emergency services communications between 2015/16 and 2036/37 was £11.3bn. This is the combined Airwave and legacy contracts and costs of the replacement ESN service. It assumed Airwave and legacy system costs of approximately £450m annually compared with ESN at around £250m. The annual running cost of ESN compared to Airwave and legacy costs is expected to save over £200m a year.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the technology underlying the new Emergency Services Network will be capable of meeting all the operational requirements of the emergency services, including 'device-to-device' communications used when the wider network is unreachable, for example in rural locations.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office fully understands the capabilities needed by the emergency services to transition safely to ESN, and is considering a number of options for off-network comms Airwave will only be shut down when the conditions for a safe and timely transition to ESN have been met.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the achievements of the National Enabling Programme are maintained and further developed by police forces, following the closure of that programme in April 2022.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The National Enabling Programme (NEP) rolled out the Microsoft 365 (M365) suites and the Identity and Access Management capability to 40 forces. In the last year, the capability saw significantly increased use which further facilitated police collaboration.

The Police Digital Service completed the roll out to the remaining forces in 2022-23 and is facilitating the growth of these services. The Home Office is working with the Police Digital Service and policing to identify opportunities to improve the business-as-usual service and enable greater exploitation through the M365 Productivity Project.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what cost savings have resulted from police forces in England and Wales using the services of Blue Light Commercial since its establishment in June 2020.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Since BlueLight Commercial’s foundation in the 2020/21 financial year they have worked to deliver financial benefits within policing in England and Wales of £287 million. This includes cashable savings, efficiency savings, cost avoidance and revenue generation activity.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to require all police forces in England and Wales to publish regularly up-to-date information on the time taken to answer (1) 999 calls, and (2) 101 calls.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

999 performance data, including time taken to answer calls, is available for forces in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland on the police.uk website.

Data is available per force from November 2021 and new data is published monthly, one month in arrears. Members of the public can order the data to show average response times by each force, and the number and percentage of calls answered under 10 seconds, between 10 and (under) 60 seconds, and at 60 seconds or longer.

Unlike 999, there has been no national, consistent dataset for 101 performance data. Officials have worked closely with Policing to obtain agreement on definitions for the key metric of ‘Average Wait Time to Answer’ for 101 calls.

The Home Office will continue to work with Policing towards enabling consistent 101 performance data to be published.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that companies providing accommodation for asylum seekers are not profiteering from them.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

All Home Office commercial contracts are designed to ensure the best value for taxpayers and the Home Office closely monitors its contractors’ performance, including financial results. All accommodation contracts contain a profit share clause, meaning that any profits above the agreed contractual mark-up are returned to the Home Office.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many family visas were issued where the sponsoring (a) spouse or partner, (b) fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, (c) child, (d) parent and (c) relative providing long-term care was resident in Scotland in 2023.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Home Office publishes data on Family, Work, and Study visas granted in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. However, this information is not broken down by place of residence or UK region.

The published statistics can be found in the entry clearance visa data tables.

Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 2024 Q2.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many work visas were issued for jobs in Scottish workplaces in Scotland in 2022.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Home Office publishes data on Family, Work, and Study visas granted in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. However, this information is not broken down by place of residence or UK region.

The published statistics can be found in the entry clearance visa data tables.

Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 2024 Q2.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many work visas were issued for jobs in Scottish workplaces in 2021.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Home Office publishes data on Family, Work, and Study visas granted in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. However, this information is not broken down by place of residence or UK region.

The published statistics can be found in the entry clearance visa data tables.

Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 2024 Q2.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what legislative action they plan to take to prevent the creation and distribution of deepfake non-consensual intimate images online, and to prevent the distribution of other AI-generated content that propagates hate speech or incites violence, including gender-based violence.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Women and children receive a disproportionate amount of online abuse and the exponential rise of AI has further exacerbated this threat. That is why tackling child sexual abuse and violence against women & girls (VAWG), including when these crimes take place online, remains a top priority for this government.

Under the Online Safety Act 2023, it is an offence to share or threaten to share intimate images without consent and this includes “deepfake” images. In September 2024, this Government made the sharing of intimate images without consent a ‘priority offence’ - the most serious class of online crime under the Online Safety Act. Companies in scope of the Act’s duties will now be required to proactively tackle this content on their platforms. This Government has also committed to banning the creation of sexually explicit “deepfake” images and is working at pace to identify a suitable legislative vehicle.

