Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has conducted an assessment of trends in links between Chinese Communist Party United Front organisations and individuals involved in (a) labour exploitation, (b) money laundering and (b) irregular migration schemes in the UK.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Secretary of State for Defence

As is longstanding government policy, it would be inappropriate to comment on specific national security matters.

This Government, working closely with our law enforcement partners, is strengthening our understanding of Chinese organised crime activity in the UK. Where crime is identified, we will pursue all avenues to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.

Where there are individuals who pose a threat to our national security, we are committed to using the full range of powers available to disrupt them. This includes the National Security Act 2023, which introduced a significant package of measures to be used against the full range of state threats activity.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of evidence in the Wilson Report on the direction of Chinese organised crime activity by the PRC.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Secretary of State for Defence

Across the country, officers are confronting complex serious organised crime groups who collaborate across borders.

We are stepping up efforts by introducing a world class National Police Service to bring together specialist capabilities and adopt best-in-class technology. This will bolster action to detect and disrupt the most dangerous criminals.

As is longstanding government policy, it would be inappropriate to comment on specific national security matters.

This Government, working closely with our law enforcement partners, is strengthening our understanding of Chinese organised crime activity in the UK. Where crime is identified, we will pursue all avenues to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications of the proposed UN cybercrime treaty for (a) the UK’s child‑protection framework and (b) the implementation of legislation preventing registered sex offenders from changing identity without detection.

Answered by Natalie Fleet - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Nothing is more important than keeping children safe - inside and outside the home, and online.

The government is firmly committed to tackling all forms of child sexual exploitation and abuse and wider reforms to the child protection system to ensure children are safeguarded effectively from wider harms. The UN Cybercrime Convention references the global imperative for action on these crucial issues.

With respect to the UK’s child protection framework, our national Families First Partnership programme is rolling out reforms to Family Help, multi-agency child protection and family group decision making that will make a real difference to children and families. Government has confirmed £2.4 billion funding for the programme over the next three years.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act marks the biggest overhaul of children’s social care in a generation. It includes a duty on safeguarding partners to establish new multi-agency child protection teams in every local authority area in England. Multi-agency child protection teams will bring a clear, sharp focus to child protection concerns, identify and respond to all types of significant harm - including online - and advise and guide their local Family Help systems.

Regarding registered sex offenders, the system for managing sex offenders and those that pose a risk of sexual harm is a crucial part of preventing sexual violence and delivering our mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.

Registered sex offenders are required to notify the police of any change of name. Failure to comply with this is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment. Through the Crime and Policing Act we are strengthening the approach by introducing measures which will enable the police to serve a notice on offenders who pose a risk in relation to name change, which requires them to seek authorisation before applying to change their name on identity documents. The measures will also require all RSOs to notify the police of an intended change of name in advance of using it.

These measures will be reinforced by operational safeguards to detect unauthorised name changes.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of DBS and PVG systems in identifying registered sex offenders who have changed their name; and what plans she has to introduce further measures to prevent offenders from obtaining a clean record under a new identity.

Answered by Natalie Fleet - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The system for managing sex offenders and those that pose a risk of sexual harm is a crucial part of preventing sexual violence and delivering the Government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.

Registered sex offenders (RSOs) are required to notify the police of any change of name. Failure to comply with this is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment. Through the Crime and Policing Act we are strengthening the approach by introducing measures which will enable the police to serve a notice on offenders who pose a risk in relation to name change, which requires them to seek authorisation before applying to change their name on identity documents. The measures will also require all RSOs to notify the police of an intended change of name in advance of using it.

These measures will be reinforced by operational safeguards to detect unauthorised name changes and operate alongside existing safeguards within the criminal record disclosure regime.

Where somebody applies for a criminal record certificate issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), they are required to state any names they have previously been known by on the application form and to sign a legal declaration that they have not knowingly provided false information. Failure to disclose previous names, and deliberately avoid detection of previous convictions, would lead an individual to be liable for prosecution.

The DBS mitigates the risks posed by offenders not accurately declaring a complete name history on DBS applications through a combination of algorithms and manual checking of data within DBS, local police forces and other government agencies.

Arrangements for disclosure and barring in Scotland are devolved, with the Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme falling under the responsibility of the Scottish Government.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of Greater Manchester Police’s lack of a specific domestic violence strategy on people in (a) Stockport constituency and (b) Greater Manchester.

