Written questions by Timothy.

When she plans to respond to the letter of 7 September 2025 from the hon. Member for West Suffolk.

The letter of 7 September 2025 was transferred to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for response.

If she will publish the Annual statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain for 2024; and what funding her Department has allocated for research into alternative testing methods.

The Annual Statistics of scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain: 2024 will be published on October 23, 2025.The Government is committed to the development of non-animal alternatives and will publish a strategy to support their development, validation and adoption.UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has a diverse portfolio of investments that supports research which can lead to alternatives, such as organ-on-a-chip, cell-based assays, functional genomics and computer modelling. UKRI also invests £10 million annually in the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs). The Government also co-funds seven Centres of Excellence for Regulatory Science and Innovation (CERSI), two focusing on AI which will support alternative method development.

How the headcount number was of caseworkers processing visas by (a) each visa route and (b) month since July 2024.

The Department is unable to provide previous headcount data for visa processing broken down by route and by month. Caseworkers are routinely reallocated across visa routes to maintain service standards and a flexible deployment model is used by UKVI to manage fluctuations in demand and seasonal surges. As a result, the Departmental systems do not capture headcount movements at a visa route level with sufficient accuracy to support robust external reporting.

What the average processing time for asylum claims was broken down by (a) individual route and (b) month since July 2024.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of claims awaiting an initial decision, broken down by duration, is published in table Asy_D03 and data on the number of people claiming asylum, by route of entry to the UK, is published in table Asy_D01a. These data tables are published as part of the asylum detailed datasets.

What the headcount number of caseworkers for processing asylum claims was broken down by (a) individual route and (b) month since July 2024.

The Home Office is maintaining sufficient resource in place to clear the Asylum backlog.The number of full time equivalent (FTE) asylum caseworkers employed per month until June 2025 is published in the ASY_05(M) tab of the published migration transparency statistics, located here: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK. At the end of June 2025 there were 2,057 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Asylum Caseworking Staff. We do not publish breakdown of this information by individual route.

What the average processing time was for visas broken down by (a) each visa route and (b) month since July 2024.

UKVI have been processing applications on all of its routes where a customer service standard is operated within their published customer service standards during the requested time period. On 1 September the Secretary of State for the Home Department announced a temporary suspension of new applications under the Refugee Family Reunion route and this remains in place. Visa processing times are published on the UKVI website at Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK and Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK. It may take longer to process an application if:the information in the application is not accurate or needs more considerationfurther evidence needs to be provided, for example evidence of fundssupporting documents need to be verifiedan interview is requiredwe need more information on personal circumstances (for example if there is a criminal conviction)

What information her Department holds on the number of foreign national offenders who have cited Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights as a reason not to be removed since 2019, broken down by (a) year, (b) nationality and (c) offence committed.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and could only be obtained for the purpose of answering this question through a manual search of case files, something that could only be done at disproportionate cost.Work is underway to improve the quality of information held by the department on foreign national offenders (FNOs). Further information on this work can be found at: Statistics on foreign national offenders and the immigration system - GOV.UK.

Pursuant to Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 64923 on Asylum: Housing, on what basis can (a) her Department, (b) Serco and (c) local authorities not inform Members of Parliament when sites are used for asylum dispersal in their constituency.

I refer the Hon Member to the Answer he received on 8 July 2025 to UIN 64923.

What information her Department holds on the number of foreign nationals in prisons who are (a) illegal immigrants and (b) asylum seekers since 2019, broken down by (i) year, (ii) nationality and (iii) offence committed.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and could only be obtained for the purpose of answering this question through a manual search of case files, something that could only be done at disproportionate cost.Work is underway to improve the quality of information held by the department on foreign national offenders (FNOs). Further information on this work can be found at: Statistics on foreign national offenders and the immigration system - GOV.UK.

What information her Department holds on the number and proportion of foreign national offenders with indefinite leave to remain in the prison population by (a) nationality and (b) offence committed in each year since 2019.

The requested information is not available from published statistics.Work is currently underway to improve the quality of information held by the department on FNOs. Further information can be found at: Statistics on foreign national offenders and the immigration system - GOV.UK.

How many immigration officials have been dismissed for committing (a) immigration and (b) bribery offences in each year since 2020, broken down by nationality.

Since 1 January 2020 there have been four immigration officials successfully prosecuted for bribery and immigration offences following a Home Office investigation. Three of these officials were prosecuted for Immigration offences. One was prosecuted for Bribery and Immigration offences. Two individuals were dismissed, one resigned and the final staff member’s contract ended. Three of these were British and one was French.In the ten proceeding years, there were 27 prosecutions for immigration, and one for bribery.

What information her Department holds on the number of immigration officials that have been successfully prosecuted for committing (a) immigration and (b) bribery offences since 2020, broken down by nationality.

Since 1 January 2020 there have been four immigration officials successfully prosecuted for bribery and immigration offences following a Home Office investigation. Three of these officials were prosecuted for Immigration offences. One was prosecuted for Bribery and Immigration offences. Two individuals were dismissed, one resigned and the final staff member’s contract ended. Three of these were British and one was French.In the ten proceeding years, there were 27 prosecutions for immigration, and one for bribery.

