Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

What recent discussions she has had with the Animals in Science Regulation Unit on animal harm caused by incidents of non-compliance in UK laboratories.

In October 2024 I announced, in a written ministerial statement, that the animals in science regulator would be making reforms to its organisational design to most effectively deliver its purpose of protecting animals through maintaining compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.I am pleased to announce that those reforms are nearly complete. The effect of the changes will be stronger protections for animals; increased adherence to the principles of replacement, reduction, and refinement; an enhanced quality of service for the science sector; and increased assurance to the public of the protections the UK continues to deliver for animals in science.

What assessment she has made of the 154,904 animals involved in non-compliance incidents in British laboratories in 2023.

The Home Office takes non-compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 very seriously. The numbers of non-compliance cases vary in any given year. The total number of non-compliance cases reduced from 175 to 169 cases from 2022-23. Between these same years there was also a 48% reduction in adverse welfare cases.The Home Office regulator reviews each non-compliance case and provides details in its annual report (www.gov.uk/government/publications/animals-in-science-regulation-unit-annual-report-2023). Sanctions are applied in cases of non-compliance to reduce the risk of future non-compliance. Data regarding non-compliances is used to inform the risk-based audit programme.

With reference to the Animals in Science Regulation Unit annual report 2023, published in December 2024, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the 553 animals who experienced adverse welfare outcomes due to non-compliance in laboratories in 2023.

The Home Office takes non-compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 very seriously. The numbers of non-compliance cases vary in any given year. The total number of non-compliance cases reduced from 175 to 169 cases from 2022-23. Between these same years there was also a 48% reduction in adverse welfare cases.The Home Office regulator reviews each non-compliance case and provides details in its annual report (www.gov.uk/government/publications/animals-in-science-regulation-unit-annual-report-2023). Sanctions are applied in cases of non-compliance to reduce the risk of future non-compliance. Data regarding non-compliances is used to inform the risk-based audit programme.

What steps she is taking to increase the number of inspectors in the Animals in Science Regulation Unit.

The Home Office is in the final stages of delivering an ambitious programme of regulatory reform to assure protections for animals are provided and will ensure we create a regulatory environment that strives towards ever higher benchmarks of reduced harm.This will increase the total number of Inspectors from 17 at the end of 2023, to 22 by end of 2025.

What steps she is taking to increase the number of premises audited by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit.

All establishments licensed to breed or supply animals, or to carry out regulated procedures on animals under ASPA in Great Britain, are subject to the full requirements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA). This provides for a regulatory regimen of activities that protects animals in science including facilities audits by the Home Office to ensure compliance with the terms of their licences, the Code of Practice and with ASPA.Each establishment will receive an audit at least every three years if it does not hold special species and at least every year if it holds specially protected species.The Regulator is undertaking a structured programme of reforms. This will increase the total number of Inspectors from 17 at the end of 2023, to 22 by end of 2025.

What steps her Department is taking to help reduce the number of animals involved in non-compliance cases in British laboratories.

The Animals in Science Regulation Unit (ASRU) has published its compliance framework (www.gov.uk/guidance/animal-testing-and-research-compliance-with-aspa) which explains how it identifies and investigates potential incidents of non-compliance and decides on appropriate and proportionate measures and remedies where non-compliance has been found to occur. The Regulator’s published compliance policy aims to reduce the risk of future non-compliance.The Regulator is undertaking a structured programme of reforms. This will increase the total number of Inspectors from 17 at the end of 2023, to 22 by end of 2025.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the duration of project licences granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

The Home Office intends to conduct an internal review in relation to the duration of project licences for animal research under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA), as announced by the previous administration in a parliamentary debate of 19 February 2024.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2025 to Question 26777 on Undocumented Migrants: Repatriation, what the value is of the individual financial incentive offered to each person deported as a Controlled Voluntary Return.

Guidance on the functioning of the Voluntary Returns Service is available on Gov.uk at this link: Get help to return home if you’re a migrant in the UK: Overview - GOV.UK. I can confirm to the Hon Member that this guidance has not changed since the current Government came to office.The Home Office publishes all available information on returns expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and accounts at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab).

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2025 to Question 26777 on Undocumented Migrants: Repatriation, what the value is of the individual financial incentive offered to each person deported as a Verified Voluntary Return.

Guidance on the functioning of the Voluntary Returns Service is available on Gov.uk at this link: Get help to return home if you’re a migrant in the UK: Overview - GOV.UK. I can confirm to the Hon Member that this guidance has not changed since the current Government came to office.The Home Office publishes all available information on returns expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and accounts at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab).

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2025 to Question 26921 on Offenders: Deportation, what the cost to the public purse was of these deportations; and whether financial incentives were offered.

