Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will reconsider the termination of the temporary visa free access scheme for overseas seasonal sheep shearers from Australia and New Zealand.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
All Immigration Rules concessionary arrangements are temporary and subject to regular Ministerial review. The sheep shearing concession has been operating for 14 years and the sheep farming sector has made significant efforts to provide skills training within the domestic workforce.
To give sheep farmers two years to transition to new arrangements, and move away from using overseas shearers, the concession has been renewed for one more year. The concession will not be renewed in 2027 and will close for a final time on 30 June 2026.
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 potential merits of Conflict Management Dogs as a less-lethal option for Counter Terrorism Specialist Firearms Officers; and what plans she has to ensure that capability is maintained.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Armed policing capabilities are built upon ongoing assessments of operational threat and risk and are used in threat to life situations. The use of firearms by the police should always be the last resort, considered only where there is a serious risk to public or responder safety. Counter Terrorism Specialist Firearms Officers (CTSFOs) receive the highest level of police firearms training and can provide a second-wave response to more complex or long running attacks.
The Home Office works closely with the police to ensure they have the necessary capabilities and their capacities to respond to a range of incidents across the policing and counter-terrorism landscape, while respecting their operational independence from Government.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the UK will proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp as a terrorist organisation following its designation by the European Union.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK stands proudly on the side of freedom and human rights, and we have long criticised Iran’s authoritarian regime and taken robust action to protect UK interests from Iranian state threats. On 13 January, the Foreign Secretary set out the action that the Government is taking in coordination with allies in response to the consistent threat that the Iranian regime poses to stability, security, freedom and the UK national interest. We are now working further with the EU and other partners to explore what sanctions will be needed to respond to the horrific escalation seen in recent weeks.
It is the Government’s long-standing position not to comment on the detail of security and intelligence matters, including whether or not a specific organisation is being considered for proscription.
However, we are acting decisively to disrupt threats posed by Iran here in the UK. We have placed the Iranian state on the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), meaning that anyone working for or directed by the Iranian state to conduct activities in the UK must declare that activity, or risk up to five years in prison. The National Security Act 2023 also strengthens our powers to counter state threats, including from Iran, and provides the security services and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to deter, detect, and disrupt these threats. Furthermore, we have committed to take forward plans recommended by Jonathan Hall KC for a proscription-like power for state and state-linked bodies to tackle malign activity more appropriately than is offered under the existing powers. We will introduce legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
The UK now has over 550 sanctions against Iranian linked individuals and entities, including the IRGC, which has been sanctioned in its entirety. Over 220 designations have been imposed since this Government came into office. In concert with international partners, we will use all appropriate tools at our disposal to protect the UK, and our interests, from state threats.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of creating a (a) single, (b) centralised and (c) digitised firearms licensing body to replace the current system of 44 separate licensing authorities.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has no plans to introduce a new national body for firearms licensing. The Firearms Act 1968 places statutory responsibility for firearms licensing on the Chief Officer of Police of each individual force in England, Wales and Scotland.
This framework is supported by Statutory Guidance to Chief Officers of Police issued by the Home Secretary in respect of firearms licensing and by Authorised Professional Practice issued by the College of Policing.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with police forces on moving the criminal investigation by South Yorkshire Police into the alleged abuse of grooming gang victims by South Yorkshire Police officers to an independent body.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Following discussions between the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), South Yorkshire Police, and the National Crime Agency (NCA), it has been formally agreed that the investigation will now be carried out by the NCA under the direction and control of the IOPC.
In line with the Inquiries Act 2005, the Chair of the National Inquiry into Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, once appointed, will play a central role in shaping the inquiry’s Terms of Reference. These will be published in draft and consulted on with stakeholders, including victims and survivors, before being finalised. The Inquiry will have full statutory powers to investigate systemic and institutional failings wherever they are found. Where the Inquiry finds evidence of potential criminal wrongdoing, it will provide the material to the relevant police force for investigation.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the scope of the National Grooming Gang Inquiry will include investigations into alleged abuse inflicted on grooming gang victims by police officers.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Following discussions between the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), South Yorkshire Police, and the National Crime Agency (NCA), it has been formally agreed that the investigation will now be carried out by the NCA under the direction and control of the IOPC.
In line with the Inquiries Act 2005, the Chair of the National Inquiry into Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, once appointed, will play a central role in shaping the inquiry’s Terms of Reference. These will be published in draft and consulted on with stakeholders, including victims and survivors, before being finalised. The Inquiry will have full statutory powers to investigate systemic and institutional failings wherever they are found. Where the Inquiry finds evidence of potential criminal wrongdoing, it will provide the material to the relevant police force for investigation.
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 December 2024 to Question 20277 on Mohamed Iidow, what the immigration status was for Mohamed Lidow at the time he committed the manslaughter and rape of Natalie Shotter.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We do not comment on individual cases. We have a responsibility not to disclose any information relating to an individual's immigration or citizenship status, as well as complying with our general duty of confidentiality.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the immigration status was for Ayman Adams when he sentenced for a sexual assault in Wakefield.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We do not comment on individual cases. We have a responsibility not to disclose any information relating to an individual's immigration or citizenship status, as well as complying with our general duty of confidentiality.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects the Police Remuneration Review Body Report to be published.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
On 1 August, the previous Home Secretary announced that the Government has accepted the PRRB’s recommendations in full, including a 4.2% consolidated pay increase for police officers (up to and including the rank of Chief Superintendent), effective from 1 September 2025.
To support forces with the cost of the pay award, the Home Office is providing additional funding of £120m in 2025/26.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the immigration status was for Rabie Knissi when he was sentenced for a sexual offence committed in March 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Any disclosures of the immigration or asylum status of suspects will be made in line with the processes set out in the National Police Chiefs’ Council interim guidance published on the 13 August.