Written questions by Hayes.

What steps she is taking to stop the illegal importation of crossbows.

The Government is actively considering the introduction of further controls around crossbows. This follows a call for evidence on strengthening controls on crossbows on public safety grounds which ran from 14 February to 9 April 2024.The call for evidence paper 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 including whether sellers should be licensed in some way. The responses have been reviewed and we will publish the Government’s response to the call for evidence shortly, which will include what action we intend to take.It is an offence, under the Crossbows Act 1987, for anyone under the age of 18 to purchase a crossbow or parts of a crossbow. The Government is taking action to strengthen the law on sales and delivery including from abroad. Measures currently in the Crime and Policing Bill will make it an offence for a delivery business, delivering a crossbow or parts of a crossbow to a residential premises on behalf of a seller outside of the United Kingdom, to hand the package containing the crossbow to someone other than the purchaser and to confirm, through checking an identity document as prescribed and provided by the purchaser, that they are aged 18 or over.

What steps is she taking to prevent irregular migrants who have been removed under the UK-France Agreement on the Prevention of Dangerous Journeys, published on 5 August 2025, from returning to the UK.

As of 20 October, 42 returns have taken place under the exchange agreement. Anyone who re-enters illegally may face immediate detention and, where appropriate, we will seek to expedite removal. This will not count as a new removal in the reciprocal scheme. We continue close cooperation with France to strengthen border security and disrupt criminal gangs.

If she will make it her policy to direct police forces to instruct them to scrap the recording of all non-crime hate incidents.

This Government has been clear that the police should focus on tackling real crime and policing the streets, and that a consistent and common-sense approach must be taken with non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs).That is why the Home Secretary has asked the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing to expedite its review of NCHIs which began earlier this year. The review, which is ongoing, is considering the recording of information that has not yet reached the criminal threshold, but which may still be useful for the purposes of monitoring community tensions and keeping the public safe. It is also considering the fundamental right of freedom of expression and recent court rulings in this area.The Home Office is working closely with the NPCC and the College as they further develop their findings. We look forward to receiving the final recommendations of this review, and to working with forces to ensure they have the clarity they need to focus on keeping our communities safe whilst protecting free speech.

What measures her Department has in place to continue to run critical services in the event of a major internet outage.

The Home Office has in place a range of measures to continue to run critical services in the event of major internet outages.This includes critical incident, crisis and business continuity plans depending on the nature of the outage and what is impacted. It would not be appropriate to document the specific detail of those measures.

How many full time equivalent employees at the National Crime Agency are working on cases relating to group-based child sexual exploitation.

The NCA is helping to tackle the heinous crime of Group Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse through its work overseeing Operation Beaconport in collaboration with policing and conducting Operation Stovewood on behalf of South Yorkshire Police. Resource allocation is rightfully a matter for the NCA as an operationally independent organisation.Operation Beaconport, which has already begun, is part of the government’s response to recommendations from Baroness Casey’s Independent Audit and will enable us to ensure that past failures are addressed, justice is delivered, best practice is shared, and that we equip the system to deal with complex cases effectively.Operation Stovewood is the single largest law enforcement investigation into non-familial child sexual exploitation and abuse in the UK. The operation is paid for by South Yorkshire, who are supported by the department through Police Special Grant for this operation.

Whether people temporarily residing at immigration removal centres are entitled to receive free (a) English language and (b) other classes.

As set out in the Detention Centre Rules 2001 immigration removal centres (IRCs) provide secure but humane accommodation for detained persons in a relaxed regime with as much freedom of movement and association as possible, consistent with maintaining a safe and secure environment.Rule 17 sets out that activities have to meet recreational and intellectual needs of detained individuals and relief of boredom, this includes arrangements for taking part in educational activities. The published Detention Centre Operating Standards sets out a requirement for educational classes in English language and contractually our IRC suppliers are required to deliver this provision.

Whether (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers in her Department have met with abortion providers since July 2024.

Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations and individuals are published by departments quarterly in arrears on their departmental pages on gov.uk. The most recent data - for the period April 2025 to June 2025 - was published on 25 September.Special Advisers are required to comply with the Special Adviser Code of Conduct at all times and are required to make declarations on meetings with senior media figures in line with published transparency guidance.

