Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant of Answer of 22 December 2025 to Question 99417: Undocumented Migrants, what steps she is taking to improve the quality of absconder data.

The Home Office has a dedicated tracing capability that works in partnership with the police, other government agencies, and commercial companies to help identify information on a person. Where tracing checks are successful, we will consider the most appropriate intervention, including whether to task an enforcement team to conduct a visit or to set up a suitable immigration reporting regime.

Tracing is just one of the ways in which contact can be re-established. Individuals are also encountered through routine Immigration Enforcement and police activity. In all cases we will consider the most appropriate action, including arrest and detention and possible removal from the United Kingdom. Many individuals who are out of contact may also re-engage with the department voluntarily or decide to leave the UK.

We are committed to improving data quality for illegal migrants to ensure that we restore order and control to our borders. We have already set up teams to review existing areas to streamline processes, improve training and ensure join-up across systems across illegal migration to get the data right first time.