Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of police officer retention and morale.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government’s Safer Streets Mission sets a clear expectation for policing to deliver safer communities and improved public confidence. The retention of police officers is an important element of managing the police workforce.

Leaver rates for police officers in England and Wales, at 6.0% in the year ending 31 March 2025, have shown a reduction of 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous year. Voluntary resignation rates of police officers in England and Wales, have also reduced 0.2 percentage. points, from 3.4% in the year ending 31 March 2024, to 3.2% in the year ending 31 March 2025. This is low compared to other sectors.

This Government is clear that police wellbeing must be prioritised to ensure a motivated and thriving workforce. The Police Covenant plays a crucial role in police morale by ensuring officers, staff, volunteers and their families are supported and are not disadvantaged as a result of their service. By formally recognising policing’s unique demands and strengthening support for those who serve, the Covenant plays an important role in building and maintaining morale across the workforce. We continue to keep the Covenant under review to ensure it is as effective as possible and will look to improve the Covenant including, if necessary, through legislation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many full-time equivalent police officers there were in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales, on a bi-annual basis, as at 31 March and 30 September each year in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.

The latest information on the number of police officers, as at 30 September 2025, is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-30-september-2025.

Table 4 of the data tables accompanying the release includes information on the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers as at 31 March and 30 September each year from 2007 to 2025.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of reported incidents of violence against women and girls in England and Wales.

Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 28th January is attached.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff were employed in Border Force in each of the last five years.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The latest published staffing and finance figures for Border Force can be found in the Home Office Annual Report for 2020-2025 at:

HO annual report and accounts 2020-25 (Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people without leave to remain were removed from the UK in each of the last five years.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on returns in the ‘Immigration System Statistics quarterly release’. Data on returns can be found in Ret_01 of the ‘Returns summary tables’. This data goes up to September 2025 and includes only individuals who do not have valid leave to remain.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the longest waiting time was for a case to be heard in a criminal court in England and Wales once referred, as of the most recent data available.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We have interpreted your question to be asking for information on the longest time a case has taken to have its first hearing at a criminal court from the point of crime referral.

The Ministry of Justice does not hold data regarding timeliness from the date of crime referral.

The Department publishes quarterly timeliness data concerning the criminal courts in the ‘End-to-end timeliness tool (Crown Court)’ and ‘Magistrates’ courts timeliness tool’, at the following link: Criminal court statistics quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK.

These Accredited Official Statistics present the latest statistics on type and volume of cases that are received and processed through the criminal court system of England and Wales, including multiple measures of timeliness. The statistics give a summary overview of the volume of cases and defendants dealt with by these courts over time, including further breakdowns of available timeliness stages, offence groups and factors impacting case flow (plea, remand and case type).

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals relating to special educational needs and disabilities were lodged with the First-tier Tribunal in each of the last five years.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Information about appeals lodged with the First-tier Tribunal for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the number of criminal legal aid firms that have ceased operating in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning legal aid services in England and Wales. The LAA monitors the number of legal aid providers contracted to provide criminal legal aid services throughout England and Wales.

Information regarding the number of legal aid providers with a criminal legal aid contract since 2018 is published as part of the LAA’s official statistics [table 9.6]. Please note that data for the current financial year has not yet been published. Information regarding number of contracted providers from 2008-2022 has previously been published in response to a PQ 121917.1

Fluctuations in provider volumes can be the result of consolidation or merger activity. As such a reduction to the overall number of firms with a contract to provide criminal legal aid services does not always equate to a loss of provision or coverage. Not all providers who cease undertaking legal aid work will have ceased operating altogether. Some firms may continue to provide criminal advice and representation on a private basis.

The LAA regularly reviews available supply of legal aid services across England and Wales to make sure there is adequate provision for legal aid, including under each criminal duty scheme, and takes operational action where it can, to respond to market pressures that may arise.

1. Please note that figures for 2018-2022 in the official statistics may differ for those released under the PQ as the information in the statistics presents data as at the end of the financial year whereas the PQ response presented the figures as at the start of the financial year or most recent period for which figures were available.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum cases were awaiting an initial decision in January (a) 2025 and (b) 2026.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the 'Immigration System Statistics' and the ‘Migration Transparency Data’ releases.

Data on the number of asylum claims awaiting an initial decision by duration is published in table Asy_D03 of the ‘Asylum claims and decisions detailed datasets’ and data on the percentage of applications processed within 6 months is published in table ASY_01 of the ‘Immigration and Protection data’. The latest data relates to as at 30 September 2025. For further information on the data, see the notes pages of the tables.

