Written questions by Stafford.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of permitting Abu Wadee to (a) enter and (b) remain in the United Kingdom on (i) national security and (ii) public safety; and what checks were undertaken on previous statements, associations and activities relating to antisemitism and extremist ideology before any decision was taken.

The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.The first priority of government is protecting national security. All applications for UK immigration status, including asylum claims, are subject to comprehensive security checks. Where an individual is assessed as presenting a risk to our country, we take swift and robust action.The Home Office uses various tools to detect and disrupt travel by individuals of national security interest and by individuals excluded from the UK; previously deported from the UK; or using lost, stolen or revoked documents and visas. This includes the use of domestic and international watchlists.

What assessment she has made of the compatibility of the Socialist Workers Party with the criteria for proscription.

To proscribe an organisation the Home Secretary must have a reasonable belief that it is currently concerned in terrorism, and it must be necessary and proportionate to do so. This means the organisation participates or commits; prepares for; promotes, encourages, or unlawfully glorifies; or is in some way otherwise concerned in terrorism. The Home Secretary may then exercise her discretion to proscribe an organisation and will consider all the relevant factors in deciding whether to do so.It is our long-standing policy not to comment on intelligence and security matters, including whether or not an organisation is under consideration for proscription.

What discussions she has had with the Israeli authorities on the sharing of (a) intelligence, (b) biometric data and (c) watchlists in relation to people released under prisoner agreements related to conflict in the Middle East.

It is the long-standing policy of successive governments not to comment publicly on discussions related to the UK sharing intelligence with international partners. The Home Office uses various tools to detect and disrupt travel by terrorists, by criminals and by individuals excluded from the UK; previously deported from the UK; or using lost, stolen or revoked documents and visas. This includes the use of domestic and international watchlists. It is a longstanding policy that HMG does not comment on the specific data held on the watchlist, how the data is used, or its source, as to do so would be harmful to the national security of the UK.

What steps she has taken to ensure that (a) the Border Force and (b) UK national security agencies are aware of the identities of high-risk individuals released in prisoner exchanges in the Middle East.

The Home Secretary has not had any engagement with Israeli authorities to discuss these matters. Since October 2023, a specialist team of experts from the FCDO have been providing support to family members in the UK and Israel. Officials have offered support to the hostage families forum, including through ministerial and senior official engagement.We have also connected the families with specialist agencies and organisations that can offer practical and psychological support, including FCDO-funded partner Hostage International.The Home Office uses various tools to detect and disrupt travel by terrorists, by criminals and by individuals excluded from the UK; previously deported from the UK; or using lost, stolen or revoked documents and visas. This includes the use of domestic and international watchlists.It is a longstanding policy that HMG does not comment on the specific data held on the watchlist, how the data is used, or its source, as to do so would be harmful to the national security of the UK.

What vetting processes are in place to prevent people with a history of violence or extremism from being granted asylum, in the context of recent developments in the Middle East.

All asylum claimants are subject to mandatory security checks to establish their identity and to link it to their biometric details for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks. These checks are critical to the delivery of a safe and secure immigration system.In line with the Refugee Convention, we will apply the relevant exclusion criteria and deny the benefits of refugee status to those who commit serious crimes and are a danger to the community or those who are a threat to national security.Extremists and other criminals who are denied protection status who cannot be removed because doing so would breach our obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, may be granted shorter more restrictive leave and will be subject to regular review. They are not eligible for the same range of benefits as those with protection status and cannot qualify for settlement. Such individuals are not welcome in the UK and will be removed at the earliest opportunity.

How she plans to maintain the integrity of UK borders while fulfilling international obligations towards asylum seekers, in the context of evolving security risks.

All asylum and human rights claims are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations so that we do not remove anyone to a country where they would face persecution or serious harm. All asylum claimants are subject to mandatory security checks to confirm their identity and to link it to their biometric details for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks. These checks are critical to the delivery of a safe and secure immigration system.The Home Office conducts mandatory identity and security checks on all irregular arrivals. We capture the given identity, and biometric (facial and fingerprint) data. This biographic and biometric data is checked and compared against relevant Home Office systems and police databases, including domestic and international data so we can establish whether the person is a known threat to public safety. Checks are conducted by the Home Office for a number of purposes, primarily for effective immigration control, safeguarding national security, and preventing, detecting and investigating serious and organised crime.Anyone convicted of a ‘particularly serious crime’, defined as being convicted by a final judgment and sentenced to a period of imprisonment of at least 12 months, and are considered a danger to the UK, will be denied asylum and considered for removal from the UK.

