If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

Immigration asylum rules need to be respected and enforced, and for too long that has not happened. Since the general election, we have ramped up removals for those who have no right to be in the United Kingdom, with 16,400 individuals successfully returned in the first six months of this Government—the highest level of returns over a six-month period since 2018. Wider work to strengthen border security is under way, including the new sanctions regime announced by the Foreign Secretary to target smuggling gangs and new co-operation agreements, including with France, Germany, Italy, Iraq and beyond. Because vile criminal smuggler gangs operate across borders, law enforcement needs to co-operate across borders, too, to bring them down.

Knife crime continues to have a devastating impact on all too many lives in Sheffield. I recently chaired a roundtable in my constituency, which brought together local leaders, police, schools and voluntary organisations that are all on the frontline. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is vital to work together with key stakeholders so that we can build a collaborative approach to ending knife crime once and for all?

I agree with my hon. Friend. That is why we have set up the coalition to tackle knife crime. It is also why we have a knife-enabled robbery taskforce working with chief constables. At local level, we have discussed setting out prevention partnerships—part of the Young Futures programme—so that all organisations can come together and be part of a mission to halve knife crime over the next 10 years.

I call the shadow Home Secretary.

I know that the thoughts of the whole House will be with the victims of the grooming and rape gangs. Will the Home Secretary agree with the Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Dan Carden—a Labour MP—that we need a proper national public inquiry?

The independent inquiry into child sexual abuse report touched only on grooming gangs and covered only six of the towns affected. Local inquiries such as the Manchester one that the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister referred to do not have the legal powers to compel the production of evidence, which is why the Manchester chairs resigned. One Oldham victim, Jane, who was groomed and gang-raped at the age of 12, has called for a full national inquiry—

Order. Mr Philp, this is topicals. You could have got this in earlier with a lengthier question. The first part of your question was absolutely accurate, but you cannot just roll on at topicals or nobody else will get in.

These are horrendous crimes involving rape, sadistic violence and cruelty, exploitation, intimidation and coercion, so we need action, truth and accountability for those terrible crimes. That is why we support further investigations, inquiries and action into child sexual exploitation and grooming gangs, including new action to get police reporting evidence on the scale of grooming gangs, including on ethnicity, which has still not been done. The most important thing is to get more police investigations to get these criminals behind bars.

Does the Home Secretary agree that it is untenable for the Government’s own anti-corruption Minister to be under investigation for benefiting from the proceeds of corruption? Should she stand down while the investigation continues?

The right hon. Member will know that the Minister has referred herself to the ministerial standards adviser, and that is the appropriate way for this to be addressed. More broadly, we take seriously the full range of crimes that our country faces and will continue to work closely with the police always to take action against crime.

With a rise in disinformation and intimidation at home and interference from abroad, it has never been more important to stand up for our British democracy. Will the Minister therefore give us an update on the defending democracy taskforce?

It is a top priority to protect our country and our elected representatives from interference, intimidation and harassment. The defending democracy taskforce brings together a cross-Government response to these threats. We will use all the tools at our disposal to protect our democratic security and resilience.

Last week, the Scottish Parliament passed a motion calling for action on immigration to address the needs of Scotland’s employers, communities and public services, with a particular reference to rural visa pilots. As the Secretary of State knows, every sector in Scotland is crying out for Scottish solutions to distinct Scottish issues and problems. What is her response to that democratically passed motion other than not being interested?

I will shortly be visiting Scotland to discuss these issues. The hon. Member will know that we will not be introducing a Scottish visa scheme or devolving control of immigration policy. He will also know that the Migration Advisory Committee has found that labour market needs are similar across the UK. It continues to engage at length with many UK stakeholders, including from Scotland.

The brilliant Adur Ukraine Support Association has raised concerns with me that the 18-month limit on the extension of Ukrainians’ permission to remain in the UK is causing issues in securing tenancies, jobs and undergraduate university courses, which last for a minimum of three years. Will the Minister meet me to discuss that issue facing Ukrainians in my constituency?

The UK’s support for Ukraine remains steadfast. The scheme will provide an additional 18 months’ temporary permission to Ukrainians here under one of the existing Ukraine schemes. When a person’s Ukraine scheme leave expires during their course and they are granted further leave to remain—for example, on a student visa—they will continue to be able to complete their studies. I will be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that further.

Dorset police operates across more than 1,000 square miles, yet under the current funding settlement it receives far less money than urban areas with similar crime rates operating over smaller geographies. Will the Government commit to reviewing the funding settlement to ensure that rural areas such as West Dorset get a fairer settlement?

Of course, the hon. Gentleman’s force area is getting more money in the settlement that was announced just before Christmas. Clearly, we keep all formulas under consideration and, as the hon. Gentleman knows, we are going to go through a police reform package and programme. Finance will be part of that.

Under the last Government, my constituents had completely lost faith that foreign national offenders with no right to remain in this country would be swiftly removed. I am glad that, since the last election, our new Labour Government have enforced the return of over 2,500 foreign criminals, including serious and violent offenders—a 23% increase since last year. Can the Minister reassure my constituents that this Government will not be taking their foot off the gas and will continue taking strong action?

Yes. Foreign nationals who commit offences and are sentenced to 12 months in prison have no right to be here, and I can assure my hon. Friend that we will work tirelessly to ensure that they can be removed. The 23% increase in six months is a good start, but we will not take our foot off the gas.

