Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what contracts their Department has with Palantir.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Details of all Home Office contracts above the minimum threshold are routinely published on the Contract Finder website.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of abolishing the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
As the directly elected representative for policing in their area, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) have an important local role acting as the voice of the public and victims in policing, holding Chief Constables to account and leading local partnerships to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour.
In her Written Ministerial Statement of 19 November 2024 (HCWS232), the Home Secretary announced her intention to present a White Paper to Parliament this year on reforms to deliver more effective and efficient policing, to rebuild public confidence and to deliver the Government’s Safer Streets mission. We will consider the role of PCCs in local accountability and preventing crime as part of wider reforms to the policing system and we will set out our plans in due course.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children from Gaza have been granted visas to the UK for medical treatment since the scheme began.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The requested information is not currently available from published statistics, and could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
The UK has supported an initiative by Project Pure Hope to bring a small number of children from Gaza to the UK for privately funded specialist care. On 1 May, the Minister for the Middle East announced that two children have arrived in the UK to begin treatment. The Government also announced a £7.5m package of support to bolster vital medical care in Gaza and the region, which includes additional funding for UK-Med, WHO Egypt and the OCHA OPTs Humanitarian Fund.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to assess the reliability of non-deterministic AI before it is used to support (a) policing, (b) public safety and (c) immigration processes.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The government recognises the importance of operational trust in AI systems. The Home Office is actively working to ensure the responsible adoption of AI technologies within our processes.
This includes evaluation and assurance of AI tools in line with relevant industry guidance and regulatory standards including HMG AI frameworks.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that decisions made using AI in law enforcement can be (a) explained, (b) reviewed, and (c) challenged.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
It is for operationally independent Chief Constables to decide when and how they use AI-enabled or algorithmic tooling.
However, the adoption of these technologies by law enforcement must be lawful, transparent, ethical and underpinned by robust data and governance arrangements. These principles are set out in the ‘Covenant for Using AI in Policing’ which all Chief Constables have signed.
The Home Office is working closely with the AI portfolio of the National Police Chief’s Council and the Police Chief Scientific Advisor to ensure policing has the resources and support it needs to abide by these principles consistently. This includes working with a range of academics from leading universities on a ‘responsible AI checklist’ and producing a detailed ‘AI playbook for policing’, akin to those produced for government departments.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure care workers are excluded from reductions on work visas.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Immigration White paper, published on 12 May 2025, announced new measures on a wide range of issues including ending overseas recruitment for social care visas, further details of which will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to introduce an expedited visa process for immediate family members of Ukrainian military personnel who are on active service.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
UKVI are currently operating the Ukraine Scheme visa routes within the published processing times, so there are no plans to introduce an expedited route.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to support Ukrainian armed forces personnel with restricted leave periods who are applying for six-month visitor visas.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
All visit applications from Ukrainian nationals made in Ukraine are currently being processed within UK Visas and Immigration’s customer service standards.
Customers wishing to apply for a visit visa may apply within 3 months in advance of their intended date of travel to the UK.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the process for Ukrainian military personnel to apply to visit family in the UK.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
All visit applications from Ukrainian nationals made in Ukraine are currently being processed within UK Visas and Immigration’s customer service standards.
Customers wishing to apply for a visit visa may apply within 3 months in advance of their intended date of travel to the UK.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has considered introducing a 12-month visitor visa route for Ukrainian military personnel.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
There are currently no plans to introduce a 12-month visitor visa route for Ukrainian military personnel. All individual visitors have the option of applying for a visit visa for 6 months, or multi-entry visit visas of 2-, 5- or 10-years validity. Each stay in the UK must not exceed the permitted length of stay endorsed on the visit visa, usually 6 months.