Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many in-person inspections were carried out by Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority officers on farms in Scotland in 2025.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The GLAA does not record ‘Complaints’ about licensed entities. Instead, it records ‘General Issues’ (referrals from members of the public, victims, workers, etc.) which may or may not be negative in nature.
Since 1 January 2025, the GLAA has received 11 ‘General Issues’ referrals relating to Scottish farms.
Since 1 January 2025, GLAA Officers have undertaken 16 in person inspection visits to farms in Scotland. These figures include compliance and enforcement inspections, as well as joint operations with other enforcement bodies.
As of November 2025, the GLAA has a total headcount of 117, with 2 members of staff currently based in Scotland.
The GLAA deploys members of staff from all over the UK to support operations wherever they are required. It is therefore not possible to provide an accurate breakdown of the number of staff who cover Scotland as part of their roles and responsibilities, as this will change depending on demand.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints were received by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority with reference to farms in Scotland in 2025.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The GLAA does not record ‘Complaints’ about licensed entities. Instead, it records ‘General Issues’ (referrals from members of the public, victims, workers, etc.) which may or may not be negative in nature.
Since 1 January 2025, the GLAA has received 11 ‘General Issues’ referrals relating to Scottish farms.
Since 1 January 2025, GLAA Officers have undertaken 16 in person inspection visits to farms in Scotland. These figures include compliance and enforcement inspections, as well as joint operations with other enforcement bodies.
As of November 2025, the GLAA has a total headcount of 117, with 2 members of staff currently based in Scotland.
The GLAA deploys members of staff from all over the UK to support operations wherever they are required. It is therefore not possible to provide an accurate breakdown of the number of staff who cover Scotland as part of their roles and responsibilities, as this will change depending on demand.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress has been made in appointing a chair to the National Inquiry into group based child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
On 9 December 2025 the Home Secretary announced to Parliament the appointment of Baroness Anne Longfield CBE as Chair of the new Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs, and Zoë Billingham CBE and Eleanor Kelly CBE as Panel.
The Chair will consult on the draft Terms of Reference published alongside this announcement with a view to making recommendations to the Home Secretary who will agree the final Terms of Reference in March 2026.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her department has considered the use of AI to help tackle the backlog of asylum applications.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Asylum Case Summarisation (ACS) tool uses artificial intelligence (AI) to summarise asylum interview transcripts. The Asylum Policy Search (APS) tool is an AI search assistant that finds and summarises country policy information. The tools were designed as an aid for decision-makers to improve efficiency but do not, and cannot, replace any part of the decision-making process. APS has been rolled out and is accessible to all Asylum decision makers and ACS development continues, with a full roll out planned in the new year. Further tooling is being worked on including an asylum letter writing assistant for caseworkers which supports the decision-maker in the drafting of outcome letters. It does not make the decision for the decision-maker.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the total number of Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority staff; and how many of these staff are a) based in Scotland and b) cover Scotland in their role responsibilities.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The GLAA does not record ‘Complaints’ about licensed entities. Instead, it records ‘General Issues’ (referrals from members of the public, victims, workers, etc.) which may or may not be negative in nature.
Since 1 January 2025, the GLAA has received 11 ‘General Issues’ referrals relating to Scottish farms.
Since 1 January 2025, GLAA Officers have undertaken 16 in person inspection visits to farms in Scotland. These figures include compliance and enforcement inspections, as well as joint operations with other enforcement bodies.
As of November 2025, the GLAA has a total headcount of 117, with 2 members of staff currently based in Scotland.
The GLAA deploys members of staff from all over the UK to support operations wherever they are required. It is therefore not possible to provide an accurate breakdown of the number of staff who cover Scotland as part of their roles and responsibilities, as this will change depending on demand.
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Violence Against Women and Girls strategy and delivery plan will include (a) funding and (b) measures to help tackle technology-facilitated domestic abuse.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) in all of its forms, including abuse facilitated by technology, is a top priority for this government, with an unprecedented mission to halve it within a decade. The rapid development of technology has provided additional spaces for VAWG and equipped perpetrators with new ways to harass, intimidate, stalk and coerce women and girls. We will set out plans to address technology-facilitated VAWG in our forthcoming Strategy.
Following the Chancellor’s announcement on 11th June, we are working through the details of funding for tackling VAWG over the Spending Review period of 2026-2029. We will provide further details on funding when departmental budget allocations have been finalised
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to extend the scope of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 to include decapod crustaceans; and what the timeline is for any work required prior to the decision.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 recognises decapod crustaceans as sentient beings. The Government is committed to an evidence-based and proportionate approach to setting welfare standards for decapod crustaceans, both for those caught for human consumption and those used in scientific research.
The Home Office is carefully considering next steps, in collaboration with other relevant departments, on whether decapod crustaceans should be regulated under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. No timeline has yet been set and decisions will follow further evidence gathering.
The Government is committed to non-animal alternatives in science and has published a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption. The strategy is available at:
Asked by: Chris Coghlan (Liberal Democrat - Dorking and Horley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress her Department has made on the national statutory inquiry into grooming gangs.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
On 9 December 2025 the Home Secretary announced to Parliament the appointment of Baroness Anne Longfield CBE as Chair of the new Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs, and Zoë Billingham CBE and Eleanor Kelly CBE as Panel.
The Chair will consult on the draft Terms of Reference published alongside this announcement with a view to making recommendations to the Home Secretary who will agree the final Terms of Reference in March 2026.
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: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of sentencing on deterring illegal entry into the UK.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are tackling the criminal gangs abusing our borders and putting lives at risk, working closely with law enforcement and international partners to ensure they have the funding, tools and expertise necessary.
The Home Office will seek to prosecute immigration offences wherever there is sufficient evidence to do so. Cases are then referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) where a decision on whether to prosecute is made. This decision is dependent upon the CPS’ assessment of the available evidence and whether or not it passes the CPS’ own public interest test.
Statistics published 27 November on GOV.UKshow there has been a 33% surge in people smuggling arrests, convictions and seizures of criminal cash and assets over the last 12 months.
The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 strengthens law enforcement agencies’ capabilities to tackle organised immigration crime and deter illegal migration. These powers will, for example, make it a criminal offence to put lives in danger during a small boat crossing with offenders facing up to 6 years in prison. The Act's impact assessment analyses how enhanced sentencing powers and new offences are expected to disrupt organised immigration crime, making smuggling operations riskier and less profitable.
The CPS has welcomed the package of new offences as it equips prosecutors with another tool to fight organised immigration crime, especially those involving dangerous Channel crossings.