Written questions by Lowe.

What checks her Department carries out to verify the identity documents of migrants applying for taxi licences.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer sent on the 20 May 2025 to UIN 51642.

What her Department's process is for sharing intelligence with licensing authorities when a foreign national taxi driver is arrested.

As set out in the Department for Transport’s Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards, all applicants for a taxi or PHV driver’s licence, irrespective of nationality, should undergo an enhanced DBS check including a check of the children’s and adults’ barred lists every six months. The enhanced check includes any police information which the chief officer believes to be relevant and ought to be disclosed.In addition, the police may proactively share information using common law police disclosure (CLPD) powers. If there is pressing social need, CLPD allows forces to proactively provide personal data or sensitive personal data to a third party such as licensing authorities using common law powers. It is for chief officers to determine the implementation of CLPD provisions locally, in accordance with guidance published by the College of Policing and National Police Chiefs’ Council.

What data her Department holds on the convictions of licensed taxi drivers for (a) grooming, (b) sexual exploitation and (c) trafficking offences.

Available data on the age, ethnicity, gender and region of individuals prosecuted and convicted at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Ministry of Justice Outcomes by Offences data tool, can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page, which is available online here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statisticsHowever, this data is not broken down by employment status.

How much her Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months.

The Government develops wide-ranging national and international campaigns which are delivered through tailored communication strategies aimed at reaching target audiences across the UK. Campaigns span owned, earned and paid-for channels to maximise reach, engagement and compliance.The Government remains committed to scrutiny, transparency and best value for taxpayer money.

How many and what proportion of freedom of information requests made to her Department have exceeded the statutory deadline in the past year.

The Home Office’s Freedom of Information (FOI) performance data, including request volumes and timeliness, is published quarterly and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics

How much their Department has spent on (a) translation and (b) interpretation for languages other than (i) British Sign Language and (ii) languages native to the UK for people contacting (A) their Department and (B) its agencies in 2025.

The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Whether (a) current and (b) former (i) civil servants and (ii) politicians will be required to give evidence to the grooming gangs inquiry; what steps her Department is taking to ensure accountability of public officials involved in the handling of grooming gang cases; and whether public officials found to have engaged in wrongdoing will be liable to prosecution.

The National Inquiry will utilise existing legislation in the Inquiries Act 2005 to appoint an independent chair who will determine the conduct and procedure of the inquiry. We will announce further details on the inquiry, including the appointment of an independent chair, in due course.

Whether the grooming gang inquiry will link (a) police and (b) council data nationally to create map of (a) grooming gang activity and (b) institutional failure.

We will announce further details on the inquiry in due course.

Whether (a) independent whistleblowers, (b) frontline professionals, (c) survivor-led organisations and (d) journalists will be formally included in the grooming gang inquiry.

We will announce further details on the inquiry in due course.

If she will ensure that (a) FOI returns, (b) court transcripts, (c) internal memos, (d) inter-agency communications and (e) other evidence submitted to the grooming gang inquiry is published.

We will announce further details on the inquiry in due course.

Whether the grooming gang inquiry will include the role of (a) ethnicity, (b) culture and (c) religion in (i) enabling and (ii) concealing group-based child sexual exploitation.

We will announce further details on the inquiry in due course.

Whether whistleblowers who were (a) disciplined, (b) dismissed and (c) ignored for raising concerns on grooming gangs will receive (i) an official apology and (ii) compensation.

We will announce further details on the inquiry in due course.

Whether the grooming gang inquiry will examine (a) internal police complaints, (b) whistleblower evidence and (c) deleted material on grooming gang investigations.

We will announce further details on the inquiry in due course.

Whether the grooming gang inquiry will release historic exploitation data back to the 1960s on a rolling basis.

We will announce further details on the inquiry in due course.

If she will appoint a chair with no (a) political affiliation and (b) prior conflict to lead the grooming gang inquiry.

We will announce further details on the inquiry in due course.

Whether her Department can compel local authorities to release safeguarding files on group-based child sexual exploitation.

We will announce further details on the inquiry in due course.

If she will review the adequacy of data collection by (a) police, (b) councils and (c) government in identifying systemic abuse.

We will announce further details on the inquiry in due course.

Whether the grooming gang inquiry will publish demographic breakdowns of (a) perpetrators and (b) victims by (i) race, (ii) gender, (iii) nationality and (iv) immigration status.

We will announce further details on the inquiry in due course.

If she will commit to implementing all recommendations from the grooming gang inquiry within 12 months.

We will announce further details on the inquiry in due course.

Whether her Department has had discussions with counter-terrorism police on the potential impact of full-face coverings in public settings on national security.

The Home Office has regular and routine discussions with counter-terrorism policing on a wide range of national security issues.The Crime and Policing Bill contains a new criminal offence of wearing, or otherwise using, an item that conceals identity in an area designated by police due to the risk of criminal activity taking place at protests. This will enable the police to put a stop to individuals hiding behind masks to avoid conviction for criminal activity at protests.