Answered by Natalie Fleet - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This government is committed to halving Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) within a decade, including domestic abuse. Our ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government Strategy’ was published on 18 December 2025 and sets out our whole system approach to achieving this mission.

Local strategic planning is an operational matter for the chief officer of police of the area concerned. As with other aspects of policing, work on tackling domestic abuse is subject to review by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services. Greater Manchester Combined Authority have their own Gender Based Violence Strategy which includes co-operative working with the police. We are working closely with Greater Manchester Police through their participation in the Domestic Abuse Protection Order pilot, which is supporting learning ahead of national rollout across England and Wales

Alongside this, the National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP), backed by £13.9 million Home Office funding this year, provides coordinated national leadership on VAWG within policing. Working with all 43 forces, including Greater Manchester, the NCVPP sets consistent standards of practice and drives operational improvements to strengthen the police response to VAWG offences, including domestic abuse.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the implementation of legislation preventing registered sex offenders from changing identity without detection; and whether she is considering additional safeguards to improve monitoring and compliance.

Answered by Natalie Fleet - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The system for managing sex offenders and those who pose a risk of sexual harm is a crucial part of preventing sexual violence and delivering our mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.

Registered sex offenders are required to notify the police of any change of name. Failure to comply with this is punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment.Through the Crime and Policing Act we are strengthening the approach by introducing measures which will enable the police to serve a notice on offenders who pose a risk in relation to name change which requires them to seek authorisation before applying to change their name on identity documents. We are also introducing a new requirement for all RSOs to notify the police of an intended change of name in advance of using it.

These measures will be reinforced by operational safeguards to detect unauthorised name changes.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his comments during the Times Radio interview on 29 April 2026, if he could provide a breakdown of the people deported by (a) number and (b) country.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on returns in the ‘Immigration System Statistics quarterly release’. Data on returns from the UK, broken down by enforced returns (of which ‘deportations’ is a legalised subset) and nationality can be found in table Ret_D01 of the ‘Returns detailed datasets’.

Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on the commitment to introduce new legal safeguards around strip-searching children and young people; and what the timeline is for the implementation of these safeguards.

Answered by Natalie Fleet - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Strip search is one of the most intrusive powers available to the police. The Government has been clear that, where these powers are used, they must be exercised lawfully, proportionately and with proper regard for the welfare and dignity of children and young people.

We are taking forward work on a package of reforms to strengthen the safeguards that apply to strip searching children and young people, including measures intended to improve accountability and oversight, and to support greater clarity and consistency in the use of these powers.

This work is being considered carefully alongside wider reforms relating to strip search, informed by evidence and engagement with key stakeholders, to ensure a more child-centred approach in practice. The Government remains committed to strengthening the framework in this area and we will set out further details in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to update the Modern slavery strategy, published on 29 November 2014.

Answered by Natalie Fleet - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This government is taking forward an updated approach to tackling modern slavery through delivery, reform and integration across wider Government strategies, rather than by re-issuing an updated standalone strategy.

Our March 2025 Modern Slavery Action Plan provided a clear delivery framework for 2025/26, and has already driven seen significant progress across the modern slavery portfolio, including an 84% reduction in outstanding National Referral Mechanism (NRM) conclusive grounds decisions (as of end of April 2026). This means that victims are receiving certainty and appropriate support in a timely fashion, allowing them to recover from their exploitation.

We are also strengthening the system itself, including through the expansion of devolved decision-making pilot for exploited children, and the procurement of new support services for adult and child victims of modern slavery. Alongside this, we have updated guidance for modern slavery statements and are progressing work to strengthen the transparency in supply chains regime, including consideration of mandating reporting, penalties for non-compliance, and the extending requirements to public bodies.

These reforms are being taken forward as part of wider Government priorities set out in the Asylum and Returns Policy Statement (“Restoring Order and Control”) and Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy (“Freedom from violence and abuse”), ensuring modern slavery policy is embedded across prevention, enforcement and victim support. Officials are now taking forward the findings from the recent Call for Evidence on victim identification to inform the next phase of system reform.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government conducted an impact assessment prior to introducing changes to the Modern Slavery statutory guidance on the 11th May 2026, pertaining to the change in credibility guidance and timing of disclosure of information.

Answered by Natalie Fleet - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Policies are regularly kept under review, and impacts are assessed as part of any proposed changes. An Equality Impact Assessment was completed as part of this process.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a pause between the order and delivery of alcohol from delivery apps when the order is over a certain amount.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Licensing Act 2003 regulates the sale and supply of alcohol. The Government recognises that consumer purchasing habits have evolved in recent years, particularly with a notable growth in alcohol sales made via online platforms and rapid delivery services.