Whether people temporarily residing at immigration removal centres are entitled to receive spending money.

The Home Office publish quarterly data on immigration detention statistics. This can be found on the gov.uk website at: Immigration Enforcement data: Q2 2025 - GOV.UK. Data on the number of adult males entering immigration removal centres (IRC) by year is provided in table ‘Det_D01’ and the number of people in detention (at end of period) is provided in ‘Det_D02’.A weekly allowance of £5 for individuals detained in IRCs was introduced prior to 2006 to enable purchases of additional food and other items from the IRC shop.

What proportion of people who resided temporarily at immigration removal centres in (a) 2022, (b) 2023 and (c) 2024 were male adults.

The Home Office publish quarterly data on immigration detention statistics. This can be found on the gov.uk website at: Immigration Enforcement data: Q2 2025 - GOV.UK. Data on the number of adult males entering immigration removal centres (IRC) by year is provided in table ‘Det_D01’ and the number of people in detention (at end of period) is provided in ‘Det_D02’.A weekly allowance of £5 for individuals detained in IRCs was introduced prior to 2006 to enable purchases of additional food and other items from the IRC shop.

What recent discussions she has had with (a) local authorities and (b) communities in Lincolnshire on relocation plans for asylum seekers.

The Home Office continues to work with a range of stakeholders including in Lincolnshire, to fulfil our statutory obligation to support and accommodate destitute asylum seekers.We are also working to deliver our commitment to reduce the overall cost of asylum accommodation, including ending the use of hotels, by the end of this Parliament. To achieve this, we will look at a range of more appropriate sites like disused accommodation, industrial and ex-military sites so that we can reduce the impact on communities across the UK.Home Office officials are working closely with local authorities, property partners and across-government so that we can accelerate delivery. Decisions on the use of alternative asylum accommodation sites will be made on a site-by-site basis, and we will continue to work closely with local authorities and in compliance with published policy.

What steps she is taking to improve the effectiveness of neighbourhood policing in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Neighbourhood policing is the bedrock of the British policing model. Every community deserves visible, pro-active and accessible neighbourhood policing with officers tackling the issues that matter to them.As part of the neighbourhood policing guarantee, every neighbourhood across England and Wales now has named, contactable officers dedicated to addressing the issues facing their communities, including in Lincolnshire. Police forces also must make sure that neighbourhood policing teams spend the majority of their time providing visible patrols and engaging with local people and businesses.£200 million has also been made available in 2025/26 to help forces kickstart the growth in neighbourhood policing personnel towards 13,000 by the end of this Parliament. Of this, £1,663,470 has been allocated to support neighbourhood policing in Lincolnshire.

How many dinghies used to smuggle people across the English Channel have been destroyed by the (a) Border Force and (b) French authorities in each of the last five years.

a) Border Force do not hold the requested data in an accessible format pre-2022. Records held since 2022 confirm 3,724 boats in total have been destroyed.Destruction activities are broken down across the following Calendar years: 2025 to date = 4162024 = 6792023 =1,1732022 = 1,456Total = 3,724 b) The number of dinghies/boats destroyed by French authorities is not held by the Home Office.

How many deportation orders have been declared invalid in each of the last ten years.

The information you have requested regarding the revocation of deportation orders is not available from published statistics.A deportation order requires an individual to leave the United Kingdom. It also prohibits them from re-entering the country for as long as it is in force and invalidates any leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom given to them before the Order is made or while it is in force.The Home Office only deports those with no legal right to remain in the UK, including foreign national offenders. Individuals are only deported to their country of origin when the Home Office and, where applicable, the Courts deem it is safe to do so.A person who is subject to a deportation order can apply to the Home Office for revocation of the order. Such an application must be made from outside of the UK after the person has been deported. Revocation of a Deportation Order does not entitle the person concerned to re-enter the United Kingdom; it renders them eligible to apply for admission under the Immigration Rules.

How many deportation orders have been revoked in each of the last 10 years.

