Written questions by Kyrke-Smith.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of welfare conditions for dogs bred at establishments licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

Awaiting answer.

Whether she has conducted a recent review of licensing conditions applied to commercial breeders of animals for use in scientific procedures.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of data generated by the tobacco track‑and‑trace system on police investigations into organised crime; and what steps she is taking to maximise the operational value of that data.

The government is committed to reducing the amount of illicit tobacco and vaping products on sale nationally. Tobacco Track and Trace data is used extensively alongside a range of other data and tools to tackle organised crime throughout the supply chain. In 2023, HMRC introduced a sanctions regime relating specifically to tobacco track and trace breaches. I refer the hon member to the answers provided to UIN 128189, UIN 107092 and UIN 84365 for more information.

What steps she is taking to provide security protections for faith communities.

Protecting the right of all faith communities to worship in peace and without fear is fundamental.This year, the Government is investing £70.9 million to strengthen security at places of worship and other community sites.This includes an additional £10 million each for Jewish and Muslim communities, taking protective security funding for these groups to record levels.

Whether her Department will consider taking steps to protect religious communities that don't have a designated place of worship.

The government and police regularly work closely together to review threats and strengthen protection for communities against terrorism and hate crime.Work is currently underway to develop a new Faith Security Training scheme to raise awareness amongst faith communities of how to improve their safety and security, and to help them prepare to mitigate any threats they may face.There are extensive resources available to venues and public spaces for free, to help them better protect the public in those locations. These include the ProtectUK platform, which offers free guidance, advice and training for staff. Training resources available include the Action Counter Terrorism (ACT) and See, Check and Notify (SCaN) training and e-learning, which are free resources developed by Counter Terrorism Police and available to the public.

What steps she is taking to strengthen trauma-informed training for police officers responding to domestic abuse cases.

In our manifesto, we committed to strengthening training on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) for policing to ensure that all officers have the right skills to investigate all VAWG offences, included domestic abuse, and provide consistent support for victims.The Home Office has already invested £13.1 million this year into the new National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP). This funding includes an uplift of nearly £2 million to deliver a robust package of training improvements.Launched in April 2025, the NCVPP provides coordinated leadership within policing to drive up operational standards and skills across all 43 forces in their response to VAWG crimes.Through the NCVPP, we are working closely with the College of Policing to develop strengthened, specialist training for officers across all operational levels - frontline, specialist, and leadership.Grounded in academic research and behaviour change science, new training programmes will prioritise trauma-informed learning to ensure that all officers are well equipped to manage VAWG offenders and provide support to victims.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of routinely (a) recording and (b) reporting the number of animals bred for and not used in scientific research.

The Home Office is presently reviewing the potential merits of recording and reporting the number of animals that were bred for and not used in scientific procedures.

What steps she is taking to (a) support retention in the police in England and (b) increase the number of police officers in Aylesbury constituency.

In 2025/26, the Home Office is providing a total of up to £17.4 billion for police forces, which is an increase of up to £987 million 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.Thames Valley Police will receive up to £627.4 million in funding in 2025/26, an increase of up to £40.8 million when compared to the 2024/25 funding settlement, which represents a 7% cash increase and a 3.6% real terms increase in funding. This includes a total allocation of £10,662,824 to support the maintenance of 4,978 police officers (headcount).As part of this, Thames Valley Police has been allocated a total of up and £6,093,042 to increasing neighbourhood policing roles, and, the projected growth for Thames Valley Police over 2025/26 will be 68 police officers (FTE) in neighbourhood policing roles.

What steps she is taking to support the integration of refugees.

The Government is committed to ensuring that refugees can integrate in the UK. The Immigration White Paper introduced reforms designed to improve integration and community cohesion. Further details will be set out in due course.Ministers across Government, including MHCLG, DWP and DfE, are working closely together to improve outcomes for refugees, the economy and society as a whole.

What discussions she has had with her international counterparts on preventing violence against women and girls.

The Government has set an unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.The cross-government violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy will set out the strategic direction and concrete actions to deliver on this ambition, informed by the best available evidence, including from other countries.As part of our evidence-gathering, we have engaged extensively with a wide range of international partners and stakeholders to share perspectives and learning regarding the prevention of VAWG. We have also engaged with countries that look to the UK to understand and observe effective practices that we implement to prevent VAWG.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes made to her Department's guidance entitled Nationality: good character requirement, published on 10 February 2025, on (a) refugees already granted indefinite leave to remain and (b) the integration of people with refugee status.

The previous government's Illegal Migration Act introduced a statutory ban on granting citizenship to anyone who has arrived in the country through irregular routes, a measure that proved completely unworkable, contained minimal discretion to recognise exceptional circumstances, and was never properly implemented. That measure is being repealed, and replaced with clearer rules in the caseworker guidance, including provision to exercise discretion where appropriate.For many generations refugees who have arrived on resettlement and who have settled in the UK have been able to apply for British citizenship if they meet the conditions, and that continues to be the case. The UK must always do its bit to support those fleeing persecution. But we are also clear that we must also do all we can to prevent people making dangerous small boat crossings, risking their lives in the arms of criminal gangs.This government is absolutely committed to fostering and supporting integration; that will be an important area of focus for the White Paper currently under development.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure decisions on whether to grant Indefinite Leave to Remain under Appendix VDA are made (a) correctly and (b) with reference to appropriate evidence.

All applications are decided by a dedicated and specialised casework team in accordance with Appendix Victim of Domestic Abuse which sets out the requirements to be met to qualify for settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) where a relevant relationship has broken down because of domestic abuse. If the application is refused, the person can apply for an Administrative Review where they feel the decision is incorrect due to a case working error.Associated guidance provides examples of evidence that can be provided and factors to consider when deciding applications. All information and evidence available are considered in the round when deciding on the balance of probabilities, if the relationship broke down because of domestic abuse.

What steps her Department is taking to protect Hindu places of worship.

We are committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion and we will not tolerate anti-Hindu hatred in any form. Government and police routinely assess potential threats to ensure that protective measures are in place to protect Hindu communities and their places of worship against terrorism and hate crime.Additionally, Hindu communities can apply to the Places of Worship Protective Security Scheme. The scheme provides physical protective security measures (such as CCTV, intruder alarms and secure perimeter fencing) to places of worship and associated faith community centres of all other faiths in England and Wales that are particularly vulnerable to religiously or racially motivated hate crime.

What steps her Department is taking to tackle violence against women and girls in the asylum system.

The health and safety of asylum seekers is of paramount importance to the Home Office. We are committed to delivering an asylum process that is gender sensitive – building on the wider Government strategy to tackle violence against women and girls. All decision-makers receive mandatory training on considering asylum claims and must follow published Home Office policy guidance, including specific guidance on gender issues, which covers specific forms of gender-based persecution. The Home Office works closely with partners on a range of initiatives, including those which are reflected in our gender asylum policy guidance, for example providing information about safeguarding and signposting to support services and provision of gender specific interviewers and interpreters. You can find this guidance here: Gender issues in asylum claims: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Our providers maintain high standards and follow established standard procedures to manage the safety, security and wellbeing of those we accommodate. The Home Office has published the Asylum Support Contracts Safeguarding Framework at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-support-contracts-safeguarding-framework(opens in a new tab).This framework sets out a joint, overarching approach, as well as the key controls and reporting mechanisms in place, across the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contracts, for safeguarding arrangements.A 24/7 helpline provided by Migrant Help is available to raise any concerns.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle hate crime against transgender people.

The Government is committed to tackling hate crime and is determined to root out hatred in all its forms.We have committed to protect LGBT+ and disabled people by making all existing strands of hate crime an aggravated offence. We will set out next steps in due course.The Government funds True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal designed so that victims of all forms of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. We also fund the National Online Hate Crime Hub which supports local police forces in dealing with all types of online hate crime and provides expert advice to support forces in investigating these despicable offences.