The Department for Health and Social Care, which has responsibility for policy on health harms, and the Home Office are looking at how current licensing rules apply to these services and monitoring emerging evidence on the impact they may be having on people’s health. I am clear that we will act where necessary to protect public safety.

To this end, I will shortly hold a roundtable jointly with the Minister for Public Health and Prevention to consider solutions with healthcare professionals and experts in the field.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing alcohol blocks on delivery service apps and supermarket accounts.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Licensing Act 2003 regulates the sale and supply of alcohol. The Government recognises that consumer purchasing habits have evolved in recent years, particularly with a notable growth in alcohol sales made via online platforms and rapid delivery services.

The Department for Health and Social Care, which has responsibility for policy on health harms, and the Home Office are looking at how current licensing rules apply to these services and monitoring emerging evidence on the impact they may be having on people’s health. I am clear that we will act where necessary to protect public safety.

To this end, I will shortly hold a roundtable jointly with the Minister for Public Health and Prevention to consider solutions with healthcare professionals and experts in the field.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to limit the hours that alcohol can be delivered directly to homes.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Licensing Act 2003 regulates the sale and supply of alcohol. The Government recognises that consumer purchasing habits have evolved in recent years, particularly with a notable growth in alcohol sales made via online platforms and rapid delivery services.

The Department for Health and Social Care, which has responsibility for policy on health harms, and the Home Office are looking at how current licensing rules apply to these services and monitoring emerging evidence on the impact they may be having on people’s health. I am clear that we will act where necessary to protect public safety.

To this end, I will shortly hold a roundtable jointly with the Minister for Public Health and Prevention to consider solutions with healthcare professionals and experts in the field.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what safeguards exist to reduce the risk of unnecessary (a) arrest and (b) restraint of neurodivergent people during police encounters.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The College of Policing set training and guidance on arrest, de-escalation and the dangers of using restraint techniques on vulnerable individuals.

Before officers can be authorised to use force they must pass a comprehensive training programme, which includes how to assess the potential vulnerability of individuals they engage with, including neurodivergent people and people with, learning disabilities or poor mental health. Officers are trained to identify and adapt their approach accordingly, in these circumstances.

When officers take the decision to use force they are accountable through the law for their actions and must be able to justify their use of force as reasonable, proportionate and necessary in all circumstances.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a reduced-cost pathway to British citizenship for children who (a) were born in the UK, (b) have resided in the UK for 10 years or more and (c) are in full-time education.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

No recent assessment has been made of potential cost reductions for specific cohorts of children applying to register as British citizens.

Fees for immigration and nationality applications are kept under review. From 08 April 2026, the fee for an application to register as a British citizen for individuals under the age of 18 was reduced from £1,214 to £1,000. The reduction aligns with the Government’s commitment to consider measures to reduce the financial barriers to young adults, who have lived here through their childhood, from accessing British nationality.

Children seeking to register as a British citizen will have the fee waived if they are able to credibly demonstrate that they cannot afford the fee. In addition, where an application has been made by or on behalf of a child who is looked after by a Local Authority, no fee is payable and it is not necessary for the child’s financial circumstances to be evidenced.

Information on eligibility for under-18 Fee Waiver applications can be found on GOV.UK at the link below:

Get a citizenship application fee waiver if you’re under 18 - GOV.UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on skills shortages of changes to the indefinite leave to remain pathway for skilled worker visa holders.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The consultation for the earned settlement model, as proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was open to the public between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026.

As part of this consultation, we sought views on the potential impact of the proposed changes, including the impact to skilled worker visa holders and potential skill shortages.

We are now reviewing and analysing all responses received. This analysis will help inform the development of the final earned settlement model, including consideration of any transitional measures for those already on a pathway to settlement.

Once the final model has been decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly. Any final outcomes will also be subject to both economic impact assessments and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to publish a formal response to the earned settlement consultation.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The consultation for the earned settlement model, as proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was open to the public between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026.

As part of this consultation, we sought views on the potential impact of the proposed changes, including the impact to skilled worker visa holders and potential skill shortages.

We are now reviewing and analysing all responses received. This analysis will help inform the development of the final earned settlement model, including consideration of any transitional measures for those already on a pathway to settlement.

