Written questions by McMurdock.

What arrangements are in place between UK police forces and international partners to assist in locating missing children who may have been taken abroad.

This Government is committed to ensuring a robust multiagency response to missing people, including children, and safeguarding them from harm. We recognise that missing episodes, however brief, can often be a red flag for a number of harms including child sexual exploitation and criminal exploitation. We are determined to work together across government, including with the police and other safeguarding partners, to improve the whole system response to missing individuals and their families. We are introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation in the Crime and Policing Bill to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime.As part of this legislation, we are also delivering new civil preventative orders which will disrupt and prevent child criminal exploitation from occurring or re-occurring. We are also funding the Children’s Society to deliver the Prevention Programme to work with professionals within the private, statutory and third sectors, as well as the general public, to raise awareness and upskills staff to better respond to, disrupt and prevent multiple forms of child exploitation Each missing child case represents both a vulnerable young person at risk and a family in crisis, often with complex underlying causes that need to be understood and addressed. We are working to support the NPCC and its rollout of its ‘Children who go Missing from Care’ Framework as another vital tool when tackling head-on the underlying vulnerabilities in children that often lead to missing episodes and further strengthening frontline response The Home Office does not hold information on the average length of time taken is for police forces to find children reported as missing, given the complexities and care different cases require. Where there is a case of a child going missing internationally, the police are able to work with international partners to investigate, including where cases are raised under the Hague Convention.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of child criminal exploitation on the number of missing children cases; and what steps her Department is taking to improve early intervention.

This Government is committed to ensuring a robust multiagency response to missing people, including children, and safeguarding them from harm. We recognise that missing episodes, however brief, can often be a red flag for a number of harms including child sexual exploitation and criminal exploitation. We are determined to work together across government, including with the police and other safeguarding partners, to improve the whole system response to missing individuals and their families. We are introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation in the Crime and Policing Bill to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime.As part of this legislation, we are also delivering new civil preventative orders which will disrupt and prevent child criminal exploitation from occurring or re-occurring. We are also funding the Children’s Society to deliver the Prevention Programme to work with professionals within the private, statutory and third sectors, as well as the general public, to raise awareness and upskills staff to better respond to, disrupt and prevent multiple forms of child exploitation Each missing child case represents both a vulnerable young person at risk and a family in crisis, often with complex underlying causes that need to be understood and addressed. We are working to support the NPCC and its rollout of its ‘Children who go Missing from Care’ Framework as another vital tool when tackling head-on the underlying vulnerabilities in children that often lead to missing episodes and further strengthening frontline response The Home Office does not hold information on the average length of time taken is for police forces to find children reported as missing, given the complexities and care different cases require. Where there is a case of a child going missing internationally, the police are able to work with international partners to investigate, including where cases are raised under the Hague Convention.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of AI-driven technology on a) detecting and b) preventing livestreamed child sexual abuse before transmission occurs.

The Government is unequivocal in its commitment to protecting children from online sexual abuse. Livestreamed abuse is a particularly abhorrent form of exploitation, and we are determined to ensure that offenders cannot use technology to harm children with impunity.The Online Safety Act introduces world-leading protections for children. It places robust duties on tech companies to prevent and swiftly remove illegal content, including child sexual abuse material, and to take proactive steps to protect children from harm. Ofcom, as the regulator, will have strong enforcement powers to ensure compliance.We committed in the Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy – Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls (accessible) - GOV.UK – ‘to make it impossible for children in the UK to take, share or view a nude image’ and that ‘we are working constructively with companies to make this a reality’. The use of AI-driven technology to detect and disrupt livestreamed child sexual abuse is vital to the delivery of this commitment – including through the deployment of such technology at device operating system level, which can help prevent abuse before it happens. Such tools can detect and disrupt livestreamed abuse and other image-based harms, while respecting users’ privacy and maintaining end-to-end encryption. The Government continues to work closely with law enforcement, industry, and child protection experts to ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of efforts to tackle online child sexual abuse.

What steps she is taking to help tackle (a) human trafficking and (b) employer abuse affecting seafarers.