With regards to child sexual abuse imagery, UK law is very clear that it is an offence to produce, store, share or search for any material that contains or depicts child sexual abuse. This prohibition also includes pseudo-imagery that may have been generated by artificial intelligence. Possession of indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children carries a maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment. In addition, the offence of taking, making, distribution and possession with a view to distribution of any indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child under 18 carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.

Technology companies, including those developing generative artificial intelligence products, have a duty to ensure their products are designed with robust guardrails in place that prevent them from being misused by offenders to create artificially generated child sexual abuse material. This Government is fully committed to tackling the creation of CSAM online and will use every lever possible to prevent it.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many family visas were issued where the sponsoring (a) spouse or partner, (b) fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, (c) child, (d) parent and (c) relative providing long-term care was resident in Scotland in 2021.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Home Office publishes data on Family, Work, and Study visas granted in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. However, this information is not broken down by place of residence or UK region.

The published statistics can be found in the entry clearance visa data tables.

Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 2024 Q2.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many family visas were issued where the sponsoring (a) spouse or partner, (b) fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, (c) child, (d) parent and (c) relative providing long-term care was resident in Scotland in 2022.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Home Office publishes data on Family, Work, and Study visas granted in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. However, this information is not broken down by place of residence or UK region.

The published statistics can be found in the entry clearance visa data tables.

Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 2024 Q2.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people potentially or actually affected by the decision to amend Appendix EU to the Immigration Rules to include the provision that where a person has been granted limited leave to enter or remain the Secretary of State may extend that limited leave regardless of whether the person has made a valid application for such an extension.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The EU Settlement Scheme, contained in Appendix EU to the Immigration Rules, has provided 5.7 million people with the immigration status they need to continue living in the UK. This includes 1.8 million people who have obtained a grant of pre-settled status (five years’ limited leave to enter or remain).

Since September 2023, we have been extending the pre-settled status of those approaching its expiry date if they have not yet obtained settled status (indefinite leave to enter or remain). This ensures that no pre-settled status holder loses their rights in the UK for failing to make a second application to the scheme.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government by what mechanism the cost of the Single Online Home system is recovered from the police forces which use it and on what basis may that cost vary.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Single Online Home services for the public are kept under review and the Home Office funds the police-led Digital Public Contact (DPC) Programme to deliver enhancements to the platform as determined by Policing’s requirements.

The Single Online Home is a national web-based platform and digital police station where the public can report incidents, apply for licences, and provide and discover information about crime in their area.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to upgrade the Single Online Home system and when they expect these to be implemented.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

Single Online Home services for the public are kept under review and the Home Office funds the police-led Digital Public Contact (DPC) Programme to deliver enhancements to the platform as determined by Policing’s requirements.

The Single Online Home is a national web-based platform and digital police station where the public can report incidents, apply for licences, and provide and discover information about crime in their area.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support the long-term funding of Leicestershire Police.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The 2024-25 police funding settlement provides Leicestershire Police with funding of up to £256.0 million in 2024-25. The Home Office will provide additional government grant funding of £175 million to policing in 2024-25 to support the costs of the 2024 police pay award, from which Leicestershire will receive a further £2.4 million.

The Budget published on 30 October confirmed that the core government grant for police forces in England and Wales will increase in 2025-26. Further details and force level allocations will be set out at the forthcoming provisional settlement in December.

Funding for future years beyond 2025-26 will be set out in phase 2 of the Spending Review.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were referred to the Prevent programme by their ideological motivation in each year since 2014.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

The breakdown of statistical data on the individuals referred to the Prevent Programme by their associated type of concern since the financial year 2016/17 to 2022/23, can be found in Table 6 (Type of Concern of those referred, discussed at a Channel panel and adopted as a Channel case, 2016/17 to 2022/23) of the latest published statistics which are available under the Home Office’s latest counter-terrorism statistical series: Individuals referred to Prevent: to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Data on the individuals referred to Prevent by the extended list of type of concern under the main 10 high level categories before the financial year 2016/17 is not available due to changes in the categories available in the Police Case Management (PCM) data recording system as outlined in the user guide.

We have also included a summary of this data below in Table 1.

