Written questions by Smart.

Whether she plans to introduce an (a) expedited and (b) automatic process for granting refugee status to children born in the UK to parents with existing refugee status.

Under the Immigration Rules protection status can only be granted when an individual’s protection needs have been considered and they are found to be eligible for refugee status in their own right.All asylum decisions must demonstrate that the child’s best interests have been a primary (albeit not necessarily the only) consideration. In many cases the basis of a child’s claim for asylum is the same as that of their parent(s), and we can assess a child’s claim for asylum based on the information the parent provides to us, applying the same principles as the Family Asylum Claim process. Further information about the Family Asylum Claim process is available here: Family asylum claims: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK.There may be cases where a child has no protection needs and would not be at risk on return to their country of origin. In these cases, parents can apply for leave-in-line on behalf of their child. Further information can be found in the dependants and former dependants guidance here: Dependants and former dependants: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK.We keep all of our policies under review and the Home Office continues to invest in a programme of transformation and business improvement initiatives to focus on speeding up decision making and reduce the time people spend in the asylum system and decrease the number of people who are awaiting an interview or decision.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the requirement for children born in the UK to parents with refugee status making separate asylum claims to obtain refugee status on asylum application backlogs.

Under the Immigration Rules protection status can only be granted when an individual’s protection needs have been considered and they are found to be eligible for refugee status in their own right.All asylum decisions must demonstrate that the child’s best interests have been a primary (albeit not necessarily the only) consideration. In many cases the basis of a child’s claim for asylum is the same as that of their parent(s), and we can assess a child’s claim for asylum based on the information the parent provides to us, applying the same principles as the Family Asylum Claim process. Further information about the Family Asylum Claim process is available here: Family asylum claims: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK.There may be cases where a child has no protection needs and would not be at risk on return to their country of origin. In these cases, parents can apply for leave-in-line on behalf of their child. Further information can be found in the dependants and former dependants guidance here: Dependants and former dependants: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK.We keep all of our policies under review and the Home Office continues to invest in a programme of transformation and business improvement initiatives to focus on speeding up decision making and reduce the time people spend in the asylum system and decrease the number of people who are awaiting an interview or decision.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the requirement for children born in the UK to parents with refugee status to make a separate asylum claim to obtain refugee status on people with that status.

Under the Immigration Rules protection status can only be granted when an individual’s protection needs have been considered and they are found to be eligible for refugee status in their own right.All asylum decisions must demonstrate that the child’s best interests have been a primary (albeit not necessarily the only) consideration. In many cases the basis of a child’s claim for asylum is the same as that of their parent(s), and we can assess a child’s claim for asylum based on the information the parent provides to us, applying the same principles as the Family Asylum Claim process. Further information about the Family Asylum Claim process is available here: Family asylum claims: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK.There may be cases where a child has no protection needs and would not be at risk on return to their country of origin. In these cases, parents can apply for leave-in-line on behalf of their child. Further information can be found in the dependants and former dependants guidance here: Dependants and former dependants: caseworker guidance - GOV.UK.We keep all of our policies under review and the Home Office continues to invest in a programme of transformation and business improvement initiatives to focus on speeding up decision making and reduce the time people spend in the asylum system and decrease the number of people who are awaiting an interview or decision.

What information her Department holds on the number of contacts that UK Fire and Rescue Services have had with (a) people experiencing suicidal ideation and (b) where a suicide is in progress; and if she will publish this data by each UK Fire and Rescue Service.

The Home Office collects data on incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) through the Incident Recording System (IRS), with this including non-fire incidents such as suicide / attempts. This data is published available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-statistics.The latest available data on the number of suicide / attempts incidents attended by Fire and Rescue Services in England is published in FIRE0901: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6787b920868b2b1923b64653/fire-statistics-data-tables-fire0901-230125.xlsxThe table below provides the number of suicide/attempts incidents in England between the years ending March 2011 and March 2024.Year ending MarchNumber of suicide/attempts incidents20111,17220121,16920131,07120141,11220151,10120161,30120171,49320181,62520191,91520202,04120212,09620222,58220232,82920243,113The data in this table are consistent with records that reached the IRS by 26 November 2024, and was published on 23 January 2025.

What the most recent statistics for hate crimes against transgender people are.

Transgender identity hate crimes are completely unacceptable and this Government is determined to tackle hate crime in all its forms. We have a robust legislative framework in place in England and Wales to respond to hate crimes, including those which target transgender people, and we back the police in taking strong action against the perpetrators of these offences.The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of transgender hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales. In the year ending March 2024, transgender hate crimes decreased by 2% to 4,780 offences in 2023/24, when compared with the previous year (4,889).

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of hate crimes against transgender people.

Transgender identity hate crimes are completely unacceptable and this Government is determined to tackle hate crime in all its forms. We have a robust legislative framework in place in England and Wales to respond to hate crimes, including those which target transgender people, and we back the police in taking strong action against the perpetrators of these offences.The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of transgender hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales. In the year ending March 2024, transgender hate crimes decreased by 2% to 4,780 offences in 2023/24, when compared with the previous year (4,889).

Whether her Department plans to introduce mandatory mental health support for police officers who have been exposed to distressing or traumatic incidents.

Chief Officers have a duty of care to manage their workforce effectively, including ensuring the wellbeing of all their officers and staff. This Government has been clear that the wellbeing of our police is a priority. We will continue to work with police partners to ensure that all police officers and staff have the appropriate support in place to thrive in their careers and deliver the best service to the public.We continue to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service. The Service provides evidence-based guidance, advice, tools and resources to support forces and individual officers, including guidance on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Policing. All officers receive pre-deployment mental health training and through the Police Covenant, and all forces now meet the new Occupational Health (OH) foundation level standards. Measures are also in place to ensure forces continually develop and improve their OH standards.

If she will take steps with police forces to review the (a) effectiveness of policies to place police officers potentially experiencing mental ill-health on restricted duties and (b) adequacy of (i) the provision of psychological support and (ii) recovery time for those officers.

It is the responsibility of Chief Officers to effectively manage their workforce, including ensuring appropriate health and wellbeing support is in place for all officers and staff. The Government has been clear that the health and wellbeing of our police is a priority, and we continue to work with police partners to ensure that consistent standards apply across all forces.Police Regulations require forces to follow standard procedures in the management of officers placed on limited duties following a period of ill health and this includes for periods of recuperation. The College of Policing has also provided specific guidance for line managers on the use of reasonable adjustments, including a toolkit for forces, a Workplace Adjustment Toolkit and a disability passport.The Government continues to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service which provides evidence-based mental health guidance, advice, tools and resources to support forces and individual officers.

For what reason her Department discontinued the Refugee Employability Programme.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 17 December to Question UIN 18515.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the decision to discontinue the Refugee Employability Programme on the ability of refugees to (a) secure employment, (b) integ

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 17 December to Question UIN 18515.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve the (a) accuracy and (b) reliability of personal immigration status information generated by the Government View and Prove system; and what safeguar

The transition towards eVisas is already underway, with millions of people already receiving and using eVisas successfully, by logging into the View and Prove service using their UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account.While most people are able to use th...

What recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of (a) recruitment and (b) retention in police forces.

The latest Home Office statistics for the overall Police Workforce show a 1.2% increase when compared to the previous year. The total paid police workforce in the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales was 236,588 full-time equivalents (FTE) as...

What percentage of police officers are currently classified as deployable; and what the primary reasons are for officers being deemed non-deployable.

The Home Office does not have an official measure of ‘deployable’.The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number and proportion of police officers available for duty as at 31 March each year in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’...