The information you have requested regarding the revocation of deportation orders is not available from published statistics.A deportation order requires an individual to leave the United Kingdom. It also prohibits them from re-entering the country for as long as it is in force and invalidates any leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom given to them before the Order is made or while it is in force.The Home Office only deports those with no legal right to remain in the UK, including foreign national offenders. Individuals are only deported to their country of origin when the Home Office and, where applicable, the Courts deem it is safe to do so.A person who is subject to a deportation order can apply to the Home Office for revocation of the order. Such an application must be made from outside of the UK after the person has been deported. Revocation of a Deportation Order does not entitle the person concerned to re-enter the United Kingdom; it renders them eligible to apply for admission under the Immigration Rules.

How many requests for revocation of a deportation order her Department has received in each of the last 10 years.

The information you have requested regarding the revocation of deportation orders is not available from published statistics.A deportation order requires an individual to leave the United Kingdom. It also prohibits them from re-entering the country for as long as it is in force and invalidates any leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom given to them before the Order is made or while it is in force.The Home Office only deports those with no legal right to remain in the UK, including foreign national offenders. Individuals are only deported to their country of origin when the Home Office and, where applicable, the Courts deem it is safe to do so.A person who is subject to a deportation order can apply to the Home Office for revocation of the order. Such an application must be made from outside of the UK after the person has been deported. Revocation of a Deportation Order does not entitle the person concerned to re-enter the United Kingdom; it renders them eligible to apply for admission under the Immigration Rules.

How much cryptocurrency her Department has seized from criminal activity in each of the last three years.

The Government does not currently publish the amount of cryptocurrency restrained / recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.The Home office is reviewing plans to publish new statistics on Crypto assets as part of future annual stats bulletins on asset recovery in response to the new powers that came into effect in April 2024.Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.

What estimate she has made of the number of people who have entered the UK illegally using forged (a) passports and (b) visas in the last five years.

We do not hold or commission estimates of the number of individuals who may have entered the UK illegally using forged passports or visas over the last five years.However, the Home Office does publish statistics on irregular migration, which include data on Inadequately Documented Arrivals (IDAs). IDAs refer to passengers arriving in the UK by air who are either undocumented, travelling with fraudulent documents, or without the correct documentation required for travel or entry.This data can be found here: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

What steps she is taking to increase the number of frontline police officers in Lincolnshire.

The Government is clear that visible policing is essential to restoring public confidence in the police. As a result, our expectation is that officer numbers must be protected. We have put in place funding arrangements for 2025/26 to support the achievement of this aim.For 2025/26, the Home Office is providing a total of up to £19.6 billion for police forces, which is an increase of up to £1.2 billion compared to the 2024/25 police funding settlement. This includes a total of up to £376.8 million specifically to support officer maintenance at the expected headcount levels in 2025/26, as well as an additional £200 million to support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel by the end of the Parliament.Lincolnshire Constabulary will receive up to £174.5 million in funding in 2025/26, an increase of up to £10.3 million when compared to the 2024/25 funding settlement, which represents a 6.2% cash increase and 3.8% real terms increase in funding. This includes a total allocation of £2,911,073 to support the maintenance of 1,186 police officers, as well as a total allocation of £1,663,470 to support neighbourhood policing roles.The latest official statistics show that at 31 March 2025, Lincolnshire had 1,173 FTE (1,188 in headcount terms) police officers, 93.2% of which were frontline officers (1,028 FTE).While we expect that police officers will be used in tackling crime and protecting the public, it is for Chief Constables and directly elected PCCs, and Mayors with PCC functions to make operational decisions based on their local knowledge and experience, including how best to allocate all the resources at their disposal.

How many days the Union Flag was flown on 2 Marsham Street in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.

The Government Property Agency manage flag flying at 2 Marsham Street and would be able to provide information on the flying of the Union flag.The Home Office is only one of several departments in occupation at 2 Marsham Street.

How many properties have been procured by (a) her Department and (b) contracted companies to serve as dispersal housing for asylum seekers in (i) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (ii) Lincolnshire.

The Home Office does not publish detailed information on the location of asylum accommodation sites for safety and security reasons. Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation can be found within the Asy_D11 tab of our most recent statistics release.The data can be broken down by local authority rather than by constituency. Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.