Table 1: Number of individuals referred to the Prevent Programme by their type of concern each year since the financial year ending 2016

Data on the number of referrals made between April 2023 - March 2024 will be released in the upcoming publication scheduled for 5th December 2024.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether visiting French school groups will be able to continue using the France-UK school trip travel information form after April 2025; and what discussions they have had with other countries to introduce a similar scheme for school visits to the UK.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

We permit the use of national identity cards for French schoolchildren (aged 18 and under) travelling on organised trips and waive UK visa requirements for their classmates who are visa nationals. Their responsible adults must be in possession of a fully completed and authenticated form listing the participants in the trip. French schools can access the form online from gov.uk. More information and a link to the form can be found at: Visit the UK as part of a French school trip - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

In advance of the ETA scheme opening to applications from European nationals next year, the Government has considered the implications of the scheme on French school groups visiting the UK, and has agreed that children aged 18 and under travelling as part of a French school group will be temporarily exempted from the ETA requirement until a group solution is developed. This will allow EU, EEA and Swiss children to continue to use their identity cards on organised French school trips to the UK.

At the Leaders’ Summit in Paris on 10 March 2023, as part of an overall agreement on migration reached with France, the UK committed to ease the travel of school groups to the UK by making changes to documentary requirements for school children on organised trips from France.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria the Prevent programme uses to (a) identify and (b) define subcategories of Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

Prevent uses the definition of Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism as set out in

CONTEST 2023. This describes those involved in Extreme Right-Wing activity who use violence in furtherance of their ideology. These ideologies can be broadly characterised as Cultural Nationalism, White Nationalism and White Supremacism. Individuals and groups may subscribe to ideological trends and ideas from more than one category.

When assessing referrals to Prevent, specialist police officers and staff determine

whether there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a person is at risk of radicalisation. According to the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 S36(3) “A chief officer of police may refer an individual to a panel only if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the individual is vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism”

The definition used by Prevent is available at the following link: Microsoft Word - English Standard_CONTEST 2023 (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to protect the welfare of beagles bred for sale to animal testing facilities.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

animals bred in the UK for use in scientific procedures. All establishments licenced to breed protected animals under ASPA are required to comply with the published Code of Practice, which sets out standards for the appropriate care and accommodation of animals, including dogs.

The majority of Beagles bred for use in science (85%) are for the purposes of regulatory testing under legislation on pharmaceutical products for human use. The number of Beagles bred is largely determined by the forecast needs of the pharmaceutical industry that require testing of medicines, and the Animals in Science Regulation Unit conducts both announced and unannounced audits to ensure establishments compliance with the terms of their licences, the Code of Practice and with ASPA.

The Home Office assures that, in every research proposal, animals are replaced with non-animal alternatives wherever possible, the number of animals are reduced to the minimum necessary to achieve the result sought, and that, for those animals which must be used, procedures are refined as much as possible to minimise their suffering.

The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) is leading on plans to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of alternatives to animal testing.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of number of beagles needed for use in laboratory experiments in the UK.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

animals bred in the UK for use in scientific procedures. All establishments licenced to breed protected animals under ASPA are required to comply with the published Code of Practice, which sets out standards for the appropriate care and accommodation of animals, including dogs.

The majority of Beagles bred for use in science (85%) are for the purposes of regulatory testing under legislation on pharmaceutical products for human use. The number of Beagles bred is largely determined by the forecast needs of the pharmaceutical industry that require testing of medicines, and the Animals in Science Regulation Unit conducts both announced and unannounced audits to ensure establishments compliance with the terms of their licences, the Code of Practice and with ASPA.

The Home Office assures that, in every research proposal, animals are replaced with non-animal alternatives wherever possible, the number of animals are reduced to the minimum necessary to achieve the result sought, and that, for those animals which must be used, procedures are refined as much as possible to minimise their suffering.

The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) is leading on plans to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of alternatives to animal testing.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of beagles being bred for use in laboratory experiments in the UK.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

animals bred in the UK for use in scientific procedures. All establishments licenced to breed protected animals under ASPA are required to comply with the published Code of Practice, which sets out standards for the appropriate care and accommodation of animals, including dogs.

The majority of Beagles bred for use in science (85%) are for the purposes of regulatory testing under legislation on pharmaceutical products for human use. The number of Beagles bred is largely determined by the forecast needs of the pharmaceutical industry that require testing of medicines, and the Animals in Science Regulation Unit conducts both announced and unannounced audits to ensure establishments compliance with the terms of their licences, the Code of Practice and with ASPA.

The Home Office assures that, in every research proposal, animals are replaced with non-animal alternatives wherever possible, the number of animals are reduced to the minimum necessary to achieve the result sought, and that, for those animals which must be used, procedures are refined as much as possible to minimise their suffering.

The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) is leading on plans to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of alternatives to animal testing.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to enhance support for cyber crime agencies in combating the misuse of artificial intelligence.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are determined to keep the public and businesses safe from the ever-evolving threat of cyber crime, and other online crimes, including where criminals seek to do harm by exploiting artificial intelligence.

HMG will continue to ensure that Law Enforcement have the capabilities they need to tackle the perpetrators of cyber crime, including where perpetrators exploit the use of artificial intelligence, while working closely with international partners and in partnership with the tech industry to build resilience and protect UK public and businesses.

We will continue to ensure we work with partners to understand the challenges posed by artificial intelligence and how that may change, while pursuing cyber criminals, and working with industry to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to make it easier for women to report abuse experienced when they have been exercising in public.

Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This Government has set out an unprecedented ambition to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade, and we are determined to use every lever available to us to deliver on that aim.

That means working across Government departments to tackle threats to women’s safety in all areas of their lives, including in public spaces.

This year, the Home Office is providing £15 million to support communities through a variety of preventative interventions such as improved CCTV and streetlighting, public guardianship schemes, and behavioural change initiatives including educational programmes to help change attitudes towards women and girls.

In addition to reporting via 999 and the 101 non-emergency number, anyone who has experienced abuse which is not an emergency can report it through the Single Online Home (SOH) reporting tool (www.police.uk/pu/contact-us/). As of November 2024, 40 of the 43 police forces in England and Wales plus British Transport Police have been onboarded onto the Single Online platform and one further force is currently onboarding.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to tackle rural crime in Lancashire.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Rural crime can have devastating consequences for communities. That is why this Government is committed to cracking down on crime and disorder in rural areas, with tougher powers for the police to tackle antisocial behaviour, and to prevent farm theft and fly-tipping.

The National Rural Crime Unit, takes the lead on improving co-ordination and partnership working, which provides police forces with specialist operational support in their responses to rural crime, such as the theft of farming or construction machinery.

We are also committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, which aims to prevent the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers are employed in neighbourhood policing in Lincolnshire.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the primary function of police officers, as at 31 March each year, in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.

Table F1 of the data tables accompanying the publication provides the number of officers in “Neighbourhood Policing” roles, by Police Force Area, as at 31 March 2024.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many grants of refugee status were made to asylum seekers whose place of residence was Scotland in 2021; and in what type of accommodation they were housed at the time of grant.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on grants at initial decision is published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. Data on grants of refugee status by location or accommodation type is not published.

Data on those in receipt of asylum support by UK region and accommodation type is available in table Asy_D09 of the ‘Asylum seekers in receipt of support detailed dataset’. Location data for those who are not in receipt of support is not published.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many grants of refugee status were made to asylum seekers whose place of residence was Scotland in 2022; and in what type of accommodation they were housed at the time of grant.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on grants at initial decision is published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. Data on grants of refugee status by location or accommodation type is not published.

Data on those in receipt of asylum support by UK region and accommodation type is available in table Asy_D09 of the ‘Asylum seekers in receipt of support detailed dataset’. Location data for those who are not in receipt of support is not published.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help prevent the provision of large dinghies to people smuggling gangs.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are taking a whole-of-system approach to disrupt and dismantle the people smugglers’ business model. This includes working with international partners upstream to intercept material used by these criminal gangs, including dinghies and engines.

On Monday 4^th November, the Prime Minister set out his plans to INTERPOL for people-smuggling to be viewed as a global security threat and announced an additional £75 million to boost UK border security, bringing the investment in the Border Security Command over the next two years to £150 million. This will provide additional specialist investigators, intelligence officers, and state of the art surveillance equipment to ensure those behind this criminal activity are brought to justice.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that victims of rural crime in areas with poor (a) phone and (b) internet coverage are able to report those crimes promptly.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is committed to working with the police and other partners to address the blight of rural crime, with the introduction of stronger powers for the police to tackle antisocial behaviour, and action to tackle farm theft and fly-tipping.

We are recruiting 13,000 more neighbourhood police and police community support officers, including in rural areas, to ensure communities have somewhere to turn to report crimes and to report concerns.

