Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2025, to Question 86342, whether there is an internal document that sets out her Department's new accommodation strategy.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Prime Minister has been clear he wants every asylum hotel closed by the end of this Parliament. In delivering that, every Department has been asked to look at what more it can do. Accordingly, we are reviewing the long-term strategy to reflect the work to exit hotels.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2025, to Question 86767, on Counter-terrorism: expenditure, what is the methodology by which local authorities are threat-rated for the purposes of Prevent funding; and what is the methodology by which the Prevent funding to individual councils is calculated.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Each year the Home Office conducts an annual prioritisation exercise to understand which Local Authorities (LAs) are facing the highest threat from radicalisation to terrorism. The model is data-led and incorporates both quantitative and qualitative elements. It is regularly reviewed and adapted to ensure that it provides a sound basis to make effective evidence-based decisions.
The quantitative element of the model draws on counter-terrorism investigations data and arrests data for terrorism and terrorism-related offences; the number of cases that have been discussed at a Channel multi-agency panel or are being managed separately under the police-led process; community tension reports; hate crime data; Indices of Multiple Deprivation; and annual employment statistics.
As part of the qualitative element, we hold a series of regional roundtables with key Prevent delivery partners, which allows us to sense check the preliminary rankings and make adjustments by drawing on the knowledge and experience of front-line Prevent practitioners from across a range of sectors, including CT Policing; Department for Education; Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government; Health; and HM Prisons and Probation.
Funding for posts and dedicated projects is allocated as part of an annual bidding process, with funding allocations informed by factors including the amount of funding available, the level of threat, the level of funding provided for Prevent posts in the previous financial year, and inflation-related increases.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support the freedom to pray silently in public places.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Freedom of religion or belief, and freedom of expression are fundamental human rights. The government is committed to ensuring that individuals are protected from discrimination on the basis of religion or belief, and that they are able to hold and manifest their beliefs in a reasonable and lawful manner.
Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023 introduced safe access zones of 150 metres around all abortion clinics in England and Wales. Within these zones, it is an offence to intentionally or recklessly influence someone’s decision to use or provide abortion services, obstruct them, or cause harassment or distress.
The legislation on safe access zones does not specify behaviours; it is for the police, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and courts, who are operationally independent, to determine whether an act meets the threshold. CPS guidance confirms that vigils or silent prayer could fall within scope depending on intent and circumstances (in annex A): https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/offences-during-protests-demonstrations-or-campaigns.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to the oral statement of 18 November 2025, Official Report, Column 614, on China Espionage: Government Security Response, how the proscription-type tool to disrupt proxy organisations will operate.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Earlier this year, the Independent Reviewer for State Threats Legislation, Jonathan Hall KC, published a review evaluating what powers under terrorism legislation could be emulated to tackle state-based security threats to the UK. Mr Hall KC recommended introducing a State Threats Proscription-style Tool that would be effective in disrupting state-linked organisations.
Design of the tool will be informed by Mr Hall’s review and will focus on disrupting and deterring the most egregious state and proxy organisations carrying out hostile activity against the UK.
The Government are committed to taking forward this proposal as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2025, to Question 86768, on Radicalism: Expenditure, if he will list the individual sums given to each of those local authorities; and what was the methodology used to calculate those allocations.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The individual sums provided to each local authority that received dedicated Home Office funds for Prevent in financial year 2024/25 was provided as part of the response to PQ 86768 of 14 November 2025.
Funding for posts and dedicated projects is allocated as part of an annual bidding process, with funding allocations informed by factors including the amount of funding available, the level of threat, the level of funding provided for Prevent posts in the previous financial year, and inflation-related increases.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to paragraph 5.29 of the OBR, Economic and Fiscal Outlook, November 2025, CP1439, 26 November 2025, if she will provide an annual breakdown of the £15.3 billion cost of asylum accommodation over the next 10 years, according to information held by HM Government.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The £15.3bn figure was cited in a NAO report from May this year, it relates to a broad estimate of spend on accommodation contracts across the period 2019 to 2029, not the next 10 years. Actual Asylum spend is published in our Annual Report and Accounts, and as per the Spending Review we are committed to bring spend down by £1.1bn a year by 28/29.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what will be the composition of Policing and Crime Boards following the abolition of Police and Crime Commissioners; whether they will contain independent members; how will they be politically balanced.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Policing and Crime Boards will bring together elected council leaders to oversee the force in their area. They are likely to include upper tier local authority council leaders as well as independent co-opted members, who will bring unique skills and expertise.
We propose that they will be supported by a Policing and Crime lead who will provide day-to-day oversight of the force. We are working closely with a range of stakeholders on the design and implementation of Policing and Crime Boards, with Transition Working Groups to commence in January.
We plan to legislate to abolish Police and Crime Commissioners and create Policing and Crime Boards, when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer of 10 November 2025, to Question 86656, on Hate Crime: Internet, who is the National Police Hate Crime Coordinator and in which public body are they based.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The National Police Hate Crime Coordinator is Chief Constable Mark Hobrough of Gwent Police, who serves as the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Hate Crime.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to her Department's press release entitled Review of public order and hate crime legislation, published on 15 November 2025, whether (a) anti-Muslim hatred and (b) the Government's proposed definition of Islamophobia are in scope of the review.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Following the horrific attack on a synagogue in Manchester on 2 October, the Home Secretary launched an independent review of public order and hate crime legislation on 5 October. The Review will be led by Lord Ken Macdonald KC of River Glaven, supported by former Assistant Chief Constable Owen Weatherill
The review will ensure police powers remain fit for purpose, are used consistently, and strike the right balance between the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest, and the need to prevent disorder and keep communities safe.
The review is engaging directly with stakeholders and experts across a full range of sectors, faith groups and perspectives. The panel has not been asked to consider the Government’s proposed definition of Islamophobia, but it will be open to the independent chair of the review to determine the extent to which he might wish to do so in order to meet the terms of reference for the review.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much central government funding was made available to the London Borough of Hillingdon in 2024-25 to compensate for costs relating to asylum.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not publicly publish grant payment levels by local authority, we do however provide funding to Local Authorities under the following grant agreements Asylum, Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking children & former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children Care Leavers.
Please see the link below to the relevant Funding Instructions: