Lord Cameron of Lochiel

DESNZ has stepped in to ensure there will be a managed and more controlled start of the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) phase out from 30 June. People with an RTS meter will not face any unexpected disruption to their heating or hot water when the phase out begins.

The RTS Taskforce, which is attended by Government, has agreed that resources should be targeted towards regional hotspots, such as Scotland, with a high number of RTS meters and it is leading work to ensure suppliers have sufficient installer capacity to replace RTS meters in residential and business premises across GB.

As RTS meters typically control heating and hot water on a separate circuit to a premises' electricity, consumers should not be at risk of losing their electricity supply.

There are now technical solutions available to allow the replacement of all RTS meters.

Ofgem and industry have convened a taskforce on the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) involving all major energy suppliers, which the Government attends. This is working with key stakeholders to urgently ramp up efforts to replace the remaining RTS meters in Great Britain.

The Minister for Energy Consumers is meeting with Energy UK and Ofgem on a fortnightly basis to discuss progress, with a particular focus on Scotland and remote and rural areas.

The Government is clear that suppliers must fulfil all their legal obligations to their customers and will work with Ofgem to hold suppliers to account.

Taser provides specially trained officers with an important tactical option to protect the public and save lives.

The deployment of Taser, including Taser 10, remains an operational decision for Chief Officers in line with their Strategic Threats and Risk Assessments.

The Government are working to move asylum seekers into more suitable accommodation such as military bases, to ease pressure on communities across the country.

It has been the longstanding policy of the Home Office under successive governments not to disclose information about specific hotels/sites which may or may not be used for asylum accommodation.

Discussions are underway to use the Cameron Barracks site for asylum accommodation. Consideration of this site is ongoing and any final decision to utilise any site for the intended purposes will be made once the relevant factors have been properly considered.

The government remains committed to engaging with local authorities and stakeholders, and to transitioning away from hotel use as soon as practicable.

Alternative Home Office sites are populated with a phased and incremental approach to full occupancy.

Consideration of both sites is ongoing and any final decision to utilise any site for the intended purposes will be made once the relevant factors have been properly considered.

Consideration of both sites is ongoing and any final decision to utilise any site for the intended purposes will be made once the relevant factors have been properly considered. The Home Office continues to engage regularly with representatives from the local authority, the NHS, the Police, and local partners, including via Multi Agency Forums pre-delivery and post-Go Live of the proposed site to address the concerns of those most impacted and to identify ways to keep them informed. We will ensure that any development is safe, appropriate and compliant with planning regulations.

Discussions are underway regarding the use of Cameron Barracks and Crowborough for asylum accommodation. It is our longstanding policy not to comment on individual asylum accommodation sites, or on operational arrangements around those sites.

The Home Office already has digital interviewing capability that enables more claimants to be interviewed remotely. We will explore all options to provide better capacity.

The Home Office is working closely with local authorities, police, and community partners to ensure both sites operate safely and respectfully, and all alternative accommodation sites will provide basic, functional, and humane accommodation while asylum claims are processed.

County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we are targeting exploitative drug dealing gangs while breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade.

Between July 2024 and June 2025, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 2,300 deal lines closed, 6,200 arrests (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,100 deal line holders), 3,200 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 600 knives seized.

While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces, which is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate a national law enforcement response.

NCLCC’s most recent Strategic Assessment found that Scotland was one of the top five importing areas for county lines in 2023/24. The County Lines Programme taskforces conduct joint operations with Police Scotland and are committed to intelligence sharing and cooperation to tackle county lines. In addition, NCLCC regularly coordinates national weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, which police forces, including Police Scotland take part in.

The proposal to support international social workers who are without sponsored employment elsewhere in the UK to relocate to Scotland appears to be compatible with the existing immigration system and we encourage efforts to support displaced care workers find new employment.

The Home office and UK Visa and Immigration have been working with the Scottish Government to provide practical support for international social care workers who are without sponsored employment.

Health and social care policy is devolved and therefore the provision of social care, funding and workforce planning in Scotland is the responsibility of the Scottish Government.

The proposal to support international social workers who are without sponsored employment elsewhere in the UK to relocate to Scotland appears to be compatible with the existing immigration system and we encourage efforts to support displaced care workers find new employment.

The Home office and UK Visa and Immigration have been working with the Scottish Government to provide practical support for international social care workers who are without sponsored employment.

Health and social care policy is devolved and therefore the provision of social care, funding and workforce planning in Scotland is the responsibility of the Scottish Government.

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account several factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.

The following is an amalgamation of the various landlord proposals the Home Office has recorded over the past five years.

The Home Office publishes data on the processing of applications for British citizenship on the Gov.uk website.

Information on the location of customers who have applied for citizenship is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Data on the number of citizenship applications decided each quarter can be found here: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK

The number of outstanding citizenship applications each quarter can be found here: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK

Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the code of practice for statistics, taking into account several factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.

The Seasonal Worker route is an operator led immigration route with six Scheme Operators responsible for selecting suitable workers from overseas. UK Visas and Immigration closely monitor the performance of the Scheme Operators to ensure high standards of returns are maintained.

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas, including Seasonal Worker visas, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D01’ whilst data on outcomes of visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the ‘detailed entry clearance visas dataset’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from January 2005 up to the end of June 2025.

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

The information requested regarding work placements in Scotland and overstayers in the horticultural and poultry industries is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas, including Seasonal Worker visas, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D01’ whilst data on outcomes of visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the ‘detailed entry clearance visas dataset’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from January 2005 up to the end of June 2025.

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

The information requested regarding work placements in Scotland and overstayers in the horticultural and poultry industries is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas, including Seasonal Worker visas, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D01’ whilst data on outcomes of visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the ‘detailed entry clearance visas dataset’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from January 2005 up to the end of June 2025.

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

The information requested regarding work placements in Scotland and overstayers in the horticultural and poultry industries is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas, including Seasonal Worker visas, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D01’ whilst data on outcomes of visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the ‘detailed entry clearance visas dataset’. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from January 2005 up to the end of June 2025.

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

The information requested regarding work placements in Scotland and overstayers in the horticultural and poultry industries is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

The audit will conclude within three months of commencement and Baroness Casey will submit a written report, which will detail the evidence and findings across the areas detailed at section 2 of the Terms of Reference (which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-audit-on-group-based-child-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse-terms-of-reference/national-audit-on-group-based-child-sexual-exploitation-and-abuse-terms-of-reference).

The report will provide recommendations on what further local, regional or national work may be necessary, and it will be made publicly available by the Home Secretary in due course.

On 15 January 2025, the Government laid a statutory instrument before Parliament that will increase fees charged by police forces to provide full-cost recovery for firearms licensing applications, in line with the Government's manifesto commitment on firearms fees. The fees were last increased in 2015 and they are now considerably below the cost of the service provided. It is essential for both public safety and police efficiency that increased fees are introduced so that service improvements can be made. The new fees will come into effect on 5 February.

The new fees are based on data produced by a review of firearms licensing costs in 31 police forces in January 2023. This data has since been updated to reflect increases in costs since then. The review was discussed at the Firearms Fees Working Group, chaired by the Home Office, which met in 2022 and 2023 with representation from:

· National Police Chiefs' Council

· Association of Police and Crime Commissioners

· Police Scotland

· Scottish Government

· Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

· British Shooting Sports Council

· British Association for Shooting and Conservation

· Gun Trade Association

· National Rifle Association

· Countryside Alliance

· National Gamekeepers Organisation

· Scottish Association for Country Sports.

A full impact assessment, which covers the impact of increased fees on rural communities, was published alongside the statutory instrument. The Policing Minister met with both the BSSC and BASC on the 13 January 2025.

On 15 January 2025, the Government laid a statutory instrument before Parliament that will increase fees charged by police forces to provide full-cost recovery for firearms licensing applications, in line with the Government's manifesto commitment on firearms fees. The fees were last increased in 2015 and they are now considerably below the cost of the service provided. It is essential for both public safety and police efficiency that increased fees are introduced so that service improvements can be made. The new fees will come into effect on 5 February.

The new fees are based on data produced by a review of firearms licensing costs in 31 police forces in January 2023. This data has since been updated to reflect increases in costs since then. The review was discussed at the Firearms Fees Working Group, chaired by the Home Office, which met in 2022 and 2023 with representation from:

· National Police Chiefs' Council

· Association of Police and Crime Commissioners

· Police Scotland

· Scottish Government

· Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

· British Shooting Sports Council

· British Association for Shooting and Conservation

· Gun Trade Association

· National Rifle Association

· Countryside Alliance

· National Gamekeepers Organisation

· Scottish Association for Country Sports.

A full impact assessment, which covers the impact of increased fees on rural communities, was published alongside the statutory instrument. The Policing Minister met with both the BSSC and BASC on the 13 January 2025.