Asked by: Joani Reid (Labour - East Kilbride and Strathaven)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the use of AI by child sexual abuse offenders on levels of offending.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government recognises the serious and evolving threat posed by artificial intelligence being misused by offenders for child sexual abuse.
AI-generated child sexual abuse material is not a victimless crime; it often depicts real children, increasing the risk of contact abuse. The volume and realism of this material can make it increasingly challenging for safeguarding partners to identify and protect children. Offenders can also use these images to groom and blackmail children.
In September 2025, the Internet Watch Foundation revealed, for the first time, child sexual abuse images linked directly to AI chatbots, including examples designed to simulate sexual scenarios with child avatars.
We know offenders will seek every opportunity to exploit emerging and established technologies to facilitate their offending.
UK law is explicit. Child sexual abuse is illegal. We must all play our part to prevent the misuse of this technology being used to target our children.
This is why the UK Government has taken world-leading action to tackle this threat.
Working in partnership with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Alan Turing Institute, and the Accelerated Capability Environment, the Home Office has led the Deepfake Detection Challenge. This initiative brought together experts and stakeholders to develop and evaluate detection tools, which are essential in addressing serious harms including online child sexual abuse. As offenders increasingly exploit AI, we must harness its potential for good.
A key outcome is the UK Government Benchmarking capability, enabling scientific evaluation of detection technologies. The next phase will continue to identify and benchmark AI-driven solutions.
Under the Crime and Policing Bill, creating, possessing, or distributing AI tools for child sexual abuse will carry penalties of up to five years’ imprisonment, with up to three years for “paedophile manuals” on how to use AI to abuse children.
We have recently announced a further amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to empower authorised bodies- including AI developers and child protection organisations- to scrutinise AI systems to prevent them generating harmful content. This will help to improve safeguards within AI models to prevent them being misused to create child abuse material.
We recognise there are concerns about AI chatbots, or AI companions, and the risks of harm to children these may pose. At the recent Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, we confirmed that we are considering if all AI chatbots are covered by the Online Safety Act and what more may need to be done. If it requires legislation, then this is what we will do.
Where AI models fall under the Online Safety Act as a user-to-user service or an online search provider, companies are required to provide highly effective age assurance to protect children from exposure to harmful or inappropriate content.
The Online Safety Act lays the foundation for a safer online experience for children, but this is just the start of the conversation.
Our approach combines robust legislation, proactive technology safeguards, and international cooperation to keep children safe online and we will not hesitate to go further.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to enable victims and survivors of grooming gangs to provide evidence to the national inquiry without (a) fear of intimidation and (b) adverse consequences.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs is a statutory inquiry, under the Inquiries Act 2005, with full powers to compel evidence. Its purpose is to uncover systemic failings and ensure accountability at every level.
The timetable of the Inquiry is to be determined by the Chair. The draft Terms of Reference make clear that the Inquiry will publish findings and recommendations for each local area reviewed. These local reports will be made publicly available and may be issued ahead of the final report, which will also be published.
Local agencies and central government will carefully consider recommendations made by the Inquiry, and act to implement necessary reforms at both local and national levels.
On 9 December, Baroness Anne Longfield was appointed as Chair of the Inquiry, supported by Zoë Billingham CBE and Eleanor Kelly CBE as panel members. Together, they bring extensive experience in championing children’s rights, deep knowledge of policing and local government, and, crucially, a proven ability to hold powerful institutions to account. Each was recommended by Baroness Casey following engagement with victims and survivors to understand the qualities they wished to see in a Chair.
Baroness Longfield served under multiple governments and was appointed Children’s Commissioner by the previous Government in November 2014. She will relinquish the Labour whip and take a leave of absence from the Lords. More importantly, her record demonstrates an unwavering commitment to challenging authority, regardless of party, whenever children’s interests are at stake.
The starting point for selecting a Chair was expertise and experience - particularly in child protection and in holding institutions to account. There are numerous examples of successful inquiries and investigations in this area led by non-judicial figures, including the work of Professor Alexis Jay in Rotherham and Baroness Casey in her National Audit. Baroness Longfield, together with Zoë Billingham and Eleanor Kelly, fully meet these requirements. Their appointment followed a thorough due diligence process.
The Chair will establish a robust mechanism enabling victims and survivors to provide evidence safely and confidently. In line with the draft Terms of Reference, the Chair will publish a charter setting out how victims and survivors can participate and how their views, experiences, and testimony will inform and shape the Inquiry’s work. On 9 December 2025, as their first formal act, the Chair and panellists issued an open letter to victims and survivors, acknowledging that trust must be earned and committing to meet with groups of victims and survivors during the initial months of the Inquiry.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 70321 on Stop and Search: West Midlands, when she will publish the evaluation of the Serious Violence Reduction Orders pilot.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) were piloted for two years throughout Merseyside, Sussex, Thames Valley and West Midlands police force areas. The pilot took place between 19 April 2023 and 18 April 2025.
The pilot has been independently evaluated and looks at the effectiveness of SVROs, including the use of the SVRO stop and search power and the effectiveness of SVROs in reducing reoffending and knife carrying.
The evaluation is currently being considered, and further information on the evaluation findings will be made available in due course.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of civil servants in his Department are (a) on temporary contract and (b) consultants.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Information on the number of civil servants employed on temporary contracts is published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics as part of the quarterly Public Sector Employment statistics. Information can be accessed for September 2025 at the following web address:
Departmental expenditure on consultancy is published within the Annual Report and Accounts. The latest report for FY 2024/25 can be found at the following web address:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral answer of 26 November 2025, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 1331, on West Midlands Police: Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans, if she will place all (a) correspondence, (b) minutes and (c) documents held by her Department on policing matches involving teams from Israel from 7 November 2024 in the Library.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
To ensure independent and transparent scrutiny, the Home Secretary has commissioned His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to inspect how police forces in England and Wales provide risk assessment advice to local Safety Advisory Groups and other bodies responsible for licensing high-profile public events.
HMICFRS has been asked to provide an initial response on the intelligence relied upon by West Midlands Police when assessing risk for the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match by 31 December. The Home Office has provided all requested material to HMICFRS and will continue to cooperate fully.
The Home Affairs Select Committee held an evidence session on 1 December to examine the decision-making process and intelligence assessments underpinning the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters. The Policing Minister and a senior Home Office official gave evidence to the Committee, as did the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands. Correspondence and evidence submitted to the Committee are routinely published on its official website, ensuring full transparency.
The Home Office did not hold any discussions with West Midlands Police regarding potential counter-terror threats towards or from Maccabi Tel Aviv players or supporters prior to 6 November 2025.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral answer of 26 November 2025, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 1331, on West Midlands Police: Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans, if she will publish West Midlands Police’s (a) intelligence materials and (b) its analysis that led to the decision to ban the Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
To ensure independent and transparent scrutiny, the Home Secretary has commissioned His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to inspect how police forces in England and Wales provide risk assessment advice to local Safety Advisory Groups and other bodies responsible for licensing high-profile public events.
HMICFRS has been asked to provide an initial response on the intelligence relied upon by West Midlands Police when assessing risk for the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match by 31 December. The Home Office has provided all requested material to HMICFRS and will continue to cooperate fully.
The Home Affairs Select Committee held an evidence session on 1 December to examine the decision-making process and intelligence assessments underpinning the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters. The Policing Minister and a senior Home Office official gave evidence to the Committee, as did the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands. Correspondence and evidence submitted to the Committee are routinely published on its official website, ensuring full transparency.
The Home Office did not hold any discussions with West Midlands Police regarding potential counter-terror threats towards or from Maccabi Tel Aviv players or supporters prior to 6 November 2025.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral answer of 26 November 2025, Official Report, House of Lords, Column 1331, on West Midlands Police: Maccabi Tel Aviv Fans, whether she had discussions with West Midlands Police on any counter-terror threats from Maccabi Tel Avi (a) players and (b) supporters prior to 6 November 2025.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
To ensure independent and transparent scrutiny, the Home Secretary has commissioned His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to inspect how police forces in England and Wales provide risk assessment advice to local Safety Advisory Groups and other bodies responsible for licensing high-profile public events.
HMICFRS has been asked to provide an initial response on the intelligence relied upon by West Midlands Police when assessing risk for the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match by 31 December. The Home Office has provided all requested material to HMICFRS and will continue to cooperate fully.
The Home Affairs Select Committee held an evidence session on 1 December to examine the decision-making process and intelligence assessments underpinning the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters. The Policing Minister and a senior Home Office official gave evidence to the Committee, as did the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands. Correspondence and evidence submitted to the Committee are routinely published on its official website, ensuring full transparency.
The Home Office did not hold any discussions with West Midlands Police regarding potential counter-terror threats towards or from Maccabi Tel Aviv players or supporters prior to 6 November 2025.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to ensure ministerial and departmental accountability for any systemic failures by public bodies identified by the national inquiry into grooming gangs.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs is a statutory inquiry, under the Inquiries Act 2005, with full powers to compel evidence. Its purpose is to uncover systemic failings and ensure accountability at every level.
The timetable of the Inquiry is to be determined by the Chair. The draft Terms of Reference make clear that the Inquiry will publish findings and recommendations for each local area reviewed. These local reports will be made publicly available and may be issued ahead of the final report, which will also be published.
Local agencies and central government will carefully consider recommendations made by the Inquiry, and act to implement necessary reforms at both local and national levels.
On 9 December, Baroness Anne Longfield was appointed as Chair of the Inquiry, supported by Zoë Billingham CBE and Eleanor Kelly CBE as panel members. Together, they bring extensive experience in championing children’s rights, deep knowledge of policing and local government, and, crucially, a proven ability to hold powerful institutions to account. Each was recommended by Baroness Casey following engagement with victims and survivors to understand the qualities they wished to see in a Chair.
Baroness Longfield served under multiple governments and was appointed Children’s Commissioner by the previous Government in November 2014. She will relinquish the Labour whip and take a leave of absence from the Lords. More importantly, her record demonstrates an unwavering commitment to challenging authority, regardless of party, whenever children’s interests are at stake.
