theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit’s annual report 2023, published on 17 December 2024, for what reasons has there been an increase in incidents involving failure to provide adequate care for animals. \p Dan Jarvis: The Home Office takes non-compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 very seriously. The numbers of non-compliance cases vary in any given year. The total number of non-compliance cases reduced from 175 to 169 cases from 2022-23. Between these same years there was also a 48% reduction in adverse welfare cases.

The reasons for each non-compliance involving failure to provide adequate care is provided in the Animals in Science Regulation Unit annual report. The Regulator has not made any further assessment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

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Lorraine Beavers:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to take steps to improve the usability for the UK Visas and Immigration Sponsor Management System. \p Seema Malhotra: The Home Office is currently investing in an ambitious programme of transformation to improve efficiency and effectiveness, which includes the sponsorship I.T system.
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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit’s annual report 2023, published on 17 December 2024, what steps her Department is taking to increase compliance with (a) legislation and (b) licence conditions with respect to the provision of care for animals. \p Dan Jarvis: The Regulator’s annual report details the range of ways in which it detects instances of non-compliance and seeks to drive greater compliance with the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) and licence conditions.

The Regulator conducts regular on-site audits. The published framework for audit is based on clear benchmarks and assessing compliance through organisational governance to encourage greater commitment to compliance. The framework is publicly accessible at: www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-research-technical-advice#process-and-standards-for-establishment-full-system-audits.

To provide assurance of compliance with the Regulation, the Regulator provides clear and accessible operational guidance. All establishments licensed to breed or supply animals, or to carry out regulated procedures on animals, under ASPA must comply with the Code of Practice which sets out mandatory standards for the appropriate care and accommodation of animals.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

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Lewis Cocking:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle financial scams. \p Dan Jarvis: We are committed to working with law enforcement, industry, civil society and international partners to tackle financial scams. This includes blocking fraud at its source, disrupting it before it reaches the public, and providing preventative advice and support such as our “Stop! Think Fraud” campaign.

Further industry action includes potential legislative action to ban “SIM farms”, technical devices that allow criminals to send scam texts to thousands of people at the same time, and the Online Safety Act codes of practice which will come into effect in March.

In due course we will publish an expanded Fraud Strategy as set out in our manifesto, which will cover the full range of threats that our society faces from this crime.
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Neil Coyle:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department last reviewed the level of fees for citizenship applications. \p Seema Malhotra: Fees for immigration and nationality applications are kept under regular review.

The Home Office this week announced its intention to increase the fee to naturalise as a British Citizen to £1,605, and £1,070 for British Overseas Territories citizens, subject to Parliamentary approval.
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Lorraine Beavers:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of applying regional weighting for the minimum salary threshold for the Skilled Worker visa. \p Seema Malhotra: The salary thresholds are in place to ensure that resident workers’ wages should not be undercut and to protect overseas workers from being used as low-cost labour. The thresholds are set at the median levels according to the Office for National Statistics Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.

The Government’s objective is to bring net migration down, linking migration with wider labour market policies, so that immigration is not used as an alternative to training or tackling workforce problems in the UK.

These objectives are also why this Government has maintained the current salary the Skilled Worker route.

As the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has said, salaries generally need to rise in response to shortages, which challenges the suggestion that shortages could be eased by paying lower wages. The MAC has also consistently advised against regional salary thresholds, on the basis that this could exacerbate existing regional pay differences.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many travel warrants have been issued to irregular migrants in each of the last five years; and what the total cost to the public purse of these were. \p Dame Angela Eagle: Obtaining the information requested would involve checking multiple databases across multiple systems owned by multiple teams across the Home Office and, therefore, could only be collated at disproportionate cost.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

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Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 27 December 2024 to Question 19469 on Home Office: Equality and with reference to the Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure Guidance, published on 14 May 2024, if she will remove all stand-alone equality, diversity and inclusion roles. \p Dame Diana Johnson: There are no standalone roles related to equality, diversity and inclusion outside of the Home Office HR Function, and those that do function are focused on discharging the Departments statutory obligations under the Equality Act 2010. This is in line with the stipulations in Paragraph 18c of the guidance to which the Hon member’s question refers.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the fire service's preparedness to effectively (a) manage and (b) respond to forest fires in Surrey. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Fire and Rescue Services are operationally independent in England. Each Fire and Rescue Authority is required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfire) through their Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP), while having regard to the views of other key local responders.

