Written questions by Snowden.

How many recorded offences involving the use of VoIP services there have been in each of the last five years.

The Home Office collects and publishes data on the number of offences recorded by police forces in England and Wales which have been identified as having an online element. Offences involving the use of VoIP services are included but are not separately identifiable in the data held centrally.This data can be found in table C5 of the Crime in England and Wales: Appendix tables here: Crime in England and Wales: Appendix tables - Office for National Statistics.The definition of online crime within this data collection was revised in April 2024 to state that offences involving the use of VoIP services should be flagged to improve clarity and consistency in recording.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the powers of law enforcement agencies to identify and investigate criminal activity conducted using VoIP services.

Under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, law enforcement agencies can apply for targeted interception warrants, equipment interference warrants, and communications data acquisition authorisations, all of which can enable access to data associated with VoIP services.These powers can enable authorities to identify users, access metadata, and, where authorised, obtain content when necessary and proportionate and subject to satisfying the stringent safeguards within the legislation.This means that law enforcement have a range of powers to identify and investigate criminal activity conducted using VoIP services. The Home Office keeps the effectiveness of these powers under review.

How many police forces operate specialist rape and sexual offence investigation teams; and which forces do not yet have such teams in place.

Rape and sexual offences are amongst the most harmful crimes in society and can have a devastating impact on victims, their loved ones and our communities. Despite this, we assess only half of police forces in England and Wales have a specialist team to respond to and investigate these offences.We have therefore instructed all police forces in England and Wales to implement a specialist rape and sexual offence team by 2029 and are working with National Centre for VAWG and Publication to ensure consistency nationally.Our efforts will mean that by the end of this parliament, victims and their supporters can be confident that, wherever they live, police forces have the right skills, knowledge and capability to deploy every tool available to bring sex offenders to justice and provide the best possible support to victims.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of setting a 2029 deadline for the establishment of dedicated rape and sexual offence investigation teams on postcode disparities in the investigation of rape and sexual offences.

Rape and sexual offences are amongst the most harmful crimes in society and can have a devastating impact on victims, their loved ones and our communities. Despite this, we assess only half of police forces in England and Wales have a specialist team to respond to and investigate these offences.We have therefore instructed all police forces in England and Wales to implement a specialist rape and sexual offence team by 2029 and are working with National Centre for VAWG and Publication to ensure consistency nationally.Our efforts will mean that by the end of this parliament, victims and their supporters can be confident that, wherever they live, police forces have the right skills, knowledge and capability to deploy every tool available to bring sex offenders to justice and provide the best possible support to victims.

Whether she plans to extend the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme to include offences such as stalking, sexual assault and harassment.

The scale of violence against women and girls in our country is intolerable, and this Government is treating it as the national emergency that it is.The Government committed in its manifesto to giving stalking victims the right to know the true identity of their online stalker. Through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing statutory guidance to support the police to release identifying information about a stalker to a victim, so victims can know who is threatening them.The Crime and Policing Bill will also enable the Home Secretary to issue statutory guidance about the disclosure of information to prevent sexual offending. This will ensure the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme and any similar schemes in the future are delivered consistently by all forces.The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme currently enables the police to disclose information to a victim or potential victim of domestic abuse about their partner’s or ex-partner's previous abusive or violent offending.In the recently published Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy we committed to exploring the potential to expand both the stalking Right to Know scheme and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme to other forms of violence against women and girls.

What steps she is taking to address inconsistencies between police forces in their interpretation and application of escort requirements for lawful abnormal load movements.

The police are best placed to determine police escort requirements for abnormal loads, based on a thorough assessment of local risk, which can include consideration of the risks to road users and the potential for congestion. A decision should take account of the force’s local geography, traffic conditions and events taking place. Forces should take account of the National Police Chiefs’ Council guidance to ensure decisions are safe, practical and effective.The National Police Chiefs’ Council Guidance on the management of abnormal loads was last updated in May 2025. It sets out consistent principles to guide force’s decision based on local circumstances.There are no plans to introduce a national regulatory framework governing the movement of abnormal loads. The government is satisfied that decisions are best handled by individual police forces to ensure decisions reflect local conditions.

How funding for undercover online policing units will be distributed; and what outcomes each unit is expected to deliver.

