Written questions by Mishra.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of Greater Manchester Police’s lack of a specific domestic violence strategy on people in (a) Stockport constituency and (b) Greater Manchester.

This government is committed to halving Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) within a decade, including domestic abuse. Our ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government Strategy’ was published on 18 December 2025 and sets out our whole system approach to achieving this mission.Local strategic planning is an operational matter for the chief officer of police of the area concerned. As with other aspects of policing, work on tackling domestic abuse is subject to review by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services. Greater Manchester Combined Authority have their own Gender Based Violence Strategy which includes co-operative working with the police. We are working closely with Greater Manchester Police through their participation in the Domestic Abuse Protection Order pilot, which is supporting learning ahead of national rollout across England and Wales Alongside this, the National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection (NCVPP), backed by £13.9 million Home Office funding this year, provides coordinated national leadership on VAWG within policing. Working with all 43 forces, including Greater Manchester, the NCVPP sets consistent standards of practice and drives operational improvements to strengthen the police response to VAWG offences, including domestic abuse.

Pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2026 to question 114146 titled Human Trafficking and Sexual Offences: Airports, what assessment her Department has made of trends in sex trafficking involving (a) arrivals into and (b) departures from UK airports in each of the last ten years.

Currently there is limited data covering this area, however a total of 23,411 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the Home Office (HO) in 2025, representing a 22% increase compared to the preceding year (19,117). The number of referrals made in this year is the highest in any year since the NRM began in 2009, overtaking the record from the previous year (2024). Females most often reported sexual exploitation (28%; 1,679). As a result, the Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational activity aimed at tackling modern slavery threats, and targeting prolific perpetrators.

What steps her Department is taking to prevent and detect the trafficking of sexual exploitation victims through airports.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all victims of modern slavery and human trafficking are provided with the support they need to begin rebuilding their lives and that those responsible for exploiting vulnerable people are brought to justice. Modern slavery is a top priority for Border Force. All frontline Border Force Officers are trained in how to identify and deal with potential victims of modern slavery and human trafficking, as well as those who seek to exploit them. Border Force also has a network of specially trained Safeguarding and Modern Slavery (SAMS) teams based in all regions. The SAMS officers are operational and ensure children and vulnerable people, including potential victims of modern slavery, are dealt with effectively.

If she will set out a timeline for announcing changes to the BN(O) visa scheme.

On 9 February, the Home Secretary announced the expansion of eligibility for the BN(O) route. BN(O) status holders’ adult children who were under 18 at the point of Hong Kong’s handover on 1 July 1997 will be able to apply independently of their parents. This expansion will close a gap in eligibility that has led to unfair outcomes within families and ensure we continue to honour our historic and moral commitment to the people of Hong Kong.We intend to lay the necessary changes to the Immigration Rules in March with the route open to applications from this additional cohort later this Spring.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a statutory requirement for the Animals in Science Regulation Unit to publish an annual report that includes details of incidents of non-compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, or with licence conditions.

The Animals in Science Regulation Unit has routinely published its Annual Report since 2011 and will continue to do so.The Report sets out all confirmed non‑compliance cases with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and any enforcement actions taken.The Reports are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit-annual-reports

What steps her Department is taking to prevent general aviation aircrafts, landing at small airports, airfields and airstrips, from facilitating the smuggling of (a) people, (b) drug and (c) arms.

The security of the UK border remains our top priority, and this government is committed to strengthening border security. Border Force conducts robust security checks on those arriving into the UK, including 100% checks on all notified general aviation flights and spot checks at aerodromes to reinforce security.Border Force allocates resources based on assessed risk, applying intelligence and targeting techniques. We have significantly reduced the number of aerodromes authorised to handle international or Common Travel Area flights by 85%, and anyone who fails to submit the required information prior to flying faces civil penalties.Border Force has implemented a range of initiatives to address vulnerabilities. These include:• Substantially reducing the number of aerodromes permitted to handle flights to and from the UK.• Introducing a civil penalties regime for non-compliance with airfield designation requirements.• Person details checked on all notified GA flights.• The General Aviation (Persons on Board, Flight Information and Civil Penalties Regulations), which came into force on 6 April 2024, require that specified information about General Aviation flights and persons onboard must be submitted online and in advance of departure to Home Office Systems. Failure to comply with these requirements can result in civil penalty.• Working closely with the National Crime Agency and the police to counter threats such as smuggling, immigration crime and terrorism at UK airfields has resulted in seizures of Class A Drugs (in total approx 130kgs) at small airfields and identification of undocumented arrivals, leading to multiple criminal convictions and working with partners to identify non-compliant GA flights.• Regular Home Office engagement with the GA community representatives and cross-government partners.

