Written questions by Snowden.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 May 2025 to Question 49682 on Deportation, what estimate she has made of the number of those 24,000 people that entered the UK illegally.

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.More detailed published data on returns activity is published in the ‘Immigration System Statistics quarterly release’. Data on the number of foreign national offender returns from the UK can be found in Ret_D03 of the ‘Returns detailed datasets’ and enforced and voluntary returns of small boat arrivals can be found in Ret_06 of the ‘Returns summary tables’. This data goes up to March 2025.

What her policy is on recording the (a) DNA and (b) fingerprints of migrants who arrive in the UK illegally.

As per the practice under successive governments, the Home Office collects biometric data, in the form of facial images and fingerprints, from all people who enter the UK illegally where they are aged over five, for the purpose of verifying identity and evaluating risk to public safety.

What steps she is taking to reduce violence against women and girls in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

The scale of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in our country is intolerable and this Government is treating it as the national emergency that it is. We are going further than ever before to deliver a cross-government transformative approach, which will be underpinned by a new VAWG Strategy later this year.In May 2025, we announced a £19.9m investment to provide vital support to victims of VAWG and increase awareness to prevent these horrific crimes. This includes over £6 million for national helplines supporting victims of domestic abuse, 'honour'-based abuse, revenge porn and stalking, and £2.5m on prevention and early intervention.Specifically in Lancashire, we have allocated £442,000 to Lancashire PCC for perpetrator funding. PCCs are best placed to understand their local communities and providers, and to commission appropriate support to meet that need.Lancashire PCC currently receives funding from the Home Office’s Domestic Abuse and Stalking Perpetrator Intervention Fund. Using this funding, they deliver the Drive Project, which works with high-risk, serial domestic abuse perpetrators who are deemed to cause the most harm, in a few local authority areas.At the national level, we have embedded domestic abuse specialists and dedicated domestic abuse teams in the first five 999 control rooms under Raneem’s Law, launched the new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in selected police forces and courts and announced a new package of measures to tackle spiking, including committing to introducing a new criminal offence for spiking and piloting new spiking training for bar staff.Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing a range of legislative measures to improve the response to sex offender management and stalking. Under the Bill, the police will be given new powers to issue a notice prohibiting registered sex offenders who pose a risk from changing their name without prior authorisation. Other measures include requiring registered sex offenders to provide advance notice before entering premises where children are present, and improving the management of stalkers. This includes statutory guidance for the police in releasing identifying information about online stalking perpetrators to victims as part of the “right to know”.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2025, to Question 62738 on Undocumented Workers: Sharing Economy, how the public can report suspected asylum seekers and irregular migrants working in the gig economy.

We encourage members of the public to report suspected immigration crime and location where they believe illegal working is taking place They can report this to the Home Office directly by visiting: https://www.gov.uk/report-immigration-crime. The public can also call any of the following numbers to report an immigration crime or illegal working anonymously. Immigration Enforcement hotline 0300 123 7000 Crimestoppers www.crimestoppers-uk.org 0800 555111

Whether her Department takes fingerprints from people arriving into the UK illegally.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 18 June to Question 58584.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 July 2025, to Question 62738 on Undocumented Workers: Sharing Economy, whether spot checks are carried out in suspected hot spots of illegal migrants working in the gig economy.

All enforcement activity is intelligence-led, to ensure the most efficient and productive use of resources.

What steps her Department is taking to tackle county lines gangs operating in Lancashire.

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. That is why we are investing more than £43m this financial year (25/26) in the County Lines Programme, to target exploitative drug dealing gangs whilst breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade.While the majority of lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, West Yorkshire Police and Greater Manchester Police, county lines is a national issue which affects all forces.That is why, through the County Lines Programme, we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme taskforces regularly conduct joint operations with other forces, and we have established a dedicated fund which provides local forces with additional funding to tackle county lines, including Lancashire Police.The NCLCC also regularly coordinates weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, which all police forces take part in. The most recent of these took place 23-29 June 2025 and resulted in 241 lines closed, as well as 1,965 arrests, 1,179 individuals safe-guarded and 501 weapons seized.

What recent estimate her Department has made of the number of people engaged in county lines activity.

According to the NCLCC’s latest Strategic Threat and Risk Assessment, 13,084 individuals were identified by the police as linked to County Lines between April 2023 and March 2024.These individuals had a variety of roles, including offenders, drug users and victims.

What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on tackling county lines gangs in schools.

The Home Office works closely with the Department for Education to tackle knife crime and the criminal exploitation of children.Ministers from both Departments met recently for a targeted conversation on tackling child criminal exploitation and county lines.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) help improve (i) public confidence and (ii) perceptions of fairness in policing and (b) measure progress on the implementation of the measures set out in the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.

This Government’s Safer Streets mission is focused on restoring neighbourhood policing, halving serious violence and rebuilding trust and confidence in policing and the criminal justice system.The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee was developed through close working with the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) and other policing leads, and we continue to work closely with them to ensure it is delivered across all police forces in England and Wales.The Home Office has also worked with the College of Policing and the NPCC to develop a performance framework which outlines to forces and the public the performance measures which are being assessed to monitor the progress of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.The framework is attached at the following link Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee performance framework - GOV.UK

Whether he plans to publish force-level recruitment figures for neighbourhood policing roles.

The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will deliver 13,000 additional policing personnel into neighbourhood teams by the end of this parliament, including 3000 additional neighbourhood officers by Spring 2026. All forces have agreed their delivery plans, and force-level recruitment projections are published here: Neighbourhood policing grant allocations and projections: 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK..The number of neighbourhood police personnel as of 31 March 2025 will be published in the Home Office’s upcoming biannual ‘Police Workforce Statistics, England and Wales’ publication. This release will provide a comprehensive overview of force-level workforce composition.We will publish progress against neighbourhood policing force delivery plans in due course.

How many additional (a) neighbourhood police officers, (b) police community support officers and (c) special constables have been recruited since the start of this Parliament.

The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will deliver 13,000 additional policing personnel into neighbourhood teams by the end of this parliament, including 3000 additional neighbourhood officers by Spring 2026. All forces have agreed their delivery plans, and force-level recruitment projections are published here: Neighbourhood policing grant allocations and projections: 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK..The number of neighbourhood police personnel as of 31 March 2025 will be published in the Home Office’s upcoming biannual ‘Police Workforce Statistics, England and Wales’ publication. This release will provide a comprehensive overview of force-level workforce composition.We will publish progress against neighbourhood policing force delivery plans in due course.

How many police forces have (a) appointed a dedicated antisocial behaviour lead, (b) established an antisocial behaviour action plan and (c) increased patrols in hotspot areas.

Tackling anti-social behaviour and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission. The Government’s Plan for Change details our commitment to reduce ASB, including that every police force in England and Wales will have a dedicated lead officer by the end of July, who will work with communities to develop a local ASB action plan.I am pleased to confirm all dedicated ASB lead officers are now in place and will be developing local action plans as soon as possible.We are also delivering on our commitment to restore and strengthen neighbourhood policing, ensuring thousands of additional police officers and police community support officers are out patrolling in our town centres and communities to make the streets safer. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, £200 million has been allocated to forces for 2025/26 to support this commitment. Lancashire Constabulary has been allocated £5,090,296 and will deliver an increase of 53 police officers and 30 PCSOs by 31 March 2026.The Home Office is also providing £66.3millon funding in 2025-26 to forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime, serious violence and anti-social behaviour. Lancashire Constabulary will receive £1,713,512 of this funding.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of illegally working while awaiting an asylum claim have on the outcome of that claim.

Illegal working is a criminal offence, and it is important for asylum seekers to adhere to the rules on the right to work in the UK. Evidence of illegal working will routinely be taken into account when assessing an asylum seeker's claim.

Whether the (a) selling and (b) renting of user profiles to gig economy platforms is a criminal offence.

If such actions are done to facilitate illegal working, yes.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 June to Question 61581 on Undocumented Migrants: Lancashire, which stakeholders in Lancashire have been consulted in the last (a) month and (b) 12 months.

Our engagement is undertaken through a number of regular local and regional forums that local authority partners, including officials within Lancashire, are invited to attend.

What steps she is taking to ensure that (a) retail staff and (b) police officers are aware of the new offence of assaulting a retail worker.

Through our Safer Streets Mission and wider reforms, we are determined to tackle crime and restore public confidence in policing. The Home Office has published a performance framework to monitor delivery of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, including reducing crime and improving public perceptions of crime and anti-social behaviour. The framework is published here: Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee performance framework - GOV.UKWork being done by Opal, the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), directly supports the aims of the Safer Streets Mission.We are providing over £7 million over the next three financial years to these organisations to help them tackle retail crime.This includes an agreed delivery plan and Key Performance Indicators, and ongoing monitoring throughout the period of the grant. An evaluation will be undertaken to ensure the aims of the funding are delivered. This will include evaluation on how it has assisted in tackling retail crime, including serious and organised retail crime Opal is overseen by the NPCC lead for Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime, Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman,The Crime and Policing Bill, which includes the offence of assaulting a retail worker, is progressing through Parliament and was introduced to the House of Lords on 19 June. We will continue to work with police and the retail sector through the Retail Crime Forum to ensure that, after Royal Assent, everyone is aware of the new legislation.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to Question 60629 on Undocumented Migrants: Lancashire, if she will make an estimate of the cost of answering that Question.

The Guide to Parliamentary Work, which is published online and available here, sets out that there is an advisory cost limit known as the disproportionate cost threshold. The current disproportionate cost threshold is £850; the limit does not apply to oral questions.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to Question 60645 on Shoplifting: Lancashire, what role the National Business Crime Centre will play in the implementation of the Safer Streets Mission.

Through our Safer Streets Mission and wider reforms, we are determined to tackle crime and restore public confidence in policing. The Home Office has published a performance framework to monitor delivery of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, including reducing crime and improving public perceptions of crime and anti-social behaviour. The framework is published here: Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee performance framework - GOV.UKWork being done by Opal, the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), directly supports the aims of the Safer Streets Mission.We are providing over £7 million over the next three financial years to these organisations to help them tackle retail crime.This includes an agreed delivery plan and Key Performance Indicators, and ongoing monitoring throughout the period of the grant. An evaluation will be undertaken to ensure the aims of the funding are delivered. This will include evaluation on how it has assisted in tackling retail crime, including serious and organised retail crime Opal is overseen by the NPCC lead for Serious Organised Acquisitive Crime, Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman,The Crime and Policing Bill, which includes the offence of assaulting a retail worker, is progressing through Parliament and was introduced to the House of Lords on 19 June. We will continue to work with police and the retail sector through the Retail Crime Forum to ensure that, after Royal Assent, everyone is aware of the new legislation.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of (a) asylum seekers and (b) irregular migrants without the right to work in the UK working in the gig economy.

The Home Office does not hold an estimate of the number of people working illegally in the gig economy. The recent joint work between the Office for National Statistics and the Home Office explains the complexities - Measuring illegal migration: our current view - Office for National Statistics.