Once the final model has been decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly. Any final outcomes will also be subject to both economic impact assessments and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the resources available to Lincolnshire police to tackle rural crime.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is introducing the most radical and comprehensive policing reforms in nearly 200 years. We will modernise policing in this country – equipping it to tackle more sophisticated, online, and cross-border crimes (like wildlife crime and organised equipment theft), while also restoring neighbourhood policing.

With the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee every neighbourhood, rural or urban, now gets named and contactable officers dedicated to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour locally. Every rural area will also be covered by a Local Policing Area under a commander responsible for emergency response, local crime investigation and neighbourhood policing. They will be set targets to ensure they answer 90% of 999 calls within 10 seconds and attend 90% of the most serious incidents within 20 minutes in rural areas.

Last financial year (FY25/26) we provided £800,000 of funding to the National Rural Crime Unit and the National Wildlife Crime Unit, and we will be providing the same level of funding in 26/27. These capabilities play key roles in helping police across the UK tackle organised theft and disrupt serious and organised crime groups, which can pose unique challenges for policing in large and isolated rural areas.

The Government recognises that there can be challenges in responding to rural crime, which is why we worked closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to deliver the next iteration of their Rural and Wildlife Crime strategy and sets out operational and organisational policing priorities in respect of tackling those crimes that predominantly affect our rural communities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued to police forces on de-escalation techniques when interacting with neurodivergent people during police incidents.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The College of Policing set training and guidance on arrest, de-escalation and the dangers of using restraint techniques on vulnerable individuals.

Before officers can be authorised to use force they must pass a comprehensive training programme, which includes how to assess the potential vulnerability of individuals they engage with, including neurodivergent people and people with, learning disabilities or poor mental health. Officers are trained to identify and adapt their approach accordingly, in these circumstances.

When officers take the decision to use force they are accountable through the law for their actions and must be able to justify their use of force as reasonable, proportionate and necessary in all circumstances.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of deportation or removal cases in which claims made under Articles 2, 3 or 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights have delayed or prevented removal action in each of the last five years; what assessment she has made of the impact of those cases on public confidence in the immigration system; and whether she plans to review the role of domestic courts and tribunals in immigration and asylum proceedings.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We are committed to the European Convention on Human Rights. However, to retain public confidence in our policies on irregular migration, asylum and criminal justice, the European Convention on Human Rights and other instruments must evolve to face modern challenges.

We are grateful for the vital work undertaken by the FTT-IAC and the Government continues to invest in its capacity through funding additional sitting days and judicial recruitment. However, the scale and nature of the current immigration and asylum appeals caseload cannot be sustainably managed within its existing limits. As previously announced, the Government will establish a new independent appeals body which will offer increased capacity and an enhanced ability to prioritise cases in the public interest.

The information requested on numbers of deportation or removal cases is not centrally held and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of police resources dedicated to tackling organised crime operating through small retail businesses.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

We are fully committed to tackling criminality on the high street from illegitimate businesses. It is for this reason that the Home Office, working with the Ministry for Communities, Housing and Local Government, has established a cross-government Taskforce to develop a strategic policy response to money laundering and associated illegality on UK high streets. This effort is underpinned by £10 million per year for three years, as announced in the 2025 Autumn Budget. This funding will be used to enhance support for at least 45 additional law enforcement officers, and enhancements to Trading Standards. As part of this uplift the Taskforce is considering how to enhance police and local authority coordination.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has had discussions with UNISON on its Fair Visa campaign.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Home Office ministers have met with a range of stakeholders, including UNISON and other trade unions, since the Home Secretary announced proposed changes to restore order and control to the immigration system.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce data gaps and time-lags in information sharing between universities and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI); and what assessment she has made of the impact of those delays on the ability of higher education institutions to monitor compliance and intervene in a timely manner ahead of the implementation of Business Case Analysis (BCA) changes.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office works closely with higher education institutions to support compliance with the Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA), which is an annual assessment of sponsor performance. Sponsors have been responsible for monitoring their own in-year performance against the BCA metrics since its introduction in April 2015, when it replaced the “Highly Trusted Sponsor” status.

Two of the three metrics that form the BCA are based on data sponsors report directly to the Home Office and can therefore use to monitor compliance and identify where recruitment practices may need to improve. The Home Office continues to explore opportunities to enhance GDPR-compliant data-sharing with sponsors, and in 2025 introduced new mechanisms relating to refusal data.

The Home Office continues to explore further opportunities to strengthen data sharing in line with data protection principles and support sponsor compliance.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce incidents of shoplifting in the Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Driving down retail crime remains a key priority as set out in the Plan for Change.

