Written questions by Thomas.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the visa brake on nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan on women at risk of gender-based and sexual violence.

Equality Impact Assessments have been completed in line with the Equality Act 2010 for the visa brakes on Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan.The UK takes its humanitarian, development, and conflict prevention work seriously and remains committed to supporting countries affected by conflict, instability, and poverty. In Afghanistan, the UK’s £151 million aid programme (equivalent to 13.3 billion Afghanis) provides lifesaving support to vulnerable communities, with a commitment that at least half of those reached are women and girls.The UK is committed to supporting people in Sudan, Myanmar, and neighbouring regions. The UK provides £146 million in humanitarian aid to Sudan this financial year, assisting over 2.5 million people since the conflict began in 2023. In Myanmar, the UK continues to support a more stable future for the population, providing humanitarian assistance to more than 1.4 million people in the past year and essential health services to 1.3 million. Since the 2021 military coup, the UK has supplied over £190 million in assistance to help address the country’s ongoing humanitarian crisis.As set out in the Restoring Order and Control policy statement, the Government remains committed to the introduction of capped safe and legal routes for refugees and displaced people to come to the United Kingdom. Work is underway to develop these routes, including confirming the eligibility criteria and the number of places to be made available for each new safe and legal route.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the suspension of refugee family reunion and the introduction of income-threshold requirements for family reunification on women and children.

The decision on whether to publish equality impact assessments, considered through the development of the announced asylum reforms, will be taken by Ministers once the policy development stage has concluded.The Government recognises the importance of family, including for this vulnerable group of individuals. However, as a responsible Government, we have to recognise the pressures that are being placed on public services, in part as a result of the number of people arriving under refugee family reunion.The current pressures are not sustainable and we have to take urgent action to help manage the burdens that are being felt by local authorities and public services more generally. Impacts on vulnerable individuals and equalities considerations are at the front and centre of our work. As required through the Public Sector Equality Duty, we consider equality impacts throughout the policy development process, refugee family reunion is no exception.The Government is committed to meeting its obligations and to providing effective support to ensure that victims are assisted in their recovery from their experiences of exploitation or trafficking. We are carefully considering the impact of proposed reforms on victims of trafficking and exploitation.

When her Department plans to publish equality impact assessments for new asylum reforms.

The decision on whether to publish equality impact assessments, considered through the development of the announced asylum reforms, will be taken by Ministers once the policy development stage has concluded.The Government recognises the importance of family, including for this vulnerable group of individuals. However, as a responsible Government, we have to recognise the pressures that are being placed on public services, in part as a result of the number of people arriving under refugee family reunion.The current pressures are not sustainable and we have to take urgent action to help manage the burdens that are being felt by local authorities and public services more generally. Impacts on vulnerable individuals and equalities considerations are at the front and centre of our work. As required through the Public Sector Equality Duty, we consider equality impacts throughout the policy development process, refugee family reunion is no exception.The Government is committed to meeting its obligations and to providing effective support to ensure that victims are assisted in their recovery from their experiences of exploitation or trafficking. We are carefully considering the impact of proposed reforms on victims of trafficking and exploitation.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of compliance with legal requirements in proposed asylum reforms on victims of trafficking.

The decision on whether to publish equality impact assessments, considered through the development of the announced asylum reforms, will be taken by Ministers once the policy development stage has concluded.The Government recognises the importance of family, including for this vulnerable group of individuals. However, as a responsible Government, we have to recognise the pressures that are being placed on public services, in part as a result of the number of people arriving under refugee family reunion.The current pressures are not sustainable and we have to take urgent action to help manage the burdens that are being felt by local authorities and public services more generally. Impacts on vulnerable individuals and equalities considerations are at the front and centre of our work. As required through the Public Sector Equality Duty, we consider equality impacts throughout the policy development process, refugee family reunion is no exception.The Government is committed to meeting its obligations and to providing effective support to ensure that victims are assisted in their recovery from their experiences of exploitation or trafficking. We are carefully considering the impact of proposed reforms on victims of trafficking and exploitation.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of applying the proposed immigration reforms to BNO visa holders who are already registered to vote on the electorate.

