theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-15)

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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of multiple sclerosis care in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Ashley Dalton: There are initiatives to support better care for patients with neurological conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, across England, including in the Surrey Heath constituency. These include the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, and the Neurology Transformation Programme (NTP). NHS England’s NTP is a multi-year programme to develop a new model of integrated care for neurology services.

NHS England is also updating its Specialised Neurology service specification, which includes multiple sclerosis. Service specifications define the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England to provide specialised care.

Our 10-Year Health Plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed, to move healthcare from the hospital to the community, from analogue to digital, and from treatment to prevention. We also plan to publish our refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver a transformed health service over the next decade and treat patients wherever they live in England, including those with multiple sclerosis, on time again.

The Department has also convened a new United Kingdom-wide neuro forum, which brings together the administrations, health services, and Neurological Alliances of all four UK nations. The forum will share learnings across the UK, and discuss important neurology services transformation and workforce challenges, as well as best practice examples and potential solutions.

Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services for their local population, including for multiple sclerosis. The Government expects ICBs, including the Surrey Heartlands ICB, which covers the Surrey Heath constituency, to assess the demand for service provision in designing their local services.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department plans to provide for cancer research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research in (a) 2025, (b) 2026 and (c) 2027. \p Ashley Dalton: Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), with cancer as one of the largest areas of spend, at over £133 million in 2023/24, reflecting its high priority. The NIHR funds research and research infrastructure, which supports patients and the public to participate in high-quality research.

The NIHR funds research in response to proposals received from scientists, rather than allocating funding to specific disease areas in advance. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications. The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including all cancer types. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition.

We are committed to furthering our investment and support for cancer research, ensuring that funding is used in the most meaningful and impactful way.
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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) he and (b) the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce have made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a young cancer patient travel fund; and if he will take steps through the National Cancer Plan to reduce travel costs for children and young people with cancer. \p Ashley Dalton: The Department knows that the cost of travel is an important issue for many young cancer patients and their families in England. NHS England and the integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning and ensuring the healthcare needs of their local communities are met, including providing support for travel.

The National Health Service in England runs the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) to provide financial assistance for travel to a hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostics tests, when referred by a doctor or other primary healthcare professional. Patients who do not qualify for the HTCS and who are on a low income may be able to claim the costs from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit or a Personal Independence Payment. There are also a number of charities in the United Kingdom who provide support, including financial support, for patients with cancer.

On 4 February 2025, the Department relaunched the Children and Young People Cancer Taskforce to identify tangible ways to improve outcomes and experiences for young cancer patients. The work of the taskforce is ongoing, and officials are exploring opportunities for improvement across a range of areas, including detection and diagnosis, genomic testing and treatment, research and innovation, and patient experience. The taskforce will also ensure that the unique needs of children and young people with cancer are carefully considered as part of the National Cancer Plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for children and young people with cancer in all parts of England, including Wokingham.

Given wider ongoing work on policy development options and analysis of the call for evidence responses for the National Cancer Plan, the Department of Health and Social Care has not made a formal estimate of the proportion of children and young people with cancer and their families that are claiming travel costs from the HTCS.
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Chris Vince:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on the relocation of the UK Health Security Agency. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is conscious of the need for a decision on the future site of the UK Health Security Agency’s high-containment facilities, to ensure the nation’s health is protected long-term. The Government is currently deciding which location is best suited, and a site in Harlow is one of the options being considered. This decision will be taken as part of the ongoing Spending Review process, which is due to conclude on 11 June.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people seen by the NHS Cervical Screening Programme in (a) 2022, (b) 2023 and (c) 2024 did not identify as female. \p Ashley Dalton: This information is not held centrally.
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of introducing regulations on the advertising of products high in fat, sugar or salt (a) in outdoor spaces and (b) on audio-only media on public health. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is taking bold action to tackle the childhood obesity crisis, and will create the healthiest generation of children ever. We are progressing with the implementation of the advertising restrictions for less healthy food or drink products on television and online. This includes a 9:00pm watershed on television and a 24-hour restriction on paid-for advertising of these products online. These restrictions are expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets per year and reduce the number of children living with obesity by 20,000.

An assessment has not been made on the potential impact of introducing regulations on the advertising of products high in fat, sugar, or salt in outdoor spaces or on audio-only media on public health. Audio-only media, for instance podcasts or online radio, are exempt from the advertising restrictions due to limited evidence about the child audience for these services and the effect they have on children’s food consumption.

We continue to review evidence of the impacts on children of advertising for less healthy food and drink products and will consider where further action is needed.
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Dr Neil Hudson:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Oral Statement of 8 May 2025 on Trade Negotiations, Official Report, columns 897-899, whether food imports under the UK-US Free Trade Agreement of (a) ractopamine-treated pork (b) Bovine Somatotropin-treated dairy and (c) products where antibiotics have been used as growth promoters will be prohibited. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: On 8 May, the UK government announced a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to get an agreement with President Trump.

We have agreed new reciprocal market access on beef - with UK farmers given a guaranteed quota for 13,000 metric tonnes of beef exports at a very low tariff rate. Imports of hormone treated beef will remain illegal. Our approach to this trade deal has ensured that any agricultural imports coming into the UK will meet the highest food standards.
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Seamus Logan:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal on domestic Scotch whisky producers. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: On 8 May the UK government announced a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to get an agreement with President Trump.

The US has committed to further negotiations, including on the 10% tariffs introduced on 2 April across our economy which affect Scotch whisky. We are continuing to negotiate in the interests of key sectors for the UK and will seek the best possible outcome. Due to the nature of the deal, negotiations will continue on a range of areas and benefits will be felt over time.
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of British Steel entering liquidation during or after the period of special measures under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 on creditors; and what mechanisms are available for them to recover outstanding debts. \p Sarah Jones: It would be a breach of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act for British Steel to be put into liquidation while the special measures are in place. Prior to the Act becoming law, the Government undertook assessments of the potential cost to the public purse should British Steel enter insolvency. These assessments would be updated in the unlikely event that liquidation became a serious prospect.

Creditors of British Steel whose credit predates the special measures are protected by the security interests they obtained at the time their credit was advanced. Any parties wishing to extend credit to British Steel during the currency of the special measures will need to consider the most suitable arrangements upon which they would be willing to do so. British Steel management and DBT can discuss any such proposals as the need arises.
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Brendan O'Hara:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has undertaken (a) investigations and (b) enforcement measures as a result of goods originating from Israeli settlements being labelled as originating from within Israel’s pre-1967 borders. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. Goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel.

Where there are doubts about the declared origin of goods, HMRC will undertake checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure compliance.

The overseas business risk guidance, available on gov.uk, provides information for UK operators on how goods from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be labelled.
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Brendan O'Hara:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what information his Department holds on whether goods originating from Israeli settlements are labelled as originating from within Israel’s pre-1967 borders. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: The overseas business risk guidance, available on gov.uk, provides information for UK operators on how goods from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be labelled. Where there are doubts about the declared origin of goods, HMRC will undertake checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure compliance.
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Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure that UK businesses trading with China are not complicit in the use of forced labour. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: No company in the UK should have forced labour in its supply chains. The UK recognises the importance of ensuring UK businesses are not complicit in forced labour, in line with the UN Guiding Principle on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, commercial businesses operating in the UK with a turnover of £36m or more must report annually on their steps to prevent modern slavery in their supply chains. The Home Office has published new statutory guidance, providing more practical and comprehensive advice for businesses to enhance their fight against modern slavery.
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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the Small Business Strategy will consider the cost of full electrification of commercial properties for SMEs. \p Gareth Thomas: We will launch the Small Business Strategy later this year complementing the Government’s forthcoming Industrial and Trade Strategies as part of our economic growth mission.

The strategy will help drive small business growth and productivity, for example – from boosting scale-ups to supporting budding entrepreneurs. It will cover a number of key policy areas, including creating thriving high streets, making it easier to access finance, opening up overseas markets, building business capabilities and supporting entrepreneurship. Although the full electrification of commercial properties is not a policy proposal we expect to be covered in the Small Business Strategy, we remain committed to a Net Zero economy by 2050.
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Neil Coyle:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, over what period the proposed network subsidy to the Post Office would last. \p Gareth Thomas: The Government provides a network subsidy so that Post Office can cover the costs of delivering Government policy requirements, which include geographical access criteria. In order to fulfil the access criteria, Post Office has to keep uncommercial branches open. The network subsidy is to help the company to afford to do this. The network subsidy does not fund costs relating to the implementation of Post Office's transformation plan, which includes transitioning to a fully franchised network. Government provided POL with £10.9m of funding in FY 24/25 to help initiate the transformation plan. Further multi-year funding for the transformation plan is currently being considered.

