Written questions by Raja.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of creating a national register for people found guilty of exploiting children for criminal activity.

This Government is committed to tackling child criminal exploitation and going after the gangs who are luring children into violence and crime. That is why we are introducing a new offence of child criminal exploitation (CCE) and new civil preventative orders (CCE prevention orders) in the Crime and Policing Bill to target those responsible for criminally exploiting children and to help ensure that children are identified as victims and receive the support and protection they need.CCE prevention orders are designed to specifically target the criminal exploitation of children and will include tailored restrictions and/or requirements the court deems necessary to manage the risk posed to a specific child or children generally. The orders will be able to impose a notification requirement, on the subject of the order, where the court deems it necessary. This will require someone to notify their name and address (and any subsequent changes) to the local police force, to ensure that police are aware of, and able to monitor, individuals who pose a CCE threat.County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we continue to target exploitative drug dealing gangs and break the organised crime groups behind the trade. Since July 2024, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 3,000 deal lines closed, 8,200 arrests, (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,600 deal line holders) 4,300 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 900 knives seized.While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces. This is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme forces (MPS, West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and British Transport Police) also regularly conduct joint operations with importing forces. In addition, we have established a dedicated fund which provides local police forces, including Leicestershire and other forces in the East Midlands, with additional funding and support to tackle county lines.As part of the County Lines Programme we also provide specialist support for children and young people to escape county lines and child criminal exploitation. Since July 2024 more than 620 children and young people have received dedicated specialist support through our county lines support service. To support parents, we also fund a national confidential helpline and support service, SafeCall, for young people and their families or carers affected by county lines exploitation.In addition, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. This includes victims of criminal and sexual exploitation. First Responder Organisations (FROs), including the police and local authorities, have a statutory duty to refer any child who is a potential victim of modern slavery and human trafficking into the NRM to ensure they are effectively identified and supported.Whilst child victims of exploitation are supported by local authorities who have primary responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, the Government-funded County Lines Programme and Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service provide additional support. The ICTG service currently covers two-thirds of local authorities across England and Wales, including the East Midlands, and we are in the process of expanding the service to provide national coverage across England and Wales, which will begin in 2027.

What steps she is taking to improve her Department's decision time on visa applications.

UKVI are currently processing applications on the overwhelming majority of its visa routes within their published customer service standards and continue to prioritise urgent compelling or compassionate cases across all workstreams.Where applications are complex and further information is required, decisions may take longer. UKVI encourages all customers to apply in good time ahead of intended travel dates.The Home Office publishes data on its performance against its service level agreement for visas, which can be found on the GOV.UK webpage: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK.

What progress her Department has made towards meeting the Government’s target to halve violence against women and girls within the next decade.

“Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls” was published on 18th December 2025 and sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, and to deliver our commitment to halve VAWG in a decade.Since July 2024, the Home Office has delivered a series of measures to tackle these crimes including: establishing the National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection; commencing the rollout of Raneem’s Law to strengthen protections for victims of domestic abuse; introducing Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in the first pilot areas; announcing £53 million of funding over four years to expand the Drive Project across England and Wales; and rolling out the Steps to Safety referral initiative.Throughout 2026, we will begin delivering many of the commitments set out in the Strategy. This includes the publication of new statutory guidance on Domestic Homicide Reviews, as well as the further rollout of Raneem’s Law to improve the police response to victims and survivors of domestic abuse. Together, these measures represent significant steps towards meeting our ambition to halve VAWG within the next decade.

What metrics are being used to measure progress on reducing violence against women and girls.

We will measure progress against our ambition to halve VAWG is through a headline metric of the combined prevalence estimate of the proportion of people (aged 16 and over) who experienced any of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking in the previous 12 months, as measured by the Crime Survey for England and Wales.Given the complexity and breadth of these crimes, a single metric cannot fully capture progress. We will therefore track a set of supporting headline metrics, focused on female homicide, repeat domestic abuse, and the prevalence of sexual harassment.These measures will be underpinned by a wider range of sub-metrics, such as measures of online harms, to assess progress across government against the pillars of the Strategy.Further detail on our performance framework can be found on page 70 of Freedom from violence and abuse: a cross-government strategy.

