Written questions by Lockhart.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending statutory guidance to clarify the intent of section 75 of the Crime and Policing Bill on the reporting of abuse of 13-16 year olds that appears consensual.

When recommending the introduction of a mandatory reporting duty to government, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recognised that in limited circumstances, a different approach may sometimes be necessary when considering sexual activity between teenagers (where a reporter has no wider concerns about the situation).However, sexual activity under the age of consent is illegal and the Government does not condone underage sex.Section 75 of the Bill is informed by the Inquiry's consideration of this issue. Guidance will be published to accompany the duty which will make clear that sexual relationships involving teenagers under the age of consent should not be met by inaction or indifference, as well as setting out appropriate avenues for advice and support.

If she will take steps to publish guidance to clarify the legal position of children aged 13 to 16 under section 75 of the Crime and Policing Bill.

When recommending the introduction of a mandatory reporting duty to government, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recognised that in limited circumstances, a different approach may sometimes be necessary when considering sexual activity between teenagers (where a reporter has no wider concerns about the situation).However, sexual activity under the age of consent is illegal and the Government does not condone underage sex.Section 75 of the Bill is informed by the Inquiry's consideration of this issue. Guidance will be published to accompany the duty which will make clear that sexual relationships involving teenagers under the age of consent should not be met by inaction or indifference, as well as setting out appropriate avenues for advice and support.

With reference to the Casey review, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that victims aged 13 to 16 are adequately protected under section 75 of the Crime and Policing Bill.

When recommending the introduction of a mandatory reporting duty to government, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recognised that in limited circumstances, a different approach may sometimes be necessary when considering sexual activity between teenagers (where a reporter has no wider concerns about the situation).However, sexual activity under the age of consent is illegal and the Government does not condone underage sex.Section 75 of the Bill is informed by the Inquiry's consideration of this issue. Guidance will be published to accompany the duty which will make clear that sexual relationships involving teenagers under the age of consent should not be met by inaction or indifference, as well as setting out appropriate avenues for advice and support.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of immigration enforcement operations in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.

UK wide enforcement of immigration law is critical to a functioning immigration system and effectively implementing the Government’s policies. As the public would expect, we continually review and evolve the different methods we use to prevent illegal migration, ensure compliance and enforce the UK’s immigration laws.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) prevent illegal migration into Northern Ireland via the Common Travel Area.

The UK and Ireland have a close and collaborative working relationship on a range of issues, including migration and border security. That collaboration includes a joint commitment to protect the Common Travel Area (CTA) from abuse while preserving the rights of British and Irish citizens.Everyone entering the UK, regardless of where they enter from, is required to meet UK’s immigration requirements. Anyone identified attempting to circumvent UK border controls is liable to be detained and, if they are not lawfully present within the UK, removed.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle online radicalisation in Northern Ireland; and whether she plans to introduce region-specific counter-extremism initiatives.

This Government is committed to tackling those who spread views that divide communities and inflame tensions across the entirety of the UK.Alongside the Online Safety Act, the Home Office encourages industry partners to increase action to tackle online content used to radicalise, recruit and incite terrorism by providing threat assessment, insight and support.We also work closely with like-minded international partners both bilaterally and through multilateral fora such as the Global internet Forum to Counter Terrorism to collaborate on tackling online radicalisation, and influence and align policies where possible.In addition, Youth Diversion Orders (YDOs) are being introduced in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide a new counter-terrorism tool for police to manage the risks posed by young people involved in terrorism-related activity, including online. The new legislation will apply across the whole of the UK.

How many cases of (a) suspected and (b) confirmed illegal immigration have been recorded in Northern Ireland in the past five years.

The Home Office does not make estimates of the number of illegal immigrants in the UK.Information about the number of illegal migrants in Northern Ireland or using the Northern Ireland border is not available in our published data.Our published national data on enforcement is available at the following link and includes data on detected irregular arrivals to the UK: Immigration system statistics, year ending March 2025 - GOV.UK.

What assessment her Department has made of the impact of end-to-end encryption on the ability of law enforcement agencies to (a) investigate and (b) prevent online child sexual exploitation.

We have been consistent that the increasing moves to end-to-end-encryption (E2EE) on private messaging spaces, without sufficient safeguards to maintain proactive detection of child sexual abuse (CSA) will have a significant impact on our ability to keep children safe.In May this year, the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) published their Cyber Tipline report for the year of 2024. This report indicated that globally there were 7 million fewer incidents of suspected child sexual abuse material reported in 2024 compared with 2023, which was partly attributed to the increased rollout of E2EE.The Government is implementing the Online Safety Act (OSA) regulatory framework, to ensure that online platforms do more to protect their users from illegal content on their services. The Government is clear that platform design, including E2EE does not exempt platforms from their obligations to protect children from CSA.The Government is committed to using all available levers, such as the Online Safety Act, to ensure children are protected online, and we will not hesitate to go further if necessary.

What estimate she has made of the number of illegal migrants that entered the UK using the Northern Ireland border in each of the last five years.

The Home Office does not make estimates of the number of illegal immigrants in the UK.Information about the number of illegal migrants in Northern Ireland or using the Northern Ireland border is not available in our published data.Our published national data on enforcement is available at the following link and includes data on detected irregular arrivals to the UK: Immigration system statistics, year ending March 2025 - GOV.UK.

What recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of cross-border drug trafficking between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland; and what steps she is taking to disrupt such activity.

The National Crime Agency’s latest National Strategic Assessment notes the Common Travel Area, and particularly the routes between Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Great Britain, continue to be exploited by criminals for the purposes of serious and organised crime including the smuggling of illicit commodities. It is highly likely that organised crime groups are taking advantage of additional ferry routes between mainland Europe and Ireland in order to avoid detection at the UK border.Since the beginning of 2023, there has been a notable increase in seizures of cocaine in excess of 100kg at Irish ports from ferry routes originating from within the European Union.UK law enforcement organisations, including the Police Service Northern Ireland, NCA and Border Force work with An Garda Síochána, to target those who might attempt to smuggle illicit drugs between the Republic of Ireland and the UK, including via the sea.

Whether she has had discussions with (a) O2, (b) Vodafone, (c) EE and (d) other mobile network providers on tackling (i) SMS and (ii) calls-based scams; and whether she has plans to introduce stronger safeguards to protect consumers from mobile fraud.

We work extremely closely with mobile network providers, regulators, law enforcement and consumer groups to close the vulnerabilities that criminals exploit, and stop scam messages and calls reaching the UK public.We are currently developing a second Telecommunications Fraud Charter to build on previous success, and go further in identifying, preventing and disrupting this type of fraud.

How many asylum seekers have been housed in Upper Bann constituency in the last five years.

The Home Office publishes data on a quarterly basis on the number of asylum seekers in supported accommodation, broken down by local authority and located within Asy_D11 tab at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

If she will list her Department's integration schemes available for asylum seekers in Upper Bann constituency.

There are no integration schemes for asylum seekers as integration support is only available once refugee status is granted. As Integration is an area of devolved competence, integration support available to refugees in Northern Ireland is determined by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

What steps her Department is taking to (a) detect and (b) prevent illegal immigration in Northern Ireland.

The UK and Ireland have a close and collaborative working relationship on a range of issues, including migration and border security. That collaboration includes a joint commitment to protect the Common Travel Area (CTA) from abuse while preserving the rights of British and Irish citizens.Everyone entering the UK, regardless of where they enter from, is required to meet the UK’s immigration requirements. Anyone identified attempting to circumvent UK border controls is liable to be detained and, if they are not lawfully present within the UK, removed.

What are the primary countries of origin for legal migrants in Upper Bann constituency in the last five years.

The requested information is not held in a reportable format. To provide this information would require a manual review of case records, which could only be done for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

What steps her Department is taking to monitor the compliance of visa conditions in Upper Bann constituency.

The Home Office takes the monitoring of visa compliance seriously and has a range of measures in place to ensure individuals adhere to the conditions of their stay in the UK. Immigration Enforcement (IE) has dedicated regional teams based across the UK, including in Northern Ireland, who are responsible for identifying and taking appropriate enforcement action against those who breach immigration rules. These teams use a combination of intelligence-led operations, data analysis, and compliance visits to monitor adherence to visa conditions. Where non-compliance is identified, action may include curtailment of leave, removal from the UK, or prosecution where appropriate.

What is the average processing time for asylum applications for people based in Upper Bann constituency; and how many applications have been refused in the last five years.

The average time taken to process a substantive decision is not currently available from published data.However, the Home Office does publish data on the number of asylum claims awaiting an initial decision by duration in table Asy_D03 of the ‘Asylum detailed datasets’, as part of the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’.Additionally, data on the percentage of applications processed within 6 months is published in table ASY_01 of the ‘Immigration and Protection’ data of the Migration Transparency Data collection.The Home Office publishes data on asylum claims that have been refused at initial decision in Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum detailed datasets’. The latest available data relates to the year ending March 2025.

How many people breached their visa conditions in Upper Bann constituency in the last five years; and how many people were subsequently deported.

The requested information is not held on a constituency level and could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost. Our published national data on enforcement is available at the following link and includes data on returns from the UK: Immigration system statistics, year ending March 2025 - GOV.UK.

How many legal migrants have settled in Upper Bann constituency in the past five years.

The requested information is not held in a reportable format. To provide this information would require a manual review of case records, which could only be done for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

How many asylum seekers are being housed in Houses in Multiple Occupation in Northern Ireland.

Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including accommodation type, 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. In terms of the accommodation of asylum seekers in Northern Ireland, it remains the case that only those claiming asylum in Northern Ireland are accommodated there.