Written questions by Lowe.

What evidence is required to determine homosexuality as basis for claiming asylum.

All asylum and human rights claims are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. The Substantive asylum interview is the claimant’s main opportunity to provide detailed evidence that relates specifically to their individual protection needs.Our guidance for considering asylum claims is available on GOV.UK at: Assessing credibility and refugee status: caseworker guidance - GOV.UKAsylum claims made after 28 June 2022 have been considered to the higher standard of proof established in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of an urgent review of successful claims of refugee status by migrants who arrived by small boat including (a) face-to-face interviews and (b) enhanced verification of the basis for the claim.

All asylum and human rights claims are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. The Substantive asylum interview is the claimant’s main opportunity to provide detailed evidence that relates specifically to their individual protection needs.Our guidance for considering asylum claims is available on GOV.UK at: Assessing credibility and refugee status: caseworker guidance - GOV.UKAsylum claims made after 28 June 2022 have been considered to the higher standard of proof established in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 22417 on Offences against Children: Girls, whether the information requested is held by her Department.

The information requested by the Hon Member is not currently held by the Department but we are committed to improving the collection and publication of data in this area, as confirmed by the Home Secretary in her statements to Parliament on the 6th and 16th January. That important work is in train and further details will be confirmed in due course.

What the total cost to the public purse was of legal aid for people (a) accused and (b) convicted for their involvement in grooming gangs, broken down by nationality [in each of the last five years].

This information requested is not held centrally.There is no single criminal offence of ‘involvement in a grooming gang’. As such, the information recorded and tracked regarding offence type when applying for legal aid does not differentiate between defendants involved in group-based child sexual exploitation offences from those accused or convicted of sexual offences more generally.Further, where proceedings are before a court or tribunal in England or Wales, legal aid is available to individuals who qualify for services irrespective of their nationality or usual place of residence. As nationality is not a determinative factor in the availability of legal aid it is not mandatory that this information is provided with an application for legal aid.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 22427 on Offences against Children, whether her Department holds information on how many deportations to Pakistan for convictions related to child grooming failed.

The information requested by the Hon Member is not currently held by the Department but we are committed to improving the collection and publication of data in this area, as confirmed by the Home Secretary in her statements to Parliament on the 6th and 16th January. That important work is in train and further details will be confirmed in due course.

Whether her Department records an ideological breakdown of people in the Desistance and Disengagement Programme.

The Home Office does collect information relating to the ideology of participants of the Desistance and Disengagement programme. However, this information is considered to be protected information which we are unable publish as this constitutes personal data as defined in the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).The Desistance and Disengagement Programme is an important tool used to keep the public safe from people who have been involved in terrorist related activity.Providing further granular detail around ideology could lead to the identification or presumed identification, of its participants which could have serious security implications and fundamentally undermine the effectiveness of the programme as a counter terrorism tool.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 22431 on Visas: Pakistan, whether her Department holds information on the number of visa applications from people with Pakistani nationality rejected because of criminal records in each of the last five years.

The requested data is not centrally held in easily accessible format and could only be collated for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 24000 on Offences against Children, when the Child Sexual Exploitation Taskforce will publish the information.

The information requested by the Hon Member is not currently held by the Department but we are committed to improving the collection and publication of data in this area, as confirmed by the Home Secretary in her statements to Parliament on the 6th and 16th January. That important work is in train and further details will be confirmed in due course.

How many and what proportion of Prevent cases were (a) dropped and (b) downgraded in each of the last five years.

Information on Prevent referrals is already publicly available in the published annual statistics on GOV.UK: Individuals referred to Prevent: to March 2024, including the outcome of each referral.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2025 to Question 22425 on Pakistan: Extradition, whether the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan raised (a) restricting foreign aid, (b) restricting visas and (c) using other punitive international measures with Senior Ministers during his visit to Pakistan in November.

We recognise and appreciate the great contribution of Pakistani people to the diverse culture of the UK. Despite significant and complex challenges when seeking to return foreign national offenders, this government is fully committed to making our communities safer by deporting those who break our laws. I raised some of these issues with Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi during my visit to Pakistan in November, and the British High Commission continues to engage the Government of Pakistan at a senior level on this complex matter. I did not specifically raise these punitive measures with the Government of Pakistan during my recent visit.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 22427 on Offences against Children, whether this information is held by her Department.

The information requested by the Hon Member is not currently held by the Department but we are committed to improving the collection and publication of data in this area, as confirmed by the Home Secretary in her statements to Parliament on the 6th and 16th January. That important work is in train and further details will be confirmed in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2025 to Question 21759 on Offences against children, whether the information requested is held by her Department.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions and convictions at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, including rape. They can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics. Information on the immigration status of defendants is not routinely collected by the courts.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to question 22422 on Offences Against Children, whether this information is held by her Department.

The information requested by the Hon Member is not currently held by the Department but we are committed to improving the collection and publication of data in this area, as confirmed by the Home Secretary in her statements to Parliament on the 6th and 16th January. That important work is in train and further details will be confirmed in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 January to question 22418 on Offences against Children, whether this information is held by her Department.

The information requested by the Hon Member is not currently held by the Department but we are committed to improving the collection and publication of data in this area, as confirmed by the Home Secretary in her statements to Parliament on the 6th and 16th January. That important work is in train and further details will be confirmed in due course.

What the cost to the public purse of legal aid for foreign national offenders was, broken down by nationality, in each of the last ten years.

This information requested is not held centrally.Where proceedings are before a court or tribunal in England or Wales, legal aid is available to individuals who qualify for services irrespective of their nationality or usual place of residence. As nationality is not a determinative factor in the availability of legal aid this information is not requested with an application for legal aid.

Pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 22429 on Offences against Children, whether her Department holds information on the number of (a) police officers, (b) officials of local authorities and (c) social workers that (i) lost their jobs, (ii) faced legal proceedings and (iii) suffered other punitive measures due to having knowledge of Pakistani heritage grooming gangs and not taking action.

The information requested by the Hon Member is not currently held by the Department but we are committed to improving the collection and publication of data in this area, as confirmed by the Home Secretary in her statements to Parliament on the 6th and 16th January. That important work is in train and further details will be confirmed in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 22424 on Offences Against Children: Prosecutions, whether her Department holds information on whether family members (a) had knowledge of or (b) facilitated the crimes of people prosecuted for their involvement in Pakistani heritage grooming gangs.

The information requested by the Hon Member is not currently held by the Department but we are committed to improving the collection and publication of data in this area, as confirmed by the Home Secretary in her statements to Parliament on the 6th and 16th January. That important work is in train and further details will be confirmed in due course.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a review of sentences for people serving a custodial sentence for posting offensive remarks on social media.

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent courts. There are a range of communication related offences, both summary-only and triable either way, across different pieces of legislation with varying maximum penalties. For example, section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 which criminalises the sending of a communication that is either grossly offensive, or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character. This offence carries a maximum 6 months’ imprisonment and/or unlimited fine.The Government has launched an Independent Review of Sentencing chaired by former Lord Chancellor, David Gauke. The Review will examine options following three core principles: sentences must punish offenders and protect the public; sentences should encourage prisoners to turn their backs on a life of crime and we must expand and make greater use of punishment outside of prison.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to question 22421 on Offences Against Children, whether this information is held by her Department.

The information requested by the Hon Member is not currently held by the Department but we are committed to improving the collection and publication of data in this area, as confirmed by the Home Secretary in her statements to Parliament on the 6th and 16th January. That important work is in train and further details will be confirmed in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the cost to the public purse is of the campaign to advocate for family-based care for children across the globe, announced on 17 January 2025.

The campaign to promote family care for children globally has not spent any additional UK funding on staff or programmes to date. We are assessing future requirements for staff and programmes to support the campaign.