The Government takes reports of labour exploitation and human trafficking very seriously, including employer abuse against seafarers, and we remain committed to tackling the crime of modern slavery – wherever it occurs.The Home Office funds the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), which has specially trained officers with police-style powers to prevent, detect, and investigate serious labour exploitation across the entire economy in England and Wales.The Government is also establishing the Fair Work Agency (FWA) through the Employment Rights Act. This will bring under one roof multiple agencies and bodies, including the GLAA, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, and HMRC’s National Minimum Wage Team and will ensure a more cohesive and streamlined response to exploitation across the economy. The FWA will have enhanced powers and resources to identify and address labour exploitation more effectively, including new powers to investigate under the Fraud Act 2006.In relation to tackling abuse related to seafarers, Border Force is making use of maritime powers introduced by the Modern Slavery Act 2015 to detain vessels where there is suspected modern slavery.As an operational command within the Home Office, BSC-Maritime takes responsibility for safeguarding the vulnerable and, where necessary, Maritime officers can and do take direct action to remove seafarers from abusive or exploitative environments for their protection, regardless of whether the offence is detected in port or at sea.Maritime Command works closely with Government partners such as the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) to train Border Force officers to identify offences relevant to those partners, such as labour abuses under the ILO Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) or ILO Work in Fishing Convention No.188 (ILO C188).

Pursuant to her Department’s press release entitled Record year of drug seizures made by Border Force, published on 12 February 2026, what measures are taken as part of the 'seize and return' policy to help ensure that smugglers do not attempt to return to the UK.

Home Office officials continue to explore all the new and emerging technologies that are available to help identify and intercept the vessels and individuals involved in smuggling drugs in the maritime environment, and our intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities remain amongst the best in the world. For reasons of national security it would not be appropriate to go into greater detail.

Pursuant to her Department’s press release entitled Record year of drug seizures made by Border Force, published on 12 February 2026, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of cannabis and ketamine smuggling imports which are not intercepted.

Home Office officials continue to explore all the new and emerging technologies that are available to help identify and intercept the vessels and individuals involved in smuggling drugs in the maritime environment, and our intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities remain amongst the best in the world. For reasons of national security it would not be appropriate to go into greater detail.

Pursuant to her Department’s press release entitled Record year of drug seizures made by Border Force, published on 12 February 2026, what proportion of Border Force drug seizures in the year to March 2025 were made at sea compared with airports and other ports; and what recent investments have been made to enhance maritime detection capabilities.

Home Office officials continue to explore all the new and emerging technologies that are available to help identify and intercept the vessels and individuals involved in smuggling drugs in the maritime environment, and our intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities remain amongst the best in the world. For reasons of national security it would not be appropriate to go into greater detail.

Pursuant to her Department’s press release entitled Record year of drug seizures made by Border Force, published on 12 February 2026, how many foreign criminals have been deported under the seize and return policy to date.

Home Office officials continue to explore all the new and emerging technologies that are available to help identify and intercept the vessels and individuals involved in smuggling drugs in the maritime environment, and our intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities remain amongst the best in the world. For reasons of national security it would not be appropriate to go into greater detail.

What proportion of staff in her Department have (a) office-based, (b) hybrid and (c) remote-working contracts.

The Home Office offers only office‑based and home‑working contracts.Contract TypeProportionOffice-based workers96.57%Contractual Home Workers3.43%

What assessment she has made of the potential impact on the UK labour market of levels of net emigration among UK nationals aged between 16 and 34.

I refer Hon Member to answer provided to PQ 95781 on 1 December 2025.

With reference to her Department's news story, Government leads global fight against deepfake threats, published on 5 February 2026, is she will publish an evaluation of the deepfake detection framework.

The evaluation framework is a security‑sensitive tool designed to support government and law enforcement in protecting the public from synthetic media threats. Publishing the framework would risk revealing information that could be exploited by adversaries to bypass or undermine defensive measures. For this reason, the framework will not be published.

With reference to her Department's news story, Government leads global fight against deepfake threats, published on 5 February 2026, what steps she is taking to coordinate with he international counterparts to tackle deepfake generation targeted at British citizens abroad.

There has been strong interest from international partners, many of whom participated in the recent Deepfake Detection Challenge live event. The Government will continue to work closely with these partners to share best practice, exchange technical insights and promote aligned approaches to the detection and mitigation of synthetic media threats.