Government has confirmed up to £83 million network subsidy for Financial Year 25/26. Funding beyond this will be confirmed as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
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Robert Jenrick:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has issued to prison governors a consolidated list of extremist material banned in prisons. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: Access to kitchen facilities in Separation Centres and Close Supervision Centres was immediately suspended following the horrific attack at HMP Frankland on 12 April. A rapid review of access to, and use of, self-cook areas across the prison estate, including special units, is due to report with recommendations in June.

R (De Silva) v Secretary of State for Justice [2025] EWHC 128 (Admin) concerned an individual placement review decision, rather than general use of Separation Centres. We have continued to refer and place dangerous radicalisers into Separation Centres where they meet the criteria in Rule 46A of the Prison Rules 1999. Our use of Close Supervision Centres, designed to hold the most physically violent and disruptive prisoners, has not been affected.

Specialist counter-terrorism staff undertake regular assessments on the scale and nature of the terrorist threat across HMPPS, including on the radicalisation of inmates by other inmates. Assessments are conducted at establishment level, regional level, and national level to support day-to-day decision making and inform wider strategic priorities.

The Joint Extremism Unit maintains a consolidated list of extremist materials that are banned within the prison estate. This list is shared with relevant teams to ensure these materials are not available to prisoners. Prison Governors also have discretion over additional materials that may not be permitted within their establishments.
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Robert Jenrick:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many a) Separation Centres and b) segregation wings in the prison estate are currently in use; and what is their total available capacity. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: There are three separation centres, all within the Long-Term High Security Estate, with a total capacity of 28 prisoner places. Two are currently operational, and the third is available for use when required.

109 segregation wings or units in the prison estate are currently in use, with a capacity of 1,747 places.
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Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information her Department holds on the number of first-tier SEND tribunal cases lodged in the most recent year for which data is available; and in how many of those cases was the decision made in favour of the appellant. \p Sarah Sackman: Information about registered appeals and outcomes to SEND Tribunals is published at: Tribunals statistics quarterly: July to September 2024 - GOV.UK.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2025 to Question 47976 on Prison: Crimes against the Person, if she will provide a further breakdown by nationality. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: The number of individuals involved in incidents of an assault on staff within prisons in England and Wales, by nationality, for 2020 to 2024, can be found in the accompanying table.

Table (xlsx, 20.1KB)
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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of her Department's publication entitled Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper, published on 12 May 2025, on the ability to fill vacancies in social care. \p Seema Malhotra: We hugely welcome the contribution of overseas care workers, but it is important that long-term plans are drawn up to train homegrown talent into the care sector.   As outlined in the ‘Restoring Control over the Immigration System - Technical Annex’, it is estimated there will be an annual reduction of approximately 7,000 main applicants resulting from the removal of Care and Senior Care worker occupations from the Health and Social Care route

To manage this change, there will be a transitional period until 2028.

Many care workers arriving on this route have been widely exploited, with tens of thousands displaced and promised jobs that did not materialise. They will be given the opportunity to do the jobs they were promised, alongside the development of future workforce plans.

The White Paper sets out a number of reforms to the immigration system which will be implemented in a phased way. Each measure will be subject to an impact assessment when they are brought into force.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of privately-owned properties that are being used to house asylum seekers. \p Dame Angela Eagle: Available data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including dispersed accommodation, is published quarterly and can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release. The data can also be broken down by local authority.

Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people under active surveillance for potential extremist activity are foreign nationals; and what proportion of those people entered via asylum routes. \p Dan Jarvis: It is the longstanding policy of successive UK Governments that we do not comment on operational intelligence or security matters.
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Mark Pritchard:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help counter the UK operations of the GRU’s Department of Special Tasks. \p Dan Jarvis: National security is the first priority of government, and we work closely with all our international partners to assess and tackle all threats. As is our long-standing position, the Home Office does not comment in detail on operational, intelligence or security matters.
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Mark Pritchard:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will hold discussions with her US counterpart on taking joint steps to counter efforts by the Russian GRU to bring down transatlantic aircraft through the development of incendiary devices. \p Dan Jarvis: National security is the first priority of government, and we work closely with all our international partners to assess and tackle all threats. As is our long-standing position, the Home Office does not comment in detail on operational, intelligence or security matters.
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Olivia Blake:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of banning asylum claims from foreign national offenders convicted of sexual offences in their country of origin on LGBTQI+ people from countries where same-sex relationships are criminalised. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Government has introduced an amendment to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill which will strengthen existing provisions by creating a new presumption that convictions for all sexual offences in Schedule 3 to the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (sex offences which are subject to the notification requirements) are considered particularly serious for the purposes of Article 33(2) of the Refugee Convention.

