Written questions by Wilkinson.

What sliding scale her Department will use to impose visa penalties.

The Home Office keeps the returns cooperation of all its international partners under close and regular review and will not hesitate to take action where needed. Countries which do not cooperate on returns must demonstrate rapid and sustained improvements in their returns cooperation, to allow for the swift and frictionless return of their nationals who have no right to be in the UK, in order to avoid visa penalties. If a country does not cooperate on returns, that country should no longer expect a normal relationship on visas, and this government will not hesitate to impose Visa Penalties as set out in Sections 70-74 of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022. This could include: requiring that entry clearance is not granted pursuant to an application before the end of a specified period; suspending the power to grant entry clearance pursuant to an application; requiring an application to be treated as invalid for the purposes of the immigration rules; or requiring an applicant to pay £190 for an application.

If she will introduce protections to ensure asylum seekers under the duress of criminal gangs are not punished for failing to disclose they are being influenced.

We recognise that that all asylum seekers are potentially vulnerable, and during the asylum decision making process, we aim to ensure that particularly vulnerable claimants are identified, the particular difficulties they may face in disclosing their experiences are given due consideration when assessing their credibility, and that they are given help in accessing appropriate services.As the Home Secretary said in her statement of 17 November, we are committed to ensuring that victims of modern slavery are quickly identified and can access the necessary support through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting victims of exploitation and human trafficking. However, we are also determined to pursue and tackle any abuse of the system to ensure it is working effectively for victims.NRM decision-makers are trained to recognise conditions which may cause delays or inconsistencies in an individual’s account, including trauma, barriers to disclosure, and a reluctance on the part of potential victim to self-identify themselves as such. Timing of disclosure is also a relevant factor in assessing a potential victim’s modern slavery case. We will strengthen this further to ensure that it is a key consideration when deciding on the credibility of a case, whilst bearing in mind the impact that trauma has on victims of these crimes.

How many National Fraud Intelligence Bureau 1D dating scam offences were recorded in the (a) 2024-25, (b) 2023-24. (c) 2019-20 and (d) 2014-15 financial year.

The Home Office does not collect information on romance fraud. The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), which sits within City of London Police, collects data on Dating Scam Fraud. This is collected from the reports made to Action Fraud that amounted to a crime under the Home Office crime recording rules.The table below summarises the number of dating scams recorded by NFIB on 1D dating fraud offences. 2014/152019/202023/242024/25Dating scam (NFIB1D)2,7355,5418,3889,296

What information her Department collects on romance fraud.

The Home Office does not collect information on romance fraud. The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), which sits within City of London Police, collects data on Dating Scam Fraud. This is collected from the reports made to Action Fraud that amounted to a crime under the Home Office crime recording rules.The table below summarises the number of dating scams recorded by NFIB on 1D dating fraud offences. 2014/152019/202023/242024/25Dating scam (NFIB1D)2,7355,5418,3889,296

With reference to the oral contribution by the Minister for Security during the Urgent Question on 20 October 2025, Official Report, column 630, whether he has held such discussions with the hon. Member for (a) Rutland and Stamford and (b) Tonbridge on the use of back channels.

Upholding national security and keeping the public safe is the first duty of Government.This Government has been clear that we are extremely disappointed in the decision by the CPS not to proceed with prosecution of Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry. Given the concerns raised by Honourable Members about the safety and security of the House, we have sought to be as transparent as possible by publishing the witness statements relating to the case.The references to ‘backchannel’ discussions that are alleged to have taken place occurred under the previous Government.

With reference to paragraph 23(b) of Witness Statement 1 by the Deputy National Security Adviser of 22 December 2023, what those back channels were.

Upholding national security and keeping the public safe is the first duty of Government.This Government has been clear that we are extremely disappointed in the decision by the CPS not to proceed with prosecution of Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry. Given the concerns raised by Honourable Members about the safety and security of the House, we have sought to be as transparent as possible by publishing the witness statements relating to the case.The references to ‘backchannel’ discussions that are alleged to have taken place occurred under the previous Government.

With reference to her article in The Sun on 22 October 2025, on what evidential basis she said that the UK was the destination of choice for refugees.