Pursuant to her Department’s new story entitled, Government leads global fight against deepfake threats, published on 5 February 2026, what metrics will be used to evaluate the success of the new deepfake detection evaluation framework.

The purpose of the new evaluation framework is to enable government and law enforcement to assess the performance, robustness and operational value of deepfake detection tools. The framework evaluates detection tools against a range of technical and operational criteria, including accuracy, false‑positive and false‑negative rates, resilience to adversarial attacks, and usability within high‑volume investigative workflows. Success will be measured through the provision of clear, comparable performance metrics that support evidence‑based procurement decisions and ensure frontline users have access to the most effective technologies.

With reference to her Department's news story, Government leads global fight against deepfake threats, published on 5 February 2026, whether she plans to repeat the Deepfake Detection Challenge to continue testing the technical challenges of deepfake detection and identifying opportunities.

The Deepfake Detection Challenge has enabled extensive engagement across government policy teams, operational users, and the wider national security community to understand current and emerging threats. The Government will continue to evaluate deepfake detection capabilities to ensure tools remain effective against emerging techniques, and operational users have up-to-date information for procurement decisions.

How many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children were supported by local authorities in each financial year since 2019-20.

The Home Office does not hold data on the number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) supported by local authorities. Local authorities have a duty to provide services to all children in need in their area. Under section 20(1) of the Children Act 1989, when a local authority has accommodated an unaccompanied child for 24 hours, they become 'looked after'. An unaccompanied child is entitled to the same support as any other looked after child, regardless of their immigration status. The Department for Education publishes annual data on the number of UASC looked after by local authorities in England here -Children looked after in England including adoptions - reporting year 2025

What the average cost per unaccompanied asylum-seeking child to local authorities was in the 2024-25 financial year.

Support for looked after children, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, is the statutory responsibility of local authorities. The primary source of funding for local authority children's social care is through the Local Government Funding Settlement (and Devolved equivalents).In addition to the funding for children's social care that local authorities receive through the Local Government Finance Settlement, and equivalent finance arrangements which apply to the Devolved Governments, the Home Office provides additional funding contributions to support local authorities in meeting the costs incurred looking after unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

What assessment she has made of the sustainability of current funding arrangements for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

Support for looked after children, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, is the statutory responsibility of local authorities. The primary source of funding for local authority children's social care is through the Local Government Funding Settlement (and Devolved equivalents).In addition to the funding for children's social care that local authorities receive through the Local Government Finance Settlement, and equivalent finance arrangements which apply to the Devolved Governments, the Home Office provides additional funding contributions to support local authorities in meeting the costs incurred looking after unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

What steps she is taking to reduce the long-term reliance of asylum seekers on local authority social care services.

The Home Office provides funding to local authorities, to assist with eligible expenditure costs of supporting asylum seekers in asylum accommodation in their areas, through the asylum dispersal grant. Expenditure for the funding may include, but not be limited to, social care costs. However, individual local authorities are free to determine how best to utilise the funding provided as long as they can demonstrate it has been used to support asylum seekers in their areas.Full details of the grant can be found here - Asylum Dispersal Grant: funding instruction - GOV.UK.

Whether her Department plans to fully reimburse local authorities for the costs of providing social care to asylum seekers.

The Home Office provides funding to local authorities, to assist with eligible expenditure costs of supporting asylum seekers in asylum accommodation in their areas, through the asylum dispersal grant. Expenditure for the funding may include, but not be limited to, social care costs. However, individual local authorities are free to determine how best to utilise the funding provided as long as they can demonstrate it has been used to support asylum seekers in their areas.Full details of the grant can be found here - Asylum Dispersal Grant: funding instruction - GOV.UK.

With reference to the Prime Minister’s press release entitled Prime Minister unlocks new opportunities for British businesses in China, published on 29 January 2026, how she plans to monitor and evaluate cooperation with China on transnational organised crime and illegal immigration.

The Home Office will monitor and evaluate the impact of any cooperation with China by assessing operational outcomes against the UK’s Transnational Crime and Illegal Migration threat picture, drawing on performance indicators and intelligence from UK operational partners to determine the reduction in associated harms.