Written questions by Hayes.

What steps she is taking to support police forces to prevent lead theft in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) other rural areas.

Theft, including the theft of lead, is a deeply damaging crime and this Government recognises the distress and disruption it can cause, not only to businesses, but also to local communities and critical infrastructure.The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 was introduced to reduce metal theft by strengthening regulation of the scrap metal industry. The Act requires scrap metal dealers to obtain a licence from their local authority and to verify the identity of those selling the scrap metal; it also bans dealers from paying cash.Following the introduction of the Act, there was an overall downward trend in metal-related theft offences. The latest figures for the year ending March 2024 are 64% lower than in the previous year.Furthermore, the sentencing guidelines on theft have been amended to highlight that where theft is of heritage assets or causes disruption to infrastructure, this should be taken into account when assessing the harm.Historic England is leading on a number of initiatives to tackle heritage crime, particularly theft from church roofs and other buildings primarily in rural locations, and the Home Office and National Police Chiefs’ Council are continuing to work closely with them.

What proportion of food procured by her Department is sourced in the UK.

I refer the Rt Honourable member to the answer he was given on 10 March 2025 to Question UIN 34773.

What estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of power cable thefts in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) England in each of the last three years.

While there is no official estimate of the cost to the public purse of cable thefts in England and Wales, Network Rail believe it costs millions of pounds each year with the total cost to the economy taking into account the impact of freight delays to power stations and supermarkets, and on passengers who miss appointments or have their day ruined even higher.This Government recognises the distress and disruption that such theft can cause to critical infrastructure.The Government will continue to support the extensive work undertaken by the British Transport Police, in partnership with organisations such as Network Rail, to further improve the response to metal theft by disrupting those involved in this type of crime.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the police grant for 2025-2026 on levels of crime in Lincolnshire.

This Government is committed to ensuring that the police can tackle crime effectively.Total funding to police forces will be up to £17.5 billion, an increase of up to £1.1 billion compared to the 2024-25 police funding settlement. This equates to a 6.6% cash increase, and 4.1% real terms increase in funding. This includes an additional £200 million to kickstart the first phase of delivering 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles.Lincolnshire Police’s funding will be up to £173.2m in 2025-26, an increase of up to £9 million when compared to the 2024-25 police settlement. This includes an additional £1.7 million for neighbourhood policing.

How the overseas aid budget has been spent in the context of housing for asylum seekers in the UK in each of the last three years.

In-donor refugee costs are published each year in the Statistics on International Development (SIDs). 2024 figures will be published in the Spring 2025 provisional SIDs publication.

What steps she is taking to ensure sufficient recruitment of retained firefighters in Lincolnshire.

Whilst the Government is committed to ensuring fire and rescue services have the resources they need to do their important work, it is individual fire and rescue authorities that are responsible for recruitment and decisions around deployment of resources.With the local government finance settlement now agreed, standalone fire and rescue authorities will see an increase in core spending power of £65.5m in 2025/26. Including the National Insurance Contribution Grant this is an increase of 3.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2024/25.

How many full time equivalent civil servants are employed to work on the asylum backlog.

The requested staffing data is published online: Immigration and protection data: Q3 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

What assessment she has made of the potential (a) merits and (b) risks of registering births and deaths online.

The General Register Office is considering the options to provide the public with more choice in how they register births and deaths in the future, whether face-to-face, over the telephone or online.Any provision of online services will be subject to established Government Security Standards.

How many serving police officers had their vetting clearance withdrawn in each of the last five years.

This data is not held by the Home Office. The administration of police vetting, including the granting and withdrawal of clearances, is managed at a local level by forces.As announced by the Home Secretary in October, the Government will be bringing forward regulations on police vetting for the first time which will introduce a statutory duty for officers to hold and maintain vetting clearance and provide a bespoke route to dismiss officers who are unable to do so.

If she will make an estimate of the number of people working illegally in the gig economy in England and Wales.

The Home Office does not hold the requested data. Recent joint work between the Office for National Statistics and the Home Office explains the complexities of measuring numbers in this area. Measuring illegal migration: our current view - Office for National Statistics.

If she will publish a list of occupations of people arrested for working illegally in the UK.

The Home Office does not hold a comprehensive list of the occupations for which individuals have been arrested for illegal working but the focus of recent enforcement work has included car washes, nail bars, construction sites ad takeaway restaurants.

How many (a) hotels and (b) other properties are being used to accommodate asylum seekers in Lincolnshire.

Data, published quarterly, on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent statistics release. The data can also be broken down by local authority: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).

If she will publish an anonymised list of Non Crime Hate Incidents investigated by police forces in England and Wales.

The Home Office does not currently centrally collate information on non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) recorded or investigated by individual police forces – this data is held by individual forces.The Home Secretary has been clear that a consistent and common-sense approach must be taken with NCHIs. The Government has also been clear that its top priority for policing is delivering on the safer streets mission to rebuild neighbourhood policing, restoring public confidence, and making progress on the ambition to halve knife crime and violence against women and girls.The Home Office has agreed that the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), supported by the College of Policing, will conduct a review on the use and effectiveness of NCHIs, including looking at force-level data.

How many inflatable boats used to smuggle people across the English Channel were seized in (a) 2022, (b) 2023 and (c) 2024.

The information requested is set out in the below table: Boats2022142120235152024751

How many people arriving on small boats seeking asylum underwent scientific age checks in 2024.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Answer I gave to the Shadow Home Secretary on 2 January 2025 to Question UIN 18967.

How many people have been (a) charged and (b) convicted for offences relating to supplying small boat parts to gangs involved in smuggling people across the English channel in (i) 2022, (ii) 2023 and (iii) 2024.

As the Rt Hon Member will be aware, the recently introduced Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill proposes a new offence relating to the supply of articles for use in Organised Immigration Crime, through which we will seek to clamp down on the activities to which his question refers. In respect of charges and convictions in pervious years where these activities were a factor, this data is not held centrally.

How much money was seized from gangs involved in smuggling people across the English Channel in (a) 2022, (b) 2023 and (c) 2024.

Seized/Frozen2022/23£7,543,7462023/24£2,616,5092024/25£13,376,869 Seized and frozen assets relating to Organised Immigration Crime, Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery for the financial years requested is available. These would include much of the seized assets in relation to people smuggling across the Channel.

For what purposes the National Crime Agency has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

The NCA is working on a number of productivity improvements using AI.Examples include piloting automation for case management of investigations and automating back-end processes in the areas of Human Resources and Finance.

Whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of fraudulent visa applications made in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024.

There are a wide range of circumstances which can lead to a visa application being classed as fraudulent, including the use of false documentation, or lying about the purpose of a visit, employment status or financial situation.Data on the total number of fraudulent visa applications is not readily available in accessible form and could only be collated and verified for the purpose of this question at a disproportionate cost.

How many people entered the UK on a visa and overstayed in each of the last three years.

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas in the ‘Immigration System Statistics quarterly release’.The specific data requested is not routinely published and could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at a disproportionate cost.