When this Government came to office, we inherited an immigration system in chaos. Organised criminal gangs wreaked havoc on our borders and we are still living with the consequences.Migrants come to the UK as they believe this country is more generous compared to other safe European countries – they continue their journey looking for the best place to become a refugee.Under the previous government, migrants were entitled to generous benefits including automatic family reunion rights, hotel accommodation and false promises that they will be able to work and earn a living, making the UK a more attractive place to seek refuge.We have taken rapid action to address that chaos by introducing a fundamental change to the rights provided to those granted asylum in the UK, looking to end automatic family reunion rights and altering the requirements for long-term settlement in the UK. This approach balances protection against persecution with control of our borders. It makes the system fairer, in line with our European allies, and reduces incentives for asylum seekers to travel illegally to the UK.We will also end the use of hotels for asylum accommodation and explore replacing them with more appropriate sites like military bases. In the summer of 2023 over 400 asylum hotels were open, costing almost £9 million a day; we have taken action to close hotels, with less than 210 now open, saving £1 billion in hotel costs last year.We have invested £5 million into Immigration Enforcement, to target, arrest, detain and return illegal workers in takeaways, fast food drivers, beauty salons and car washes. The number of arrests for illegal working has risen by 63% since October 2024 and as part of this crackdown we have expanded right to work checks to the gig economy, removing the incentive for people attempting to enter the UK illegally.We are taking on the hard graft to remove the pull factors and have introduced tougher language requirements to support migrant integration. We recently introduced a new law in Parliament where migrants will be required to pass tough English language requirements and must meet an A level equivalent standard in speaking, listening, reading and writing.We have removed more than 35,000 people who were here illegally and struck a historic deal with the French meaning those who arrive by small boat are now being sent back.Our Border Security Asylum and Immigration Bill will tackle pull factors that bring people to the UK illegally, equipping officers with the necessary powers to tackle organised immigration crime and those who attempt to enter the UK illegally.

How many times a court has cited Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights as a reason for non-deportation in the last 12 months; and if she will provide a breakdown of those instances by level of court.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

What is her Department's policy on targets for net migration.

This Government recognises and values the contribution that legal migration makes to the UK.But under the previous Government, between 2019 and 2024, net migration almost quadrupled, heavily driven by a big increase in overseas recruitment.The Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper, published on 12 May, sets out reforms to legal migration, so that we can restore order, control and fairness to the system, bring down net migration and promote economic growth.Previous governments have set targets and then not met them, which has undermined the credibility of the system. Instead, we want to restore public confidence with a series of steps to replace our failing system with one that reduces net migration substantially.

What assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act 2023 in preventing fraud.

The Online Safety Act (OSA) was passed in November 2023 and requires all in-scope platforms to tackle fraud on their platforms. The OSA’s first codes, dealing with illegal content, came into effect and were enforceable from March 2025. This means that all in-scope companies will need to put in place systems and processes to stop fraud from appearing on their platforms and services.In addition, the Act’s fraudulent advertising duty will require the largest companies to appropriately tackle fraudulent advertising. According to Ofcom’s Online Safety Act Roadmap the draft codes for this duty will be published in draft in early 2026.The Government is working closely with Ofcom on the implementation of the Online Safety Act and will continue to monitor its efficacy as the Act is enforced.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of foreign governments investing in UK media on national security.

As a matter of long-standing policy, we do not comment on the detail of security and intelligence issues.More generally, the Government is committed to a pluralistic media landscape, where citizens are able to access information from a range of sources in order to form opinions. The Department for Culture, Media, and Sport have provided an assessment on the potential impact of foreign states investing in UK Newspapers, which can be found in the Written Statement Ministerial of 15 May 2025 - Official Report Vol 767 Col 17WS.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of foreign (a) company and (b) government ownership of British media on national security.

As a matter of long-standing policy, we do not comment on the detail of security and intelligence issues.More generally, the Government is committed to a pluralistic media landscape, where citizens are able to access information from a range of sources in order to form opinions. The Department for Culture, Media, and Sport have provided an assessment on the potential impact of foreign states investing in UK Newspapers, which can be found in the Written Statement Ministerial of 15 May 2025 - Official Report Vol 767 Col 17WS.

Whether she plans to include policies on tackling the backlog of (a) maintenance and (b) repairs to policing infrastructure in the forthcoming White Paper on policing.