What the cost to the public purse has been of the Voluntary Return scheme, including (a) financial assistance payments, (b) flights and travel costs, (c) casework and staffing costs and (d) reintegration costs; and what estimate she has made of the potential impact of the Voluntary Return scheme on wider costs to the public purse.

The information requested regarding the number of individuals who departed under a voluntary return scheme and subsequently re-entered the UK is not available from published statistics.The Home Office publishes all available information on returns expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and accounts at Home Office annual reports and accounts - Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK

How many people who departed the UK under a voluntary return scheme subsequently (a) re-entered the UK unlawfully and (b) made a further asylum claim within five years of departure.

The information requested regarding the number of individuals who departed under a voluntary return scheme and subsequently re-entered the UK is not available from published statistics.The Home Office publishes all available information on returns expenditure in the Home Office Annual Report and accounts at Home Office annual reports and accounts - Home Office annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK

What data her Department holds on the use of UK e-gates by nationals of countries that do not offer reciprocal access to UK passport holders; and what assessment has been made of the potential merits of introducing reciprocity requirements.

The Government operates the UK border solely in the best interests of the UK, not the principle of reciprocity as this could undermine our security and ability to respond to emerging border pressures or threats. We recommend all eligible nationals make use of eGates where possible, as they provide a safe, secure and efficient method of entering the UK, however, we continue to keep eGate eligibility under review to ensure we are balancing border security and passenger flow In May 2025, we published the Immigration White Paper, which stated we are moving to the next phase of our vision to transform the UK border, by using technology to increase the use of automation and make visible changes to security, flow and the passenger experience.

Whether her Department plans to review its policy on access to UK e-gates by foreign nationals; and whether consideration has been given to limiting access to nationals of countries that do not offer equivalent facilities to UK passport holders.

The Government operates the UK border solely in the best interests of the UK, not the principle of reciprocity as this could undermine our security and ability to respond to emerging border pressures or threats. We recommend all eligible nationals make use of eGates where possible, as they provide a safe, secure and efficient method of entering the UK, however, we continue to keep eGate eligibility under review to ensure we are balancing border security and passenger flow In May 2025, we published the Immigration White Paper, which stated we are moving to the next phase of our vision to transform the UK border, by using technology to increase the use of automation and make visible changes to security, flow and the passenger experience.

What steps her Department is taking to tackle youth knife crime and serious violence in (a) Leicester and (b) the East Midlands.

We are already making clear progress against our ambition to halve knife crime. In our first year in Government, police-recorded knife crime offences fell by 5%.We have banned zombie knives and ninja swords and are holding online sellers criminally responsible removing almost 60,000 knives from streets in England and Wales. We are taking a range of action in the Crime and Policing Bill to strengthen legislation on knives.New crime mapping tools are already allowing us to identify highly specific knife crime concentrations and focus police and community safety resources where they are needed most. Further investment in cutting-edge capabilities, such as knife detection technology, improved data platforms, and live facial recognition will further enhance our ability to target knife crime.Preventing young people from getting involved in crime is crucial to achieving our ambition. As part of the Young Futures programme, we are piloting new Young Futures Panels. These pilots proactively identify and refer children who may be falling through the gaps, to a range of different support services much earlier. More than 50 panels went operational in October and November, including in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.This financial year (2025/26), we have also allocated £47m to the network of 20 Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) across England and Wales to support their valuable work. VRUs bring together partners to understand and tackle the drivers of serious violence in their area. This includes over £1m in VRU grant funding to Leicestershire specifically. We have also allocated £194k to Leicestershire and £1.9m across the East Midlands in grant funding to continue the implementation of the Serious Violence Duty.

What steps her Department is taking to protect police officers from being attacked whilst on duty in a) Leicester, b) The East Midlands, and c) the UK.

Assaults on emergency workers are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Our police officers and staff perform vital roles in serving and protecting the public, often under challenging and dangerous circumstances and they should be protected in return.The Government is committed to supporting Chief Constables in meeting their responsibilities for the health and safety of those who work in policing. We are determined that the Police Covenant makes a tangible difference and have provided ongoing funding for the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS). The NPWS ensures police officers and staff have access to the health and wellbeing support they need, including providing personal and family support for those who have been victims of assault.

For what reason the Schedule documents associated with the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contracts were removed from public view on the Contracts Finder website; and if she will take steps to make those documents available again.

We confirm the award notices Asylum Accommodation and Support Contracts are already published and available on Contracts Finder as follows:Wales AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract Wales - Contracts Finder(opens in a new tab)South AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract South - Contracts Finder(opens in a new tab)North West AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract NW - Contracts Finder(opens in a new tab)Midlands & Eastern England AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract MEE - Contracts Finder(opens in a new tab)North East Yorks & Humber AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract NEYH - Contracts Finder(opens in a new tab)Scotland AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract Scotland - Contracts Finder(opens in a new tab)Northern Ireland AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract NI - Contracts Finder(opens in a new tab)Due to changes in Contract management software Schedules are temporarily unavailable. This will be corrected shortly.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 32327 on Asylum: Hotels and the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question 63118 on Asylum: Housing, whether her Department retains data on (a) occupancy levels and (b) property capacity in relation to asylum accommodation.

Occupancy and Capacity are not terms defined within asylum accommodation contracts. Data on the number of individuals occupying asylum accommodation is published in the quarterly migration statistics.

What definition her Department uses for (a) occupancy levels and (b) property capacity in the management of asylum accommodation contracts.

Occupancy and Capacity are not terms defined within asylum accommodation contracts. Data on the number of individuals occupying asylum accommodation is published in the quarterly migration statistics.

What data on (a) occupancy levels and (b) property capacity is provided to her Department by accommodation providers under Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts.

Occupancy and Capacity are not terms defined within asylum accommodation contracts. Data on the number of individuals occupying asylum accommodation is published in the quarterly migration statistics.

If her Department will publish the (a) occupancy level and (b) property capacity data discussed at (i) monthly contract management meetings and (ii) quarterly boards under the asylum accommodation and support services contracts.

Occupancy and Capacity are not terms defined within asylum accommodation contracts. Data on the number of individuals occupying asylum accommodation is published in the quarterly migration statistics.

Whether her Department has used (a) occupancy level and (b) property capacity data to assess the cost-effectiveness of asylum accommodation contracts in the last 12 months.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave her on 08 July 2025 to Question 63118.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 54068 on Housing: Contracts, what guidance her Department has issued to contractors on Bed Space Size in relation to accommodation contracts.

None.

What metrics are used by her Department to assess whether asylum accommodation contracts represent value for money.

The Home Office monitors the AASC suppliers’ performance against a range of Key Performance Indicators ensuring performance is driven to deliver maximum value for money for the taxpayer.

Whether her Department considers (a) occupancy levels and (b) property capacity when assessing the cost-effectiveness of asylum accommodation contracts.

The Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts (AASC contracts) were procured by the previous government through a competitive tender exercise that adhered to the Public Contracts Regulation 2015. The bid evaluation process identified the most economically advantageous tender, assessing the quality and cost of bid proposals, to ensure best value to the UK taxpayer.For any new requirements introduced to these contracts following contract award, suppliers are asked to provide priced proposals. These proposals are assessed, challenged and negotiated by Home Office representatives; ensuring that best pricing is achieved.Occupancy levels and property capacity are both key considerations when identifying accommodation to fulfil our statutory obligation.The contracts require the establishment and operation of governance structures and regular reporting enabling the Home Office to effectively manage the suppliers and hold them to account. These include a monthly contract management meeting, and quarterly strategic and executive boards where operational and commercial priorities are addressed and discussed, including occupancy and capacity.

Whether her Department plans to create a statutory definition of honour-based abuse.

The Government is tackling ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA) through its landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. Key to this is ensuring that HBA is well understood by frontline professionals, Government agencies, and impacted communities.Currently there is a definition of HBA used by the criminal justice system, but we recognise there is more that can be done to raise the level of consistency of understanding regarding HBA in Government and across statutory services.The Home Office is considering this alongside other measures to prevent HBA from happening, support victims and bring perpetrators to justice. More detail will be set out in our forthcoming Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.