Written questions by Hendrick.

If she will make it her policy to expedite the processing of asylum claims of Afghan nationals who (a) served with and (b) assisted British troops in the Afghanistan war.

Every asylum claim admitted to the UK asylum system is carefully considered on its individual merits, in line with published policies. There are clear processes in place for prioritising asylum claims on the basis of vulnerability in line with our published guidance available at: Asylum decision making prioritisation: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking steps to prevent and restrict social media sites from being used for child sex trafficking activity.

Child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) is an abhorrent and serious crime and tackling it online is an absolute priority for this Government. The Online Safety Act places its strongest protections around children, imposing robust legal duties on online services to prevent their platforms from being used to groom, exploit and sexually abuse children. Ofcom has set out measures in its codes of practice, including automated detection, moderation, and anti‑grooming safeguards. These duties have been in force since March last year. Ofcom keeps its approach under review, is consulting on further measures and has already carried out enforcement with a particular focus on CSEA.

What steps she is taking to minimise the risk of racial bias found in AI powered Live Facial Recognition systems.

Police forces using facial recognition must comply with existing legal obligations, including the Human Rights Act 1998, Equality Act 2010 and Data Protection Act 2018.Facial recognition algorithms provided by or procured with Home Office funding for police use are required to be independently tested for bias. Independent testing is important because it helps determine the setting in which an algorithm can safely and fairly be used.Where forces procure their own algorithms, forces must ensure that any facial recognition software does not present unacceptable levels of bias. For live facial recognition, this expectation is set out in the College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice, which requires algorithms to be independently tested before use, with the results informing how systems are configured for safe and fair deployment.The government intends to bring forward a new legal framework to create consistent, resilient rules and appropriate safeguards for the use of facial recognition and similar technologies.

What assessment she has made of the increasing use of artificial intelligence by criminals in conducting cyberattacks.

As the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Security Minister set out in their letter to businesses on 15 April 2026, the cyber threat continues to change. A new generation of AI models are becoming increasingly capable at an increasing speed and scale not thought possible a year ago.In May 2025, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) judged that cyber threat actors are almost certainly already using AI in their cyber operations. AI will almost certainly continue to make elements of cyber operations more effective and efficient, leading to an increase in frequency and intensity of cyber threats. The proliferation of AI-enabled cyber tools is thought to highly likely expand access to AI-enabled capabilities to an expanded range of cyber actors, including criminals. It is highly likely that criminal use of AI will therefore increase by 2027 as AI becomes more widely adopted in society.The UK is not standing still in response to this threat. The government has built the AI Security Institute, the most advanced capability of any government in the world for understanding frontier AI systems. The NCSC is world-leading in defending the UK online and continues to publish practical guidance for industry and businesses to use. The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, which is currently progressing through Parliament, will strengthen protections for critical services, and shortly the National Cyber Action Plan will be published, setting out the steps this government will take to ensure the UK’s national security against cyber threats.

If she will make it her policy that people with convictions for any sexual offences should be prevented from serving in the police forces.

One of the Government’s key priorities is to restore public confidence in policing. To achieve this, we must ensure that those who enter policing are vetted in line with standards the public would expect.That is why, in alignment with our manifesto commitment, we are strengthening the vetting system by introducing new regulations which will place vetting standards on a legislative footing. These regulations will seek to include robust measures which will enable forces to exclude individuals from policing who have a caution or a conviction for relevant domestic abuse or sexual offences.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that all police forces have mandatory training to support victims of online harassment and stalking.

It is vital that the police and other frontline professionals have the right framework to follow when supporting victims of stalking, both online and offline. That is why the Government is legislating in the Crime and Policing Bill to introduce multi-agency statutory guidance on stalking and ‘Right to Know’ statutory guidance for the police to set out the process by which they should release identifying information about online stalking perpetrators to victims. The Home Office has also allocated £13.1 million to launch the new National Centre for Violence Against Women and Girls and Public Protection and their work includes enhancing the police response to stalking. Centralising policing expertise to tackle these crimes will drive national coordination, with the development of strengthened specialist training for officers across the country ensuring they offer consistent protection for victims.

What steps she is taking to ensure the safety of asylum seekers accommodated in hotels in the North West, in the context of rising community tensions.

The safety and security of the local communities in which hotels are located, the staff who work there, and the asylum-seekers staying there is of paramount importance, and on-site security staff monitor each hotel round the clock. Our accommodation providers are experienced and have robust policies and procedures in place around health and safety, security, safeguarding, and critical incident management. Security arrangements are kept under continual review and can be adapted at pace if required, in consultation with the police and other agencies.

