Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to prevent crime relating to wildlife.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office worked in partnership with Defra to support the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) in delivering their Rural and Wildlife Crime strategy for 2025-28. The Strategy – which was published on 25 November -provides a framework through which policing, and its partners can work together to tackle the most prevalent threats and emerging issues including wildlife crime.
We also fund the National Wildlife Crime Unit who provide intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to forces and other law enforcement agencies across the UK to support them in investigating wildlife crime.
We are ensuring forces have the tools and resources they need to deal with rural crime including wildlife crime. We are on track to deliver an additional 3,000 neighbourhood officers by March.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with local authorities on the provision of services to prevent knife crime among young people.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government have set an ambitious but essential target to halve knife crime over this decade and we are making progress: since the start of this Parliament, knife crime has fallen by 8% and knife homicides are down by 27%.
To achieve this ambition we are engaging with partners across the system both to address knife crime and address the root causes of knife crime. This includes local authorities who play a vital role.
This role is formalised within the Serious Violence Duty which places a statutory requirement on a range of public sector bodies, including local authorities, to work collaboratively, analyse the local problem, and put in place a strategy to prevent and reduce serious violence. Community Safety Partnerships, led by the local authority and whose partners match those subject to the Serious Violence Duty must also comply with these requirements.
The Home Office had discussions and worked with relevant local authorities to deliver the extended knife surrender arrangements which the Government ran in July 2025 and covered various locations in London, West Midlands and Greater Manchester. The extended surrender arrangements involved the use of a mobile surrender van and 37 bespoke weapons surrender bins and a total of a 3,570 knives and weapons were surrendered through these arrangements.
The Home Office maintain regular discussions with local authorities through Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) and Young Futures Panels partnership arrangements to support the effective delivery of services to prevent knife crime among young people.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department will be taking to prevent establishments licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 from keeping animals in sub-standard facilities.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
All licenced establishments must meet the minimum required standards for care and accommodation, as set out in the Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals Bred, Supplied or Used for Scientific Purposes (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-for-the-housing-and-care-of-animals-bred-supplied-or-used-for-scientific-purposes).
The Home Office Regulator conducts both announced and unannounced audits to assure establishments’ compliance with the required standards in the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, the Code of Practice and their individual licence conditions.
In confirmed cases of non-compliance, the Regulator applies remedies aimed at minimising the risk of future recurrence, in line with its compliance policy (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-testing-and-research-compliance-with-aspa). The Regulator will continue to publish all cases of non-compliance in its Annual Reports, where it considers root causes of and key learnings from non-compliance and makes recommendations to reduce future risk. (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit-annual-reports).
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 37 of the Animals in Science Regulation Unit Annual Report 2024, published in December 2025, what specific issues the item "significant issues of concern regarding farm and large animal facilities" refers to.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
All licensed establishments must uphold the standards for animal welfare set out in ASPA and in the Code of Practice for the Housing and Care of Animals Bred, Supplied or Used for Scientific Purposes. The Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) takes instances of potential non-compliance very seriously and thoroughly investigates all non-compliance concerns.
ASRU publishes an annual report that sets out all confirmed non‑compliance cases along with any enforcement actions taken (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit#annual-reports).
With reference to page 37 of the ASRU Annual Report 2024, the item “significant issues of concern regarding farm and large animal facilities” refers specifically to a breach of Establishment Licence Standard Condition 4.7. This condition requires licence holders to maintain standards of care and accommodation set out in the Code of Practice available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-for-the-housing-and-care-of-animals-bred-supplied-or-used-for-scientific-purposes.
ASRU’s published Compliance Policy (www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-testing-and-research-compliance-with-aspa) provides information on how the regulator identifies, investigates and responds to potential incidents of non‑compliance, and how proportionate measures and sanctions are applied where breaches are found which seek to prevent future recurrence.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit Annual Report 2024, published in December 2025, what were the reasons for three establishment licences being revoked.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Animals in Science Regulation Unit Annual Report is the regulator’s public account of its work overseeing the use of animals in science under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. It includes information on licensing, compliance activity and enforcement outcomes to provide transparency and assurance about the operation of the regulatory framework.
The three establishment licences reported as revoked in 2024 were withdrawn because the establishments had stopped conducting regulated procedures under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. In such cases, licence revocation is an administrative step, confirming that an establishment is no longer required to maintain a licence.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which police forces in England do not require their officers to declare membership of any potentially influential organisation that is hierarchical, has confidential membership and requires members to support and protect each other; and what assessment she has made of the compatibility of membership of such organisations with adherence to the College of Policing's ethical policing principles.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
All police officers are under a statutory obligation to abstain from any activity which is likely to interfere with the impartial discharge of their duties. Failure to do so could lead to disciplinary action being taken.
The Home Office does not hold information on individual force policies regarding membership of organisations.
However, the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice (APP) on counter corruption sets out that, as part of force notifiable association policies, officers should declare association with any individual, group, organisation or society which may cause a conflict of interest.
The ethical policing principles set out by the College of Policing are designed to support decision-making that is fair, unbiased, and open and honest about the reasons for decisions. The wider Code of Ethics, supported by a statutory Code of Practice for Ethical Policing, provides guidance on ethical and professional behaviour, including how officers and staff should manage business interests or personal associations to ensure there is no conflict with their policing duties.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment has been made of adequacy of the (a) support and (b) guidance available for those who are unable to access their e-visas.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office has a robust support model in place that strives to ensure that all people, including the most vulnerable, are properly supported to access their eVisa and use the View and Prove service:
We have delivered £4.4m of grant funding across 18 months to 72 voluntary and community sector organisations across the UK to support customers who needed help transitioning from a physical document to an eVisa.
People who need support can contact the UKVI Resolution Centre, which provides support via email and webchat to those creating their UKVI account, and telephone support to those using the online immigration status services. This includes supporting users through the online journey by:
o helping them to access or recover their account
o helping them to update their personal details
o sharing status on behalf of users if they are unable to do so themselves
Should anyone find themselves needing support with creating their UKVI account or getting access to their eVisa, the latest updates and guidance can be found on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/evisa.
Employers and landlords in England can use the Employer Checking Service (ECS) and Landlord Checking Service (LCS) to check the status of people who are having difficulty providing digital status evidence.
An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was completed on the first phase of the roll out of eVisas to EEA nationals on 9 November 2020, which built on the Policy Equality Statement (PES) for the EUSS which was produced in 2017 and published on the gov.uk website on 18 November 2020:
A separate EIA considering equalities issues in relation to the use of digital only right to work and rent checks was published on gov.uk in June 2022:
We are also in the process of reviewing our eVisas EIA, setting out further analysis of the equalities issues to reflect the current stage in the roll out of eVisas, and we will continue to keep the issue under review.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps has she taken to ensure Home Office casework involving allegations of domestic abuse linked to spousal visa arrangements is investigated with appropriate (a) sensitivity and (b) cultural awareness.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We are committed to reducing Violence against Women and Girls and this means continuing to support migrant victims of domestic abuse on spousal or partner visas.
That is why we offer immediate settlement for migrant victims of domestic abuse, under the Immigration Rules (Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse (Appendix VDA)) for those granted permission to stay as a spouse or partner under the family Immigration Rules.
We consulted with a range of expert stakeholders including refuge service providers, specialist migrant domestic abuse charities, and the Domestic Abuse Commissioner when we published the first version of the Appendix VDA casework guidance in January 2024 to capture the significant cultural and language barriers that exist for migrant victims.
All applications under Appendix VDA are made directly to a specialist and experienced decision-making team to consider all the information and evidence provided to decide whether, on the balance of probabilities, the applicant can be granted settlement as a victim of domestic abuse. They are explicitly instructed to deal with cases sensitively, flexibly and cooperatively giving applicants support to demonstrate their eligibility where this is needed.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to reduce the time taken for decisions to be made on applications for the (a) Protective Security for Mosques Scheme and (b) Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
This Government is committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion at their chosen place of worship, and to making our streets and communities safer.
Global and domestic events have heightened security concerns within faith communities, which has led to a significant increase in demand for protective security schemes offered by the Home Office. Additionally, following the violent disorder last year, the Home Office set up rapid security services to safeguard mosques and other places of worship. Delivering this support to a large number of places of worship has unfortunately also contributed to delays in processing applications for longer-term security measures.
I can assure you the Home Office is working as quickly as it can to process applications.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to (a) prevent and (b) tackle transnational oppression.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
As I set out in my statement to the House on 14 May, the Defending Democracy Taskforce conducted a review into the UK’s response to transnational repression (TNR).
In line with the Review recommendations, this Government has introduced new training and guidance for all 45 territorial police forces. This includes upskilling 999 call handlers to improve frontline identification and escalation of state-directed crimes. Additionally, the Government published practical safety guidance on GOV.UK for individuals who believe they may be at risk.
The Government continues to work closely with international partners, victims of transnational repression, and civil society organisations to tackle this threat. For example, in November I met with UK-based pro-democracy activists targeted by Hong Kong arrest warrants and bounties to listen to their experiences of TNR and provide reassurance on the measures Government is taking to tackle the evolving threat.
Beyond that review, the National Security Act 2023 modernises the UK’s ability to detect, deter and disrupt hostile activity - including transnational repression - via a suite of new offences such as the Foreign Interference Offence. This ensures that the UK’s legal framework reflects the seriousness of TNR and raises the cost to foreign states of engaging in such activity.
The Government has also provided comprehensive written and oral evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) as part of its inquiry into TNR, and submitted a detailed response to its report in October.