Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure illegal migrants accommodated in (a) hotels and (b) other government supported accommodation who leave that accommodation and do not report back within 72 hours are reported to UK Visas and Immigration and the police as having absconded except in pre-arranged and agreed exceptional circumstances.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office provides accommodation and support to destitute asylum seekers under statutory provisions such as Sections 95 and 98 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. This accommodation is non‑detained, and the Department does not have legal powers to keep individuals securely within it or limit the hours they may leave.
Some individuals may be on immigration bail, which is an alternative to detention and requires them to comply with one or more conditions. These may include residing at a specific address or reporting to the Home Office. Breach of a bail condition is a criminal offence and may result in detention or other enforcement action.
Absence from accommodation does not automatically mean a person has absconded. A person is only considered to have absconded if they fail to comply with their immigration bail conditions and the Home Office cannot re‑establish contact. A dedicated tracing team works closely with the police and other partners to locate such individuals.
Accommodation providers must report when service users are absent from their address, and the Home Office investigates these cases as possible breaches of asylum support conditions. If a person is found to have left their accommodation without good reason, their support may be discontinued. Providers are also expected to escalate concerns where someone may be at risk or potentially a victim of modern slavery.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure illegal migrants accommodated in (a) hotels and (b) other government supported accommodation are (i) kept securely within that accommodation and (ii) limited in the number of hours they are permitted to leave that accommodation.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office provides accommodation and support to destitute asylum seekers under statutory provisions such as Sections 95 and 98 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. This accommodation is non‑detained, and the Department does not have legal powers to keep individuals securely within it or limit the hours they may leave.
Some individuals may be on immigration bail, which is an alternative to detention and requires them to comply with one or more conditions. These may include residing at a specific address or reporting to the Home Office. Breach of a bail condition is a criminal offence and may result in detention or other enforcement action.
Absence from accommodation does not automatically mean a person has absconded. A person is only considered to have absconded if they fail to comply with their immigration bail conditions and the Home Office cannot re‑establish contact. A dedicated tracing team works closely with the police and other partners to locate such individuals.
Accommodation providers must report when service users are absent from their address, and the Home Office investigates these cases as possible breaches of asylum support conditions. If a person is found to have left their accommodation without good reason, their support may be discontinued. Providers are also expected to escalate concerns where someone may be at risk or potentially a victim of modern slavery.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on whether the Security Service was aware of (a) the illegal activities of Jeffrey Epstein, (b) his relationship with Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and (c) advice given by the Security Service to the Royal Household about these matters.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
It has been the long-standing policy of successive governments not to comment on intelligence matters.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will consider the potential merits of offering fast track UK citizenship to asylum seekers who report (i) the preparation of acts of terror, (ii) serious organised crime and (iii) approaches by a hostile state to undermine the UK's national security and community cohesion.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The requirements to become a British citizen are set out in the British Nationality Act 1981 and apply equally to everyone. The Act does not allow the government to reduce residential periods for those who report crimes.
The Government has recently launched a consultation, which runs until 12 February 2026, on proposals to reform arrangements for granting settlement in the UK, and under which applicants will be able to earn a reduction in the qualifying period if they meet criteria linked to suitability, integration, contribution and residence.
Any changes to the statutory requirements for citizenship will require an amendment to the British Nationality Act 1981 which will go through the usual parliamentary process.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps with mobile phone companies to introduce a (a) single and (b) central emergency telephone number paid for by mobile phone (i) operators and (ii) manufacturers to allow reporting by victims of unlocked mobile phone theft to report those thefts immediately; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on (A) (1) financial and (2) personal data theft and (ii) the number of police hours dedicated to mobile phone crimes.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Secretary and Policing Minister are determined to take the strongest possible action to reduce the number of phone thefts in London and elsewhere across the country.
This is a crime that causes significant distress to victims and fuels wider criminality. That’s why we are driving greater collaboration between policing leaders, the Metropolitan Police, National Crime Agency, the Mayor of London, leading tech companies and others to break the business model of mobile phone thieves. This has included exploring what technical interventions would be most effective, including discussion around improving reporting mechanisms when a mobile phone is stolen. Positive developments include commitments to improving visibility of unique identification numbers/IMEIs to help identify stolen devices and raising awareness of existing mechanisms for reporting the theft of mobile devices, which include calling 101, going to a local police station or reporting the crime anonymously via Crimestoppers.
All stakeholders must play their part in designing out and disincentivising this type of theft, disrupting the resale of stolen phones, exploring technological solutions to make devices harder to re-register or resell, and helping the public protect themselves and the data and personal information on their devices.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will introduce a tax-free annual bonus to help improve recruitment and retention of special police constables.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we are committed to increasing the number of special constables across England and Wales.
To support this commitment, we are exploring a range of measures to improve the recruitment and retention of special constables. This includes considering how we can better incentivise the role, recognise their service, and ensure they feel supported and valued.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish details on an annual basis of the number of animals which are bred for, but not used in, scientific procedures in Britain each year.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Home Office is presently reviewing the collection and publication of additional statistics on animals that were bred for, but not used in, scientific procedures.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to stop ISIS-K members from using conventional visa routes to travel to the UK from the central Asian republics.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It would not be appropriate to comment in detail on operational security matters or specific cases. However, all visa applications are subject to comprehensive security checks and we maximise the use of upstream interventions to prevent people who pose a threat to the UK from being able to travel.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help counter the UK operations of the GRU’s Department of Special Tasks.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
National security is the first priority of government, and we work closely with all our international partners to assess and tackle all threats. As is our long-standing position, the Home Office does not comment in detail on operational, intelligence or security matters.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will hold discussions with her US counterpart on taking joint steps to counter efforts by the Russian GRU to bring down transatlantic aircraft through the development of incendiary devices.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
National security is the first priority of government, and we work closely with all our international partners to assess and tackle all threats. As is our long-standing position, the Home Office does not comment in detail on operational, intelligence or security matters.