What steps she is taking to prevent arson attacks on hotels housing asylum seekers.

The safety and security of the local communities in which hotels are located, the staff who work there, and the asylum-seekers staying there is of paramount importance, and on-site security staff monitor each hotel round the clock. Our accommodation providers are experienced and have robust policies and procedures in place around health and safety, security, safeguarding, and critical incident management. Security arrangements are kept under continual review and can be adapted at pace if required, in consultation with the police and other agencies.

What metrics are used to assess the (a) uptake and (b) effectiveness of the Ask for Angela scheme; and what information her Department holds on its usage in licensed venues.

Ask for Angela is not a Government scheme and therefore the Home Office does not hold information on the metrics to assess uptake and effectiveness. The scheme may hold relevant information and can be contacted online at: https://askforangela.co.uk/contact-us/

How many victims of domestic violence had a known mental health disorder in (a) Preston and (b) Lancashire in the latest period for which data is available.

The Home Office collects information on the number of offences recorded by the police in England and Wales that were domestic abuse-related at the Police Force Area level. Information is not collected on whether the victims of these offences had known mental health disorders or not.The Home Office does not hold data on how many people with domestic abuse allegations have gone on to be convicted for offences related to public disorder or extremism. Information on convictions is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice.

How many people with domestic abuse allegations have gone on to be convicted for offences related to public disorder or extremism in each of the last five years.

The Home Office collects information on the number of offences recorded by the police in England and Wales that were domestic abuse-related at the Police Force Area level. Information is not collected on whether the victims of these offences had known mental health disorders or not.The Home Office does not hold data on how many people with domestic abuse allegations have gone on to be convicted for offences related to public disorder or extremism. Information on convictions is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice.

What the average processing time was for asylum applications in the latest period for which data is available; and what steps her Department plans to take to reduce the time taken to process asylum applications.

Available data on processing of asylum claims is published in table ASY_01 of the ‘Immigration and Protection data’. The latest data is as of 31 March 2025.The Home Office continues to invest in a programme of transformation and business improvement, to speed up decision making and improve the quality and consistency of our work.

How much funding has been allocated to the police to help tackle hate crimes against people from the LGBQT+ community in (a) Lancashire, (b) Cumbria and (c) Greater Manchester.

The Government is also committed to giving police the resources they need to tackle crime. That is why the Chancellor has announced a real terms increase in police spending power over the next three years. This builds on the 25/26 police funding settlement, which provides funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales and includes an additional £200 million to kickstart the first phase of putting 13,000 additional police officers and personnel into neighbourhood policing roles. As usual, more detail on force funding allocations will be set out at the provisional police settlement.It is for Chief Constables and directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners to make operational decisions, including how to allocate resources based on their local knowledge and experience.We currently fund an online reporting portal to ensure victims do not have to visit a police station to report any hate crime they experience, and we also fund a National Hub which provides expert advice to police forces across the country on what they can do to tackle the increasing levels of online hate crime.

How many claims for compensation have been made under the Windrush Scheme from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025.

Information on the number of people who have received documentation confirming their status and the number of people who have been granted British citizenship under the Windrush Scheme is published as part of the quarterly Transparency Data release. The latest published data, covering the period up to the end of Quarter 1 2025, is available here: Windrush Status Scheme data: Q1 2025.Information on the number of claims received by the Windrush Compensation Scheme is published as part of the monthly Transparency Data release. The latest published data, covering the period up to the end of May 2025, is available here: Windrush Compensation Scheme data: May 2025 - GOV.UK.

How many people received documentation confirming (a) their status and (b) British Citizenship under the Windrush Scheme between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025.

Information on the number of people who have received documentation confirming their status and the number of people who have been granted British citizenship under the Windrush Scheme is published as part of the quarterly Transparency Data release. The latest published data, covering the period up to the end of Quarter 1 2025, is available here: Windrush Status Scheme data: Q1 2025.Information on the number of claims received by the Windrush Compensation Scheme is published as part of the monthly Transparency Data release. The latest published data, covering the period up to the end of May 2025, is available here: Windrush Compensation Scheme data: May 2025 - GOV.UK.

How much funding has been allocated to tackle Serious Organised Crime for police forces in (a) Lancashire, (b) Cumbria, and (c) Greater Manchester in (a) this financial year and (b) the 2026-27 financial year.

In 2025-26, the Home Office are providing c.£1 billion to the National Crime Agency to tackle Serious and Organised Crime.The Home Office does not allocate Serious and Organised Crime (SOC) specific funding to local police forces as setting annual budgets is the responsibility of chief constables and directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners.