Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people have had their British citizenship revoked in each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The British Nationality Act 1981 provides the Secretary of State with powers to deprive a person of citizenship status only under the circumstances set out at sections 40(2) and 40(3) of the Act. Section 40(2) allows the Secretary of State to deprive any person of British citizenship, should they deem it conducive to the public good to do so.
Detail on the numbers of conducive deprivation orders made under Section 40(2) of the 1981 British Nationality Act, are published in the Government Transparency Report: Disruptive and Investigatory Powers. Eight reports have been published to date providing the number of deprivations of citizenship orders made up until the end of 2023 can be found on Gov.UK.
More recent data will be published in future publications in relation to deprivation of British citizenship 40(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981.
Section 40(3) of the 1981 British Nationality Act, allows for deprivation of citizenship where fraud, false representation or concealment of material facts have been used to obtain British citizenship. Since August 2020 these figures have been published via the Transparency report on asylum data, which can be found on Gov.UK:
For ease, the data below (taken from the Immigration and Protection data: Q3 2024 – GOV.UK report) sets out the number of people deprived of British Citizenship on the grounds of fraud:
Year | Deprivation Orders |
2018 | 50 |
2019 | 82 |
2020 | 43 |
2021 | 273 |
2022 | 308 |
The current published data runs to 2022, more recent data will be published when available.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to allow HM Prison Service staff to shoot down drones near prisons.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are working hard to deter, detect and disrupt the use of drones to deliver contraband into prisons. We conduct vulnerability assessments across the prison estate to identify risks, and to develop and implement plans to manage and mitigate them. His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) uses targeted countermeasures including improvements to windows, netting and grills to stop drones delivering contraband such as drugs, mobile telephones and weapons.
We work across Government to examine options to mitigate the threat of drones to prisons. We are also engaging with international counterparts to develop our learning, support our strategy and share best practice. Our response to drone threats is specific to the individual prison site, but owing to operational sensitivities, we are not able to discuss in detail the tactics used by HMPPS to disrupt drones.
The Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Act 2021, which authorises the use of counter-drone technology, also enables the police to stop and search anyone suspected of committing drone-related offences.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide anti-drone technology to HM Prison Service staff.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are working hard to deter, detect and disrupt the use of drones to deliver contraband into prisons. We conduct vulnerability assessments across the prison estate to identify risks, and to develop and implement plans to manage and mitigate them. His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) uses targeted countermeasures including improvements to windows, netting and grills to stop drones delivering contraband such as drugs, mobile telephones and weapons.
We work across Government to examine options to mitigate the threat of drones to prisons. We are also engaging with international counterparts to develop our learning, support our strategy and share best practice. Our response to drone threats is specific to the individual prison site, but owing to operational sensitivities, we are not able to discuss in detail the tactics used by HMPPS to disrupt drones.
The Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Act 2021, which authorises the use of counter-drone technology, also enables the police to stop and search anyone suspected of committing drone-related offences.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for appropriate categories of prisoners to undertake work in the community, such as litter clearance.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Prisoners currently can access community service work through Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) during the custodial element within their sentence.
The Prison Rules in England and Wales provide that a prisoner may be granted leave from prison for short periods on temporary licence. ROTL is an important rehabilitation tool which allows prisoners to participate in activities in the community which have been identified as serving a particular purpose in meeting their individual resettlement objectives. Suitable, risk assessed prisoners may be allowed out during the day to, for example, work, attend college, attend an interview, maintain/re-establish links with their family or undertake community work such as litter clearance. This helps them develop responsibility and gain valuable skills.
The decision to allow temporary release is taken by the prison governor, on behalf of the Secretary of State, who must always balance the needs of the prisoner and the purpose of the ROTL applied for, against the need to maintain public safety and the public’s confidence in the criminal justice system. Each decision is taken on a case-by-case basis to safeguard the public. Any breaches can result in more time behind bars.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the framework for granting firearms licences.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
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.
We keep the framework of firearms licensing controls under constant review as it is important that we maintain strong controls on firearms to safeguard the public.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which bodies they consulted before increasing the fees for licensing firearms.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
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.
We keep the framework of firearms licensing controls under constant review as it is important that we maintain strong controls on firearms to safeguard the public.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the new administration in the USA about recognising the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as a nuclear power.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to the international non-proliferation regime and strongly encourages all UN Member States including our G7 partners to employ strict vigilance over potential proliferation efforts conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). We continue to encourage the DPRK to return to full compliance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and to honour its international obligations in accordance with existing United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs). We regularly discuss a range of issues related to international peace and security with our close ally the United States of America.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to rename London Waterloo Station.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Network Rail own and manage Waterloo station. There are no plans to rename the station.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan respond to proposals by the government of Spain prohibiting non-EU citizens from buying property by prohibiting non-resident Spanish citizens from buying houses in the United Kingdom.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government does not have plans to place specific restrictions on Spanish citizens buying UK residential property. We have already acted on overseas buyers in the housing market by raising the Stamp Duty Higher Rate for Additional Dwellings by 2 percentage points to 5%. This will raise £310 million by 2029-30 and help to rebalance the housing market towards those who want to buy property for use as a primary residence.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contribution of the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) evacuation work in Ukraine, and what support they provide to MOAS.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Humanitarian assistance in Ukraine is essential to protecting the lives of innocent civilians. The FCDO is providing at least £120 million in humanitarian aid through to the end of FY 24/25 bringing the total contribution to £477 million to Ukraine and the region since the start of the full-scale invasion, making us one of the largest bilateral humanitarian donors to Ukraine. Although some of our humanitarian partners support frontline medical evacuations like those undertaken by the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), we do not directly fund such services.