Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many civil servants in her Department are responsible for the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, including reviewing the compliance of entities related to the People’s Republic of China.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Secretary of State for Defence
The Government is focused on ensuring compliance with the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), including, where appropriate, referring cases to the police where we believe a criminal offence has been committed.
It would not be appropriate to provide details of registrations beyond those that appear on the public FIRS register, as doing so could identify information not intended to be published and undermine the scheme’s objectives. Registrations under the enhanced tier are not published unless they relate to political influence activities; there are also circumstances in which publication will not occur, for example where publication could create a risk to the safety or interests of the UK.
An annual report on the operation of FIRS will be laid before Parliament. This will include, among other things, the number of registrations under both tiers, the number of information notices issued, and the number of people charged and prosecuted for failing to comply with the scheme’s requirements. The first report will be published as soon as practicable after 30 June 2026.
Owing to security considerations, I am unable to provide specific details of the number of civil servants working on FIRS.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Secretary of State for Defence
The Government is focused on ensuring compliance with the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), including, where appropriate, referring cases to the police where we believe a criminal offence has been committed.
It would not be appropriate to provide details of registrations beyond those that appear on the public FIRS register, as doing so could identify information not intended to be published and undermine the scheme’s objectives. Registrations under the enhanced tier are not published unless they relate to political influence activities; there are also circumstances in which publication will not occur, for example where publication could create a risk to the safety or interests of the UK.
An annual report on the operation of FIRS will be laid before Parliament. This will include, among other things, the number of registrations under both tiers, the number of information notices issued, and the number of people charged and prosecuted for failing to comply with the scheme’s requirements. The first report will be published as soon as practicable after 30 June 2026.
Owing to security considerations, I am unable to provide specific details of the number of civil servants working on FIRS.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the reasons that no companies and organisations linked to the People's Republic of China have registered under the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme to date.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Secretary of State for Defence
The Government is focused on ensuring compliance with the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), including, where appropriate, referring cases to the police where we believe a criminal offence has been committed.
It would not be appropriate to provide details of registrations beyond those that appear on the public FIRS register, as doing so could identify information not intended to be published and undermine the scheme’s objectives. Registrations under the enhanced tier are not published unless they relate to political influence activities; there are also circumstances in which publication will not occur, for example where publication could create a risk to the safety or interests of the UK.
An annual report on the operation of FIRS will be laid before Parliament. This will include, among other things, the number of registrations under both tiers, the number of information notices issued, and the number of people charged and prosecuted for failing to comply with the scheme’s requirements. The first report will be published as soon as practicable after 30 June 2026.
Owing to security considerations, I am unable to provide specific details of the number of civil servants working on FIRS.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to identify and prosecute entities who should have registered under the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Secretary of State for Defence
The Government is focused on ensuring compliance with the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), including, where appropriate, referring cases to the police where we believe a criminal offence has been committed.
It would not be appropriate to provide details of registrations beyond those that appear on the public FIRS register, as doing so could identify information not intended to be published and undermine the scheme’s objectives. Registrations under the enhanced tier are not published unless they relate to political influence activities; there are also circumstances in which publication will not occur, for example where publication could create a risk to the safety or interests of the UK.
An annual report on the operation of FIRS will be laid before Parliament. This will include, among other things, the number of registrations under both tiers, the number of information notices issued, and the number of people charged and prosecuted for failing to comply with the scheme’s requirements. The first report will be published as soon as practicable after 30 June 2026.
Owing to security considerations, I am unable to provide specific details of the number of civil servants working on FIRS.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2026 to Question 472, whether any of the enhanced technical solutions and technological tools rely on Chinese (a) technology and (b) equipment.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Secretary of State for Defence
Policing is operationally independent of Government and decisions on procurement are taken by individual forces. However, Police are provided briefing and support by Government to understand and manage national security risks.
Separately, there are a range of tools to ensure that sensitive UK supply chains and technologies are suitable and safe.
This includes the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSIA). The NSIA provides the Government with powers to identify and, where necessary, intervene in acquisitions of entities or assets that may pose a threat to the UK’s national security.
Additionally, the Procurement Act 2023 provides Government powers to exclude and debar suppliers from public sector contracts where they are judged to pose a national security risk.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent people with known links to Chinese organised crime groups from being treated as community representatives by public bodies.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Secretary of State for Defence
The Government are absolutely committed to ensuring appropriate due diligence when making decisions on who to engage on particular issues.
More broadly, if individuals are linked to organised crime, we will pursue all avenues to ensure the perpetrators of crimes are brought to justice. We are also working closely with law enforcement partners to strengthen understanding of Chinese related organised crime activity in the UK.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has conducted an assessment of trends in links between Chinese Communist Party United Front organisations and individuals involved in (a) labour exploitation, (b) money laundering and (b) irregular migration schemes in the UK.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Secretary of State for Defence
As is longstanding government policy, it would be inappropriate to comment on specific national security matters.
This Government, working closely with our law enforcement partners, is strengthening our understanding of Chinese organised crime activity in the UK. Where crime is identified, we will pursue all avenues to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.
Where there are individuals who pose a threat to our national security, we are committed to using the full range of powers available to disrupt them. This includes the National Security Act 2023, which introduced a significant package of measures to be used against the full range of state threats activity.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of evidence in the Wilson Report on the direction of Chinese organised crime activity by the PRC.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Secretary of State for Defence
Across the country, officers are confronting complex serious organised crime groups who collaborate across borders.
We are stepping up efforts by introducing a world class National Police Service to bring together specialist capabilities and adopt best-in-class technology. This will bolster action to detect and disrupt the most dangerous criminals.
As is longstanding government policy, it would be inappropriate to comment on specific national security matters.
This Government, working closely with our law enforcement partners, is strengthening our understanding of Chinese organised crime activity in the UK. Where crime is identified, we will pursue all avenues to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve police access to Cantonese, Hakka, Hokkien and Eastern Min language capabilities for serious organised crime and national security investigations.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Secretary of State for Defence
Counter Terrorism Policing continues to maintain the technological tools andtranslation capabilities necessary to meet legislative and evidentialrequirements.CTP are strengthening this capacity, including through the development anddeployment of enhanced technical solutions and by increasing the number ofsuitably cleared translators.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of trends in the level of People's Republic of China-linked transnational repression involving criminal proxies targeting UK-based dissidents.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Secretary of State for Defence
Perpetrating states use a wide range of methodologies to conduct transnational repression. The UK’s approach to countering state-directed threats is systematic, comprehensive, and continually improving.
The Government continually assesses the threat using a multisource model - combining intelligence assessments, policing insight, international engagement and contributions from civil society and affected individuals - to improve our understanding of behaviours and countries of concern.
Some foreign states are recruiting proxies to commit harmful acts that threaten the UK’s national security.
The implementation of the National Security Act has provided our intelligence services and police with a suite of measures to protect our national security, the safety of the British public, and our vital interests from malign state threat activity. Individuals may be at risk of committing an offence under the National Security Act if they knew, or ought reasonably to have known they were undertaking activity on behalf of a foreign power.