Written questions by Philp.

If she will take steps to ensure that long-standing tenants in Croydon are not (a) evicted and (b) displaced by higher rental offers made to landlords by (i) Serco and (ii) other contractors.

The Home Office has a legal obligation to provide accommodation for asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute, whilst their claims are being processed.This Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly. This includes our accommodation sites, as the Home Office continues to identify a range of options to minimise the use of hotels and ensure better use of public money, whilst maintaining sufficient accommodation to meet demand.Our accommodation strategy is to support exit from hotels and deliver a more sustainable model for asylum seekers, local partners, local authorities, and communities as a whole. We are working closely with Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to deliver this, with a focus on community cohesion.Accommodation providers are responsible for sourcing and securing suitable properties. They work closely with local authorities to ensure that local knowledge, intelligence and context inform procurement decisions, helping to place accommodation where it is most appropriate and sustainable.The procurement process is guided by principles of sustainability and measured growth, ensuring that accommodation is not only available but also suitable for long-term use and integrated within local communities.The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of asylum accommodation contracts on the private rented housing market in Croydon.

When this Government came to office, we inherited a system where hotels had become one of the primary means of providing asylum accommodation – with more than 400 in use in Autumn 2023 at a cost of almost £9 million per day – and where a 70 per cent collapse in asylum decision-making in the last months of the previous administration had driven that pressure up further.We have taken rapid action to address that chaos, in particular by speeding up the volume of asylum decision-making so that fewer people are stuck in limbo, dependent on support from the state, and so that more failed asylum-seekers can be removed from the UK, along with foreign national offenders and others with no right to be in our country.The number of hotels in use is now around half the peak reached under the previous Government, and we will take further action over the rest of this Parliament to end the use of asylum hotels entirely.We are continuing to work with a range of stakeholders to pursue that goal, while fulfilling our statutory obligations in the interim. Where the Home Office needs to use dispersed accommodation, it does so in accordance with the principle of Full Dispersal, announced by the previous government in 2022 to ensure that asylum seekers were more fairly distributed across the UK.We also continue to consult with local authorities, the police, and other interested parties to ensure that – wherever there are concerns over the impact of particular asylum accommodation sites on the local community, public safety and public amenities – all necessary actions are taken to address those concerns, and protect the security of each local area.

Whether Serco has been contracted to provide asylum seeker accommodation in Croydon.

When this Government came to office, we inherited a system where hotels had become one of the primary means of providing asylum accommodation – with more than 400 in use in Autumn 2023 at a cost of almost £9 million per day – and where a 70 per cent collapse in asylum decision-making in the last months of the previous administration had driven that pressure up further.We have taken rapid action to address that chaos, in particular by speeding up the volume of asylum decision-making so that fewer people are stuck in limbo, dependent on support from the state, and so that more failed asylum-seekers can be removed from the UK, along with foreign national offenders and others with no right to be in our country.The number of hotels in use is now around half the peak reached under the previous Government, and we will take further action over the rest of this Parliament to end the use of asylum hotels entirely.We are continuing to work with a range of stakeholders to pursue that goal, while fulfilling our statutory obligations in the interim. Where the Home Office needs to use dispersed accommodation, it does so in accordance with the principle of Full Dispersal, announced by the previous government in 2022 to ensure that asylum seekers were more fairly distributed across the UK.We also continue to consult with local authorities, the police, and other interested parties to ensure that – wherever there are concerns over the impact of particular asylum accommodation sites on the local community, public safety and public amenities – all necessary actions are taken to address those concerns, and protect the security of each local area.

What steps she is taking to establish an independent national inquiry into group-based child sexual exploitation.

On the 16 June the Home Secretary announced that she had accepted all 12 of Baroness Casey’s recommendations from her National Audit into Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.As part of this, and as recommended by Baroness Casey, the Government is moving swiftly to establish an Independent Commission on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation under the Inquiries Act 2005.We are working closely with partners across government and beyond to develop the Terms of Reference, which will be shaped through engagement with the appointed Chair, victims and survivors, and other key stakeholders.Following the appointment of the independent Chair and the establishment of the inquiry structure, the Commission will begin considering evidence and data to select the first local areas for targeted investigations.Further details will be announced in due course.

What steps her Department is taking in relation to institutions that have sponsored high numbers of students who have later claimed asylum.

The Immigration White Paper, published on 12 May, sets out proposals for reform in a wide range of areas, including student visas, further details of which will be set out in due course.

If she will publish the number people who came to the UK on a study visa and later claimed asylum for each sponsoring institution.

The Immigration White Paper, published on 12 May, sets out proposals for reform in a wide range of areas, including student visas, further details of which will be set out in due course.

When she plans to implement the £38,000 family visa salary threshold.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 22 May to Question 52912.

With reference to the rules laid in Parliament on 12 March 2025 regarding social care, how a social care provider can prove that they have tried to recruit domestically before seeking to sponsor new recruits from overseas.

The Home Office will publish guidance for sponsors in line with the new rules coming into effect on 9 April.

