Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has assessed the potential impact of responding to safeguarding disclosures made by newly arrived asylum seekers that relate to alleged criminal incidents outside the UK on police force resources.

The Home Office is part of a national coordination network with policing which manages the impact of immigration on policing, including identifying and mitigating risks from asylum placement.

The Home Office is responsible for the asylum process. The Home Office conducts mandatory identity, criminality and security checks on all individuals who claim asylum, including biometric checks against relevant Home Office systems and national and international law enforcement databases, to ensure appropriate consideration of any risks to the UK.

During screening or asylum interviews, or through provision of other evidence, asylum seekers may disclose that they were allegedly involved in criminal incidents prior to arriving in the UK. This information is routinely captured and considered as part of the asylum process. There are frameworks and processes in place to facilitate the sharing of sensitive information with stakeholders. The Home Office regularly reviews the sharing of such information to ensure it remains necessary, proportionate and complies with legislation.