The same provision will only apply to convictions received overseas where we are able to show that an individual has received, from a foreign court, a conviction for a sexual offence that would have resulted in the notification requirements had they committed it in the UK.
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Dame Caroline Dinenage:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the annual value of money laundering operations conducted through businesses presenting as Turkish barber shops; what proportion this represents of total estimated money laundering activity; and what steps she is taking to help tackle this financial crime. \p Dan Jarvis: The National Crime Agency estimates that over £12bn in criminal cash is generated each year in the UK and the Government recognises that cash intensive businesses that are exploited by criminals such as barber shops, can contribute to this.

Addressing cash-based money laundering is one of the strategic priorities of the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), which sits within the National Crime Agency. In March the NECC coordinated a three-week crackdown against barbershops and other cash intensive businesses across England and Wales involving 19 different police forces and Regional Organised Crime Units, as well as national agencies including HMRC, Trading Standards and Home Office Immigration Enforcement.

In total, 380 premises were visited across the three-week operation, with officers securing freezing orders over bank accounts totalling more than £1m, executing 84 warrants and arrested 35 individuals. Officers also seized more than £40,000 in cash, 200,000 cigarettes, 7,000 packs of tobacco, over 8,000 illegal vapes and two vehicles.
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Matt Bishop:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a 20 years’ service medal for Police Community Support Officers. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The Home Office will consider any proposal for national long service recognition for Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs).

It is only right that we recognise the commitment shown by PCSOs across the country and whose roles are undeniably at the sharp end of policing, diffusing community tensions and providing visible policing presence in our communities.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she will make an assessment of the potential impact of her Department’s policies on organised immigration crime on trends in the number of migrants that have arrived in small boats since 1 January 2025. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Border Security Command (BSC) continues to focus on tackling the organised immigration crime gangs that are facilitating small boat crossings, working with domestic partners such as the National Crime Agency, and overseas counterparts in a range of countries, to dismantle the gangs and disrupt their supply chains. This work has already led to a number of widely publicised raids and arrests, as well as agreements with France, Germany, Italy, Iraq and other key partners which will increase enforcement activity and cooperation further over the coming months.

The Home Office will shortly publish an official statistical note analysing the impact of weather conditions in the Channel on the level of small boat arrivals in recent years, including since 1 January 2025. That analysis will reinforce the commitment of this Government to tackle the smuggling gangs at every level, and disrupt their ability to exploit good weather conditions in future to undermine our border security.
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Suella Braverman:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of recording non-crime hate incidents on levels of hate crime. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The current policy and code of practice on the recording of Non-Crime Hate Incidents (NCHIs) remains exactly the same as when it was laid before Parliament by the Rt Hon Member on 13 March 2023, during her second spell as Home Secretary.

However, the current Home Secretary is clear that a consistent and common-sense approach must be taken with NCHIs. She has also been clear that her top priority for policing is delivering on our Safer Streets Mission to rebuild neighbourhood policing, restore public confidence in the police and the criminal justice system, tackle antisocial behaviour and make progress on our unprecedented ambitions to halve knife crime and violence against women and girls.

The Home Secretary has agreed that the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), supported by the College of Policing, will conduct a review on the use and effectiveness of NCHIs. The review will cover when the police should record information that has not yet reached the criminal threshold, but which is still deemed necessary to monitor community tensions and keep the public safe. It will also consider the fundamental right of freedom of expression and recent court rulings in this area. The Government welcomes this review and will work closely with the NPCC and the College as they develop their findings and any proposals. It would be premature to make any decisions about the future of this type of recording before the review concludes later this year.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 46892 on Asylum: Housing, how many dwellings have been procured by (a) Serco, (b) Mears, (c) Clearspring Homes and (d) Corporate Travel Management. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Home Office continues to work closely with a range of stakeholders to fulfil its statutory obligations, while seeking to reduce the overall cost of asylum accommodation for the taxpayer.