In 24/25, the Home Office is funding a new National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.

Landowners and land managers are also encouraged by DEFRA to adopt good quality wildfire management plans, use sustainable land management practices that reduce fuel loads and restore their peatland to make them more resilient to the risk of wildfire.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to tackle criminal activity via county lines. \p Dame Diana Johnson: County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. To deliver our pledge to halve knife crime in the next decade, it is crucial that we tackle the drug gangs that run county lines through violence and exploitation.

Since July 2024, policing activity delivered through the County Lines Programme has resulted in over 400 deal lines being closed, 500 arrests (including the arrest and charge of over 200 deal line holders) and 800 safeguarding referrals for children and vulnerable people. Over 220 children and young people have also received dedicated specialist support through our county lines support service since July.

In addition, the Government’s Manifesto included an unambiguous commitment to “introduce a new offence of criminal exploitation of children, to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime”. A new criminal offence is necessary to increase convictions against exploiters, deter gangs from enlisting children, and improve identification of victims. This will be brought forward as part of the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

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Mike Martin:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of imposing civil rather than criminal penalties on people found in possession of drugs for personal use. \p Dame Diana Johnson: There are no plans to decriminalise illicit drug use. The law allows for the prosecution of those who commit offences, including drug possession and supply. The police have a range of alternative options within the out of court resolution framework (such as community resolutions, cautions and deferred prosecutions) to direct individuals into meaningful interventions to address their drug use, and divert them away from the criminal justice system.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

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Mike Martin:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of moving responsibility for drugs policy to the Department of Health and Social Care. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Responsibility for drug policy is shared across a number of departments and both the Home Office and the Department for Health and Social Care have important roles to play in setting policy to tackle drug use and to reduce drug-related crime and drug health harms. The Home Office is the lead department for the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and associated drug legislation, working with other departments as appropriate where changes in the law are required. We have no plans to change this.

Illicit drug use affects the whole of society, and this Government is taking a collective response which will help our key missions to deliver safer streets, improve health outcomes and contribute to opportunities and growth through reducing crime and saving lives.
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Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions (a) ministers, (b) officials and (c) special advisors had with chief constables on the deployment of armed officers at Christmas markets in England and Wales in 2024. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Whilst the Home Office works closely with policing to consider security and to share information where appropriate, the operational deployment of police officers (including armed officers), and security considerations for individual sites, are decisions for operationally independent Chief Constables.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a system to provide appropriate redress for people who were (a) officially reprimanded, (b) prosecuted and (c) faced other punitive action for raising concerns about Pakistani heritage grooming gangs. \p Jess Phillips: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Home Secretary's statement made on 16 January 2025, in which she announced the appointment of Baroness Louise Casey to lead a rapid three-month audit into these issues. The audit will examine all the currently available data and evidence to help us to better understand the nature, scale and profile of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation being dealt with by police forces in the UK today, including ethnicity; to identify gaps in existing knowledge; and to make recommendations that can then be applied at local level.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on how many (a) police officers, (b) officials of local authorities and (c) social workers (i) lost their jobs, (ii) faced legal proceedings and (iii) suffered other punitive measures due to having knowledge of Pakistani heritage grooming gangs and not taking action. \p Jess Phillips: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Home Secretary's statement made on 16 January 2025, in which she announced the appointment of Baroness Louise Casey to lead a rapid three-month audit into these issues. The audit will examine all the currently available data and evidence to help us to better understand the nature, scale and profile of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation being dealt with by police forces in the UK today, including ethnicity; to identify gaps in existing knowledge; and to make recommendations that can then be applied at local level.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on whether family members (a) had knowledge of or (b) facilitated the crimes of people prosecuted for their involvement in Pakistani heritage grooming gangs. \p Jess Phillips: The Government is working to ensure that perpetrators are pursued and brought to justice, and victims and survivors of all forms of child sexual abuse are protected and supported.

