Written questions by Hollinrake.

Whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to create an offence of (a) engaging in nuisance begging, (b) arranging or facilitating begging for gain and (c) trespassing with intent to commit a criminal offence.

On 10th June, the Government announced its intention to repeal the outdated Vagrancy Act 1824. We have introduced targeted replacement measures in the Crime and Policing Bill to ensure police have the powers they need to keep communities safe, including a new criminal offence of facilitating begging for gain, and an offence of trespassing with the intention of committing a crime, both of which were previously provided for under the 1824 Act.We know police forces make effective use of existing powers to tackle anti-social behaviour that occurs in this context, and we will update statutory guidance on the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 to provide more certainty on how existing powers can be applied to anti-social behaviour where it occurs in these scenarios.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 53973 on Defending Democracy Taskforce, if she will publish the conclusions of the review into harassment and intimidation.

The Defending Democracy Taskforce is reviewing its levers for preventing the harassment and intimidation of elected representatives, identifying gaps and vulnerabilities, and developing recommendations to strengthen our response.I will update the House on progress in due course.

What assessment the security services have made of the level of economic espionage by the Chinese Government in the UK.

As a matter of long-standing policy, we do not comment on the detail of security and intelligence matters. However, we continuously assess potential threats to the UK and, where necessary, deploy the full range of tools available to mitigate them.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 53973 on Defending Democracy Taskforce, if she will publish the assessment on Transnational Repression in the UK.

Owing to the classified nature of the findings, the Transnational Repression Review will not be a publicly available document.My Written Ministerial Statement on 14 May provides an overview of the Review’s key findings and recommendations.

What (a) internal and (b) external Prevent guidance her Department has drafted on cultural nationalism; and what her Department’s definition is of cultural nationalism.

The current Prevent duty guidance, including reference to cultural nationalism, was last revised under the previous Government on 6 March 2024, and is available at: Prevent duty guidance: Guidance for specified authorities in England and Wales

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2025 to Question HL7763 on Asylum: Housing, whether such hotel figures include housing in former communal accommodation.

The definition of each type of category can be found in the notes section of the published statistics.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2025 to Question HL7763 on Asylum: Housing, what the absolute number of individual hotels that housed the 32,345 people is as of 31 March 2025; and what was the equivalent number of hotels used in June 2024.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 31 March to Question 41380.

How much (a) her Department and (b) its contractors have spent on the capital purchase of mobile and caravan homes for asylum seekers since July 2024.

Zero.

How much (a) her Department and (b) its contractors have spent on the rent or lease of (i) caravan and mobile homes and (ii) park homes for housing asylum seekers since July 2024.

Zero.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 53973 on Defending Democracy Taskforce, if she will provide a copy of the Defending Democracy Taskforce's assessment of transnational repression to the Planning Inspector considering the planning application for the proposed site for the new Chinese embassy.

The planning application has been called in by the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and she will make this quasi-judicial decision independent from the rest of Government.The Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary submitted written representations to the planning inspector on 14 January 2025. That letter is clear that the Home Office has considered the breadth of national security issues and where necessary, relevant agencies and departments have been consulted on the national security implications of the application.

What powers local authorities have to object to the housing of asylum seekers in (a) hostel and hotels and (b) private rented sector accommodation in their locality.

The Asylum Accommodation Services Contracts set out a number of principles in relation to working with Local Authorities, and other stakeholders including consultation and liaison regarding the location of accommodation and other issues, ranging from security controls to the impact on local amenities.It is through this consultation and liaison that local authorities may raise any objection to specific properties being used as asylum accommodation, including on behalf of the local people they represent.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 49918 on Hospitality Industry: Licensing, which Minister is responsible for late-night licensing.

As Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention, I hold responsibility for the Licensing Act 2003 which regulates four licensable activities - the sale of alcohol by retail, the supply of alcohol by members’ clubs, the provision of regulated entertainment and the provision of late night refreshment. Many of the premises carrying out these activities have operating hours that fall within the late night economy.

With reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Home Department of 2 June 2025, Official Report, column 13, for what reason Baroness Casey requested a short extension to the deadline for the audit on grooming gangs.

Baroness Louise Casey was commissioned to undertake a comprehensive audit into the nature, scale, and profiles of group-based child sexual exploitation. I updated the House on 2 June that Baroness Casey has requested a short extension to her work from the Home Secretary to allow her to speak directly to victims, fully access the scale of the issue, and submit meaningful evidence-based recommendations to further tackle this vile type of offending.The completed audit will provide the most up-to-date information to this government’s commitment to support local areas to lead their own independent inquiries and related work to understand this issue and the effectiveness of their responses to it. We expect to receive the report very shortly. We will then set out a comprehensive response, as well as next steps on the action we have already announced, including details of support available for local areas.My officials will happily place the 12 March letter from the Home Secretary to all local authority leaders in the Common’s Library which makes clear the Government’s commitment to working closely with local areas to confront these terrible crimes.

Pursuant to the Answer of 29 May 2025 to Question 52623 on Offences Against Children, if she will place in the Library (a) a copy of the letter sent to all local authorities on 12 March 2025, and (b) the information sent to local authorities on how they can claim funding from the new national fund to support independent local inquiries.

Baroness Louise Casey was commissioned to undertake a comprehensive audit into the nature, scale, and profiles of group-based child sexual exploitation. I updated the House on 2 June that Baroness Casey has requested a short extension to her work from the Home Secretary to allow her to speak directly to victims, fully access the scale of the issue, and submit meaningful evidence-based recommendations to further tackle this vile type of offending.The completed audit will provide the most up-to-date information to this government’s commitment to support local areas to lead their own independent inquiries and related work to understand this issue and the effectiveness of their responses to it. We expect to receive the report very shortly. We will then set out a comprehensive response, as well as next steps on the action we have already announced, including details of support available for local areas.My officials will happily place the 12 March letter from the Home Secretary to all local authority leaders in the Common’s Library which makes clear the Government’s commitment to working closely with local areas to confront these terrible crimes.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed Chinese Embassy on cyber security for the BT telephone exchange.

In line with my previous response to UIN 29609 on 12 February 2025, the planning application has been called in by the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and she will make this quasi-judicial decision independent from the rest of Government, and from any form of external interference by any other party.The Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary submitted written representations to the Planning Inspector on 14 January. That letter is clear that the Home Office has considered the breadth of national security issues associated with the proposed Embassy. It would not be appropriate to comment in detail on specific matters relating to national security.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2025 to Question 52622 on National Security: China, what information her Department holds on whether the United Front Work Department has sought to interfere in the planning process for the proposed Chinese Embassy in London.

In line with my previous response to UIN 29609 on 12/02/25, the planning application has been called in by the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and she will make this quasi-judicial decision independent from the rest of Government, and from any form of external interference by any other party.

With reference to the press release entitled Prime Minister unveils new plan to end years of uncontrolled migration, published on 11 May 2025, whether the English language requirements for (a) migrants and (b) adult dependents will apply to claims for asylum made (i) outside and (ii) by people who have illegally entered the UK.

The Immigration White Paper, published on 12 May 2025, announced new measures on a wide range of issues – including English language requirements – further details of which will be set out in due course.

Whether her Department has issued guidance in addition to the Ministerial Code on engaging with extremist organisations that are subject to a Government policy of non-engagement or proscription in a (a) personal and (b) Parliamentary capacity.

No such guidance is considered necessary. The Government's policy on these matters is clear, and is unchanged from the approach adopted under successive Governments before.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2025 to Question 52624 on Asylum: Housing, if she will publish the template accommodation contract for accommodation under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

Information about contracts with the government and its agencies, including the Asylum Accommodation Support and Service Contracts are available at: Contracts Finder - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

How many asylum accommodation dwellings are provided by each private contractor.

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 (opens in a new tab).