I refer the Hon Member to the Answer I gave him on 3 February to Question UIN 26775.

What the breakdown by country is of Foreign National Offenders deported between 4 July and 31 December 2024.

The Home Office publishes data on foreign national offenders returned by their nationality and country of return in the Immigration Systems Statistics quarterly release. These returns are published in the Returns Detailed Datasets, Year Ending September 2024, which are available at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK. The latest data is for September 2024, with data up to December 2024 due to be published on 27 February.I can also confirm that between 5 July 2024 and 4 January 2025, 2,580 FNOs have been returned either by enforced or voluntary return; this is an increase of 23% compared with the same period 12 months prior.The published statistics refer to enforced returns which include deportations, as well as cases where a person has breached UK immigration laws, and those removed under other administrative and illegal entry powers that have declined to leave voluntarily. Figures on deportations, which are a subset of enforced returns, are not separately available.

What the potential cost to the public purse was of financial incentives to Verified Voluntary Returns in Quarter three of 2024.

The Home Office publishes all available information on returns expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and accounts at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab).

What the cost of financial incentives offered to Assisted Voluntary Returns deported in Quarter 3 of 2024 was.

The Home Office publishes all available information on returns expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and accounts at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab)

What the potential cost to the public purse was of financial incentives to Controlled Voluntary Returns in Quarter three of 2024.

The Home Office publishes all available information on returns expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and accounts at Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab).

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2025 to Question 22404 on People Smuggling, whether her Department has recorded the number of OIC groups that have been broken up by law enforcement agencies since 4 July 2024.

Where it is possible to make them public, the Home Office and National Crime Agency regularly publish details of successful operations about OIC gangs, including on numbers of arrests and volumes of seizures, and will continue to do so in the future.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2025 to Question 22767 on Border Security Command, what aspect of system leadership the Border Security Command provides to the National Crime Agency.

The objective of system leadership in the context of border security is to ensure that all partners are working toward a single coordinated plan and unified response to border threats, particularly organised immigration crime.Tackling threats to our border security is not exclusive to individual police forces which is why we work with the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, similarly the National Crime Agency, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force should not be distinct in this regard. As set out in the Delivering Border Security statement published on gov.uk, the BSC as system leader will drive priorities across the border security system, ensuring the system has the appropriate resources, powers, capabilities, and mandates in place across the piece to deliver on priorities set by the Government.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2025 to Question 22767 on Border Security Command, what aspect of system leadership the Border Security Command provides to Border Force.

The objective of system leadership in the context of border security is to ensure that all partners are working toward a single coordinated plan and unified response to border threats, particularly organised immigration crime.Tackling threats to our border security is not exclusive to individual police forces which is why we work with the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, similarly the National Crime Agency, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force should not be distinct in this regard. As set out in the Delivering Border Security statement published on gov.uk, the BSC as system leader will drive priorities across the border security system, ensuring the system has the appropriate resources, powers, capabilities, and mandates in place across the piece to deliver on priorities set by the Government.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2025 to Question 22767 on Border Security Command, what aspect of system leadership the Border Security Command provides to the police; and with which police forces it is working in partnership.

The objective of system leadership in the context of border security is to ensure that all partners are working toward a single coordinated plan and unified response to border threats, particularly organised immigration crime.Tackling threats to our border security is not exclusive to individual police forces which is why we work with the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, similarly the National Crime Agency, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force should not be distinct in this regard. As set out in the Delivering Border Security statement published on gov.uk, the BSC as system leader will drive priorities across the border security system, ensuring the system has the appropriate resources, powers, capabilities, and mandates in place across the piece to deliver on priorities set by the Government.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2025 to Question 22767 on Border Security Command, what aspect of system leadership the Border Security Command provides to Immigration Enforcement.

The objective of system leadership in the context of border security is to ensure that all partners are working toward a single coordinated plan and unified response to border threats, particularly organised immigration crime.Tackling threats to our border security is not exclusive to individual police forces which is why we work with the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, similarly the National Crime Agency, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force should not be distinct in this regard. As set out in the Delivering Border Security statement published on gov.uk, the BSC as system leader will drive priorities across the border security system, ensuring the system has the appropriate resources, powers, capabilities, and mandates in place across the piece to deliver on priorities set by the Government.

Whether her Department plans to take steps to give Police and Fire Commissioner roles to combined authority mayors.

Since their introduction, Police (Fire) and Crime Commissioners (P(F)CCs) have brought greater local accountability to policing and we recognise the important role they play as the elected voice of their local communities.The English Devolution White Paper published last month sets out an ambition for greater alignment of mayoral and public safety functions. The White Paper can be found here. ​​English Devolution White Paper​: Power and partnership: Foundations for growth - GOV.UK