Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the average time taken to make a Reasonable Grounds decision for people currently held in immigration detention.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This government has been clear that identifying and protecting victims of modern slavery is a priority for this government.
Obtaining the specific information requested regarding those in detention with a positive reasonable ground’s decision is not something that can be provided easily.
The government publishes regular statistics on the number of referrals into the system alongside the outcomes of those decisions. Those can be found on gov.uk – the most recent publication covering the period July-September 2025 show that the average time taken from referral to reasonable grounds decision was 6 days across both competent authorities.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people currently held in immigration detention have received a positive Reasonable Grounds decision under the the National Referral Mechanism.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This government has been clear that identifying and protecting victims of modern slavery is a priority for this government.
Obtaining the specific information requested regarding those in detention with a positive reasonable ground’s decision is not something that can be provided easily.
The government publishes regular statistics on the number of referrals into the system alongside the outcomes of those decisions. Those can be found on gov.uk – the most recent publication covering the period July-September 2025 show that the average time taken from referral to reasonable grounds decision was 6 days across both competent authorities.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 76596 and the Answer of 12 January 2023 to Question 119101 on Guantanamo Bay: Closures, whether her Department's policy on granting visas to former Guantanamo Bay detainees has changed following its decision to change its policy on the closure of the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The first priority of Government is protecting national security and the safety of UK citizens.
The Home Office uses various tools to detect and disrupt travel by those posing a national security risk and all applications for visas or UK immigration status are subject to comprehensive checks.
It would not be appropriate to comment in detail on operational security matters or specific cases. However, where an individual is assessed as presenting a risk to our country, we take swift and robust action.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 22 December 2025 (HL12809), what criteria they are using to select specific individuals out of those eligible for removal to France under the 'one-in, one-out' scheme.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The pilot was agreed with both France and the European Commission in order to ensure it is compliant with domestic, European and International law. Eligibility criteria are set out in the Agreement.
The pilot operates within existing legal frameworks and policies. All individuals will have their cases reviewed regularly in line with standard policies and guidance, and this includes both while detained and if any claims of being a victim of torture or of human trafficking and modern slavery are raised.
Decisions on continuing suitability for detention are made on a case-by-case basis.
Detained individuals are advised of their right to legal representation, and how they can obtain such representation, within 24 hours of their arrival at an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC). Ahead of pilot launch and throughout its duration, the Home Office has engaged with officials from the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary to ensure individuals have access to justice. The Home Office continues to engage with a wide range of NGOs and other external stakeholders.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have consulted non-governmental organisations, immigration lawyers and legal aid experts about whether people facing removal under the 'one in, one out' scheme have sufficient time to access legal representation or challenge removal decisions.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The pilot was agreed with both France and the European Commission in order to ensure it is compliant with domestic, European and International law. Eligibility criteria are set out in the Agreement.
The pilot operates within existing legal frameworks and policies. All individuals will have their cases reviewed regularly in line with standard policies and guidance, and this includes both while detained and if any claims of being a victim of torture or of human trafficking and modern slavery are raised.
Decisions on continuing suitability for detention are made on a case-by-case basis.
Detained individuals are advised of their right to legal representation, and how they can obtain such representation, within 24 hours of their arrival at an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC). Ahead of pilot launch and throughout its duration, the Home Office has engaged with officials from the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary to ensure individuals have access to justice. The Home Office continues to engage with a wide range of NGOs and other external stakeholders.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support is offered to potential victims of torture, trafficking or modern slavery who may face removal under the 'one in, one out' scheme.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The pilot was agreed with both France and the European Commission in order to ensure it is compliant with domestic, European and International law. Eligibility criteria are set out in the Agreement.
The pilot operates within existing legal frameworks and policies. All individuals will have their cases reviewed regularly in line with standard policies and guidance, and this includes both while detained and if any claims of being a victim of torture or of human trafficking and modern slavery are raised.
Decisions on continuing suitability for detention are made on a case-by-case basis.
Detained individuals are advised of their right to legal representation, and how they can obtain such representation, within 24 hours of their arrival at an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC). Ahead of pilot launch and throughout its duration, the Home Office has engaged with officials from the Ministry of Justice and the judiciary to ensure individuals have access to justice. The Home Office continues to engage with a wide range of NGOs and other external stakeholders.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 22 December 2025 to Question 99417 on Undocumented Migrants, what steps she is taking to strengthen (a) statutory and (b) operational powers to (i) relocate and (ii) detain illegal migrants.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
In our Restoring Order and Control statement, we set out a series of measures designed to increase the rate of removal of illegal migrants from the UK, focusing on five areas. First, scaling up removals of those whose claims have failed. Second, imposing sanctions on countries that refuse to take their citizens back. Third, reforming our appeals system. Fourth, pursuing legal reform, both nationally and internationally. Finally, tackling other barriers that are used today to block removals.
Immigration detention plays a key role in maintaining effective immigration controls and securing the UK’s borders. We have made significant reforms to detention over the past few years in line with external reports and recommendations including strengthening our powers to detain individuals who arrive unlawfully through the Border, Security and Asylum Act 2025, enabling detention from the point an individual is notified they are liable for removal. We also expanded the detention estate with the opening of IRC Campsfield in December 2025.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 22 December 2025 to Question 99417 on Undocumented Migrants, what steps she is taking to recover individuals who go out of contact with her Department.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
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.
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, pursuant of Answer of 22 December 2025 to Question 99417: Undocumented Migrants, what steps she is taking to improve the quality of absconder data.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
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.
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, pursuant of Answer of 22 December 2025 to Question 99417: Undocumented Migrants, what steps she is taking to strengthen sanctions against illegal migrants once they have been relocated and detained.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
Where an absconder is located, they may be arrested and detained for the purposes of removal. It is generally in the public interest to pursue the removal of those with no permission to be in the UK.
Where detention is not appropriate, a person may be released on immigration bail as an alternative to detention, allowing the Home Office to maintain contact with those who require permission to be in the UK but do not have it whilst a decision is made on their case or pending their removal or deportation.
A person who is subject to immigration bail is required to comply with one or more bail conditions. Conditions may include a requirement to report regularly to the Home Office, to reside at a specific location, to be electronically monitored and a restriction on work. The number and type of immigration bail conditions imposed will vary depending on the circumstances of the individual case. A person who has previously absconded is likely to have more stringent bail conditions imposed.
Where someone fails to comply with their bail conditions, they may be arrested, detained, have their bail conditions varied to be more stringent, or they can be arrested for the criminal offence, which is punishable by a fine or term of imprisonment.