The Government continues to fund the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce, which has brought together the best police data that is available on group-based offending and was published in November 2024. In this context group-based offending includes any offence with two or more perpetrators. That data is available publicly online via: https://www.hydrantprogramme.co.uk/publications/hydrant-publications#LatestNews. We will work further with the Taskforce to improve the accuracy and robustness of the data and analysis.

Investigation and prosecution decisions are independent matters for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service. Anyone who has been incorrectly reprimanded as a result of blowing the whistle should be raising their concerns with the appropriate authority for consideration and action. Under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA), workers who blow the whistle are entitled to certain protections, including protection from detriment or dismissal as a result of blowing the whistle, and a route of redress through the Employment Tribunals if these protections are infringed.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a confidential government process for whistleblowers to safely raise concerns over foreign rape gangs. \p Jess Phillips: Launching any investigation is a decision for the police to make. But the Government will continue to ensure that all institutions and individuals remain responsible and accountable for protecting children against this vile abuse. An important part of this includes delivering on the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recommendation of a mandatory reporting duty, which we will deliver through the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many men convicted for their involvement in Pakistani heritage grooming gangs have been given access to children born from their crimes against the mothers’ wishes; and if she will make it her policy to (a) withdraw all access and (b) prevent this from happening in the future. \p Jess Phillips: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Home Secretary's statement made on 16 January 2025, in which she announced the appointment of Baroness Louise Casey to lead a rapid three-month audit into these issues. The audit will examine all the currently available data and evidence to help us to better understand the nature, scale and profile of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation being dealt with by police forces in the UK today, including ethnicity; to identify gaps in existing knowledge; and to make recommendations that can then be applied at local level.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children have been born following rape committed by people convicted for their involvement in Pakistani heritage grooming gangs. \p Jess Phillips: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Home Secretary's statement made on 16 January 2025, in which she announced the appointment of Baroness Louise Casey to lead a rapid three-month audit into these issues. The audit will examine all the currently available data and evidence to help us to better understand the nature, scale and profile of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation being dealt with by police forces in the UK today, including ethnicity; to identify gaps in existing knowledge; and to make recommendations that can then be applied at local level.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of girls that are still involved with Pakistani heritage grooming gangs. \p Jess Phillips: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Home Secretary's statement made on 16 January 2025, in which she announced the appointment of Baroness Louise Casey to lead a rapid three-month audit into these issues. The audit will examine all the currently available data and evidence to help us to better understand the nature, scale and profile of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation being dealt with by police forces in the UK today, including ethnicity; to identify gaps in existing knowledge; and to make recommendations that can then be applied at local level.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) identify and (b) prevent child sex trafficking. \p Jess Phillips: The trafficking of children for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out an unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all the levers available to us to deliver this. This will include working closely with law enforcement partners, such as the Tackling Organised Exploitation Programme (TOEX), which continues work to develop a whole system approach to improving intelligence, analysis, and tasking to enhance law enforcement response to the exploitation of vulnerable people, including victims of trafficking, sexual exploitation, and abuse.

The following table shows the number of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM, the framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to appropriate support) for (partial or whole) sexual exploitation for children, at age of exploitation.

