Written questions by Collins.

Whether her Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to extend the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 to include tradespeople’s power tools.

The Government is currently bringing forward legislative proposals to extend the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 to include tradespeople’s power tools. As set out in the recently published Government Response to the Call for Evidence on the scope of the legislation, concerns were raised by stakeholders that property marking tools would be impractical and costly. The economic impact assessment findings indicate that the total cost to business would be disproportionate to the benefits of implementing this proposal.We recognise the devastating impact theft of tools can have for tradespeople. We are working with the police-led National Business Crime Centre and industry via the Combined Industries Theft Solutions forum to explore ways to tackle and prevent the theft of tools.We encourage tradespeople to use existing guidance such as the NBCC and Police Crime Prevention Initiatives (Secured By Design) crime prevention guidance to help prevent theft.

What steps her Department is taking to support Palestinian students from Gaza who have been accepted onto UK university courses with (a) access to secure (i) English language testing (ii) visa processing and (b) other (A) administrative, (B) financial and (C) logistical travel requirements.

The Government has outlined plans to support the departure from Gaza of a group of Chevening Scholars so they can take up university places in the UK in the Autumn for the 2025/26 academic year. We are extending this support to students in Gaza with full scholarships, meaning students who have their course fees and living costs fully funded by an official sponsor, as specified in the Immigration Rules.For further information, please see the policy papers published by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Department for Education, on 14 September 2025 and 15 September 2025 respectively, on GOV.UK.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Crime and Policing Bill on the right to peaceful protest; and what steps she is taking to ensure that lawful demonstrations are not restricted.

The Government is committed to ensuring that protest legislation is both effective and proportionate. The Government keeps all public order legislation under constant review.While the right to protest remains a cornerstone of our democracy, the legal framework must evolve to ensure that this right does not come at the expense of public order and the rights of others.The new offences in the Crime and Policing Bill reflect a targeted response to gaps identified through recent protest activity. They seek to regulate conduct that undermines public trust or accountability.In the normal way, the Crime and Policing Bill (once enacted) will be subject to post-legislative scrutiny.

If she will hold discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of increasing the proportion of (a) police, (b) fire and (c) other emergency service vehicles that are fitted with defibrillators.

The Department for Health and Social Care has confirmed that all ambulances carry defibrillators. Provision of defibrillators in police and fire vehicles is an operational matter for either the individual police force or fire and rescue service to determine at local level. The Home Office recently purchased over 500 defibrillators to distribute to police forces free of charge and for them to deploy according to their local knowledge. We continue to work to explore what more could be done to increase availability of defibrillators more generally where this is within the remit of the Home Office, including through our ongoing engagement with the OurJay Foundation.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that its fraud strategy provides consumers with protection from all types of fraudulent advertising.

As part of the requirements of the Online Safety Act (2023), large social media and search services will be required to use proactive systems and processes to prevent the public from encountering fraudulent adverts, and minimise the length of time any such content is present on their platforms.Ofcom is scheduled to consult on the Fraudulent Advertising Duty by early 2026. This consultation is part of the broader framework for ‘Additional Duties’ on the largest in-scope companies.This Government committed in our manifesto to introduce an expanded Fraud Strategy, and details of that strategy, including the approach to tackling fraudulent advertising, will be set out in due course.

If she will take steps to ensure that British National (Overseas) passport holders are afforded (a) access to the UK’s digital eGates at border control and (b) equal treatment to British passport holders in all other respects.

The Immigration White Paper, published in May 2025, sets out new measures on a wide range of immigration and border issues, including our vision to revolutionise the UK border by using technology to make visible change to security, flow and the passenger experience. This includes investigating options to expand eGate eligibility and the use of automation to more cohorts, including British National (Overseas) passport holders.

With reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State in response to the question from the hon. Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted of 2 May 2025, Official Report, column 11, if her Department will lay out further information on the strategy to target scams generated by AI.

The Home Office is absolutely committed to tackling the threat of fraud, which is why this Government has committed to publishing a new and enhanced Fraud Strategy that addresses the full range of harm that UK citizens face from fraud, including AI enabled fraud.The Home Office is also working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to identify and respond to the threats that AI poses across a broad range of harms, including fraud, and with the AI Security Institute on their work to evaluate the potential risks posed by advanced AI systems.

Whether her Department has had discussions with the Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation on the steps needed to tackle AI scams in the form of phishing emails.

The Home Office is absolutely committed to tackling the threat of fraud, which is why this Government has committed to publishing a new and enhanced Fraud Strategy that addresses the full range of harm that UK citizens face from fraud, including AI enabled fraud.The Home Office is also working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to identify and respond to the threats that AI poses across a broad range of harms, including fraud, and with the AI Security Institute on their work to evaluate the potential risks posed by advanced AI systems.