The Home Office does not publish detailed information on the location of asylum accommodation sites for safety and security reasons. Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab of our most recent statistics release. The data can also be broken down by local authority. Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab).
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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what living arrangements her Department makes for people seeking asylum when a hotel contract for their accommodation has been terminated. \p Dame Angela Eagle: All those who remain eligible for support are moved to alternative accommodation.
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Richard Tice:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking with police forces to (a) help prevent antisemitic marches and (b) ensure that public order legislation is effectively enforced where protests involve (i) incitement, (ii) intimidation and (iii) groups that are known to have previously perpetrated hate crimes; and if her Department will issue national guidance to police forces on the protection of Jewish communities from (A) harassment and (B) abuse during protests. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The Government is committed to tackling antisemitism and other forms of hate crimes and supports the police in taking robust action where protests cross the line into criminality. Where protest activity does involve criminality, the police have a broad range of powers to respond. The use of these powers and the management of demonstrations are operational matters for individual forces, and Government ministers are unable to intervene in these decisions.

On the issue of antisemitism, I would also refer the Hon Member to the Speech given by the Home Secretary at the annual dinner of the Community Security Trust on 26 March, which can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/home-secretary-speech-at-the-community-security-trust
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has recorded any instances of police investigating people for speech deemed offensive to religious groups in the last five years. \p Dame Diana Johnson: On the matter of guidance to the police, I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 16 May to Question 5882-84.

On the matter of police investigation, the Home Office collects information on crimes and their outcomes recorded by the police but does not hold information on the nature of their investigations.
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Sir Julian Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce the time taken for passengers travelling to the UK to go through UK passport control at Gard du Nord Station. \p Seema Malhotra: I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 30 April to Question 46921.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-15)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-15 conversation_99

Jack Rankin:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of disbanding the Border Force team for illegally imported cash at Heathrow Airport in August 2024. \p Seema Malhotra: Border Force have redistributed the teams in question to join other Detection commands. This was done in order to share expertise and thereby increase capability to carry out this important area of work.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-15)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-15 conversation_100

Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Hong Kong BN(O) visa holders have settled in the UK under the bespoke immigration route since its launch; and what integration support is being provided. \p Seema Malhotra: The Home Office publishes statistics relating to indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the Immigration system statistics publication. Data on the number of grants of ILR to those on the British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) route, is published in table Se_D02.

To help those on the route integrate into their new communities, the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) has a Welcome Programme through which BN(O)s can access support on a range of issues including employment, education, housing, and access to English language provision. In March 2025, MHCLG announced its fifth year of funding for the UK-wide Welcome Programme.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-15)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-15 conversation_101

Jack Rankin:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much cash was seized by Border Force at Heathrow Airport for the latest month for which data is available. \p Seema Malhotra: The requested information is not available from published statistics.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-15)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-15 conversation_102

James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the inclusion of (a) nursing and (b) other allied health professionals on the shortage occupation visa list. \p Seema Malhotra: The Government published the White Paper ‘Restoring Control over the immigration System’ on 12 May 2025. The White Paper set out its intention to introduce a Temporary Shortage List to replace the Immigration Salary List.

The list will initially be comprised of occupations which the MAC have previously identified as in shortage and those which are key to the Industrial Strategy. The Government will set out in due course the longer term composition of that list.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-15)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-15 conversation_103

Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of limiting sponsored workers to 20 hours of secondary employment on migrant workers; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of permitting additional regulated employment to support those workers to meet living costs. \p Seema Malhotra: The salary rules we have in place on many sponsored work routes are designed to ensure workers are paid enough from their primary sponsored employment to be able to support themselves without needing to take second jobs.

The rules are designed to strike a balance between allowing sponsored workers to take on additional work if they wish, while ensuring the main purpose of their stay in the UK remains the primary sponsored work for which their visas were issued.

As well as working their contracted hours sponsored workers can work overtime with their sponsoring employer and can apply to work any number of hours in secondary employment with another licensed sponsor. This arrangement does not count as supplementary employment, therefore they can work as many hours as they agree with their employer, subject to working time regulations.

Further people can also undertake up to 20 hours supplementary employment. This was expanded in Spring 2024 to allow people in the Skilled Worker route to do supplementary employment in any eligible occupation instead of it having to be the same occupation or a job on the Shortage Occupation List as used to be the case.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-15)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-15 conversation_104

Claire Hanna:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that the forthcoming white paper on immigration (a) reflects the requirements of (i) the mushroom sector and (ii) other agricultural sectors in Northern Ireland and (b) addresses issues of Northern Ireland abutting the EU land border. \p Seema Malhotra: The Home Office actively and regularly engages with the Devolved Governments at Ministerial level, and the Devolved Governments were invited to submit suggestions for inclusion in the Immigration White Paper (IWP), with further engagement taking place ahead of its publication.