The central aim of our police reforms is to protect and revitalise neighbourhood policing. We are lifting national responsibilities off local forces so they focus on tackling local issues, like fighting retail crime.

We will deliver 13,000 additional neighbourhood policing personnel into roles across England and Wales by the end of this Parliament. By February 2026 we had delivered more than 3,100 additional police officers and PCSOs into neighbourhood roles. The first-year growth target was first exceeded in January 2026, two months ahead of schedule.

Through our Crime and Policing Bill, this Government has introduced a new specific standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to help tackle the epidemic of shop theft and violence towards shop workers that we have seen in recent years and protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

This bespoke offence will send a clear signal to perpetrators that assaults on retail workers are unacceptable and won’t go unpunished. It will also ensure that assaults on retail workers are separately recorded so that we know the true scale of the problem, enabling the police to respond accordingly

Additionally, we are removing the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence, sending a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal and will be taken seriously

A small proportion of offenders drive a disproportionate level of crime: around 9% of offenders account for over half of all convictions nationally. More specifically, prolific offenders are responsible for c.70% of all theft offences. We are supporting police forces to better tackle this cohort and are now working on a plan to pilot strengthened approaches in select force areas.

We are providing £7 million over a three‑year period covering 2025 to 2028, to tackle retail crime, including continuing to fund a specialist policing team – in partnership with the retail sector - to better understand the tactics used by organised retail crime gangs and identify more offenders.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of accountability frameworks for Police and Crime Commissioners; and whether she plans to reform those frameworks to help prevent institutional self-protection.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are democratically elected and are ultimately held to account by the public at the ballot box. To ensure transparency of their actions and decisions, PCCs have statutory responsibilities under the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011 to publish certain information, such as decisions they’ve taken, expenditure and force performance. This includes information about conflicts of interest.

PCCs are scrutinised by Police and Crime Panels (PCPs) who are also responsible for investigating non-criminal complaints made about a PCC. Criminal allegations must be referred by the Panel to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). The Home Office does not collect data on the number of complaints about PCCs. The Home Office issues guidance and training to support Panels in their scrutiny of PCCs, as well as guidance to aid the recruitment and retention of independent panel members.

The Government’s view is that the PCC model has failed to live up to expectations and has committed to abolishing it at the end of the current term of office in 2028. Successor arrangements for the oversight of policing by Mayors and Policing and Crime Boards will be set out in the forthcoming Police Reform Bill.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what independent oversight arrangements exist to scrutinise complaints of misconduct against Police and Crime Commissioners; and how many such complaints have been investigated in each of the last three years.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are democratically elected and are ultimately held to account by the public at the ballot box. To ensure transparency of their actions and decisions, PCCs have statutory responsibilities under the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011 to publish certain information, such as decisions they’ve taken, expenditure and force performance. This includes information about conflicts of interest.

PCCs are scrutinised by Police and Crime Panels (PCPs) who are also responsible for investigating non-criminal complaints made about a PCC. Criminal allegations must be referred by the Panel to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). The Home Office does not collect data on the number of complaints about PCCs. The Home Office issues guidance and training to support Panels in their scrutiny of PCCs, as well as guidance to aid the recruitment and retention of independent panel members.

The Government’s view is that the PCC model has failed to live up to expectations and has committed to abolishing it at the end of the current term of office in 2028. Successor arrangements for the oversight of policing by Mayors and Policing and Crime Boards will be set out in the forthcoming Police Reform Bill.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve transparency requirements for Police and Crime Commissioners, particularly regarding the handling of complaints and potential conflicts of interest.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are democratically elected and are ultimately held to account by the public at the ballot box. To ensure transparency of their actions and decisions, PCCs have statutory responsibilities under the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011 to publish certain information, such as decisions they’ve taken, expenditure and force performance. This includes information about conflicts of interest.

PCCs are scrutinised by Police and Crime Panels (PCPs) who are also responsible for investigating non-criminal complaints made about a PCC. Criminal allegations must be referred by the Panel to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). The Home Office does not collect data on the number of complaints about PCCs. The Home Office issues guidance and training to support Panels in their scrutiny of PCCs, as well as guidance to aid the recruitment and retention of independent panel members.

