Written questions by Hayes.

What steps she is taking to tackle retail crime in rural communities.

Shop theft continues to increase at an unacceptable level, up 29% on year up to June 2024, with more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers to do this. We won’t stand for this.As part of the Safer Streets Mission, we will introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores. We will also end the effective immunity granted to shop theft of goods under £200, and provide over £7 million over the next three financial years to support the police tackling retail crime.These measures will apply to shop workers and retails in urban and rural communities, and this Government is clear that no matter where you live, when you report a crime, it should be properly investigated with victims having faith justice will be delivered, and criminals facing meaningful consequences

What criteria her Department plans to use to assess the effectiveness of its policy to tackle smuggling gangs involved in illegally trafficking people into the UK.

The Government will make further statements in due course regarding the ways in which progress on its key priorities will be assessed.

What steps she is taking to help support victims of domestic abuse in (a) rural and (b) remote areas.

This Government recognises that victims in rural and remote areas face particular barriers to fleeing abuse and accessing support. That is why we continue to fund specialist domestic abuse helplines for victims across England and Wales to enable everyone to access advice and support. We are already driving forward a range of activities which will support rural victims. The Victims and Prisoners Act will require local commissioners to develop joint needs assessments for victims of domestic abuse to identify and address gaps in support. Furthermore, on 24 October, the Home Secretary announced a package of reforms to improve the police response to victims of VAWG related crimes. Our new VAWG strategy to be published next year will lay out our plans for any future initiatives and research, including for victims in rural and remote areas.

What the potential cost to the public purse is for hotels that have opened to provide contingency accommodation for people seeking asylum since 5 July 2024.

The Home Office regularly publishes details of the department’s expenditure on asylum, published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Whether she has had recent discussions with her Vietnamese counterpart on illegal immigration into the UK.

Home Office Ministers and officials are in regular communication with a wide range of international partner countries working together to tackle organised immigration crime.

Whether she has had recent discussions with her Turkish counterpart on illegal immigration into the UK.

Home Office Ministers and officials are in regular communication with a wide range of international partner countries working together to tackle organised immigration crime.

How many irregular migrants have received a waiver from paying the immigration health surcharge in each year since 2017.

Information on Fee Waiver outcomes is published as part of the Migration Transparency statistics; however it is not possible to disaggregate Fee Waivers granted to irregular migrants from the data. The Migration Transparency data can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-dataData is not held on whether individuals receiving refunds are regular or irregular migrants. The IHS refund is linked to the outcome of an application, rather than the status of a migrant.

How many irregular migrants have received a refund for paying the immigration health surcharge since 2017.

Information on Fee Waiver outcomes is published as part of the Migration Transparency statistics; however it is not possible to disaggregate Fee Waivers granted to irregular migrants from the data. The Migration Transparency data can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-dataData is not held on whether individuals receiving refunds are regular or irregular migrants. The IHS refund is linked to the outcome of an application, rather than the status of a migrant.

How many applications for gangmaster licences have been refused in the last five years.

The annual number of applications for gangmaster licences that have been refused are published in the Gangmaster and Labour Abuse Authority’s Annual Reports and Accounts. Annual accounts have been published up to and including the 2022-23 financial year. From the available published data, the total number of refused applications since 2019/20 up to and including 2022/23 is 42.

How many children have been investigated for non-crime hate crimes in the last five years.

The Home Office does not centrally hold or collate information on the number of children who have been investigated by police forces for non-crime hate incidents.The statutory Non-Crime Hate Incidents Code of Practice makes it clear that a child who is subject of an non-crime hate incident report may have lower appreciation of the impact of their words or behaviour, thus recording their personal data may be a disproportionate response.

If she will collate the number of non-crime hate incidents recorded by police forces in each of the last five years.

The Home Office does not currently centrally hold or collate information on the number of non-crime hate incidents recorded by police forces.

How many properties her Department has rented for the temporary housing of asylum seekers awaiting a decision on their claim for asylum since 5 July 2024.

As was the case under the previous government, the Home Office does not rent properties; it discharges its statutory duties for accommodating destitute asylum seekers through a contract with three main accommodation providers, which was agreed by previous administrations. The providers are responsible for sourcing and acquiring accommodation to meet demand and the estate is subject to daily change.

How many and what proportion of asylum seekers being accommodated in hotels are awaiting a decision on their application by (a) nationality, (b) sex and (c) age range.

Data on the number of asylum seekers in receipt of support by nationality, can be found within the Asy_D09 tab for our most recent stats release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab) (opens in a new tab).

What estimate her Department has made of how many illegal cigarettes were smuggled into the UK in 2023.

The transparency data showing the total amount of illegal cigarettes seized by Border Force in 2023 is available at the following page:Border Force Transparency 2023Qty of Cigarettes (sticks)Q1 156,104,848Q2 197,641,347Q3 259,625,932Q4 210,205,139Total 823,577,266

How many foreign nationals have been refused visas because of criminal convictions in their home countries in each of the last five years.

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on visas refused are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset. However, this information is not broken down by reason for refusal. Further information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates up to the end of June 2024.

What is the total amount paid to (a) Serco, (b) Clearsprings and (c) Mears since 2019 for contracts to provide housing for asylum seekers.

Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system, and details are considered to be commercially confidential. The total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

How many police officers are employed in neighbourhood policing in Lincolnshire.

The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the primary function of police officers, as at 31 March each year, in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.Table F1 of the data tables accompanying the publication provides the number of officers in “Neighbourhood Policing” roles, by Police Force Area, as at 31 March 2024.

Whether her Department has provided funding to Hope Not Hate since 5 July 2024.

I refer the Hon Member to my response to PQ 10945.

What steps she has taken with relevant authorities to reduce shop lifting in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Shoplifting increased at an unacceptable level under the previous government, and we have seen more and more offenders using violence and abuse against shopworkers. We will not stand for this. Everybody has a right to feel safe on the job.To that end, this Government will end the effective immunity, introduced by the previous Government, granted to low level shoplifting of goods under £200, and introduce a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

What the total (a) amount and (b) value was of Class A drugs coming into the UK that were seized at the borders in the last five years.

The latest transparency data showing the total amount of Class A drugs seized by Border Force across the last five years is available at the following pages:Seizures of drugs in England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Border Force transparency data: Q1 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Border Force transparency data: Q2 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The statistics below are taken from the Q2 2024 transparency data. These cannot be combined into a single figure due to the different units of measurement, so a breakdown of each drug is provided. Class A Drugs by Year2018/192019/202020/212021/222022/232023/24TotalCocaine (KG8,886.733,757.519,475.4917,096.7215,222.726,692.5281,131.67Crack (KG)0.0334.80.060.413.426.4345.15Heroin (KG)428.462,210.621,812.281,117.22659.94327.056555.57LSD (Dose 000s)52.720.76105.8630.4129.554.68243.96MDMA (Dose 000s)1,912.111,390.221,025.98453.811,390.171,227.086,172.29Methadone (Dose 000s)N/AN/A0.181.280.20.392.05Morphine (Dose 000s)0.351.072.520.421.132.938.42Fentanyl (KG)N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A0.020.02 Border Force does not estimate, disclose, or publish the value of drugs seized.