On what basis Serco can refuse to inform Members of Parliament when (a) houses, (b) hotels and (c) other premises are being used for asylum dispersal in their constituency.

The Home Office routinely engages local officials and elected members as part of the procurement process for specific types of accommodation, to enable us to gather local intelligence which informs our decision making. This engagement and disclosure is undertaken on a case by case basis as is necessary.The Home Office publishes details of numbers of supported asylum seekers by local authority on a quarterly basis. This can be found here - Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK - Asy_D11 tab. Any requests relating to the disclosure of information beyond that which is already published, is reviewed on a case by case basis to ensure that it is lawful, proportional and necessary.

What formal definition her Department uses for community policing roles.

Frontline policing is comprised of visible operational frontline roles and non-visible frontline roles, each of which contains specific functions. Further information on the functions included under visible operational frontline and non-visible frontline, including the definitions of each function can be found in Table F4 of the data tables accompanying the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ publication here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67d965ab594182179fe0877f/police-workforce-mar24-tables-240724.ods.In 2015 the Home Office adopted the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s (CIPFA) Police Objective Analysis (POA) framework. The POA framework does not include a specific function for ‘community policing’ but does include the function ‘Neighbourhood Policing’.Since 2015, published statistics on the neighbourhood policing workforce have come with a caveat from the Home Office that the data was not considered to be robust due to the conflation of figures relating to neighbourhood officers and local and emergency response teams.As a result of these concerns, in 2025 the Home Office carried out a data validation exercise, asking all police forces to verify the previously published data for police employees in the 1a Neighbourhood Policing category. This exercise showed that data reported under the previous government were inaccurate and did not reflect the true number of neighbourhood officers.Subsequently the Home Office revised previously published neighbourhood policing data here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/provisional-revision-to-neighbourhood-policing-data-at-31-march-2024. The Home Office has issued guidance to police forces on the categorisation of 1a Neighbourhood Policing to ensure that those working in neighbourhood policing are being recorded correctly, particularly on the distinction between 1b Incident Response Management and 1a Neighbourhood Policing, as well as classroom-based student officers.

What formal definition her Department uses for frontline policing roles.

Frontline policing is comprised of visible operational frontline roles and non-visible frontline roles, each of which contains specific functions. Further information on the functions included under visible operational frontline and non-visible frontline, including the definitions of each function can be found in Table F4 of the data tables accompanying the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ publication here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67d965ab594182179fe0877f/police-workforce-mar24-tables-240724.ods.In 2015 the Home Office adopted the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s (CIPFA) Police Objective Analysis (POA) framework. The POA framework does not include a specific function for ‘community policing’ but does include the function ‘Neighbourhood Policing’.Since 2015, published statistics on the neighbourhood policing workforce have come with a caveat from the Home Office that the data was not considered to be robust due to the conflation of figures relating to neighbourhood officers and local and emergency response teams.As a result of these concerns, in 2025 the Home Office carried out a data validation exercise, asking all police forces to verify the previously published data for police employees in the 1a Neighbourhood Policing category. This exercise showed that data reported under the previous government were inaccurate and did not reflect the true number of neighbourhood officers.Subsequently the Home Office revised previously published neighbourhood policing data here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/provisional-revision-to-neighbourhood-policing-data-at-31-march-2024. The Home Office has issued guidance to police forces on the categorisation of 1a Neighbourhood Policing to ensure that those working in neighbourhood policing are being recorded correctly, particularly on the distinction between 1b Incident Response Management and 1a Neighbourhood Policing, as well as classroom-based student officers.

How many visas were issued for workers in the (a) wind and (b) solar industry in each year since 2015.

Available data relating to work visas is routinely published in the Immigration system statistics release.

By which date she will (a) appoint a Chair and (b) agree a Terms of Reference for the national inquiry into grooming gangs.

Further details will be announced in due course.

Whether her Department collects data on the number of people that have made more than one attempt to illegally enter the UK by crossing the English Channel in each year since 2020.

No robust or comprehensive data is held in this category, given that many attempts to cross the Channel illegally will fail before an individual has been identified by the UK authorities.

How many different suppliers there are for ICT systems used across police forces in England and Wales.

The Home Office does not centrally collect all of the information requested. Obtaining and verifying this information for the purposes of answering these questions could only be done at disproportionate cost.However, the Hon Member may be interested to read the Home Secretary's speech to the National Police Chiefs' Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners' annual conference on 19 November 2024, where she set out her vision on police reform and efficiency, including the potential savings to be achieved through greater collaboration on IT contracts. https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/home-secretarys-vision-for-police-reform

Which companies supplied police ICT systems in each year since 2010; and what the value of contracts awarded to those companies was.

The Home Office does not centrally collect all of the information requested. Obtaining and verifying this information for the purposes of answering these questions could only be done at disproportionate cost.However, the Hon Member may be interested to read the Home Secretary's speech to the National Police Chiefs' Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners' annual conference on 19 November 2024, where she set out her vision on police reform and efficiency, including the potential savings to be achieved through greater collaboration on IT contracts. https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/home-secretarys-vision-for-police-reform