Year

NRM referrals for (either partial or whole) sexual exploitation for children at age of exploitation

2020

824

2021

943

2022

1115

2023

1118

2024 (up to Q3)

1036

In addition to the statutory support local authorities provide to victims of modern slavery, for potential child victims, the Government has rolled out the Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service to two thirds of local authorities in England and Wales. The ICTG service is currently delivered by Barnardo's.
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Alicia Kearns:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21677 on Offences Against Children, whether her Department plans to reform the collection of data on grooming gangs. \p Jess Phillips: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Home Secretary's statement made on 16 January 2025, in which she announced the appointment of Baroness Louise Casey to lead a rapid three-month audit into these issues. The audit will examine all the currently available data and evidence to help us to better understand the nature, scale and profile of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation being dealt with by police forces in the UK today, including ethnicity; to identify gaps in existing knowledge; and to make recommendations that can then be applied at local level.
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Alicia Kearns:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will (a) collect and (b) publish the ethnicity of (i) abusers and (ii) victims of grooming gangs. \p Jess Phillips: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Home Secretary's statement made on 16 January 2025, in which she announced the appointment of Baroness Louise Casey to lead a rapid three-month audit into these issues. The audit will examine all the currently available data and evidence to help us to better understand the nature, scale and profile of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation being dealt with by police forces in the UK today, including ethnicity; to identify gaps in existing knowledge; and to make recommendations that can then be applied at local level.
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Luke Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to provide training for (a) police officers and (b) legal professionals on implementation of new legislation on stalking. \p Jess Phillips: Stalking is an insidious crime that can leave victims living in fear just going about their daily lives. That is why this Government is fully committed to tackling it.

On 3 December the Government announced six new measures to tackle stalking. This included legislating to introduce multi-agency statutory guidance on stalking and providing for the courts to impose Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) on conviction and acquittal of their own volition. We will bring forward legislation to introduce measures at the earliest opportunity.

The College of Policing provides an Authorised Professional Practice (APP) and e-learning on stalking to support the police. This includes guidance on identifying and investigating stalking and applying for and managing SPOs. The guidance and e-learning are being updated to reflect the findings from a recent super-complaint on stalking and will be kept under regular review. The CPS provides guidance for prosecutors with the general principles to be applied when making decisions about prosecutions involving stalking.

We know there is a gap between the prevalence of stalking and stalking offences reported to the police. For example, the Crime Survey for England and Wales estimates 3.1% of adults over 16 experienced stalking in the year ending June 2024 while police recorded 131,912 stalking offences. This is why we are committed to playing a more active role in policing to ensure officers have the right support, to significantly improve standards across the board and to ensure justice is delivered for victims.

Raising awareness of stalking is an important part of this and there are existing examples of local initiatives funded by police forces, Police and Crime Commissioners or local authorities. We are considering how raising awareness of VAWG crimes including stalking could form part of the upcoming new VAWG strategy.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will commission an investigation into officials who had knowledge of rape gangs and failed to act. \p Jess Phillips: The Government is committed to using every lever to ensure all children are protected from sexual exploitation and abuse across our communities and online, regardless of who is perpetrating that horrific abuse. We are committed to continuing to learn from past failings, providing support to victims and survivors, and ensuring across all sectors we all step up and take further responsibility for preventing and responding to child sexual abuse.

As part of this work, we continue to invest in the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce, which is giving practical, expert, on the ground support for local forces investigating child sexual abuse, with a focus on complex and organised child sexual exploitation. This is also supported by the Tackling Organised Exploitation programme, which is helping forces to uncover more of this offending. We are also driving targeted action to respond to exploitation through the Home-Office funded Prevention Programme, delivered by The Children's Society to tackle and prevent child sexual abuse and exploitation.

And we are committed to taking swift action against the recommendations of the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).

The Home Secretary announced we will be bringing in mandatory reporting, making grooming an aggravating factor in child sexual abuse cases, and taking further action to crack down on child sexual abuse and exploitation online.

The Home Secretary also announced that we will set up a new panel to ensure victims' and survivors' voices are prioritised in future policy making, alongside a dedicated inter-ministerial group on child sexual abuse. IICSA made several recommendations on how to improve routes to support and compensation for victims and survivors, which the Government will be considering as part of this broader approach.

