Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there are trials in any prisons in the north of England regarding preventing prisoners from accessing vapes; and, if so, when they expect the evaluation of those trials to be published.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Prison Service is considering the practical implications of vape removal. There are currently no active trials to prevent prisoners accessing vapes in prisons in the north of England.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of fire risk presented in prisons by (1) vapes, and (2) other ignition sources; and what steps they are taking to limit access to vapes and other ignition sources.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The level of fire risk associated with prisoner possession of vape devices is continuously monitored through the national fire reporting system. Data gathered through this process has supported the introduction of a redesigned, lower-risk vape device, which has contributed to a 43% reduction in overall fire incidents
Other ignition sources are continuously monitored through the national fire reporting system. Analysis of incident data informs both behavioural and infrastructure-based interventions designed to reduce opportunities for fire-setting and mitigate associated risks. This includes preventative and protective measures across the estate, such as Arc Fault Detection Devices (AFDDs), safer kettles, and the use of non-combustible furnishings, all of which are intended to reduce the likelihood of fire occurring and limit fire growth where incidents do occur.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to trial the removal of vapes in prisons.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Prison Service has established a national working group to consider future policy options relating to vaping in prisons. This work remains at an early stage of development, and no decisions have been made. Several prisons in the north of England are also considering the practical implications of vape removal.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what powers are available to Police Community Support Officers to address serious and organised crime, beyond those relating to intelligence gathering.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) support policing with targeted visible patrols, public engagement and reassurance to help reduce crime and anti-social behaviour and make people feel safer in their communities. They are not intended to directly target serious and organised crime.
PCSOs do not have a fixed set of powers in law. Their powers are designated locally by Chief Officers under section 38 of the Police Reform Act 2002. A wide range of powers can be designated to PCSOs, but this does not include statutorily excluded powers such as arrest, stop and search or powers set out in terrorism and national security legislation. Those more intrusive and complex powers are available to warranted police constables, who are trained and held accountable for their safe and appropriate use.
This Government remains firmly committed to tackling serious and organised crime and the threat it poses to communities across the UK. We ensure that law enforcement agencies have the powers and capabilities they need to disrupt and prevent serious and organised criminal activity.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many arrests relating to serious and organised crime on high streets in rural areas have been made in each of the past two years.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes data on arrests in England and Wales as part of the ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical series, available here: Police powers and procedures England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK
However, data is collected by broader offence group for example ‘drug offences’ or ‘possession of weapons’, therefore data specifically on arrests relating to serious and organised crime is not available.
Additionally data is collected by Police Force Area, therefore further geographical details relating to arrests such as arrests made on high streets in rural areas is also not available.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many foreign national offenders released from HMP Huntercombe upon completion of their sentence have, in each of the past two years, not been deported in accordance with their sentence and have subsequently become unaccounted for by the relevant authorities.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The specific information you have requested regarding the foreign national offenders (FNOs) released from HMP Huntersombe who subsequently abscond is not available from published Home Office statistics.
We make every effort to ensure that FNOs are removed directly from prison, and we have delivered record numbers of FNO returns under the Early Removal Scheme, delivering 3,044 returns in the year ending January 2026, which is a 13% increase compared to the 2,700 in the same period 12 months prior.
The Home Office faces significant and complex challenges when seeking to return those who have no right to be in the UK to their country of origin or lawful place of return and it is not always possible to remove immediately post custodial sentence.
Where removal is not immediately possible, FNOs may be granted bail to be managed in the community. FNOs will be subject to rigorous reporting, electronic monitoring, and accommodation conditions.
If an FNO does not comply with their bail conditions, the Home Office has a dedicated tracing capability that works in partnership with the police, other government agencies, and commercial companies to help identify information on a person. Where tracing checks are successful, we will consider the most appropriate intervention, including whether to task an enforcement team to conduct a visit or to set up a suitable immigration reporting regime.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many armed forces personnel and their families are on waiting lists for service family accommodation in the UK.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
No entitled Armed Forces personnel or their families are placed on a waiting list for Service Family Accommodation in the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many units of service family accommodation exist in the UK; and of these, what proportion have been made available for housing asylum seekers.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We do not house people in service accommodation. Any former military sites that we do use are not available to the Armed Services.
The UK government has a statutory obligation to support asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute. The government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly, and fairly; and ensures the rules are properly enforced. We have committed to exiting hotels at the earliest opportunity, and in order to do this we need to stand up alternative accommodation which is better suited to this purpose.
As part of our commitment to close all asylum hotels, we are looking at a range of more appropriate sites including ex-military sites, so we can reduce the impact on communities. Decisions on the use of alternative asylum accommodation sites are made on a site-by-site basis.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum seekers from Afghanistan and their families are currently housed in service family accommodation in the UK.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We do not house people in service accommodation. Any former military sites that we do use are not available to the Armed Services.
The UK government has a statutory obligation to support asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute. The government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly, and fairly; and ensures the rules are properly enforced. We have committed to exiting hotels at the earliest opportunity, and in order to do this we need to stand up alternative accommodation which is better suited to this purpose.
As part of our commitment to close all asylum hotels, we are looking at a range of more appropriate sites including ex-military sites, so we can reduce the impact on communities. Decisions on the use of alternative asylum accommodation sites are made on a site-by-site basis.
Asked by: Baroness Buscombe (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum seekers are currently housed in service family accommodation in the UK.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
We do not house people in service accommodation. Any former military sites that we do use are not available to the Armed Services.
The UK government has a statutory obligation to support asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute. The government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly, and fairly; and ensures the rules are properly enforced. We have committed to exiting hotels at the earliest opportunity, and in order to do this we need to stand up alternative accommodation which is better suited to this purpose.
As part of our commitment to close all asylum hotels, we are looking at a range of more appropriate sites including ex-military sites, so we can reduce the impact on communities. Decisions on the use of alternative asylum accommodation sites are made on a site-by-site basis.