Written questions by Gill.

Pursuant to question 85264 answered on 5 November 2025, whether her Department has had recent discussions with the Office for National Statistics on the linking of Census data to hate crime data.

Home Office officials have started conversations with the Office for National Statistics to investigate the technical feasibility of linking anonymised person-level data Census data to police recorded hate crime to improve its data quality.I will write to you once these discussions have concluded.

Whether her Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide evidence or input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard; and what evidence it submitted, including in relation to the recording of Sikhs and Jewish people as ethnic groups.

The Home Office was invited by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to input to the consultation on the ethnicity harmonised standard. Any changes recommended to the ethnicity harmonisations standard will be applied to our departmental statistics, where applicable, in due course.It was an open consultation, so anyone could provide a response on an individual basis. The Home Office gathered views from across the department and provided an organisational response.ONS committed to publish all responses to the consultation, with the names of organisations to be included alongside their response. In line with government consultation principles, a response should be published within 12 weeks of the consultation.

With reference to the consultation entitled Earned settlement, published on 20 November 2025, whether it is her policy that the salary scale should apply to British National (Overseas) applicants.

The Government remains steadfast in its support for members of the Hong Kong community in the UK.BN(O) visa holders will attract a 5-year reduction in the qualifying period for settlement, meaning they will continue to be able to settle in the UK after 5 years’ residence, subject to meeting the mandatory requirements which include contributing to the Exchequer.We are seeking views on earned settlement through the public consultation A Fairer Pathway to Settlement and will continue to listen to the views of Hong Kongers. Details of the earned settlement model will be finalised following that consultation.In the meantime, the current rules for settlement under the BN(O) route will continue to apply.

For what reasons police forces reported to the Home Office the ethnicity of victims of racially and religiously aggravated crimes in 40 per cent of cases in the year ending 31 March 2025.

Police forces are required to send ethnicity data for victims of racially or religiously aggravated offences to the Home Office under the Annual Data Requirement (ADR). The Home Office publishes these data annually, with the figures based on self-defined ethnicity.There are several reasons why these data are not available for every offence recorded. Some crimes, such as racially or religiously aggravated public fear, alarm or distress, will not have a single identifiable victim. This is a public order offence and can be a crime against the state rather than a specific victim. For other offences, the victim may not want to give their ethnicity to the police. There may also be IT issues for certain forces in supplying these data.

If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the level of (a) anti-Sikh, (b) anti-Muslim and (c) anti-Jewish hate.

This Government is committed to tackling all forms of hate crime and we are actively seeking to ensure the safety and protection of all individuals and communities across England and Wales. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their race or religion, and the Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat this.The Home Office regularly updates data relating to Hate crimes, and keeps the findings under constant review. The most recent Hate crime for England and Wales statistics were published on 9 October 2025.

What the findings were of the research undertaken by her Department in 2024 on tackling anti-Sikh hate.

This Government is determined to tackle all forms of hate crime, including those targeting the Sikh community. No one should ever be a victim of hatred because of their race or religion, and the Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat this.The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has provided funding to True Vision – the police hate crime programme and online reporting portal – to encourage communities to report hate crime and reinforce relationships between communities and policing. As part of this, True Vision has been working with the Sikh Guard (established by the National Sikh Police Association) and Rakkha (a third-party reporting site) to encourage reporting from within Sikh communities.The Home Office also funds the National Online Hate Crime Hub which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with all forms of online hate crime.We back the police in taking strong action against those targeting our communities. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, communities are now benefitting from more visible patrols, and more focused local engagement.

Whether her Department has asked the Office for National Statistics to use anonymised person-level data from the 2021 census to help improve the accuracy of data on the (a) ethnicity and (b) religion of victims of hate crime offences.

The Home Office publishes official statistics on hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales. This includes information on religious hate crimes, by targeted religion, including rates per population. These are calculated using population data from the 2021 Census.There have not been discussions with the ONS on the feasibility of linking Census data to hate crime data, this is something the Home Office is keen to explore.The latest statistical bulletin can be found here: Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2025 - GOV.UK

How many hate crime reports were made to the police by the Sikh Guard in each of the last five years.

The Home Office publishes official statistics on the number of religious hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales by the targeted religion of the victim. The Home Office does not hold data on who reported these crimes to the police.The latest information, for the year ending March 2024, can be found here: Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2024 - GOV.UK

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing specific (a) Sikh and (b) Jewish options for a person’s ethnic group in data collection conducted by her Department.

The Home Office collects ethnicity data in line with the ethnicity harmonised standard, which is developed by the independent Office for National Statistics.The current harmonised standard is based on the 2011 Census questions used across the UK; those questions were updated for the 2021 and 2022 Censuses. The current standard does not include specific “Sikh” and “Jewish” categories for a person’s ethnic group.The ONS is reviewing the harmonised standard to ensure this remains appropriate and meets the needs of both data users and respondents. This will include a public consultation later this year.We await the outcome of this review.

How many children under 16 are recorded as missing in (a) Birmingham and (b) the west midlands.

The Home Office does not hold this data centrally. Individual police forces hold information about current missing persons incidents.Annual missing people statistics, broken down to police force level, are published by the National Crime Agency’s UK Missing Person’s Unit (UKMPU) (Downloads - National Crime Agency). According to the most recent UKMPU data report, in 2022/23 there were 10,899 incidents of children under 18 reported missing to West Midlands Police, which related to 3,940 individual children.

What information her Department holds on the definition of child sexual exploitation that is used by (a) the police and (b) children's services.

‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ is the statutory guidance on multi-agency working to help, support and protect children. This guidance includes a definition of child sexual exploitation to inform the practice of all multi-agency partners, including police and children’s services: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2.

How many non-air firearms-related offences were recorded in (a) Birmingham, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each of the last 15 years.

The Home Office collects and publishes official statistics on offences involving firearms recorded by the police in England and Wales at the Police Force Area level.These data, by offence group and type of weapon, are published in Open Data Tables, available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6793b6b48a0829895f24bf55/prc-firearms-open-data-march2009-onwards-300125.ods

How many firearms-related offences there were by the type of firearm in (a) Birmingham and (b) the West Midlands in each of the last five years.

The Home Office collects and publishes official statistics on offences involving firearms recorded by the police in England and Wales at the Police Force Area level.These data, by offence group and type of weapon, are published in Open Data Tables, available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6793b6b48a0829895f24bf55/prc-firearms-open-data-march2009-onwards-300125.ods

Whether she plans to publish an updated version of the report entitled The economic and social costs of crime second edition, published on 23 July 2018.

The Economic and Social Costs of Crime, Second Edition was published by the Home Office in July 2018. An update to the economic and social cost of fraud against individuals has since been published in the Fraud Strategy (May 2023). Together, these documents are currently the most comprehensive source for the estimated economic and social costs of these specified crimes against individuals and businesses.The Home Office plans to publish a report containing updated estimates of the costs of the included crimes in due course.

How many firearms-related offences there were by the type of offence in (a) Birmingham and (b) the West Midlands in each of the last five years.

The Home Office collects and publishes official statistics on offences involving firearms recorded by the police in England and Wales at the Police Force Area level.These data, by offence group and type of weapon, are published in Open Data Tables, available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6793b6b48a0829895f24bf55/prc-firearms-open-data-march2009-onwards-300125.ods

What steps her Department is taking to help improve the collection of data on people affected by hate crime by (a) religion and (b) ethnicity.

This Government is committed to tackling all forms of hate crime and we back the police in taking strong action against the perpetrators of these appalling offences.The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of religious hate crimes by the perceived targeted religion of the victim and on the ethnicity of victims in racially or religiously aggravated crimes that occur in England and Wales. The latest information can be found here: Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2024 - GOV.UKThe Home Office is continuously working with Police Forces to improve the quality and coverage of these data. Home Office crime and policing data collections are reviewed annually via the Annual Data Requirement board consisting of Home Office and police force representatives. Ways to improve quality and coverage of data collections are considered as part of the review process.

What steps she is taking to tackle illegal license plates.

The Government is working closely with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime.We do not hold information centrally on illegal licence plate seizures.

How many illegal license plates have been seized by the police in each of the last five years.

The Government is working closely with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) to improve the identification and enforcement of number plate crime.We do not hold information centrally on illegal licence plate seizures.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing spousal visa applications to be submitted prior to the wedding date.

Fiancés, fiancées or proposed civil partners can apply for a six-month Entry Clearance to enable a marriage or civil partnership to take place in the UK. Once the ceremony has taken place, the spouse or civil partner will be eligible to apply for permission to stay in the UK, on a route to settlement, as a partner under the Family Immigration Rules.