Improving telecoms is a Department of Science Innovation and Technology lead.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether irregular migrants housed in hotels have access to (a) pool, (b) gym and (c) other hotel facilities.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide destitute asylum seekers with accommodation and subsistence support whilst their application for asylum is being considered.

They do not have access to hotel leisure facilities.

The Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly, clearing the backlog and increasing removals, ending demand on accommodation. The Home Office accommodation estate is under constant review, as the Home Office continues to identify a range of options to minimise the use of hotels and ensure better use of public money.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many irregular migrants have crossed the Channel by (a) age and (b) sex in each year since 2018.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes statistics on irregular arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK statistics’ release on gov.uk. Data on arrivals by arrival method, sex, and age are published in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’, with the latest data up to the end of June 2024.

The Home Office does not publish arrival method breakdowns by vehicle type.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 1 November 2024 to Question 11117 on Crime: Undocumented Migrants, what information her Department holds on the number of crimes committed by undocumented migrants.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The information requested is not available from published statistics.

Any foreign national who is convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence is considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity.

Under the UK Borders Act 2007, a deportation order must be made where a foreign national has been convicted of an offence and received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more. A foreign national who has been convicted of an offence that has caused serious harm, who is a persistent offender or who represents a threat to national security may also be considered for deportation under the Immigration Act 1971, where it is conducive to the public good.

We are committed to delivering justice for victims and safer streets for our communities. Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will pursue their deportation, and they will be swiftly removed from the country.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many grants of refugee status were made to asylum seekers whose place of residence was Scotland in 2023; and in what type of accommodation they were housed at the time of grant.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on grants at initial decision is published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. Data on grants of refugee status by location or accommodation type is not published.

Data on those in receipt of asylum support by UK region and accommodation type is available in table Asy_D09 of the ‘Asylum seekers in receipt of support detailed dataset’. Location data for those who are not in receipt of support is not published.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her department's policy is on (a) engines, (b) boats and (c) life jackets recovered from irregular migrant arrivals; and what the cost to the public purse was of the (i) storage of, (ii) destruction of and (iii) other process applied to such equipment in each year since 2018.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

All vessels that have been subject to seizure are held by Border Force until completion of any criminal investigation activities. The majority of boats are not fit for re-sale or to ever go to sea again, as they arrive in very poor condition and may be damaged during the recovery process.

The boats are disposed of by Border Force’s approved contractors and, where appropriate, any suitable materials are recycled. Regarding the costs of storage, destruction and other process applied to the equipment listed, this information is not available in an accessible format and can therefore not be provided.

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Found: have to make sure also that every other part of the Government, including Departments like the Home

Found: Food and Rural Affairs Department for Health and Social Care HM Land Registry HM Revenue and Customs Home

Found: Letter to the Permanent Secretary of the Home Office relating to the Accounting Officer Assessment of

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Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make it her policy to immediately deport foreign nationals convicted of criminal offences resulting in custodial sentences.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The removal of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) is an important priority of this Government. FNOs who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. We are currently on track to remove more foreign national offenders this year than at any time in recent years.

As the Lord Chancellor stated in Parliament on 05 November, we are reviewing the operation of our removal mechanisms to ensure they are as effective as possible. This includes assessing how we can make the Early Removal Scheme more effective. We will be working with the Home Office as we develop our plans in this area, to ensure that FNOs who have no right to remain here are deported as swiftly as possible.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of offenders sentenced to a term of imprisonment were foreign born in (a) 2022, (b) 2023 and (c) 2024.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of offenders sentenced to immediate custody, but it is not possible to identify an offender’s nationality at this point from the centrally collated court data. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

However, the number of foreign national offenders (FNOs) serving a prison sentence is available. On 30 June 2022, there were 6,214 FNOs serving a prison sentence; on 30 June 2023 there were 6,453 FNOs serving a prison sentence and on 30 June 2024 there were 6,486 FNOs serving a prison sentence. This information is routinely published in the department's Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ) publication.

We refer all foreign national offenders in receipt of custodial sentences to the Home Office. Foreign national offenders who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. This will help to manage prison pressures, keep the public safe and reduce crime.