Undercover Online Police Officers (UCOLs) deploy online to identify and pursue offenders seeking to sexually exploit children. Using unique capabilities and covert tactics to target dangerous offenders, UCOLs focus on a range of offences including grooming, peer-to-peer offending, live streaming, contact offences and historic or current familial offending. The UCOL Network has achieved continued success, surpassing its targeted annual outcomes for operational activity and responding to emerging threats, including the proliferation of AI-generated child sexual abuse material.Given the UCOLs’ continued success in disrupting online child sexual abuse, the Home Office has invested £11.7m in this capability this past FY 2025/26. The government has also committed to expand the use of the Home Office’s network of Undercover Online Operatives to address Violence Against Women and Girls in its’ “Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls”, published on 18th December 2025.

Whether her Department plans to introduce a national regulatory framework governing when police forces may require escorts for abnormal load movements.

The police are best placed to determine police escort requirements for abnormal loads, based on a thorough assessment of local risk, which can include consideration of the risks to road users and the potential for congestion. A decision should take account of the force’s local geography, traffic conditions and events taking place. Forces should take account of the National Police Chiefs’ Council guidance to ensure decisions are safe, practical and effective.The National Police Chiefs’ Council Guidance on the management of abnormal loads was last updated in May 2025. It sets out consistent principles to guide force’s decision based on local circumstances.There are no plans to introduce a national regulatory framework governing the movement of abnormal loads. The government is satisfied that decisions are best handled by individual police forces to ensure decisions reflect local conditions.

What metrics are being used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Young Futures Panel pilots.

The Young Futures Programme is a key part of the Safer Streets Mission, and the Government’s target to halve knife crime over the next decade and reduce anti-social behaviour and violence against women and girls. Under this programme, the Government is intervening earlier to ensure children and young People who are facing poorer outcomes and are vulnerable to being drawn into crime are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.As part of this, we are piloting new multi-agency Young Futures Panels. These pilots are proactively identifying and referring children and young people who may currently be falling through the gaps to a range of different support services much earlier. 53 Young Futures Panels went operational in October and November 2025, across the areas of the country that collectively account for more than 80% knife crime and have already helped to support hundreds of at-risk young people into positive, diversionary activity.To support future delivery, the Home Office has appointed RAND Europe to deliver a process evaluation and feasibility impact study of Young Futures Panel pilots in 2025/26.The process evaluation will look at how the pilot Panels are implemented across the 20 Violence Reduction Units and 3 Serious Violence Duty partnerships involved in the pilot, identifying good practice and learning. In addition, the Home Office have commissioned RAND to conduct a feasibility study to consider whether a future impact evaluation of the programme is viable.

How many small boat crossings have taken place in each of the last ten years, including 2025.

The Home Office publishes daily statistics on detected small boat arrivals to the UK in the Small boat activity in the English Channel - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab) release.More detailed published data on small boat arrivals to the UK are provided in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release(opens in a new tab)’, with the nationality, age grouping and sex of arrivals shown in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets(opens in a new tab)’, with the latest data up to the end of September 2025.

What assessment she has made of the prevalence of drug smuggling among illegal migrants who arrive in the UK via the Channel.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to questions 71052, 71053 and 71054 on 4th September.

How many illegal immigrants have been deported under the Dublin Convention.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of individuals transferred out of the UK under the Dublin regulation is published in the Dublin regulation detailed dataset (Dub_D01). Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The data relates up to the end of 2020, after which the UK was no longer subject to the Dublin regulation.

What assessment her Department has made of the number of polygamous marriages recognised for limited purposes under UK immigration or family law in the latest period for which data is available.

All marriages conducted within the UK must be monogamous under the Marriage Act 1949 and related legislation.In some countries, polygamous or polyandrous marriages are permitted under the law of the country in which the marriage took place. Under the UK’s Immigration Rules only one spouse from a polygamous marriage can be granted entry or permission to stay in the UK as a partner. Additional spouses are not eligible for partner routes.No official data is collected on the number of polygamous marriages among applicants.

What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of legislation in tackling expressions of Holocaust denial that constitute threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour under the Public Order Act 1986.

Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society, and the Government is committed to tackling it in all its forms.The Home Secretary launched an independent review of public order and hate crime legislation on 5 October. This review will assess whether police powers remain fit for purpose, are used consistently, and strike the right balance between protecting the public and safeguarding the right to lawful protest.Under the Public Order Act 1986, expressions of Holocaust denial may constitute an offence where they meet the legal thresholds for threatening or abusive conduct under Section 5, or intentional harassment, alarm or distress under Section 4A.

What is the passenger entry and exit data referred to in the Data Usage Agreement the Home Office made with HMRC for the customer left UK data share pilot.