The Government’s view is that the PCC model has failed to live up to expectations and has committed to abolishing it at the end of the current term of office in 2028. Successor arrangements for the oversight of policing by Mayors and Policing and Crime Boards will be set out in the forthcoming Police Reform Bill.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to introduce transitional arrangements for individuals who are currently on the five-year route to indefinite leave to remain.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government ran a public consultation from 20 November 2025 to 12 February 2026 to gather views on the earned settlement proposals.

The consultation has now closed and we are in the process of reviewing and analysing all responses received. This analysis will help inform the development of the final earned settlement model, including consideration of any potential exemptions or transitional measures for those already on a pathway to settlement.

Once the final model has been decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly. As with all significant policy changes, the proposals will be subject to both economic impact assessments and equality impact assessments.

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 car thefts in Eastleigh constituency; what assessment she has made of the impact of (a) relay attacks, (b) CAN bus attacks and (c) other sophisticated theft methods on rates of vehicle theft; and what steps her Department is taking to support (i) public awareness campaigns, (ii) improved vehicle security standards, (iii) collaboration with manufacturers, (iv) police efforts to tackle organised vehicle crime and the export of stolen vehicles and car parts and (v) other methods to prevent car theft.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of vehicle offences recorded by the police in England and Wales. This information is published at Community Safety Partnership level, including Eastleigh.

The latest information, for the year ending December 2025, is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/police-recorded-crime-and-outcomes-open-data-tables#police-recorded-crime-open-data-community-safety-partnership-tables

The Government is cracking down on the brazen car thieves who use new technologies to commit their crimes.

In our Crime and Policing Act, we have brought forward two new offences to criminalise the possession, importation, making, adapting, supplying or offering to supply an electronic device (such as a signal jammer) for use in theft of a vehicle or theft of anything in a vehicle.

The Government provided funding to set up the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership, a partnership of policing, industry and government aimed at combatting organised vehicle crime across the UK. The Government continues to support this work.

Since 2024, the Home Office has dedicated almost £1m (£970,000) to bolster the enforcement response to organised vehicle theft and export. This money, provided to the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership (NVCRP), has supported enforcement work inland and at the ports to prevent and disrupt stolen vehicles and their parts being shipped abroad, including additional staff, police training, and specialist equipment.

The funding enabled Operation Alliances II, a national crackdown on organised vehicle crime, which brought together local and national policing, and key partners, including the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS). In a coordinated week of action in October last year, over £3.3 million worth of stolen vehicles and over £13m worth of vehicle parts were recovered, and there were more than 365 arrests.

The Home Office is committing a further £300k this year toward tackling organised vehicle theft and export, to further strengthen these efforts and build on the progress already made.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is her policy that police forces in England use facial recognition technology during protests.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The police have a responsibility to monitor a protest if serious disorder is expected and to keep the public safe.

Facial recognition must be used in a way that complies with the legal framework which includes human rights, equality and data protection laws, national guidance, a code of practice and forces’ own published policies. This means that all deployments must be for a policing purpose and be necessary, proportionate, and fair.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether artificial intelligence, machine learning, or automated analytical tools are used to process data submitted by sponsor employers for visa sponsorship purposes.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

AI is not being used to make or support decision making in Sponsor Licensing applications, licence maintenance or visa sponsorship applications. There is some automation of updates to organisation and key personnel details made by sponsors via their Sponsorship Management System (SMS) and automated renewals of annual allocations of Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), where Sponsors have demonstrated a track record of compliance.

For organisation and key personnel changes, whilst details are updated automatically in SMS to ensure that licence details are up to date, appropriate checks and case working still takes place.

For the automatic renewal of annual allocations of CoS, renewed allocations are calculated using the sponsor’s usage in the previous allocation year. Where an increase in that allocation is required, the sponsor is required to submit a request, stating the reason for the increase, for consideration.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that automated or AI-supported decision-making relating to sponsorship licences is transparent, fair, and subject to human oversight.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

AI is not being used to make or support decision making in Sponsor Licensing applications, licence maintenance or visa sponsorship applications. There is some automation of updates to organisation and key personnel details made by sponsors via their Sponsorship Management System (SMS) and automated renewals of annual allocations of Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS), where Sponsors have demonstrated a track record of compliance.

For organisation and key personnel changes, whilst details are updated automatically in SMS to ensure that licence details are up to date, appropriate checks and case working still takes place.

For the automatic renewal of annual allocations of CoS, renewed allocations are calculated using the sponsor’s usage in the previous allocation year. Where an increase in that allocation is required, the sponsor is required to submit a request, stating the reason for the increase, for consideration.

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