Data on the average processing times of claims is not currently published. Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers are housed in contingency accommodation; and what assessment she has made of trends in the level of the use of that accommodation.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

At its peak, around 400 hotels were in use as contingency accommodation for asylum seekers, at a cost of approximately £9 million per day. The number of hotels in use has since reduced to fewer than 200. The Government remains committed to ending the use of hotels to accommodate asylum seekers by the end of this Parliament.

The Home Office publishes data on the number of asylum seekers supported in accommodation, including contingency accommodation such as hotels, broken down by local authority. This information is available in the Asy_D11 table within the most recent Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

The Home Office keeps the asylum accommodation estate under continuous review. Demand for asylum accommodation remains volatile, requiring the Department to respond at pace to meet its statutory duty to support eligible asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.

The Department’s assessment is that overall reliance on contingency accommodation, including hotels, has reduced in recent months, reflecting efforts to move towards more sustainable accommodation solutions.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken to make an initial decision on an asylum claim was in each of the last five years.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the 'Immigration System Statistics' and the ‘Migration Transparency Data’ releases.

Data on the number of asylum claims awaiting an initial decision by duration is published in table Asy_D03 of the ‘Asylum claims and decisions detailed datasets’ and data on the percentage of applications processed within 6 months is published in table ASY_01 of the ‘Immigration and Protection data’. The latest data relates to as at 30 September 2025. For further information on the data, see the notes pages of the tables.

Data on the average processing times of claims is not currently published. Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average time taken was to complete an Education, Health and Care Plan assessment in England in each of the last five years.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The number of requests for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment received during the calendar year, the outcome of those requests and the number of requests where the decision is outstanding at the end of the calendar year is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2025.

This publication also includes the number of EHC needs assessments carried out during the calendar year, the outcome of these assessments, the number of assessments where the decision is outstanding at the end of the calendar year and the number and percentage of EHC plans issued within 20 weeks of the date of the request. The latest available data relates to the 2024 calendar year. Information for the 2025 calendar year will be published later this year.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children and young people were waiting for an Education, Health and Care Plan decision in January (a) 2025 and (b) 2026.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The number of requests for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment received during the calendar year, the outcome of those requests and the number of requests where the decision is outstanding at the end of the calendar year is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2025.

This publication also includes the number of EHC needs assessments carried out during the calendar year, the outcome of these assessments, the number of assessments where the decision is outstanding at the end of the calendar year and the number and percentage of EHC plans issued within 20 weeks of the date of the request. The latest available data relates to the 2024 calendar year. Information for the 2025 calendar year will be published later this year.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many sitting days each (a) court and (b) tribunal in England and Wales has been allocated in the 2025–26 financial year.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice interprets this question as referring to the total allocations for each court and tribunal jurisdiction for the FY 2025/26. As part of this Government’s commitment to transparency, we began publishing total sitting‑day allocations by jurisdiction last year. The table below sets out the total allocations for FY2025/26 by jurisdiction. The Government has funded each jurisdiction to sit at or close to maximum capacity.

* This figure represents the total number of days funded from both Ministry of Justice and Home Office budgets. However, in order to maximise overall sittings within this funding, the total number of days allocated across the First Tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal in aggregate was slightly higher, at 23,450.

** This figure includes days funded from both Ministry of Justice and Department for Work and Pensions budgets.

*** This figure only represents the sitting days included in the Ministry of Justice's baseline funding. There are long-standing agreements with several other government departments whereby they provide funding for capacity in specific tribunals. Additional days will be sat as a result of this additional funding.

Review of the student loan system

Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank

Deregistration of international non-governmental organisations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Found: Kane (Labour; Wythenshawe and Sale East) Alicia Kearns (Conservative; Rutland and Stamford) Mr Paul Kohler

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Karen Bradley (Chair); Lewis Atkinson; Mr Paul Kohler; Margaret

Found: Kane (Labour; Wythenshawe and Sale East) Alicia Kearns (Conservative; Rutland and Stamford) Mr Paul Kohler

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Dame Karen Bradley (Chair); Lewis Atkinson; Mr Paul Kohler; Ben Maguire

Found: Home Affairs Committee member present: Mr Paul Kohler.

Submit Evidence (by 20 Mar 2026)

The impacts of serious and organised crime (SOC) in local communities can make residents feel unsafe and affect confidence in policing.