theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
wrans/answers2025-06-19 conversation_90
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-19 conversation_90

James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 6 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, published on 2 June 2025, how many years will be covered by the £11bn Invest annual budget. \p Luke Pollard: The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) sets a path for the next decade and beyond to transform Defence.

We will develop a new Defence Investment Plan to deliver the SDR’s vision. We will ensure the Plan is deliverable and affordable, considers infrastructure alongside capabilities, enables flexibility to seize new technology opportunities, and maximises the benefits of defence spending to grow the UK economy. This will supersede the old-style Defence Equipment Plan.

This will deliver the best kit and technology into the hands of our front-line forces at speed and, importantly, invest in and grow the UK economy. The Defence Investment Plan will be completed later this year.

The plan will highlight how the Government's historic investment in defence will deliver warfighting readiness to deter increasing threats and drive defence as an engine for jobs and growth.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-19 conversation_91

Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 58165 on Unmanned Air Systems: Military Bases, whether any investigations were ongoing into drone activity in the vicinity of other security bases in the three months (a) prior to and (b) after the incidents at the bases outlined in that Answer. \p Luke Pollard: The use of uncrewed aerial systems around protected areas in the UK causes a risk to life and is illegal. Such activity will be subject to thorough investigation.

We are unable to release information relating to ongoing criminal investigations or operational security matters.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-19 conversation_92

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will review Indefinite Leave to Remain visa fees for family members of non-UK armed forces personnel. \p Al Carns: This Government is committed to removing visa fees for non-UK veterans who have served our country for four or more years, and their dependents. The Ministry of Defence is actively working with the Home Office to take this forward.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-19 conversation_93

Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to support the yacht building sector. \p Maria Eagle: The Government remains fully committed to delivering a thriving UK shipbuilding sector, including the yacht building sector. Skilled manufacturing is critical to UK prosperity and the leisure marine manufacturing sector plays a key role in creating jobs and growth in our coastal communities.

The National Shipbuilding Office regularly engage with stakeholders across the yacht building sector. Yacht builders are also represented on one of the main shipbuilding Government/industry forums, the Shipbuilding Enterprise for Growth.

The Department for Business and Trade’s Civil Maritime team works closely with the sector through the British Marine Federation, in partnership with officers in key markets overseas to further promote the sector and its potential.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-19 conversation_94

Esther McVey:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has updated guidance on the use of single-sex facilities in response to the Supreme Court judgement in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025. \p Al Carns: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 May 2025 to Question 47442 to the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Mr Rupert Lowe).

Ministry of Defence: Women (docx, 16.3KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to increase to support for veterans entering civilian life in Lincolnshire. \p Al Carns: Across the country, including within Lincolnshire, a wide range of support is currently available for Armed Forces personnel as they transition into civilian life. For support with employment, the Career Transition Partnership is the initial point of provision for those leaving military Service and Op ASCEND is the employment pathway for veterans. In England Op RESTORE and Op COURAGE provide physical and mental health specialist services. Housing support is available across the United Kingdom via Op FORTITUDE, a single referral pathway connecting veterans with support.

We recently announced VALOUR, a new commitment to establish the first-ever UK-wide approach to veteran support, which will ensure easier access to essential care and support for veterans across the country. A new regional approach, based on a network of VALOUR support centres and regional field officers, will help to ensure that services are designed to meet the needs of their local communities. Further details on VALOUR will be announced in due course and more information can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/valour-information-and-next-steps
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-19 conversation_96

Jas Athwal:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Sikhs are employed in his Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group. \p Al Carns: As at 1 June 2025, there were 177 Ministry of Defence (MOD) civil servants who had reported a religion or belief of Sikh. Data for religion or belief is based on self-declarations by individuals on the MOD HR personnel systems. Figures include civil servants in MOD Main Top Level Budgetary areas and the four Executive Agencies (DE&S. SDA, UKHO and Dstl).

Sikh category is recorded solely as a religious group, it is not an option for ethnicity.