We are currently on track to remove more foreign national offenders this year than at any time in recent years and we are working across government to explore the ways we accelerate this work further.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has to support Afghan women (a) in Afghanistan and (b) living as refugees (i) in the UK and (ii) around the world.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK remains one of the most significant donors to Afghanistan. The FCDO is planning £161 million in aid this financial year (2024-25) with 50 per cent targeted towards women and girls. In the first year after the Taliban takeover, the UK provided £17 million to support Afghan people in neighbouring countries, primarily Tajikistan, Iran and Pakistan. We have repeatedly condemned Taliban restrictions on women and girls' rights, including through UN Security Council and Human Rights Council resolutions. The Home Office is responsible for the support of refugees in the UK.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Answer of 2 February 2024 to Question 11521 on Government Departments: Sick Leave, if he will make an estimate of the number of staff days lost to long term sick absences in each Department in 2023.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The table below provides the estimates requested, number of long term sick days lost per department, along with our preferred measure, Average Working Days Lost (AWDL) per staff year which accounts for workforce size and composition. Data is provided for the main Ministerial Departments consistent with the answer of 2 February 2024 to Question 11521.

Long term sickness absence by Main Department, days lost and average working days lost per staff year, 2023

Question

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support victims of the Windrush scandal.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Justice and change that victims of the Windrush Scandal deserve has not been delivered.

Recently, I met with the WNO and Windrush Cymru Elders as part of this Government’s fundamental reset, and am proud that since taking office, we have re-established the Windrush unit in the Home Office; improved our caseworking with the introduction of a single named caseworker; committed to appointing a Windrush Commissioner; and are bringing in £1.5mil in grants to fund additional advocacy and support for claimants.

I am also pleased to hear about the excellent work of the Long Eaton Settlers Legacy Association in your constituency. Campaign groups like them do very important work in the local community, supporting victims of the Windrush Scandal to access the compensation they deserve. I will ensure that the Windrush Engagement Team is aware of their work as they continue reaching out to organisations and communities across the country.

This Government is determined to right the wrongs of the Windrush Scandal.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on tackling knife crime in schools.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

Keeping children safe is a top priority for this government. The department works closely with the Home Office to deliver better and safer outcomes for young people through the Opportunity and Safer Streets Missions. For example, the department is working cross-government to deliver on the government’s manifesto commitments on the Young Futures Programme, to establish Prevention Partnerships and Young Futures Hubs.

Education plays a key role in ensuring children can lead safe and fulfilling lives, and it provides opportunities to educate young people on dangerous behaviour and provide preventative support to those most vulnerable.

Relationships, sex and health education includes content on the situations that can lead young people to carry weapons such as knives, including criminal exploitation through involvement in gangs and county lines drugs operations, and in particular the grooming relationships that can accompany this. Issues around gun and knife crime can also be taught as part of a school’s wider curriculum.

School-led Support, Attend, Fulfil, Exceed taskforces have been established in ten hotspot areas in England. The taskforces are investing in and delivering evidence-based interventions to help young people get back on track with their education and reduce their vulnerability to serious violence. The department’s Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforces see teams of specialists providing integrated, child-centred support in the largest alterative provision schools in serious violence hotspot areas.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps her Department has taken to provide rehabilitation support to children who have lived in care who are (a) in police custody and (b) serving custodial sentences.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The latest data for the year ending March 2023 shows that 2% of children in care aged 10 to 17 were convicted or subject to youth cautions or youth conditional cautions during the year, down from 3% in 2019. This compares to 1% of all children aged 10 to 17 in the general population. Latest data also shows that 3% of care leavers were in custody, which is the same as in 2019. Surveys estimate that around 25% of the adult prison population was in care at some point during their childhoods.

In 2019, the department, along with the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice, published a joint national protocol on reducing the criminalisation of children in care, which can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/765082/The_national_protocol_on_reducing_unnecessary_criminalisation_of_looked-after_children_and_care_.pdf. The protocol is designed to prevent unnecessarily criminalising already highly vulnerable children and young people where possible. It sets out best practice for avoiding the criminalisation of looked-after children and care leavers up to the age of 25.

Furthermore, NHS England commission liaison and diversion services in custody suites across all English police forces to identify people of all ages who have mental health issues, learning disabilities, substance misuse or other vulnerabilities when they first come into contact with the criminal justice system. These services then support these individuals to access appropriate health and social care services.

In police custody, appropriate adults play an important role in safeguarding the rights, entitlements and welfare of detained children. This includes providing support, advice and assistance to the detainee, observing whether the police are acting properly and fairly, assisting detained children when communicating with the police and helping them to understand their rights and ensuring that those rights are respected and protected.