Whether she plans to use recently closed independent schools as alternative accommodation for illegal immigrants.

No, there are no current plans. Home Office officials work in collaboration with other government departments on a future strategy for asylum accommodation, aiming to develop a better, long-term model of accommodation supply, which may be more locally led, should reduce competition for affordable housing, and help deliver new supply. Greater emphasis is being placed on engagement and collaboration with local authorities, and a variety of options are being tested. Value for money, community cohesion and the wellbeing of asylum seekers will continue to be at the forefront of decision making as officials continue to explore options and develop this strategy.

What estimate she has made of the potential impact of (a) digitising and (b) centralising the firearms licensing process on police time.

The Government has no plans to introduce the centralisation of the firearms licensing process. The Firearms Act 1968 places statutory responsibility for firearms licensing on the Chief Officer of Police of each individual force in England, Wales and Scotland.This framework is supported by Statutory Guidance to Chief Officers of Police issued by the Home Secretary in respect of firearms licensing and by Authorised Professional Practice issued by the College of Policing.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the licensing system for Section 2 shotguns on rural economies.

We will be undertaking a public consultation later this year on the greater alignment of the controls on shotguns with other firearms.The Government response to the 2023 firearms licensing consultation, published on 13 February this year, included a commitment to having a consultation on strengthening the licensing controls on shotguns.We will carefully consider the views put forward to the consultation in due course and this includes the possible impact of any changes.

What information her Department holds on the (a) number and (b) nature of instances in which members of the public have been subject to monitoring by government agencies on social media platforms in the last 12 months.

It is the longstanding policy of successive UK Governments that we do not comment on operational intelligence or security matters.

For what reason chefs were removed from the Shortage Occupation List under the Skilled Worker visa route; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of that decision on (a) small and (b) independent hospitality businesses.

As set out in the Immigration White Paper ‘Restoring Control over the Immigration System’, published on 12 May, this Government’s approach is to link migration policy and visa controls to skills and labour market policies, so that immigration is not used as an alternative to training or tackling workforce problems in the UK.Chefs were removed from the Shortage Occupation List upon the recommendation of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) in their 2020 review under the previous government. In their 2023 review the MAC found that entry to the now defunct Shortage Occupation List would ‘contribute to downward pressure on wages in the occupation’.

What assessment has been made of the adequacy of the information on gov.uk on the support available to asylum seekers.

The Home Office keeps all its information pages under regular review.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the (a) Irish band Kneecap and (b) Bob Vylan performances at Glastonbury.

Avon and Somerset Police have opened an independent criminal investigation into the matters raised, and it would therefore be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of poor mobile signal on police capacity to (a) respond to and (b) manage rural crime.

This Government is committed to reducing crime in rural areas. Our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will deliver 13,000 more neighbourhood police by the end of the Parliament, whilst also ensuring each community, including rural communities, has a named, contactable officer to turn to. Rural communities can be assured that visible, neighbourhood policing is returning to our communities.The Emergency Services Network (ESN) has been planned to provide coverage to the whole of the UK providing effective mobile services for all of the emergency services. EE’s Network is being upgraded to support the ESN radio infrastructure across the country. Supplementary to this the Home Office are managing and deploying an extra 292 sites filling in the coverage not spots within the most rural parts of Great Britain, ensuring these areas have coverage levels that support effective communications for the Emergency Services.Additionally, the core Airwave network service, funded by the Home Office, provides vehicle levels of radio coverage across the entirety of Great Britain and this is well understood by all Police forces. Several forces have elected to enhance this coverage to provide hand-held contractual coverage depending on their own operational need and practices.The delivery of ESN has estimated total economic benefits of £2.4 billion (present values) most of which are from ESN 999-calls. Additional identified benefits of connecting ESN 999-calls to police in England and all emergency services in Scotland and Wales, are currently being assessed and will add considerably to the programme’s future monetisable benefits. The strategic case around providing a prompt and high quality 999 service, the obsolescence risk of TETRA and other significant non-monetised benefits, further enhance the value for money assessment.

What steps her Department is taking to tackle (a) the use of pro-Hamas slogans, (b) other public displays of support and (c) online displays of support for Hamas.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer that I gave to the Rt Hon Member for Fareham and Waterlooville on 7 May in response to Question 48984.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of limiting sponsored workers to 20 hours of secondary employment on migrant workers; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of permitting additional regulated employment to support those workers to meet living costs.