Further published statistics can be found on the following link, tables 6.1 and 6.2 contain the full list of categories for religion and belief: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mod-diversity-dashboard-index
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-19 conversation_97

Mr Mark Francois:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he considered including a new medium helicopter programme within the Strategic Defence Review; and whether he plans to implement such a programme. \p Maria Eagle: There are no plans to change the extant New Medium Helicopter competition which started on 27 February 2024 with the release of the Invitation to Negotiate to Airbus Helicopters UK, Leonardo Helicopters UK and Lockheed Martin UK. The Ministry of Defence is continuing with the established procurement process, managed by Defence Equipment and Support, and the proposal will be evaluated through 2025 when, subject to Government approvals, a contract award is anticipated.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-19 conversation_98

Grahame Morris:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his planned timetable is for completing the remediation of Civil Service Pension Scheme cases arising from the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022. \p Georgia Gould: The Court of Appeal ruled that the pension reforms and transitional protection arrangements introduced in 2015 following the enactment of the Public Service Pensions Scheme 2013, were directly discriminatory on the basis of age.

The 2015 Remedy (McCloud) Programme will end and rectify discrimination within the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) that arose when reformed public service pension schemes were introduced in 2015.

CSPS has 1.7 million members, of which 420,000 are in scope for the Remedy. This spans current civil servants who are accruing benefits, deferred members who have left service and/or the Scheme and pensioners (including partial and full retirees and those who retired on grounds of ill health or death in service).

The regulatory timeline for delivery of all Immediate Choice Remediable Service Statements (IC RSS) was by 31 March 2025 and 44% of statements were issued by that date, but in complex cases affecting 56% of the Immediate Choice population, the Cabinet Office has exercised its discretion to extend beyond this delivery date by 2 years. As this work progresses, more detail will become available about delivery dates within the next 2 years.

The Cabinet Office is continuing to stress to MyCSP the importance of meeting contractual performance levels and improving member experience.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Grahame Morris:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of how (a) complaints and (b) errors are (i) identified and (ii) dealt with by MyCSP. \p Georgia Gould: There is a robust governance procedure that monitors and reports on all aspects of performance against service levels and performance metrics. This includes regular meetings with MyCSP to review trends and analyse opportunities for improvement and corrective action.

The Cabinet Office is continuing to stress to MyCSP the importance of meeting contractual performance levels and improving member experience.

The new contract for the Civil Service Pension Scheme goes live on the 1st December 2025. The Cabinet Office has reviewed the current performance indicators and has adapted and enhanced these within the new contract which will give the Cabinet Office greater flexibility in managing the administrator of the Civil Service Pension schemes more effectively and encourage innovation across the lifetime of the contract.

The National Audit Office (NAO) published a report on the 16th June 2025 into the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme, which is available here:https://www.nao.org.uk/press-releases/cabinet-office-must-improve-customer-experience-in-civil-service-pension-scheme/#report

We are committed to ensuring that any recommendations from the NAO will be acted upon to enhance service delivery and member satisfaction.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Grahame Morris:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many emails to MyCSP were (a) received and (b) responded to in each of the last six months. \p Georgia Gould: The scheme administrator, MyCSP, received on average approximately 68,570 emails per month in the last six months. The table below shows the number of emails received in each of the last 6 months to May 2025.

Emails

Dec-24

Jan-25

Feb-25

Mar-25

Apr-25

May-25

Average

Total Rec.

60,889

77,751

70,095

69,145

63,250

70,289

68,570

In line with MyCSP performance indicators, there are different targets for responses to enquiries, depending on the nature of those enquiries. Some enquiries - such as an update to a member's address - do not require a formal response. For those that did require a response, over these six months 99% received a response within the relevant timeframe.

The Cabinet Office is continuing to stress to MyCSP the importance of meeting contractual performance levels and improving member experience.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-19 conversation_101

Grahame Morris:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of calls to MyCSP went unanswered in each of the last six months. \p Georgia Gould: The scheme administrator, MyCSP, received on average 30,090 calls into their enquiry centre between December 2024 - May 2025 as shown in the table below. 24% of all calls received were unanswered by MyCSP.

Calls

Dec-24

Jan-25

Feb-25

Mar-25

Apr-25

May-25

Average

Calls received

26,034

41,877

39,688

24,531

25,557

22,850

30,090

Answered

20,892

29,327

30,472

18,850

18,795

17,731

22,678

Abandoned

5,142

12,640

9,215

5,681

6,782

5,519

7,497

Abandoned%

19.75%

30.18%

23.22%

23.16%

26.54%

24.10%

24%

The Cabinet Office has worked with MyCSP to implement recovery plans aimed at enhancing performance within their Enquiry Centre. In response to increased demands, MyCSP has recruited additional staff, and the Cabinet Office is funding 12 full-time equivalents (FTEs) in the Enquiry Centre specifically to address volumes associated with the 2015 Remedy (McCloud judgement) queries.