In my Oxfordshire constituency, residents are concerned about increased antisocial behaviour, particularly pickpocketing and shoplifting in our towns. Given that the last Conservative Government cut the number of police community support officers in the Thames valley area by more than half since 2015, what steps will the Minister be taking to ensure that the police are able to improve community policing in Oxfordshire towns such as Wallingford, Wantage and Didcot?

We want to see an increase in neighbourhood policing right across the country. That is why we set out £100 million as part of the police settlement for next year to kick-start and increase recruitment of neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs, alongside stronger powers to tackle neighbourhood crime.

I welcome the Government’s plans to tackle youth violence, but also to prioritise early intervention. In Battersea, brilliant organisations such as Carney’s Community are delivering targeted services to young people—from mentoring and life skills, to boxing and fitness. Does the Minister agree that organisations such as Carney’s need our support? Will she agree to visit it so that she can hear at first hand about its approach to tackling youth violence?

I would be delighted to visit.

Does the Secretary of State believe it is fair that undocumented illegal migrants get priority access to the NHS over British taxpayers?

They do not.

Since October 2023, my constituent has been separated from her husband and the father of her children, who is a Palestinian citizen of the state of Israel. I have deep concerns about the Home Office’s handling of this case, and it has not replied to my last two representations. Will the Minister agree to look into this case?

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that case, and I am very happy to meet him to discuss the issues he has raised.

Penselwood in Glastonbury and Somerton is regularly blighted by unlicensed music events, leaving residents feeling frightened and vulnerable, as organisers pay scant regard to them or to the police. How will the Minister support the police to give the public confidence that they will crack down on these illegal raves?

If the hon. Lady writes to me with details, I will certainly look into that issue.

Recently, the owner of social media site X has used his sizeable platform to undermine the democratic result of last July’s general election; has stirred up hatred towards my hon. Friend Jess Phillips, putting her safety at risk; and has sought mechanisms to depose the Prime Minister. Can the Minister say what actions the Defending Democracy Taskforce is taking to prevent this kind of foreign interference in British politics?

I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. The Government consider this work to be urgent. We have seen some utterly unacceptable activity, both during and beyond the general election. I hope that work to address this issue will be a shared endeavour right across the House, but the Government are working at pace to address it.

What actions will the Home Secretary be taking following the news that eight UK companies and organisations have been deemed terror groups by the United Arab Emirates?

The UAE is an important international partner for the UK, but of course other countries have their own rules on designation and it would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on their processes. I can say to the hon. Member that extremism has no place in our society and that we work very closely with law enforcement, local communities and our international partners to tackle groups and any individuals who seek to sow division and hatred.

My deepest condolences go to the family and friends of 17-year-old Thomas Taylor, who was fatally stabbed in Bedford last week. Bedfordshire has some of the highest knife crime rates in the country. While I welcome the increased funding for the force and the progress made on tackling knife crime in the region, will the Secretary of State ensure that the special grants awarded to Bedfordshire police in recognition of the high level of serious and violent crimes in the region are maintained? Will she outline what further steps are being taken to deter young people from carrying lethal weapons?

I think the thoughts of all of us will be with the family and friends of Thomas Taylor, who was a constituent of my hon. Friend. He is right to say that we need comprehensive work to prevent knife crime and to prevent young people from carrying knives in the first place, but also to make sure that there is swift action where crimes take place.

The National Crime Agency estimates that £100 billion of illicit funds flow through the UK yearly. Despite the existence of the David Cameron-created unexplained wealth orders, only 11 orders in total have ever been issued, relating to four or five cases. What is my right hon. Friend doing to stop these orders from becoming pointless, as they were under the Tories, because we cannot afford to use them?

Among many other things, the Government have appointed Baroness Hodge as the Government’s anti-corruption champion. We will be working very closely with her and other ministerial colleagues to address the issue that my hon. Friend has raised.

Can the Home Secretary confirm that none of her Ministers or officials engages with or is in touch with the Muslim Council of Britain, and that there is no correspondence between No. 10, the Home Office and other Departments about restoring ties with the organisation?

Yes, we can confirm that that is the case.

Several of my constituents in South Oxhey have unfortunately been the victims of burglary or attempted burglary. Will the Home Secretary outline the measures her Department is taking to allow the police to invest in technologies such as live facial recognition, which can make crimes such as burglary easier to solve?

We are currently looking into whether there is a need for more regulation of live facial recognition, but I recognise that it is a very important tool to which the police should have access. I am having a series of stakeholder meetings with various groups to discuss how we take this forward, but I do recognise how important the technology is and how it can be a really positive way of identifying people and solving crimes.

Can I place on the record my thanks to the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend Jess Phillips, who I know will ensure that this Government do more to tackle violence against women and girls than any other Government? In doing so, will the Government amend the strategy to consider prostitution and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation as violence against women and girls?

I thank my hon. Friend for her kind comments about me. The violence against women and girls strategy that the Government will launch later this year will absolutely root adult sexual exploitation, which so often actually stems from childhood sexual exploitation, into the Government’s violence against women and girls strategy—for the first time ever.

Is the Home Secretary aware of the growing link, as highlighted by a recent Durham University report, between rural crime and serious organised crime? If not, could she ask her officials to bring it to her attention? Given the transnational element to this serious organised crime, could the National Crime Agency start to take a closer look at rural crime?

I am aware of this, and I think there is a very serious issue about how serious and organised crime has increasingly been targeting rural areas and things such as the GPS equipment used by farmers. The point about those involved in serious and organised crime is that they will always target areas where they think they can get away with it. That is why the issue is partly about the work of the National Crime Agency, but also about the work of police forces across the country and the work we need to do to take forward a rural crime strategy with the National Police Chiefs’ Council.