The IWP, which was published on 12 May 2025, links migration with skills policy for all parts of the UK, and we will continue to work with the Devolved Governments as we move forward. A copy of the IWP has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-15)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-15 conversation_105

David Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 38911 on Clothing: Public Places, whether she plans to take steps to help support residents who are scared to leave their homes due to people wearing balaclavas in town centres in Hertfordshire. \p Dame Diana Johnson: This Government wants town centres to be vibrant, welcoming places where businesses thrive and people feel safe and come to shop, socialise and live. What the Hon Member describes about town centres in Hertfordshire is absolutely unacceptable.

As part of the Government’s Plan for Change, and to support making the country’s streets safer, £66.3 million of Hotspot Action funding has been awarded to all 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales for 2025/26. Hertfordshire will receive £1 million of that funding.

In addition, under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, section 60AA permits officers on patrol to require the removal of face coverings over a 24 hour period, if an authorisation is in place, where there are grounds to believe criminal activity may take place in a particular area, and will last for 24 hours.

Furthermore, stop and search powers permit individuals to be stopped by officers if there are grounds to suspect they are going to commit offences, such as robbery and theft.

The implementation of a new Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee is also key to people feeling safe in their communities. The guarantee includes restoring patrols to town centres and delivering an additional 13,000 neighbourhood policing officers, PCSOs and special constables by the end of this parliament.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-15)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-15 conversation_106

Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for visas for business events her Department has received in each of the past 3 years; how many of those applications were successful in that time period; what the (a) shortest, (b) average and (c) longest time was for a visa to be processed in that time period; and how much revenue was raised from those applications. \p Seema Malhotra: The requested data is not centrally held by the Home Office, and could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-15)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-15 conversation_107

Ruth Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Lethal Dose 50 test on animals. \p Dan Jarvis: The UK continues to lead the way in seeking the international adoption of improved test methods that replace, reduce or refine the use of animals in scientific procedures.

Some authorised medicines in the UK include quality control tests which require the use of animals, conducted to ensure the quality, safety, and efficacy of specific medicines. These tests account for the LD50 cases still conducted.

Within the UK framework, regulators follow the principles of the 3Rs - to replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in tests. This is a legal requirement for all work conducted. However, it is not presently possible to replace all of the existing animal tests with non-animal replacements.

The Government invests £10m annually in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) to accelerate the development and adoption of 3Rs approaches.

Through the forthcoming alternatives strategy, the Government will seek to accelerate the validation of alternative methods and their uptake for regulatory decision making.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-15)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-15 conversation_108

Alicia Kearns:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help protect (a) farming and (b) food production sites from illegal drone flying by vegan activists. \p Dan Jarvis: The Home Office, working closely with policing, has built a national counter-drone capability to equip police with the capabilities they need to detect and mitigate the illegal or malicious use of drones. These capabilities comprise a range of specialist equipment, vehicles, and personnel to ensure a flexible and effective response across UK policing to any potential drone-related incident.

The public should report any suspicious drone activity by calling 101. They should explain the situation to the call handler, identifying the time and location of the drone. In an emergency, the public should call 999.

Flying a drone safely and within regulations by an appropriately registered pilot is legal in the UK. The Drone and Model Aircraft Code, which gives guidance on the circumstances in which drone flying is and is not illegal, is available from the Civil Aviation Authority’s website.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-15)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-15 conversation_109

Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign nationals with (a) settled and (b) asylum status have been convicted of terrorism-related offences since 2010. \p Dan Jarvis: Obtaining the information requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple systems owned by multiple teams across the Home Office and, therefore, could only be obtained for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-15)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-15 conversation_110

Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Defending Democracy Taskforce will meet in each of the UK's (a) nations and (b) regions in 2025. \p Dan Jarvis: Defending Democracy must be a whole of UK effort, and the Government works closely with colleagues from the nations and regions on a range of issues relevant to the Defending Democracy Taskforce. This includes long term work to understand threats to our democracy and to share lessons and best practice emerging from the work of the Taskforce.

In addition, the Government works closely with partners in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to safeguard democratic processes and institutions. This has included the provision of a new cyber security offer to elected representatives in the devolved legislatures as well as dedicated police points of contact for elected officials to liaise with on security matters across all territorial forces in the UK.