The Cabinet Office is continuing to stress to MyCSP the importance of meeting contractual performance levels and improving member experience.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Grahame Morris:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the casework backlog is in MyCSP. \p Georgia Gould: Currently, the scheme administrator, MyCSP, has 52,748 ongoing work items awaiting processing or further information.

The Cabinet Office is continuing to stress to MyCSP the importance of meeting contractual performance levels and improving member experience.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of foreign owned companies using shell companies in an attempt to bypass the National Security and Investment Act since 5 July 2024. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: I refer the Rt Hon member to the answer given on 22 May in response to question 54012.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the proportion of adult migrants resident in the UK for over five years who are proficient in (a) spoken and (b) written English. \p Georgia Gould: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 11th June is attached.

PQ59060 (pdf, 102.0KB)
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the change in population of the 17-19 year old age group in Newton Abbot Constituency in the last five years. \p Georgia Gould: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 11th June is attached.

PQ 59043 (pdf, 96.2KB)
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Andy McDonald:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people of state pension age there are in (a) Middlesbrough and Thornaby East constituency, (b) Middlesbrough local authority area, (c) Tees Valley combined authority area and (d) the North East. \p Georgia Gould: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 11th June is attached.

PQ 58977  (pdf, 98.3KB)
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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James Cartlidge:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that people eligible for the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme receive payments in a timely manner. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: The delivery of compensation is a matter for the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) as an operationally independent arm's-length body. As of 17 June, IBCA has contacted 1,707 people to start their compensation claim, and 1,346 have started the claim process. 462 offers of compensation have been made, totalling over £395 million, and so far 310 people have accepted their offers with more than £231 million paid in compensation. Going forward, IBCA is aiming to contact an average of 100 people to begin their claim every week. At that rate, they expect to have brought in to claim all those infected people who are registered with a support scheme this calendar year.

Whilst the roll out of the Scheme is an operational decision for IBCA as an independent body, I fully support their commitment to moving forward as swiftly as possible and as the Minister, I stand ready to help and assist in any way I can to speed up the payments. I am restless for the speed of delivery to increase, but I respect that operational independence going forward, as it is important that I do.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of full-face coverings on levels of (a) coercion, (b) domestic control and (c) honour-based abuse. \p Jess Phillips: Tackling violence against women and girls, including Coercive or Controlling Behaviour (CCB) and ‘Honour’-Based Abuse (HBA), is a top priority for this Government and our manifesto included a mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. We will deliver a cross-government transformative approach, underpinned by a new strategy to be published in the summer.

CCB is a particularly insidious form of domestic abuse. As made clear in statutory guidance, it can include isolating a person from friends and family, enforcing rules to humiliate, degrade or dehumanise, physical intimidation or taking control over aspects of the victim’s everyday life, such as by dictating what they can and cannot wear.

CCB is an offence in the Serious Crime Act (2015). The statutory definition of domestic abuse, contained within the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, explicitly recognises controlling or coercive behaviour as a form of domestic abuse.

HBA is an umbrella term, covering specific crimes such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage, but also other forms of abuse that take place in an 'honour' context. HBA is often hidden in nature. We are focused on preventing these crimes from happening, supporting and protecting survivors and those at risk, and bringing perpetrators to justice.

In 2023, the Home Office commissioned a feasibility study on producing robust prevalence estimates for FGM and forced marriage. The study concluded in March 2024, and we are currently working on our next steps and will provide an update in due course.

Building on the progress made in the Community Advocates Project, which took place in early 2024, we are progressing the HBA Campaign. This is a campaign to raise awareness of issues surrounding HBA and signpost where people can seek help. The Home Office also funds Karma Nirvana to operate the national HBA Helpline which supports victims and survivors and advises professionals to improve awareness of HBA.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Mr Peter Bedford:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to prevent criminals in India from scamming UK citizens. \p Dan Jarvis: With over 70% of fraud estimated to have an overseas element, international collaboration is a vital part of the Government’s work to protect UK citizens from that threat.

The UK is driving global action on tackling fraud, working with individual countries as well as multilateral bodies to develop an expanded programme of upstream international work to stop fraud before it reaches our shores.

In October 2024, the first ever UN Resolution on Fraud was passed at the 12th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime. This marked a significant advancement in the global fight against fraud and the UK played a leading role in supporting these efforts. The UK is also supporting the next Global Fraud Summit (after the first in London in 2024), at the UN in Vienna, to further raise fraud as a priority in Member States.