The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.We sought views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, which was open between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026. We will now carefully review and analyse all responses received and the findings will support the development of the final earned settlement model, including consideration of any potential exemptions or transitional measures. Once the final model has been decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly.Economic and equality impact assessments will be conducted on the final model and will consider the impacts on different groups and will be published in due course.In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.

Whether they will require their department and agencies to offer payroll deductions to all employees to enable them to join a credit union.

The Home Office introduced a new benefits platform in August 2025 which includes a wellbeing hub with financial education and support.At the current time the Home Office is not intending to introduce a payroll deduction service for accessing credit unions.

What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Report Fraud in responding to cases raised by hon. Members; and if she will have discussions with Report Fraud on its performance in relation to such cases.

Report Fraud replaced Action Fraud in December 2025. The new service provides improved reporting tools, enhanced victim support, and stronger analytical capability, helping to deliver a more coordinated and effective police response to fraud.As part of this transition, significant improvements are being made to performance oversight. Better management information will be available to track and monitor service performance, including the handling of cases raised by hon. Members. A new performance dashboard will support both the City of London Police and the Home Office in monitoring outcomes and identifying emerging fraud threats through reporting data.The Home Office regularly reviews the performance of Report Fraud with the City of London Police and will continue to engage with them to ensure the service is delivering improved outcomes for victims and strengthening the national response to fraud.

When she expects to (a) receive and (b) publish Part Two of the Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences.

The Government received the second and final report at the end of 2025 from Jonathan Fisher KC, Chair of the Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences.We are now carefully considering the Review’s findings and recommendations and will respond in due course.

Whether she plans to apply for UK membership of Eurodac.

The UK-EU Summit on 19 May set out a framework for future cooperation on migration issues. We are working closely with EU partners to deliver new capability as it is crucial part of our response to Illegal Migration. We will not provide a running commentary of these negotiations

How many cases of alleged trustee mismanagement of asset protection trusts were recorded in the last three years by Action Fraud in a) Scotland b) London c) Suffolk and d) In total.

The capturing of fraud reports is recorded in line with the Home Office Crime Counting Rules for fraud, which breaks fraud down into a range of codes. The information requested does not currently align to the crimes recorded in the Action Fraud data set.The Home Office is working with City of London Police to replace Action Fraud with a new and improved national police reporting service for fraud and cybercrime. The new service will include capabilities to better track threat trends and enhanced search features for the report database.

Whether Police Scotland has had discussions with her Department on its investigation into McClures Solicitors asset protection trusts.

The Public Safety Group has no role in data collection on trustee mismanagement, or in any police investigations which may or may not be going on.Matters relating to solicitor regulation or misgivings are for Ministry of Justice’s Arms Lengths Bodies.

Whether her Department holds information on the number of cases of trustee mismanagement of asset protection trusts that were investigated in each of the last three years by (a) Merseyside Police, (b) Metropolitan Police, (c) Suffolk Police, (d) the National Crime Agency and (e) the Serious Fraud Office; and what discussions she has had with Police Scotland on this matter.

The Public Safety Group has no role in data collection on trustee mismanagement, or in any police investigations which may or may not be going on.Matters relating to solicitor regulation or misgivings are for Ministry of Justice's Arms Lengths Bodies.

What steps she has taken to help increase the number of police officers in the Harrow West constituency since the end of June 2024.

The Government has launched the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. This will ensure that every community in England and Wales will have named and contactable officers dealing with local issues, and that neighbourhood teams spend the majority of their time in their communities providing visible patrols and engaging with local communities and businesses.As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, we have made £200 million available in 2025/26 to support the first steps towards delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel. Out of that funding, the Metropolitan Police Service have been allocated £45,638,456, enabling a projected growth of 420 police officers (FTE) and 50 Police Community Support Officers (FTE).We expect policing to make use of this funding to increase neighbourhood teams across every force this year. This increase in neighbourhood policing, alongside the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, will clearly demonstrate to the public that the police are dealing with local concerns, supporting more visible policing and greater public confidence. Where officers and resources are deployed, remains a local operational decision.