In the Youth Custody Service, all children in custody are supported via the evidence-based Framework for Integrated Care (SECURE STAIRS) and Constructive Resettlement.

The evidence-based Framework for Integrated Care (SECURE STAIRS) introduced trauma-informed ways of working that emphasise the importance of positive relationships between staff and children as a way of supporting their care, wellbeing and potential for change.

Constructive Resettlement complements the Framework for Integrated Care (SECURE STAIRS) by providing personalised support, such as by recognising the effects of traumatic experiences on the child, to underpin the structural support provided, for instance, through the provision of a place to live. Staff also support effective resettlement in the community by taking a strengths-based approach and acknowledging that the child may need a variety of support and interventions to keep them and other people safe and enable them to successfully integrate in their communities.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign criminals were granted temporary release in each of the last five years.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department currently has no plans to publish a breakdown of foreign national offenders by nationality and detailed offence type (which would include the requested information for rape, other sexual offences, murder and drug trafficking). However, we keep all our publications under review in line with the three key pillars of the Code of Practice for Statistics: trustworthiness, quality and value.

The requested data on the number of foreign criminals granted temporary release in each of the last 5 years can be found in the attached table.

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of defendants convicted for stalking offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2023. However, it is not possible to identify an offender’s nationality from the centrally collated convictions data. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

Foreign national offenders who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, we will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. We are currently on track to remove more FNOs this year than at any time in recent years. We are working across government, to explore the ways that we can accelerate this further.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reoffending rate of foreign national offenders was in each of the last five years.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The requested data on the reoffending rate of foreign national offenders can be found in the attached table. The proven reoffending rate for all adult offenders released from custody or starting a court order, in the April 21 to March 22 annual cohort, was 32.5%.

We refer all foreign national offenders in receipt of custodial sentences to the Home Office. Those sentenced to 12 months, or more are automatically considered for deportation.

Foreign national offenders who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. This will help to manage prison pressures, keep the public safe and reduce crime. We are currently on track to remove more foreign national offenders this year than at any time in recent years and we are working across government to explore the ways we accelerate this work further.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2024 to Question 9762 on Offenders: Foreign Nationals, if her Department will commit to publishing a breakdown of foreign national offenders by nationality for (a) rape, (b) murder, (c) drug trafficking and (d) sexual offences for each of the last five years.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department currently has no plans to publish a breakdown of foreign national offenders by nationality and detailed offence type (which would include the requested information for rape, other sexual offences, murder and drug trafficking). However, we keep all our publications under review in line with the three key pillars of the Code of Practice for Statistics: trustworthiness, quality and value.

The requested data on the number of foreign criminals granted temporary release in each of the last 5 years can be found in the attached table.

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of defendants convicted for stalking offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2023. However, it is not possible to identify an offender’s nationality from the centrally collated convictions data. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

Foreign national offenders who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, we will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. We are currently on track to remove more FNOs this year than at any time in recent years. We are working across government, to explore the ways that we can accelerate this further.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for a breakdown by nationality of how many people of what nationality were found guilty of stalking involving fear of violence in each of the last five years.

Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department currently has no plans to publish a breakdown of foreign national offenders by nationality and detailed offence type (which would include the requested information for rape, other sexual offences, murder and drug trafficking). However, we keep all our publications under review in line with the three key pillars of the Code of Practice for Statistics: trustworthiness, quality and value.

The requested data on the number of foreign criminals granted temporary release in each of the last 5 years can be found in the attached table.

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of defendants convicted for stalking offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2023. However, it is not possible to identify an offender’s nationality from the centrally collated convictions data. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.

Foreign national offenders who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, we will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. We are currently on track to remove more FNOs this year than at any time in recent years. We are working across government, to explore the ways that we can accelerate this further.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.8 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, if she will publish the methodology used to forecast the delivery of savings of (a) £2.2 billion and (b) £4 billion on asylum in those years.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

This government has already ended the Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership and is reforming the asylum system by streamlining capacity to process asylum seekers and returning those that do not have the right to stay in the UK. This will start the process if ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers and deliver over £4 billion in savings in the next two years.

This is based on Home Office modelling projecting the costs of the asylum support system following the measures taken since July. The savings are generated against the Home Office’s forecasts of the costs of the asylum support system under the previous Government’s policies.

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