The salary rules we have in place on many sponsored work routes are designed to ensure workers are paid enough from their primary sponsored employment to be able to support themselves without needing to take second jobs.The rules are designed to strike a balance between allowing sponsored workers to take on additional work if they wish, while ensuring the main purpose of their stay in the UK remains the primary sponsored work for which their visas were issued.As well as working their contracted hours sponsored workers can work overtime with their sponsoring employer and can apply to work any number of hours in secondary employment with another licensed sponsor. This arrangement does not count as supplementary employment, therefore they can work as many hours as they agree with their employer, subject to working time regulations.Further people can also undertake up to 20 hours supplementary employment. This was expanded in Spring 2024 to allow people in the Skilled Worker route to do supplementary employment in any eligible occupation instead of it having to be the same occupation or a job on the Shortage Occupation List as used to be the case.

What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme in enabling (a) parents and (b) carers to access information about people who may pose a risk to children.

The Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme, introduced in 2011, allows members of the public to make an application to police for information about a person who has contact with a child.To capture better data in order to review the efficacy of the Scheme, an Annual Data Requirement for police forces was introduced in April 2021, requiring police forces in England and Wales to submit data on the number of applications made, how many related to registered sex offenders and how many resulted in disclosure.Following consultation with law enforcement and third sector partners, the police guidance and supporting documents for the scheme were updated and published in April 2023. This included supporting the introduction of online applications to the scheme, making it easier for the public to raise a concern, while also reducing the timeframe for applications to be processed and formalising proactive disclosure processes to ensure that information is provided to the right people at the right time to protect children from harm.Through the Crime and Policing Bill, this government is going further to strengthen the scheme by seeking to place it on a statutory footing. This means that chief officers will have a statutory duty to have due regard to the guidance.

Whether her Department plans to review the (a) criteria and (b) process under which information on sex offenders is disclosed to the public under the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme.

The Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme, introduced in 2011, allows members of the public to make an application to police for information about a person who has contact with a child.To capture better data in order to review the efficacy of the Scheme, an Annual Data Requirement for police forces was introduced in April 2021, requiring police forces in England and Wales to submit data on the number of applications made, how many related to registered sex offenders and how many resulted in disclosure.Following consultation with law enforcement and third sector partners, the police guidance and supporting documents for the scheme were updated and published in April 2023. This included supporting the introduction of online applications to the scheme, making it easier for the public to raise a concern, while also reducing the timeframe for applications to be processed and formalising proactive disclosure processes to ensure that information is provided to the right people at the right time to protect children from harm.Through the Crime and Policing Bill, this government is going further to strengthen the scheme by seeking to place it on a statutory footing. This means that chief officers will have a statutory duty to have due regard to the guidance.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme on the number of trade visitors from the EU entering the UK.

Electronic travel authorisations (ETAs) have been introduced to enhance our ability to screen travellers upstream and stop those who pose a threat from travelling to the UK. In addition, by knowing more about people in advance of travel our ambition is to increase automation of passenger clearance at the border. This will improve the end-to-end experience for legitimate passengers and promote the UK as a top destination for tourism and business passengers. The experience of other countries to have implemented similar schemes (such as the USA) gives us confidence that volumes of business visitors will not be negatively impacted.The application is quick and light-touch, and many applications are decided within minutes. Since the scheme’s introduction until the end of 2024, over 1.1 million ETAs have been granted.The Home Office published an initial impact assessment on the introduction of ETAs, and a further Impact Assessment was published alongside the Fee Regulations in March that increased the chargeable ETA fee (alongside other fees) - The Immigration, Nationality and Passport (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2025.

What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on balancing public access to information on registered sex offenders with (a) data protection and (b) community safety.

Registered sex offenders (RSOs) are managed under the multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA). Under these arrangements, police, prison, probation service practitioners undertake a formal assessment of the risk posed by an RSO. Information about RSOs is held on ViSOR, the UK-wide database system used to store and share information and intelligence on those individuals managed under MAPPA.The police have common law disclosure powers that allow them to share relevant information with the public when they think there is a credible risk of harm, such as through the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) and the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme (CSODS). With regard to RSOs, the police must ensure that the disclosure of their conviction history is necessary to protect the person from being the victim of a crime, that there is a pressing need for the disclosure. Any decision to disclose under the scheme will be made based on the facts of each individual case, and the police can seek legal advice where necessary.