The Government will continue to support further inquiries where they may be needed, and which can expose failings and wrongdoings in local areas and institutions. But we are clear that it is right that these take place at a localised level so that those are responsible for delivering services work to ensure lessons are learnt and that local partners are doing all they can to improve their response, and that these inquiries inform regional and national responses.

Furthermore, the Government's election manifesto included a commitment to introduce a 'Hillsborough Law', which the Prime Minister has committed to introduce by the next anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster (15 April 2025). This legislation will place a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent the (a) grooming, (b) rape, (c) exploitation and (d) abuse of young girls. \p Jess Phillips: The Government is committed to using every lever to ensure all children are protected from sexual exploitation and abuse across our communities and online, regardless of who is perpetrating that horrific abuse. We are committed to continuing to learn from past failings, providing support to victims and survivors, and ensuring across all sectors we all step up and take further responsibility for preventing and responding to child sexual abuse.

As part of this work, we continue to invest in the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce, which is giving practical, expert, on the ground support for local forces investigating child sexual abuse, with a focus on complex and organised child sexual exploitation. This is also supported by the Tackling Organised Exploitation programme, which is helping forces to uncover more of this offending. We are also driving targeted action to respond to exploitation through the Home-Office funded Prevention Programme, delivered by The Children's Society to tackle and prevent child sexual abuse and exploitation.

And we are committed to taking swift action against the recommendations of the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).

The Home Secretary announced we will be bringing in mandatory reporting, making grooming an aggravating factor in child sexual abuse cases, and taking further action to crack down on child sexual abuse and exploitation online.

The Home Secretary also announced that we will set up a new panel to ensure victims' and survivors' voices are prioritised in future policy making, alongside a dedicated inter-ministerial group on child sexual abuse. IICSA made several recommendations on how to improve routes to support and compensation for victims and survivors, which the Government will be considering as part of this broader approach.

The Government will continue to support further inquiries where they may be needed, and which can expose failings and wrongdoings in local areas and institutions. But we are clear that it is right that these take place at a localised level so that those are responsible for delivering services work to ensure lessons are learnt and that local partners are doing all they can to improve their response, and that these inquiries inform regional and national responses.

Furthermore, the Government's election manifesto included a commitment to introduce a 'Hillsborough Law', which the Prime Minister has committed to introduce by the next anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster (15 April 2025). This legislation will place a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will (a) issue an apology for failures to tackle rape gangs and (b) make an assessment of the potential merits of a compensation scheme for the victims of such gangs. \p Jess Phillips: The Government is committed to using every lever to ensure all children are protected from sexual exploitation and abuse across our communities and online, regardless of who is perpetrating that horrific abuse. We are committed to continuing to learn from past failings, providing support to victims and survivors, and ensuring across all sectors we all step up and take further responsibility for preventing and responding to child sexual abuse.

As part of this work, we continue to invest in the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce, which is giving practical, expert, on the ground support for local forces investigating child sexual abuse, with a focus on complex and organised child sexual exploitation. This is also supported by the Tackling Organised Exploitation programme, which is helping forces to uncover more of this offending. We are also driving targeted action to respond to exploitation through the Home-Office funded Prevention Programme, delivered by The Children's Society to tackle and prevent child sexual abuse and exploitation.

And we are committed to taking swift action against the recommendations of the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).

The Home Secretary announced we will be bringing in mandatory reporting, making grooming an aggravating factor in child sexual abuse cases, and taking further action to crack down on child sexual abuse and exploitation online.

The Home Secretary also announced that we will set up a new panel to ensure victims' and survivors' voices are prioritised in future policy making, alongside a dedicated inter-ministerial group on child sexual abuse. IICSA made several recommendations on how to improve routes to support and compensation for victims and survivors, which the Government will be considering as part of this broader approach.

The Government will continue to support further inquiries where they may be needed, and which can expose failings and wrongdoings in local areas and institutions. But we are clear that it is right that these take place at a localised level so that those are responsible for delivering services work to ensure lessons are learnt and that local partners are doing all they can to improve their response, and that these inquiries inform regional and national responses.

Furthermore, the Government's election manifesto included a commitment to introduce a 'Hillsborough Law', which the Prime Minister has committed to introduce by the next anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster (15 April 2025). This legislation will place a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities.
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Luke Murphy:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vehicles were seized under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 for offences related to anti-social car meets or street racing in (a) Basingstoke, (b) Hampshire and (c) England in each of the last 10 years. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Acts of anti-social behaviour (ASB) - such as the arrangement of illegal car meets - cause great harm, distress and nuisance to our communities, and, if left unchecked, can lead to even more serious offending. That is why tackling ASB is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission, and it is also why we are putting 13,000 additional police officers and community support officers back on the beat to restore effective and visible neighbourhood policing in communities like Basingstoke.

As recently announced by the Home Secretary, the Respect Orders we will introduce in the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill will enable the courts to place wide-ranging restrictions on the behaviour of the most persistent and disruptive ASB offenders. Breaches of those orders will be a criminal offence, and the courts will have a wide range of sentencing options for those convicted, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, up to two years' imprisonment.

The Home Office publishes statutory Guidance for police and local authorities on the use of the anti-social behaviour powers under the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014, and this will be updated to include the Respect Order. The Respect Order will be piloted to ensure it is as effective as possible, before national roll-out.

Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 empowers the police to issue a warning to anyone driving both in a careless and inconsiderate manner on road or off-road without consent and in a way which causes alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public. If the driver ignores the warning to stop the behaviour, the police can seize the vehicle. It is then only released on payment of prescribed fees.

The Home Office has recently announced plans to strengthen this law so that these vehicles can be seized by police when they are used to commit anti-social behaviour, including illegal street racing, without the necessity to issue a prior warning, thereby speeding up effective enforcement action and allowing the police to swiftly seize vehicles being used anti-socially.

The Home Office does not collect data on vehicles seized under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-21 conversation_164

Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the National Fire Chief Council. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Meetings are regularly published in a quarterly transparency returns.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the (a) Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for the Staffordshire Police force area and (b) Chief Constable of Staffordshire Police. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Meetings are regularly published in a quarterly transparency returns.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-21 conversation_166

Carolyn Harris:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) positive reasonable grounds decisions and (b) conclusive grounds decisions which have been made under the National Referral Mechanism between 2020 and 2024. \p Jess Phillips: From January 2020 to September 2024, there were 70,790 referrals into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). These have seen a continued increase.

In the same period, there were 51,850 positive reasonable grounds decisions made, and 34,254 conclusive grounds decisions made. Of which 24,233 were positive and 10,021 were negative. These statistics may change as new information becomes available, or if decisions are reconsidered.

With regards to the impact of recent legislation, the Illegal Migration Act 2023 has not been commenced in full, and the Government has made clear that the migration partnership with Rwanda will end. Any legislative plans resulting from this decision will be set out in due course.

This Government has been clear that identifying and supporting victims effectively is a key priority - that is why we have invested in 200 new decision makers to clear the backlog of cases and reduce wait times for victims.

The Home Office publishes modern slavery statistics on a quarterly basis and holds all policies and procedures under review to ensure they are effective in delivering the aims of the Government. As part of our New Plan for Immigration, we will take forward an evaluation workstream to understand the impact being achieved.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-21 conversation_167

Luke Murphy:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether additional guidance will be provided to (a) police forces and (b) local councils on the use of Respect Orders to target anti-social car meets and illegal street racing. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Acts of anti-social behaviour (ASB) - such as the arrangement of illegal car meets - cause great harm, distress and nuisance to our communities, and, if left unchecked, can lead to even more serious offending. That is why tackling ASB is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission, and it is also why we are putting 13,000 additional police officers and community support officers back on the beat to restore effective and visible neighbourhood policing in communities like Basingstoke.