With reference to Directive 2010/63EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, what steps her Department is taking to (a) record and (b) publish the number of animals bred for use in scientific procedures but not used.

The Home Office is presently reviewing the collection and publication of additional statistics on animals that were bred for, but not used in, scientific procedures.

With reference to her Department's White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025, what assessment she has made on the ability of British Nationals Overseas visa holders to (a) access higher education (i) home fee status and (ii) student finance, and (b) withdraw (A) private and (B) individual pensions from overseas after five years of UK residence.

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.Further details of all measures announced in the Immigration White Paper will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation.

If she will make it her policy to maintain the five year qualifying period for current indefinite leave to remain visa holders in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) Hertfordshire.

We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.

Whether her Department plans to make LGBTQ+ hate crimes aggravated offences; and if she will implement a national Hate Crime Strategy and Action Plan to improve (a) reporting and (b) support for victims of hate crimes based on (i) sexual orientation and (ii) gender identity.

All hate crimes are unacceptable, and we back the police in taking the strongest action against the perpetrators of these appalling offences.We are currently considering the best way to implement commitments in this space.The Government funds an online hate crime reporting portal called True Vision, designed so victims of all types of hate crime - including homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crime - do not have to visit a police station to report. We are also continuing to fund the National Online Hate Crime Hub which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with online hate crime.

What steps she is taking to (a) expand and (b) simplify the Global Talent visa route.

As set out in the Immigration White Paper, we will continue to work closely with our endorsing bodies on policy proposals to make it simpler and easier for top scientific and design talent to use the Global Talent Visa route, and ensure the UK can bring in the right skills and experience to supercharge UK growth in strategic industries.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of granting Ukrainians settled in the UK through sponsorship schemes the right to remain (a) indefinitely and (b) until it is safe to return.

We are committed to standing with Ukraine and providing stability for those we have welcomed to the UK and those who still need our sanctuary.The Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme, which opened to applications on 4 February 2025, provides up to an additional 18 months’ permission to stay in the UK for those with existing Ukraine Scheme permission.We keep the Ukraine schemes under continuous review in line with the ongoing conflict and the Ukrainian government’s desire for the future return of its citizens to Ukraine. This is why the Ukraine Schemes are temporary and do not lead to settlement in the UK. Similarly, time spent in the UK with permission granted under the Ukraine Schemes cannot be relied upon towards the continuous qualifying period for the purposes of a Long Residence application.There are other routes available for those who wish to settle in the UK permanently, if they meet the requirements, such as work routes and family routes. These routes are published on GOV.UK at: Work in the UK - GOV.UK and Family in the UK - GOV.UK.

How many and what proportion of applications for Global talent visas were rejected in each year since 2020.

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas, including Global Talent and Scale-Up Worker visas, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on outcomes of visas (issued, refused, withdrawn, lapsed) are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. Data is up to the end of December 2024.An application which does not meet all the validity requirements for the Global Talent route is invalid and may be rejected and not considered. This information 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.Information on processing times of Scale-Up Worker visas and visas issued under the digital technology stream of the Global Talent visa 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.

How many applications were (a) approved and (b) denied under the scale-up worker visa route in each calendar year since 2022; and what the average waiting time was for a decision.

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas, including Global Talent and Scale-Up Worker visas, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on outcomes of visas (issued, refused, withdrawn, lapsed) are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. Data is up to the end of December 2024.An application which does not meet all the validity requirements for the Global Talent route is invalid and may be rejected and not considered. This information 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.Information on processing times of Scale-Up Worker visas and visas issued under the digital technology stream of the Global Talent visa 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.

How many visas were issued under the digital technology stream of the Global Talent visa in each calendar year since 2020.

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas, including Global Talent and Scale-Up Worker visas, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on outcomes of visas (issued, refused, withdrawn, lapsed) are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. Data is up to the end of December 2024.An application which does not meet all the validity requirements for the Global Talent route is invalid and may be rejected and not considered. This information 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.Information on processing times of Scale-Up Worker visas and visas issued under the digital technology stream of the Global Talent visa 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.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a statutory duty for fire and rescue services to respond to flooding events.

Fire and Rescue Authorities have duties under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) to prepare for emergencies, including major flooding. Fire Rescue Authorities also have discretionary powers to respond to incidents under their general powers in the Fire and Rescue Services Act (2004) and in response to the risks set out in their Community Risk Management Plans prepared under the National Framework.The Home Office is undertaking further work alongside Defra, National Fire Chiefs Council and other relevant stakeholders to understand in more detail if there are gaps in the Fire and Rescue Services flooding response and resilience system.

If she will take steps to end the breeding of beagles used for laboratory experiments.

The Government is committed to supporting the uptake and development of alternative methods to the use of animals in science.The Labour Manifesto for government includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal.