Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people they have returned to France under the UK-France migration and returns agreement since the scheme was introduced; how many people have been admitted to the UK under the reciprocal arrangements; and what assessment they have made of the impact of the decision by France not to renew the agreement.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The UK-France Returns Pilot was established to support our broader cooperation with France in tackling illegal migration and breaking the business model of the criminal gangs. Since the pilot began, we have returned over 1,500 people to France and a similar number of people have come to the UK.
The pilot demonstrated that a reciprocal returns arrangement can work in practice as part of a broader response to illegal migration. The Government continues to work closely with France on our shared objective of preventing dangerous crossings and disrupting organised immigration crime.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the reopening of the UK resettlement scheme, how many refugees they expect to resettle under the scheme in (1) 2026, and (2) 2027; and what assessment they have made of the capacity of local authorities to accommodate those arrivals.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As announced by the Home Secretary on 28 September, the Home Office has started receiving new referrals for the United Kingdom Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) in 26/27.
The Government expects the total arrivals across the UKRS and the three new community sponsorship routes to number in the low hundreds at first.
The Home Office works closely with the local authorities that volunteer to participate in the UKRS, and arrival is contingent on local authorities providing accommodation and agreeing to support a refugee family. The number of individuals resettled through the UKRS in any given year will depend on a range of factors, including the capacity of local authorities to welcome, accommodate and integrate refugees.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of Operation Comby in disrupting organised immigration crime between Ireland and the UK; and how many of the 49 people arrested as part of that Operation between 22 and 24 September have subsequently been (1) charged, (2) convicted, and (3) removed from the UK.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Operation Comby is an Immigration Enforcement led intensification exercise which aims to enhance focus on suspected abuse of the Common Travel Area by those involved in illicit activity.
As part of Operation Comby between 22 September and 24 September 2026, there have been 49 arrests, of which 4 individuals have been detained pending removal, 23 individuals have been removed, 8 individuals remain under investigation, and 1 individual has been convicted.
Following each phase of Operation Comby, participating law enforcement and border security partners undertake a structured post-operational review. This process enables agencies to share intelligence, assess operational outcomes against identified threats, capture lessons learned, and identify opportunities to strengthen resources, capabilities and the UK's border security response. Initial analysis from the recent intensification periods suggests that Operation Comby activity has had a positive impact on subsequent detection and disruption activity, indicating a short-term deterrent effect on individuals seeking to exploit the Common Travel Area.
These reviews take place following each intensification period and form part of an ongoing cycle of evaluation, intelligence development and continuous improvement. It is important to note that a number of investigations arising from the September 2026 intensification remain ongoing and, therefore, the Home Office is unable to disclose further information relating to active judicial proceedings.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likelihood that Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights will be used by individuals entering the UK on the resettlement scheme to bring additional family members.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As announced by the Home Secretary on 28 September, the Home Office has started receiving new referrals for the United Kingdom Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) in 26/27.
The Government expects the total arrivals across the UKRS and the three new community sponsorship routes to number in the low hundreds at first.
Individuals identified for resettlement under the UKRS are usually resettled as part of immediate family units.
Through the Immigration and Asylum Bill, the Home Office will limit the application of Article 8 claims in three ways: strengthening and rebalancing the public interest test to ensure issues that are central to the public interest are considered; defining family life for the purposes of Article 8, by setting out a clear framing for decision makers and the courts that it should not normally go beyond immediate family members; and requiring Article 8 family life claims from those outside of the UK to be made by a UK-based sponsor.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of mental health concerns as a ground for overturning asylum and immigration decisions; and what steps they have taken, if any, to remove mental health concerns as a criterion for asylum decisions to be overturned.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
When asylum and human rights applications are decided, it is necessary to consider the health of applicants, both physical and mental.
Over time, we have seen an expansion in the way human rights arguments are relied upon in some asylum and immigration cases, including those involving mental health issues. This can create barriers to the removal of individuals with no right to remain in the United Kingdom.
Through the Immigration and Asylum Bill, and in line with the Chişinău Political Declaration adopted by the Council of Europe, the Government is ensuring that human rights protections are applied as intended, with appropriate thresholds and proper weight given to the public interest.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they will put in place to screen refugees accepted on the new refugee community sponsorship scheme for security risks.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office will assess all applications to ensure that only those who meet the eligibility requirements can access the named sponsorship route. Refugee status will be determined in partnership with the UNHCR, and all applicants will be subject to appropriate security, identity, and background checks before arrival in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children aged 10 to 13 have been arrested for (1) common assault, (2) actual bodily harm, (3) inflicting grievous bodily harm, and (4) causing grievous bodily harm with intent, in each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes data on arrests for notifiable offences in England and Wales as part of the ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical series, available here: Stop and search, arrests, and mental health detentions, March 2025 - GOV.UK
Data are collected by age group, such as 10-17 years old, and more detailed breakdowns are not available. Additionally, data on arrests is collected by offence group only, for example ‘Sexual offences’. Data on arrests for the specific offences requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children aged 10 to 13 have been arrested for (1) rape, (2) sexual assault, (3) assault by penetration, and (4) exposure, in each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office collects and publishes data on arrests for notifiable offences in England and Wales as part of the ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical series, available here: Stop and search, arrests, and mental health detentions, March 2025 - GOV.UK
Data are collected by age group, such as 10-17 years old, and more detailed breakdowns are not available. Additionally, data on arrests is collected by offence group only, for example ‘Sexual offences’. Data on arrests for the specific offences requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children aged 10 to 13 have been convicted of (1) common assault, (2) actual bodily harm, (3) inflicting grievous bodily harm, and (4) causing grievous bodily harm with intent, in each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences by age in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
The requested information is provided in the below tables.
Total number of 10 to 13 year olds convicted of certain offences at criminal courts, England and Wales, 2021 to 2025 [note 1][note 2][note 3]
Source: Court Proceedings Database
Offence | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Rape | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Sexual Assault (includes penetration and non penetration) | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
Sexual Assault With Penetration | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Exposure | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Offence | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Grievous Bodily Harm | 5 | 11 | 20 | 18 | 11 |
Actual Bodily Harm | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 11 |
Common Assault | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 11 |
Notes
Note 1
Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
Note 2
These figures are presented on a principal offence basis - i.e. reporting information relating to the most serious offence that a defendant was dealt with for. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
Note 3
Only rows with non-zero values within the specified time period will appear in the table.
Asked by: Lord Davies of Gower (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children aged 10 to 13 have been convicted of (1) rape, (2) sexual assault, (3) assault by penetration, and (4) exposure, in each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences by age in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
The requested information is provided in the below tables.
Total number of 10 to 13 year olds convicted of certain offences at criminal courts, England and Wales, 2021 to 2025 [note 1][note 2][note 3]
Source: Court Proceedings Database
Offence | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Rape | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Sexual Assault (includes penetration and non penetration) | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
Sexual Assault With Penetration | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Exposure | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Offence | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Grievous Bodily Harm | 5 | 11 | 20 | 18 | 11 |
Actual Bodily Harm | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 11 |
Common Assault | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 11 |
Notes
Note 1
Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
Note 2
These figures are presented on a principal offence basis - i.e. reporting information relating to the most serious offence that a defendant was dealt with for. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
Note 3
Only rows with non-zero values within the specified time period will appear in the table.