As recently announced by the Home Secretary, the Respect Orders we will introduce in the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill will enable the courts to place wide-ranging restrictions on the behaviour of the most persistent and disruptive ASB offenders. Breaches of those orders will be a criminal offence, and the courts will have a wide range of sentencing options for those convicted, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, up to two years' imprisonment.

The Home Office publishes statutory Guidance for police and local authorities on the use of the anti-social behaviour powers under the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014, and this will be updated to include the Respect Order. The Respect Order will be piloted to ensure it is as effective as possible, before national roll-out.

Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 empowers the police to issue a warning to anyone driving both in a careless and inconsiderate manner on road or off-road without consent and in a way which causes alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public. If the driver ignores the warning to stop the behaviour, the police can seize the vehicle. It is then only released on payment of prescribed fees.

The Home Office has recently announced plans to strengthen this law so that these vehicles can be seized by police when they are used to commit anti-social behaviour, including illegal street racing, without the necessity to issue a prior warning, thereby speeding up effective enforcement action and allowing the police to swiftly seize vehicles being used anti-socially.

The Home Office does not collect data on vehicles seized under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-21 conversation_168

Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many hotels have started housing asylum seekers awaiting a decision on whether they will be granted refugee status since 5 July 2024. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly. This includes clearing the backlog to reduce demand on our accommodation estate and ending the use of hotels over time.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-21 conversation_169

Sir Julian Lewis:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number of children travelling to (a) Poland, (b) Turkey, (c) Florida and (d) other countries for gender reassignment surgery in each of the last three years. \p Seema Malhotra: The requested data is not centrally held. However, Border Force has a duty under Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

We take this duty very seriously and are committed to protecting vulnerable children who cross the border.

All new Border Force entrants receive safeguarding training as part of their induction course. Once established, all Border Force Officers and managers have continuing training and knowledge refresh obligations.

Where concerns are raised, officers will take action to safeguard individuals who could be at risk.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-21 conversation_170

Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many (a) internal policy reviews, (b) independent reviews, (c) external reviews, (d) taskforces, (e) public consultations, (f) investigations and (g) other reviews their Department launched between 5 July 2024 and 5 January 2025; what the titles were of those reviews; and how many of those reviews have been (i) completed and (ii) published. \p Dame Nia Griffith: None. The Wales Office has not launched any reviews between 5 July 2024 and 5 January 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-21 conversation_171

Alison Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on Paisley and Renfrewshire North constituency; and if she will make it her policy to review that Scheme beyond March 2025. \p Chris Bryant: Since 2022, grants have been awarded to 17 listed places of worship in the Paisley and Renfrewshire North constituency, totalling £83,957.

We will shortly announce the outcomes of the Business Planning process, including for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-21 conversation_172

Damian Hinds:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the impact of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on religious minority groups in (a) Hampshire (b) South East England. \p Chris Bryant: Since August 2022, the Listed Places of Grant Scheme has awarded more than £3 million to 416 Non-Christian listed places of worship. This includes Buddhist, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and other denominations. In the same timeframe the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme has awarded £108,618 to 15 listed places of worship for non-Christian religious minority groups across South East England, and £5,576 to a single listed place of worship for a religious minority group in Hampshire.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-21 conversation_173

Damian Hinds:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the contribution of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme to the heritage crafts sector. \p Chris Bryant: Churches can have an important part to play in heritage skills and crafts. For example, in summer 2024, Historic England's Heritage Building Skills Summer School took place at St John the Evangelist Church, Lancaster, a Churches Conservation Trust site. The Government funds both Historic England and Churches Conservation Trust, and the summer school is part of the Heritage Building Skills Programme, a five-year training and apprenticeships programme running from 2021-2026.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-21 conversation_174

Saqib Bhatti:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the proposal by the Welsh government to enable local authorities to charge a visitor levy. \p Chris Bryant: Tourism is a devolved policy matter and we work closely with the Devolved Administrations. My department will carefully monitor the proposal by the Welsh government. Tax policy is a matter for HM Treasury and there are currently no plans to introduce a similar tax in England.