Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2026 to Question 100508 on Animal Breeding, what assessment she has made of the potential consequences of not holding data on the number of animals in Great Britain who were bred for, but not used in, scientific procedures.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is currently reviewing the potential merits of recording and reporting the number of animals that were bred for, but not used, in scientific procedures.
Asked by: Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to support local police forces to tackle illegal traders on high streets across Suffolk Coastal.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Trading Standards services are provided by local authorities who operate independently from central government. It is for those local teams to work together with local partners, including operationally independent police forces, to decide how they can work together most effectively to tackle illegal trading.
The Government continues to prioritise boosting visible local policing. As part of this Government’s Safer Streets Mission, we are restoring neighbourhood policing. We are also ensuring that every community has named, contactable, officers dedicated to tackling the issues facing their communities, strengthening the connections between the police and the local communities they serve.
Against the ambitions set out in the Plan for Change, we expect the growth of neighbourhood policing personnel by up to 3,000 full-time equivalent by March 2026 and a further 1,750 FTE in 2026-27, bringing total neighbourhood policing growth to 4,750 FTE by March 2027. For Year two of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant in 2026-27, £363 million has been ringfenced to incentivise forces to grow their neighbourhood policing teams. Suffolk Constabulary will be expected to deliver their share of the national target. Their target figure will be confirmed in due course.
Total funding to police forces in England and Wales will be up to £18.4 billion in 2026-27, an increase of up to £796 million compared to the 2025-26 police funding settlement. Suffolk Police will receive up to £192.9 million in 2026-27, which is an increase of £8.6 million (4.7%) on the previous year.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment their Department has made of trends in the level of discrimination faced by (a) Sikhs and (b) Jews as ethnic groups in the provision of their Department's services.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Like all public bodies, the Department is subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), set out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, in the exercise of its public functions. In line with this, the Home Office is required to assesses potential differential impacts on people with protected characteristics – including Sikhs and Jews– when developing or changing policies and services.
Where relevant evidence indicates potential differential impacts on people with a protected characteristic compared to others without that characteristic, the Department must take this into account as part of its decision-making.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Government has made of the potential impact of historical sex-based discrimination in British nationality law on individuals born to British mothers prior to January 1983.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Legislative reforms made through the British Nationality Act 1981 removed previous sex-based restrictions on the acquisition of British nationality. Further changes made in 2003 and 2022 provide routes for individuals born before 1983 to claim citizenship under sections 4C and 4L of the 1981 Act, where they were previously unable to become British due to historical legislative unfairness.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training is provided to Border Force officers on the handling of CITES documentation for musical instruments.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
All Border Force officers receive relevant mandatory training on dealing with international trade documentation, which includes CITES permits, to aid the detection of illicit goods linked to the illegal wildlife trade, including musical instruments.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made to help support the end to violence against women and girls, including what steps she took during the 6 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence in 2025.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
On 18th December 2025, this government published the ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse; a cross-cutting strategy’, setting out our whole-system approach to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.
We have already begun implementing measures, such as rolling out Domestic Abuse Protection Orders, embedding domestic abuse specialists in police control rooms through Raneem’s Law, establishing a new National Policing Centre for VAWG and Public Protection with £13.1 million of funding, and appointing Richard Wright KC to lead the Stalking Legislation Review ensuring the criminal law on stalking is fit for purpose. This is alongside the work done by Ministers during the Sixteen Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, from 25th November to 10th December 2025, to meet with and support a range of stakeholders and events.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the National Shipbuilding Strategy in the procurement of vessels for Border Force.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are continuing to engage suppliers on the basis of a UK-led build, using the Defence and Security provisions within the Procurement Act 2023 where appropriate. This approach is consistent with the government's commitment to back British businesses and a sustainable and successful shipbuilding and maritime technology sector and to ensure value for money and deliverability. My officials are working closely with the National Shipbuilding Office.
Asked by: Lord Moraes (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the increase in homelessness of refugee households; and what assessment they have made of the impact that the 28-day move-on period for asylum seekers given refugees status has on homelessness levels.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is committed to supporting individuals granted leave to remain to successfully transition from asylum accommodation to mitigate the risk of homelessness.
This Government is aware of the need for a smooth transition between asylum accommodation and other accommodation. The Home Office is working to identify and implement efficiencies to support this process and mitigate the risk of homelessness.
The Home Office has also placed Asylum Move-On Liaison Officers in over 50 Local Authorities across the UK, working alongside the Migrant Help and NGOs to support individuals who will be leaving asylum accommodation, and ensure a successful transition.
An independent evaluation of the impact of the 56-day pilot has been completed. The evaluation gathered insights from local authorities, devolved governments, service providers, and voluntary sector partners.
It is important that we take the necessary time to review this evidence before making any longer-term policy decisions. This measured approach ensures that future arrangements are sustainable and continue to meet our statutory duties while supporting those granted asylum effectively.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people have been returned to France under the 'one in, one out' scheme; of these, how many were age-disputed persons; and how many of those selected for the scheme were age-disputed persons and have not been returned as a result of their age dispute.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
As of 3rd February, 305 people have been returned to France.
Removing minors to France is explicitly prohibited under Article 4(2)(d) of the Agreement.
Individuals are not removed to France where their age is in dispute, given the terms of the Treaty sets out that those removed will be individuals who have been determined to be an adult. We have recently seen several cases where migrants in this country are claiming to be children to prevent their removal. This can happen despite their having claimed to be an adult upon arrival in the country.
Operational details of the scheme are not disclosed outside of what has already been published as this may impact migrant behaviour or be exploited by organised crime gangs.
Asked by: Lord Beamish (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on the procurement of vessels for Border Force.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are continuing to engage suppliers on the basis of a UK-led build, using the Defence and Security provisions within the Procurement Act 2023 where appropriate. This approach is consistent with the government's commitment to back British businesses and a sustainable and successful shipbuilding and maritime technology sector and to ensure value for money and deliverability. My officials are working closely with the National Shipbuilding Office.