The starting point for selecting a Chair was expertise and experience - particularly in child protection and in holding institutions to account. There are numerous examples of successful inquiries and investigations in this area led by non-judicial figures, including the work of Professor Alexis Jay in Rotherham and Baroness Casey in her National Audit. Baroness Longfield, together with Zoë Billingham and Eleanor Kelly, fully meet these requirements. Their appointment followed a thorough due diligence process.
The Chair will establish a robust mechanism enabling victims and survivors to provide evidence safely and confidently. In line with the draft Terms of Reference, the Chair will publish a charter setting out how victims and survivors can participate and how their views, experiences, and testimony will inform and shape the Inquiry’s work. On 9 December 2025, as their first formal act, the Chair and panellists issued an open letter to victims and survivors, acknowledging that trust must be earned and committing to meet with groups of victims and survivors during the initial months of the Inquiry.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that victims and survivors have confidence in the leadership and conduct of the national inquiry into grooming gangs.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs is a statutory inquiry, under the Inquiries Act 2005, with full powers to compel evidence. Its purpose is to uncover systemic failings and ensure accountability at every level.
The timetable of the Inquiry is to be determined by the Chair. The draft Terms of Reference make clear that the Inquiry will publish findings and recommendations for each local area reviewed. These local reports will be made publicly available and may be issued ahead of the final report, which will also be published.
Local agencies and central government will carefully consider recommendations made by the Inquiry, and act to implement necessary reforms at both local and national levels.
On 9 December, Baroness Anne Longfield was appointed as Chair of the Inquiry, supported by Zoë Billingham CBE and Eleanor Kelly CBE as panel members. Together, they bring extensive experience in championing children’s rights, deep knowledge of policing and local government, and, crucially, a proven ability to hold powerful institutions to account. Each was recommended by Baroness Casey following engagement with victims and survivors to understand the qualities they wished to see in a Chair.
Baroness Longfield served under multiple governments and was appointed Children’s Commissioner by the previous Government in November 2014. She will relinquish the Labour whip and take a leave of absence from the Lords. More importantly, her record demonstrates an unwavering commitment to challenging authority, regardless of party, whenever children’s interests are at stake.
The starting point for selecting a Chair was expertise and experience - particularly in child protection and in holding institutions to account. There are numerous examples of successful inquiries and investigations in this area led by non-judicial figures, including the work of Professor Alexis Jay in Rotherham and Baroness Casey in her National Audit. Baroness Longfield, together with Zoë Billingham and Eleanor Kelly, fully meet these requirements. Their appointment followed a thorough due diligence process.
The Chair will establish a robust mechanism enabling victims and survivors to provide evidence safely and confidently. In line with the draft Terms of Reference, the Chair will publish a charter setting out how victims and survivors can participate and how their views, experiences, and testimony will inform and shape the Inquiry’s work. On 9 December 2025, as their first formal act, the Chair and panellists issued an open letter to victims and survivors, acknowledging that trust must be earned and committing to meet with groups of victims and survivors during the initial months of the Inquiry.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department considered Baroness Longfield’s previous public statements and policy positions when appointing her as chair of the national inquiry into grooming gangs.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs is a statutory inquiry, under the Inquiries Act 2005, with full powers to compel evidence. Its purpose is to uncover systemic failings and ensure accountability at every level.
The timetable of the Inquiry is to be determined by the Chair. The draft Terms of Reference make clear that the Inquiry will publish findings and recommendations for each local area reviewed. These local reports will be made publicly available and may be issued ahead of the final report, which will also be published.
Local agencies and central government will carefully consider recommendations made by the Inquiry, and act to implement necessary reforms at both local and national levels.
On 9 December, Baroness Anne Longfield was appointed as Chair of the Inquiry, supported by Zoë Billingham CBE and Eleanor Kelly CBE as panel members. Together, they bring extensive experience in championing children’s rights, deep knowledge of policing and local government, and, crucially, a proven ability to hold powerful institutions to account. Each was recommended by Baroness Casey following engagement with victims and survivors to understand the qualities they wished to see in a Chair.
Baroness Longfield served under multiple governments and was appointed Children’s Commissioner by the previous Government in November 2014. She will relinquish the Labour whip and take a leave of absence from the Lords. More importantly, her record demonstrates an unwavering commitment to challenging authority, regardless of party, whenever children’s interests are at stake.
The starting point for selecting a Chair was expertise and experience - particularly in child protection and in holding institutions to account. There are numerous examples of successful inquiries and investigations in this area led by non-judicial figures, including the work of Professor Alexis Jay in Rotherham and Baroness Casey in her National Audit. Baroness Longfield, together with Zoë Billingham and Eleanor Kelly, fully meet these requirements. Their appointment followed a thorough due diligence process.
The Chair will establish a robust mechanism enabling victims and survivors to provide evidence safely and confidently. In line with the draft Terms of Reference, the Chair will publish a charter setting out how victims and survivors can participate and how their views, experiences, and testimony will inform and shape the Inquiry’s work. On 9 December 2025, as their first formal act, the Chair and panellists issued an open letter to victims and survivors, acknowledging that trust must be earned and committing to meet with groups of victims and survivors during the initial months of the Inquiry.