If he will make it his policy to exempt the BNO visa scheme from the proposed extension of the standard qualifying period for settlement.

The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in future. I welcomed the opportunity to listen to the views of Members in the recent 8th September Westminster Hall Debate on settlement. We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year. All will be welcome to participate. We will provide details of how the scheme will work after that consultation. We regularly engage with representatives of the Hong Kong diaspora in the UK on issues related to the BN(O) visa and will continue to do so.

When she plans to publish a full impact assessment for the most recent statement of changes to the immigration rules on the care sector.

It is our intention to publish the Impact Assessment (IA) at the earliest opportunity. A technical annex (Restoring control over the immigration system: technical annex (accessible) - GOV.UK) was published alongside the Immigration White Paper setting out the impact of some of the key policy changes.

If her Department will have discussions with Greater Manchester Police on the potential impact of not supplying naloxone to frontline officers on levels of drug-related deaths.

Naloxone is an important lifesaving medicine to respond to suspected opioid overdoses, when used alongside other first aid measures, and is mitigating the threat posed by synthetic opioids.Work has been ongoing for several years led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Home Office to support police carriage of this medicine, leveraging officers’ frequent interactions with individuals at risk of overdose to reduce drug-related deaths. In September 2024 and May 2025, I wrote to Chief Constables in England and Wales to reiterate my support for all police forces to roll-out the voluntary provision of naloxone to operational officers.The Home Office and NPCC recently published data showing that, as of December 2024, approximately 7,300 police officers in England and Wales regularly carry naloxone. The medicine had been administered over 550 times by police since June 2019, and only two out of 43 police forces had no plans to carry. One of those forces is Greater Manchester Police.Whilst the provision of naloxone for police officers remains voluntary and is an operational decision for Chief Constables, the Government is strongly supportive of forces making this highly effective antidote available.The NPCC and the Home Office are in ongoing dialogue with all police forces on this topic.

What steps her Department is taking to help protect places of worship in Greater Manchester.

This Government is absolutely committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion at their chosen place of worship, and to making our streets and communities safer, including providing funding through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant and the Protective Security for Mosques scheme.

If her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a standalone offense of assaulting a retail worker that includes (a) bank and (b) building society workers.

Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 creates a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing cases of assault against public facing workers. It applies where an assault is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public, including public-facing roles in banks and building societies.Through our Crime and Policing Bill, this Government has also introduced a specific standalone offence of assaulting a retail worker to help tackle the epidemic of shop theft and violence towards shop workers that we have seen in recent years, and protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

What steps her Department is taking to help protect migrant social care workers from (a) substandard accommodation, (b) non-payment of wages, (c) contracts containing repayment clauses and (d) other exploitative employment relationships.

The Government condemns the exploitation of international care workers by rogue employers in the adult social care sector and continues to take robust action against this unscrupulous behaviour.We have recently implemented a prohibition on Skilled Worker sponsors recouping sponsorship costs from those they sponsor, and those doing so now risk losing their licence.Sponsor licences can also be revoked if workers are not paid correctly and on 9 April we further clarified our Skilled Worker salary assessment rules to make clear that sponsors cannot inflate wages by including loans for the worker’s immigration application.We are also working to ensure sponsorship and employment systems are more strongly aligned.

How many scientific procedures involved the use of dogs from 2020- 2024.

The number of animals used in scientific research and testing, including dogs, is published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animals-in-science-regulation-unit#statistics. Statistics for 2024 are scheduled for publication in July.The Home Office assures that, in every research proposal, animals are replaced with non-animal alternatives wherever possible, the number of animals are reduced to the minimum necessary to achieve the result sought, and that, for those animals which must be used, procedures are refined as much as possible to minimise their suffering.The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) is leading on a strategy to accelerate the development, validation and uptake of alternatives to animal testing which is scheduled for publication later this year.

What steps her Department is taking to help support the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of police officers in Greater Manchester.

The Government is committed to ensuring police forces are supported to effectively tackle crime.We are clear that visible policing is essential to restoring public confidence in the police.For 2025-26, £376.8 million will be available to forces to maintain officer numbers. Of this £270.1m is ringfenced which Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) will be able to access by demonstrating that they have maintained their officer numbers.Greater Manchester Police has also been allocated £11,556,938 in funding for 2025-26 to kickstart the increase of neighbourhood policing personnel as part of this Government's plan to deliver a total increase of 13,000 across England and Wales by the end of this Parliament. Our approach to delivery in 2025-26, which will be year 1 of a 4-year programme, is designed to deliver an initial increase to the neighbourhood policing workforce in a manner that is flexible, and can be adapted to the local context and varied crime demands.