The passenger entry and exit data referred to in the Data Usage Agreement (DUA) between the Home Office and HMRC is Advance Passenger Information. This is essentially the passenger manifest for each flight or voyage, setting out the names and travel document details of individuals onboard aircraft or ships which depart from or to the UK. The Data Usage Agreement is covered by the Digital Economy Act 2017 to prevent fraud in the Child Benefit system.No Passenger Name Record (PNR) data has been re-personalised or shared with HMRC under the DUA. The Home Office Initial Status Analysis is not used to monitor departures of British Citizens from the UK.

Whether the government uses its Initial Status Analysis system to monitor the departure of British citizens from the UK, as well as non-citizens.

The passenger entry and exit data referred to in the Data Usage Agreement (DUA) between the Home Office and HMRC is Advance Passenger Information. This is essentially the passenger manifest for each flight or voyage, setting out the names and travel document details of individuals onboard aircraft or ships which depart from or to the UK. The Data Usage Agreement is covered by the Digital Economy Act 2017 to prevent fraud in the Child Benefit system.No Passenger Name Record (PNR) data has been re-personalised or shared with HMRC under the DUA. The Home Office Initial Status Analysis is not used to monitor departures of British Citizens from the UK.

What discussions she has had with (a) HMRC and (b) the Department for Work and Pension on the use of passenger name records.

The passenger entry and exit data referred to in the Data Usage Agreement (DUA) between the Home Office and HMRC is Advance Passenger Information. This is essentially the passenger manifest for each flight or voyage, setting out the names and travel document details of individuals onboard aircraft or ships which depart from or to the UK. The Data Usage Agreement is covered by the Digital Economy Act 2017 to prevent fraud in the Child Benefit system.No Passenger Name Record (PNR) data has been re-personalised or shared with HMRC under the DUA. The Home Office Initial Status Analysis is not used to monitor departures of British Citizens from the UK.

On what basis her Department re-personalised passenger name record data to share it with HMRC under the Data Usage Agreement: customer left UK data share pilot, published on 5 September 2024.

The passenger entry and exit data referred to in the Data Usage Agreement (DUA) between the Home Office and HMRC is Advance Passenger Information. This is essentially the passenger manifest for each flight or voyage, setting out the names and travel document details of individuals onboard aircraft or ships which depart from or to the UK. The Data Usage Agreement is covered by the Digital Economy Act 2017 to prevent fraud in the Child Benefit system.No Passenger Name Record (PNR) data has been re-personalised or shared with HMRC under the DUA. The Home Office Initial Status Analysis is not used to monitor departures of British Citizens from the UK.

What assessment has been made of police and enforcement capacity to investigate cryptocurrency-related crimes, including scams, ransomware payments, and illicit trading platforms.

The UK government has strengthened UK policing capabilities to tackle cryptocurrency-related crime effectively.Through the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (2023), law enforcement agencies (LEAs) gained new powers to seize illicit cryptoassets. As set out in the UK’s National Risk Assessment (NRA) of Money Laundering (ML) and Terrorist Financing (TF) 20251, this is supported by the recruitment of 475 new financial investigators across UK law enforcement, investment in advanced crypto forensic tracing technologies for LEAs, provision of specialist training for officers in crypto investigations and the creation of public-private operational crypto partnerships. Together, these measures enhance the UK’s ability to investigate cryptoasset crimes of all types and confiscate criminal proceeds.This year LEAs also received £3.2m of additional funding through the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS) Top Slice grant to tackle crypto crime through innovative projects which further build capability within the LEA system. A further c£3.9m of funding is committed for next year. Monitored by the Home Office, these projects strengthen efforts to investigate and seize crypto attributed to crime.The Home Office is developing legislative proposals to counter ransomware, which will provide law enforcement and operational partners with a robust evidence base and understanding of the ransomware payment landscape to support investigations and wider activity. The UK has led significant disruptions against ransomware gangs and their criminal ecosystem. In October 2024, we sanctioned 16 members of the prolific cyber-crime gang, Evil Corp, and in February 2025, UK sanctions targeted ZSERVERS, a prolific Russian cybercrime entity responsible for facilitating crippling ransomware attacks globally.The Government will also soon publish a new fraud strategy designed to tackle all types of scams, including those involving cryptocurrencies.1National risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing 2025 - GOV.UK

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on democratic accountability of abolishing Police and Crime Commissioners.

The Government is committed to transferring police governance functions to mayors, or to Policing and Crime Boards consisting of locally elected leaders where it is not possible to do so by 2028.Moving police governance functions to locally elected leaders will bring better outcomes for the public and policing. They sit across a range of different public services and budgets and are better positioned to promote collaboration across services and drive a holistic approach to crime prevention.Policing and Crime Boards will have a democratic mandate as they will be made up of locally elected leaders.