Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to prevent people that illegally enter the UK from being able to work.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is leading a UK-wide crackdown on illegal working as part of a whole system approach to tackle illegal migration from every angle.
The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill introduces tough new laws to clamp down on illegal working. This means that for the very first time, right to work checks will be extended to cover businesses hiring gig economy and zero-hours workers in sectors like construction, food delivery, beauty salons, courier services and warehousing.
Home Office Immigration Enforcement teams are intensifying operational activity across the UK to stop businesses hiring people to work illegally. Since this government came into power, there have been 10,031 illegal working visits to premises and 7,130 arrests have been made, an increase of 48% and 51% compared to the year before (5 July 2023 to 28 June 2024). In that time, 2,105 civil penalty notices have been issued.
Alongside the Department for Business and Trade, the Home Office is working closely with the major food delivery platforms, including Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat, to ensure they understand their responsibilities in using riders who have the right to work in the UK.
Last month the Home Office commenced data sharing with leading food delivery firms. The agreement enables the Home Office to share sensitive location data of the locations of asylum hotels with the firms helping the companies detect and suspend accounts suspected of illegal working, particularly where delivery riders may be sharing accounts with individuals who do not have the legal right to work in the UK.
Finally, the Government has announced the introduction of digital ID this parliament. It is clear that offering access to the UK labour market is part of the approach taken by unscrupulous criminals to profit from facilitating illegal migration. Providing a single system to prove a right to work, will simplify the process and drive-up compliance.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department’s policy is on housing of asylum seekers in houses of multiple occupancy.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government is committed to reducing reliance on hotels by expanding the overall supply of dispersal and temporary accommodation, including through the private sector. Local authorities are consulted on all dispersed accommodation before it is procured, including for HMOs. This is a necessary step to meet our legal obligations while being cognisant of local pressures.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to reduce the number of asylum seekers living in houses of multiple occupancy.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We’re taking decisive action to reduce the asylum backlog, close hotels, and return control of sites to local areas. Our strategy is focused on restoring order and fairness to the system while protecting public safety. The Immigration White Paper sets our measures to reduce inflow to the asylum system, ultimately reducing reliance on accommodation.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will consider designating the Cartel of the Suns as a Terrorist Organisation.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
While the UK Government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under review, we do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not being considered for proscription.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to deport immigrants found guilty of violent crimes.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Foreign nationals who commit serious crimes in our country will face the full force of the law and be deported at the earliest opportunity.
This government has already removed almost 5,200 foreign national offenders in its first year of office, a 14 per cent increase on the previous twelve months (5 July 2024 to 4 July 2025) and we will continue to crack down on any foreign nationals who come to this country and break our rules.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the efficacy of enforcement provisions in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, in the context of the recent BBC investigation into the illicit tobacco market.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will strengthen enforcement and crack down on rogue retailers selling illegal and unregulated tobacco and vape products to children and young people. The Bill introduces new £200 fixed penalty notices in England and Wales for certain tobacco and vape offences, including underage sales, and enables the introduction of a retail licensing scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and a new registration scheme for tobacco, vape and nicotine products sold on the UK market.
Alongside the Bill, we are investing £30 million of new funding for enforcement agencies in 2025/26, including Trading Standards, HMRC and Border Force. This funding is being used to support the enforcement of illicit and underage tobacco and vape sales in England, and the implementation of the measures in the Bill.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help improve the mental health of police officers.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is committed to supporting the mental and physical wellbeing of all our police.
This includes providing ongoing funding to the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS), which provides evidence-based guidance, advice, tools and resources which can be accessed by forces. This helps Chief Constables in their duty to ensure the wellbeing of their workforce. In particular, the Service is helping forces to identify where there is most risk of impacts on mental health, and developing work around building resilience, as well as putting in place support for those who need it in response to traumatic events.
The Police Covenant has already helped deliver pre-deployment mental health training for new recruits and improved occupational health standards for officers in service.
A new National Police Health and Wellbeing Strategy was launched in June 2025 by NPWS. Workforce Prioritisation Guidance has been published alongside this, which provides clarity and guidance to forces on how to implement and invest in evidence-based and scalable health and wellbeing solutions locally.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with his Irish counterpart on illegal immigration to the United Kingdom via that country.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK and Ireland have a close and collaborative working relationship on a range of issues, including migration and border security. That collaboration includes a joint commitment to protect the Common Travel Area (CTA) from abuse while preserving the rights of British and Irish citizens.
Everyone entering the UK, regardless of where they enter from, is required to meet UK’s immigration requirements. Anyone identified attempting to circumvent UK border controls is liable to be detained and, if they are not lawfully present within the UK, removed.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to help reduce illegal immigration to the United Kingdom via the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK and Ireland have a close and collaborative working relationship on a range of issues, including migration and border security. That collaboration includes a joint commitment to protect the Common Travel Area (CTA) from abuse while preserving the rights of British and Irish citizens.
Everyone entering the UK, regardless of where they enter from, is required to meet UK’s immigration requirements. Anyone identified attempting to circumvent UK border controls is liable to be detained and, if they are not lawfully present within the UK, removed.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been charged under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in each year since 2021.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes information on the number of charges for modern slavery in England and Wales. The number of individuals charged or summonsed for modern slavery offences was 226 in 2021, 192 in 2022, 167 in 2023 and 209 in 2024.
More information on the latest police recorded crime data can be accessed here: Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables - GOV.UK
Where a charge outcome has been recorded for a modern slavery crime it is not necessarily always a charge under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.