The Home Office plans to publish a Police Reform White Paper later this year. It will set out a comprehensive package of reforms to policing in England and Wales that will drive quality, consistency and efficiency and ensure that all police forces are equipped to deliver the Government’s Safer Streets Mission and Plan for Change.We have been working closely with policing in the development of these important reforms. The new Joint Home Office and Policing Reform Team, which includes secondees from the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and other policing organisations, have been closely involved in helping to shape the police reform proposals and development of the White Paper.

With reference to the Spending Review 2025, published on 11 June 2025, how much funding has been allocated to her Department for police station (a) maintenance and (b) repairs.

Paragraph 5.35 of the Spending Review document, published on 11 June, sets out the overall financial allocation for policing in England in Wales.It is up to Chief Constables and directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners to make decisions on local resourcing and estates, including police stations. They are best placed to make these decisions based on their local knowledge and experience.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of Chinese-made drones used by police forces on cyber security.

Decisions on operational equipment are made independently by police forces, who are best placed to assess their own operational needs while ensuring they have the tools necessary to protect the public.The Government takes national and cyber security extremely seriously and regularly reviews risks, including from Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS). The National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) have issued guidance for security professionals across public and private sector organisations on the appropriate security measures which should be taken to manage potential security risks via UAS technologies, including drones.

What discussions she has had with herFrench counterparts on reducing the time taken to check passports at Paris Gare Du Nord station.

Border Force work closely with partners to minimise passenger wait times and deploy officers flexibly and when required to meet demand and support passengers. We have introduced ePassport Gates to Paris Gare Du Nord station in two waves, the last being timed to ensure that we had maximum gate coverage within the allotted space provided to us by SNCF prior to the Paris Olympics. Since eGate deployment, we have lowered the age of people able to use eGates and increased the number of nationalities that are also able to use them. We have also installed new front desk technology that is quicker and more robust than its predecessor. We are also prioritising the deployment of new eGates to Paris and other parts of the rail network when they become available which will help streamline increased passenger fluidity during peak times. Border Force enjoys a strong operational relationship with Eurostar which has allowed us to successfully plan and deploy our resources at peak times – evidenced by the successful recent operational deliveries of both the Paris Olympics in the summer of 2024 and the Easter bank holiday period in 2025 that was equally as challenging from a passenger flow perspective.

If she will take steps to ensure that the cost of firearms licensing does not reduce resources available for other operational policing.

Firearms licensing fees have not been increased since 2015 and are now significantly less than the cost of the service provided by the police.The Government’s Manifesto includes a commitment to move to full cost recovery for firearms licensing fees, and moving to full cost recovery will help protect the public by providing police forces with the funding they need to properly resource and train their firearms licensing teams, and to carry out thorough checks and continuous assessment of the suitability of someone to possess a lethal firearm.

If she will take steps to ensure that asylum seekers are not deported prior to a final judgement on their case.

Every asylum claim admitted to the UK asylum system is carefully considered on its individual merits by assessing all the evidence provided by the claimant against a background of published country information. No one who is at risk of persecution or serious harm in their home country is expected to return there. Refugee status is normally granted when someone has a well-founded fear of persecution under the Refugee Convention. Those found not to need protection are refused. However, it is only when any appeal rights are exhausted that failed asylum seekers are expected to leave the UK.A refusal of a protection or a human rights claim can, in some circumstances, be certified under Section 94 and Section 96 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. This process removes the right of appeal against the decision.Failed asylum seekers may be eligible for help to go home under the Voluntary Returns Service (VRS). Where a failed asylum seeker fails to leave voluntarily, we will seek to enforce their removal.

What assessment she has made of the ability of local authorities to resource Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews.

Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) offer a vital opportunity for national and local agencies, local communities and society as a whole to learn lessons from domestic abuse related deaths and treat every death as preventable.The funding for DHRs is provided through the local government funding settlement and the Home Office is unable to provide specific guidance on how funding should be allocated locally.However, whilst the Government is committed to the fundamental principle of the DHR process, we recognise that there is room for improvement in the way these reviews are currently conducted and the lessons applied.The department recently ran a public consultation seeking views on a revised version of the statutory guidance which underpins DHRs and we will be carefully considering the findings to ensure that improvements are made.