We will build on this progress through the new Fraud Strategy, where a key priority will be expanding our international work to tackle fraud at source.
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Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many EU citizens with pre-settled status were considered for automatic upgrading to settled status between January and March 2025. \p Seema Malhotra: It is not possible to extract information from Home Office systems on how many EU citizens were considered for an automatic upgrade to Settled Status between January and March 2025. However, the latest published statistics relating to the EU Settlement Scheme noted that, between these dates, 6,287 automated grants of Settled Status were issued.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, ⁠what guidance her Department has provided to (a) police officers and (b) security personnel on interacting with people wearing face coverings that obscure identity in public places. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Section 60AA of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 provides a power for police officers to demand the removal of disguises in certain circumstances to prevent crime. In addition, if the officer believes that someone is wearing an item for the purpose of concealing identity there is also a power to seize such items.

Statutory guidance on the use of this power is set out in Code A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). The College of Policing is responsible for providing operational guidance to police on the use of their powers.

We will also use the Crime and Policing Bill to introduce a new offence to use a face covering to conceal identity in an area the police assess a protest is likely to occur that may involve the commission of offences.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Katie White:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle tool theft from tradespeople. \p Dame Diana Johnson: We recognise the devastating impact theft has on victims who rely on the tools of their trade to earn a living.

We are continuing to work with the police-led National Business Crime Centre and representatives from policing to explore ways to tackle and prevent the theft of tools,including exploring the issue of unregulated tool sales at car boots sales.

We are making good progress including, following engagement with the Home Office and National Vehicle Crime Working Group, Thatcham Research agreed to add to their New Vehicle Security Assessment (NVSA), locks and alarms on the back of vans (previously NVSA only covers the cab area of vans) and a motion sensor on the load area of the van by February 2027. This is supported by crime prevention advice developed by the Police Crime Prevention Initiatives: Secured by Design - Vans & Tool Theft.

A key part of making acquisitive crime less attractive to criminals is making stolen goods harder to sell on. That is why we are working closely with policing and academic leads to examine what more can be done to tackle the disposal markets for stolen goods and reduce the ability to profit from this criminality.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people without lawful immigration status who have come into contact with the police in the last five years. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Chris Law:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to secure an agreement on a balanced youth experience scheme with the EU; when the Balanced Youth Experience Scheme for 18-30 year olds between the EU and UK will become operational; who will be eligible to participate; and what support her Department will provide to UK nationals who wish to participate in it. \p Seema Malhotra: I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 12 June to Question 57692.
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Lisa Smart:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57756 on Asylum: Housing, what her planned timetable is for evaluating the impact of interim measures. \p Seema Malhotra: I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave her on 13 June to Question 57756.
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Lizzi Collinge:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a bespoke skilled worker visa route for people working on NI-GB ferries. \p Seema Malhotra: The Immigration White paper, published 12 May, set out proposed reforms in a number of areas including raising the skills threshold to RQF level 6 and for RQF levels 3-5 roles, with time-limited and conditional access to the immigration system only to be provided if the Migration Advisory Committee are content there is an effective workforce strategy in place. Further details will be set out in due course.
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Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to publish guidance on restrictions on the use of national ID cards by holders of EU Settlement Scheme settled status for entry to the UK. \p Seema Malhotra: The current position for EUSS holders, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement, is that EU citizens and UK nationals, and their respective family members, will continue to have the right to enter and leave their host state with a valid national identity card for five years after the end of the transition period (which will be 31 December 2025). Any decisions on arrangements after that date will be set out in the normal way in due course.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce levels of self-segregation in (a) housing and (b) schooling in areas with high concentrations of recent immigrants. \p Seema Malhotra: The Immigration White Paper, published 12 May, set out proposals in a number of areas, including integration and English language requirements, further details of which will be set out in due course.
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Jayne Kirkham:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she will publish the consultation on the earned settlement scheme. \p Seema Malhotra: We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.
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David Simmonds:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June 2025, what financial support her Department will provide to local authorities to mitigate the impact of closing asylum hotels. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Home Office continues to work with a range of stakeholders and consider a range of options to fulfil its legal obligations and deliver upon its commitment to reduce the overall cost of asylum accommodation, and to end the use of hotels by the end of this Parliament.

Current accommodation funding arrangements are published on GOV.UK: Asylum Dispersal Grant: funding instruction Asylum Dispersal Grant: funding instruction - GOV.UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people who entered the UK on student visas since 2015 have not left the UK within six months of their visa expiry. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The latest data available on the ‘Source of asylum claims in 2024’ was published by the Home Office on 30th March 2025.
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Jayne Kirkham:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed increase to the standard qualifying period for settlement on trends in the level of NHS staffing levels. \p Seema Malhotra: A technical annex has been published alongside the White Paper. It can be found at the following link: Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper - GOV.UK

We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time. An impact assessment will be developed alongside any finalised policy.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many deportation orders have been issued to illegal immigrants residing in Lincolnshire in each of the last three years. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The requested information is not available from published statistics and could only be collated for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

This Government pledged to deliver the highest rate of removals since 2018 and this target has been surpassed, with a surge in returns activity since the election leading to almost 30,000 people with no right to be in the UK being removed.

Of the total returns since 5 July 2024, 4,436 were of foreign national offenders (FNOs). This is an increase of 14% compared to the 3,879 FNO returns in the same period 12 months prior.

Work is currently underway to publish more detailed information on FNOs subject to deportation. Further information on this work can be found at: Statistics on foreign national offenders and the immigration system - GOV.UK.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people granted (a) refugee and (b) asylum status entered full-time employment within five years of arrival in the last ten years. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The requested information is not currently available from published statistics, and could only be collated for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to confiscate the assets of people found to be working illegally. \p Dame Angela Eagle: We work to prevent individuals from making financial gains as a result of their criminal activities and will seek to seize such assets where possible; to this end, section 24 of the UK Borders Act 2007 (which came into force on 1 July 2010) gives immigration officers the specific power to seize cash from offenders, bringing them into line with police officers in this respect.
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Esther McVey:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has updated guidance on the use of single-sex facilities in response to the Supreme Court judgement in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025. \p Dame Diana Johnson: I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 6 May to Question 47431.
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Zarah Sultana:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made in reviewing the pause on decision-making for (a) asylum and (b) indefinite leave to remain applications from Syrian nationals; and what her planned timetable is for resuming the processing of such claims. \p Dame Angela Eagle: Following the fall of the Assad regime, the Home Office has withdrawn the Country Policy Information Notes and Guidance relating to Syria and has temporarily paused all asylum interviews and decisions. However, we continue to register new claims from Syrians in the UK who wish to claim asylum. Settlement Protection applications from Syrian nationals who are trying to obtain indefinite leave to remain in the UK are also subject to the pause.

The Country Policy and Information Team (CPIT) are continuing to monitor and review the situation in Syria. CPIT are gathering evidence from a wide range of reliable sources, including reputable media outlets; local, national and international organisations, including human rights organisations; and information from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

The pause is being kept under constant review and when there is a clear basis upon which to make decisions, we will resume the processing of them.

We will not remove anyone to their own or any other country where they would face persecution or serious harm.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Jas Athwal:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Sikhs are employed in her Department; and whether they are recorded as (a) an ethnic or (b) a religious group. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Home Office workforce Diversity data is published annually: Home Office workforce diversity statistics - GOV.UK.

Home Office reporting captures Sikh as a religion in line with Cabinet Office guidance.
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Esther McVey:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff network events took place in her Department in May 2025; and what the names of those events were. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Staff network events are organised in staff members’ own time, and are only centrally registered when there is any use of taxpayers’ money approved for the facilitation of such an event. No events were centrally registered in May.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-19)

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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle car theft in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire. \p Dame Diana Johnson: This Government is determined to reduce vehicle crime and we are working with the automotive industry and police, including working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead on the issue, to ensure the strongest response possible. I have recently met the NPCC vehicle crime lead, ACC Jenny Sims, as well as other law enforcement representatives and representatives from industry, to discuss how we work together to tackle these damaging crimes.

Working with the recently established National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, we are focusing on prevention and deterrence of theft of and from vehicles. This includes training police officers on the methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles, and working with industry to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.

In the Crime and Policing Bill we also have banned electronic devices used to steal vehicles, empowering the police and courts to target the criminals using, manufacturing and supplying them. This will support the changes manufacturers continue to make to ensure their vehicles as secure as possible.

In addition, we provided £250,000 funding in the financial year 2024-25 to help support work at the ports to prevent stolen vehicles and vehicle parts being shipped abroad, including providing additional staff and specialist equipment.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2025 to Question 38594 on Neighbourhood Policing: Finance, what proportion of the increased funding allocated to policing in the Spending Review 2025 will be allocated to neighborhood policing beyond 2025-26. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Details on how funding will be allocated beyond 2025-26 will be set out at the police settlement later this year.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has with representative bodies to ensure that plans to provide protection from assault to front-line retail workers include (a) bank and (b) building society staff. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Through our Crime and Policing Bill, this Government has introduced a standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

My officials have met with UK Finance and Barclays Bank to discuss the issue of assaults on bank and building society staff, which is an issue we also take extremely seriously.

Assaults against workers in the bank and building society sectors are already an offence (common assault) under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, and are covered under other legislation such as the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which also covers more serious violence, including actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.

Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 creates a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing cases of assault against public facing workers. It applies where an assault is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public, including public-facing roles in banks and building societies.
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Patrick Hurley:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to extend the Serious Violence Reduction Orders pilot scheme; what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the scheme in Merseyside; and whether her Department has considered expanding the eligibility criteria to include people under the age of 18. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs) were piloted for two years throughout Merseyside, Sussex, Thames Valley and West Midlands police force areas. The pilot took place between 19 April 2023 and 18 April 2025.

The final independent evaluation of the pilot will look to understand the effectiveness of SVROs in reducing reoffending and knife carrying. These insights will be critical in informing future decisions on whether the orders will be expanded or rolled out nationally.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54607 on Anti-social Behaviour: North East Somerset and Hanham, whether she has had recent discussions with police forces on initiating the recruitment of a dedicated lead officer to develop local anti-social behaviour action plans. \p Dame Diana Johnson: On 10 April, the Prime Minister announced the details of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.

Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, £200 million has been allocated to forces for 2025/26 to support the Government’s commitment to deliver additional personnel into neighbourhood policing.

This includes ensuring that every force area will have a dedicated lead officer for anti-social behaviour who will work with communities to develop an action plan to reduce and prevent ASB. I am closely monitoring the delivery of this commitment across the 43 police forces in England and Wales.

Forces are expected to engage with communities to develop their action plan which should cover the entire force area. Larger forces may decide to have more than one Action Plan if they consider it appropriate for different geographical areas within the force.

We will continue to work closely with forces once the dedicated lead officers commence their roles from July 2025, setting out further detail on expectations of their ASB Action Plans, including how they will ensure they work across force boundaries where necessary.
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Alex Sobel:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the use of Uyghur slave labour in supply chains that include critical minerals. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: This Government will continue to speak up on human rights in China, including the repression of people in Xinjiang, and will continue to hold China to account.

The new Critical Minerals Strategy will help secure the supply of critical minerals vital for the UK’s economic growth and clean energy transition. The strategy will promote responsible and transparent supply chains, including through greater adoption of responsible business practices to protect local communities and the environment.

We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of the UK’s existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools to tackle forced labour in supply chains, and take action where appropriate.
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Claire Coutinho:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what proportion of total UK electricity consumption is used by businesses eligible for the British Industry Supercharger. \p Sarah Jones: The British Industry Supercharger was launched in 2024 and provides support to over 450 companies in energy intensive industries with some of the highest electricity costs.

The government estimates that support on electricity prices for EIIs in the form of the Supercharger could be worth (on average) around £24-£31 Per MegaWatt Hour (MWh) for eligible businesses.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support high street businesses in North Shropshire. \p Gareth Thomas: Revitalising our high streets is a priority for this government. We are addressing anti-social behaviour and crime, working with the banking industry to roll out 350 banking hubs, stamping out late payments, empowering communities to make the most of the vacant properties, strengthening the Post Office network and reforming the apprenticeship levy, alongside our plans to reform business rates.

We have announced a new Business Growth Service that will make it easier for businesses across the UK to get the help, support and advice they need. It will bring together existing offers including the Business Support Service, which provides tailored information, advice, guidance and signposting on any business topic, and the network of local Growth Hubs across England. The Marches Growth Hub provides businesses of all sizes and sectors across Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin with advice and support throughout the business journey.

Our forthcoming SME Strategy will set out our further plans to help businesses on the high street and beyond.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 58327 on Beer: Sales, whether he has consulted (a) small brewers and (b) independent pub landlords as part of his assessment of the beer market. \p Gareth Thomas: As part of its assessment of the beer market, the Department has engaged with a range of stakeholders, including small brewers and independent pub landlords.

The government is separately conducting a statutory review into the operation of the Pubs Code and the performance of the Pubs Code Adjudicator. Interested parties can submit their views to the call for inputs until 14 August 2025. The Pubs Code applies to large pub-owning businesses with 500 or more tied pubs in England and Wales, covering around 8,000 pubs.