With reference to the rules laid in Parliament on 12 March 2025 on care workers, how many social care workers have (a) been removed from the UK and (b) had their visas cancelled as a result of their sponsor losing their licence since 4 July 2024.

The information requested 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.

With reference to the judgement in case UI-2024-005295 issued in the Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber on 13 January 2025, whether her Department has plans to appeal the judgement.

The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases or legal proceedings in which it is a participant.

If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the Italian Government decision to use naval ships to transport migrants to Albania.

The Italian navy has competence for the transfer of migrants rescued in international waters to the centres in Albania run by the Italian government.As part of this Government’s expansion of international cooperation in the fight against Organised Immigration Crime, we constantly monitor the impact of the methods, techniques and technology that other partner nations and agencies are employing in that fight.The UK government is monitoring the Italian government implementation of their deal with Albania as an innovative approach to manage migration flows.

If she will use sanctions including visa penalties on countries that do not cooperate with the removal of their nationals.

Where cooperation with countries on returns falls below the levels expected, and where appropriate, we stand ready to use all levers available to us to encourage cooperation, including the power to impose visa penalties.

Whether she has plans to proscribe drug cartels as terrorist organisations.

The criteria for proscribing an organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000, and the Governments approach to commenting on those decisions remain exactly the same as they were when the Rt Hon Member was a Home Office Minister.

If she will accelerate deportations of (a) foreign national offenders and (b) illegal immigrants.

We pledged to deliver the highest rate of removals since 2018 and this has been surpassed, with a surge in returns activity since the election leading to nearly 19,000 people with no right to be in the UK being removed in the first six months this government was in office.That included 5,074 enforced returns of people with no legal right to remain in the UK, up 24% compared with the same period 12 months prior, and the removal of 2,925 foreign national offenders (FNOs) – a 21% increase on the same period 12 months prior (FNO returns include both enforced and voluntary returns).As part of the above, bespoke charter flights have removed immigration offenders to countries around the world, including 4 of the biggest returns flights in the UK’s history, carrying more than 800 people in total.This ramp-up reverses the decline in removals seen over the past 10 years and, as part of the government’s Plan for Change, is working to fix the foundations of a broken immigration system.Further details on this government’s returns activity since 5 July can be found here: Returns from the UK since 5 July 2024 - GOV.UK

If she will instruct the Southport public inquiry to make an assessment of the adequacy of public communications by the Government in the aftermath of those murders.

We are moving swiftly to set up the inquiry.We will consult the families and other interested parties on its scope to ensure all critical issues are addressed while remaining manageable and sensitive to the needs of those most affected.We will announce further details about the inquiry in due course.

What the average number of case file (a) rejections and (b) discontinuations by the Crown Prosecution Service was (i) before and (ii) after the introduction of the CONNECT computer software.

Police forces and Policing and Crime Commissioners are responsible for their procurement and commercial strategies for Records Management Systems.Each force is responsible for evaluating the performance of their Record Management System in line with those strategies and their local requirements.It would not be appropriate for the Home Office to comment on the individual performance of one supplier in relation to the factors mentioned.

How much has been spent on the CONNECT computer software since its introduction by the Metropolitan Police on (a) further development of the software, (b) training including (i) accommodation, (ii) travel, (iii) classrooms, (iv) trainers and (v)overtime incurred by officers), (c) internal IT services to resolve CONNECT issues including ConnectHub, (d) shifts covered by officers to support staff with CONNECT, (e) initial purchase fees and installation, (f) other costs and (g) in total.

Police forces and Policing and Crime Commissioners are responsible for their procurement and commercial strategies for Records Management Systems.Each force is responsible for evaluating the performance of their Record Management System in line with those strategies and their local requirements.It would not be appropriate for the Home Office to comment on the individual performance of one supplier in relation to the factors mentioned.

What the average time spent by people in custody in police holding cells was in the two years (a) before and (b) after the introduction of the CONNECT software; and how many people have been detained in police holding cells by each police force for (i) 0 to 12 hours, (ii) 13 to 24 hours, (iii) 25 to 36 hours, (iv) 37 to 48 hours and (v) 49 hours or more since January 2019.

Police forces and Policing and Crime Commissioners are responsible for their procurement and commercial strategies for Records Management Systems.Each force is responsible for evaluating the performance of their Record Management System in line with those strategies and their local requirements.It would not be appropriate for the Home Office to comment on the individual performance of one supplier in relation to the factors mentioned.

How many police forces purchased CONNECT computer software; and how many such forces (a) no longer and (b) continue to use the software.

Police forces and Policing and Crime Commissioners are responsible for their procurement and commercial strategies for Records Management Systems.Each force is responsible for evaluating the performance of their Record Management System in line with those strategies and their local requirements.It would not be appropriate for the Home Office to comment on the individual performance of one supplier in relation to the factors mentioned.

What the average number of open custody records was in (a) 2019, (b) 2022, (c) 2023 and (d) 2024.

The information requested is not currently held centrally.The Home Office collects and publishes data on detentions in police custody in England and Wales, available here: Police powers and procedures England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK.This data includes the number of detentions by financial year, with the most recently available data up to March 2023. Data for the year ending March 2024 will be available in February 2025.