Written questions by Hayes.

Whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have met the Runnymede Trust charity since July 5 2024.

All relevant meetings attended by ministers, special advisers and senior officials are declared in the normal way in the department’s quarterly transparency releases.

What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of levels of neighbourhood policing in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

As part of the Government’s Safer Streets mission, the Home Secretary has made a clear commitment to strengthen neighbourhood policing through the introduction of a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.This includes getting thousands of neighbourhood police personnel back on the beat, ensuring local people have a named officer who they can turn to when things go wrong, and cracking down on the street crime, shop theft and anti-social behaviour which has made communities feel less safe for far too long.

What steps she is taking to reduce levels of drug offences in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Reducing drug-related crime is a key priority for this Government and is part of our mission to take back our streets and drive down crime and antisocial behaviour.An additional £267 million in drug and alcohol treatment is being invested into services this year to improve quality and capacity, which has the potential to reduce crime and reoffending.As part of the Governments work to reduce drug-related harms and crime, every area in England has a dedicated Combating Drugs Partnership (CDP). In Lincolnshire, the Government has supported the establishment of a Lincolnshire Drug and Alcohol Partnership, to help bring together key local partners to address drug related-crime, drug use and drug deaths, in line with local context and need. Between March 2022 and August 2024 there has been an increase of 248 treatment places in Lincolnshire.Broader work across the county to reduce drug offences included targeting drug treatment referrals at offenders. As well as continuing work with the National Police Chiefs Council to increase police referrals into drug treatment.We are committed to reducing drug offences in supply of illicit drugs. Recent police activity on County Lines has resulted in over 5,100 line drug dealing line closures, over 15,600 arrests and over 8,000 safeguarding referrals. In addition, we are working continuously to disrupt the organised criminal gangs behind the importation and supply of drugs in the UK.

Whether her Department has provided funding to the Runnymede Trust in the last ten years.

The Home Office has provided no funding to the Runnymede Trust in the last ten years.

What steps she is taking to tackle county lines operations in Lincolnshire.

County lines is the most violent and exploitative model of drug distribution nationally, and a harmful form of Child Criminal Exploitation. The Government’s manifesto included a commitment to introduce a new offence of criminal exploitation of children, to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime.While the the majority of lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, and Greater Manchester Police, county lines is a national issue which is why, through the Home Office-funded County Lines Programme, we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre 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 Lincolnshire Police.Since the County Lines Programme was launched in 2019, police activity has resulted in over 5,100 line closures, over 15,600 arrests and over 8,000 safeguarding referrals.

If she will ask the Migration Advisory Committee to add consideration of population growth to their ongoing work.

The Migration Advisory Committee are an independent body who advise the Government primarily on the labour market, however they can consider issues linked to population such as housing and public services when providing recommendations.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding levels for Lincolnshire Police.

This Government is committed to ensuring that the police have the resources they need to tackle crime effectively.Lincolnshire Police’s funding will be up to £164.3m in 2024-25. This is in addition to £1.4m provided for the 2024-25 pay award which has been allocated outside of the police funding settlement.Funding beyond this year, including for Lincolnshire Police, will be confirmed in due course following the upcoming Spending Review.

When she plans to publish the findings of the consultation entitled Controls on the use of crossbows on public safety grounds, published on 14 February 2024.

A call for evidence on strengthening controls on crossbows on public safety grounds ran from 14 February to 9 April 2024. It tested ideas for whether there should be some form of licensing regime that would provide further controls on the use, ownership and supply of crossbows.The responses have been reviewed and we are considering whether further controls on crossbows need to be introduced. We will publish the Government’s response to the call for evidence, alongside a summary of the responses received, in due course.

How many people have been granted visas to work in the United Kingdom in the last three years without passing criminal record checks.

The Home Office undertakes thorough checks to prevent serious criminals from entering the UK. Overseas Criminal Record checks are conducted on all nationals within the Skilled Worker route along with other security checks to ensure that those entering the UK for the purpose of employment are suitable to do so. We are unaware of any cases whereby an individual who has not met our requirements for suitability has been granted leave and subsequently entered the UK.

If she will publish guidance on safe access buffer zones around abortion clinics.

This Government’s priority has been to commence Safe Access Zones as quickly as possible. The College of Policing and the Crown Prosecution Service will produce guidance for the police and prosecutors.

If she will publish guidance on the application of safe access zones around abortion clinics to private property within such zones.

This Government’s priority has been to commence Safe Access Zones as quickly as possible. The College of Policing and the Crown Prosecution Service will produce guidance for the police and prosecutors.

How many and what proportion of asylum claims her Department has processed since 5 July 2024.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum claims, initial decisions and asylum claims awaiting an initial decision is published in tables Asy_D01, Asy_D02 and Asy_D03 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks.The latest data relates to year ending June 2024. Data for July to September 2024 will be published on 28 November 2024.

How many hotels have started housing asylum seekers awaiting a decision on whether they will be granted refugee status since 5 July 2024.

The Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly. This includes clearing the backlog to reduce demand on our accommodation estate and ending the use of hotels over time.

What assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of farm machinery theft in the last five years.

The Government recognises the importance of tackling rural crime and the impact stolen farm machinery can have on businesses. We are committed to safeguarding rural communities, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing, and stronger laws to prevent farm theft and fly-tippers.We will implement the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023, which aims to prevent the theft and re-sale of high-value equipment, particularly for use in an agricultural setting.

Whether her Department has made an estimate of how many polygamous marriages are valid in the UK.

The Home Office does not collect data on polygamous marriages

Whether Ministers in her Department have met the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change since 5 July 2024.

Meetings are regularly published in our quarterly transparency returns.

What recent estimate her Department has made of how many people are living in the UK illegally.

By its very nature, it is not possible to know the exact size of the illegal population, or the number of people who arrive illegally, and so the Home Office does not seek to make any official estimates of the illegal population. In June 2019, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published a note on ‘measuring illegal migration’.The Home Office does publish statistics on detected irregular arrivals to the UK as part of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK’ quarterly statistics release. However, this does not indicate the number of irregular migrants currently in the UK.

How many people have been deported from the United Kingdom for convictions related to grooming in the last five years.

The Home Office publishes statistics on the returns of foreign national offenders by nationality and year. These returns are published in the Returns Detailed Datasets, Year Ending June 2024, which are available at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The published statistics refer to enforced returns which include deportations, as well as cases where a person has breached UK immigration laws, and those removed under other administrative and illegal entry powers that have declined to leave voluntarily We are committed to delivering justice for victims and safer streets for our communities. Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will pursue their deportation, and they will be swiftly removed from the country.