Question follow-through · 63301

Undocumented Migrants: DNA

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department collects the DNA of people who arrive illegally in the UK.

answeredHome Office

About this written question

A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.

Answering body
Home Office
Tabled
27 Jun 2025
Target answer date
1 Jul 2025
Answer
9 Jul 2025 · 12 calendar days after tabling

Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.

Recorded timeline

  1. 27 Jun 2025

    Question tabled

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department collects the DNA of people who arrive illegally in the UK.

  2. 1 Jul 2025

    Target answer date

    Date supplied by the official written-questions record.

  3. 9 Jul 2025

    Answer published

    The Home Office currently collects biometric data of small boat arrivals in the form of facial images and fingerprints, but keeps the nature of such checks under regular review.

Open official record

Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.

Later records

Possible follow-up questions

Strong links require the same MP, department and exact heading. Other same-department questions are shown as unreviewed candidates, not as confirmed follow-ups. No debate link is asserted unless a stable source relationship exists.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Asylum

3 Jul 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of asylum seekers have had their DNA taken on arrival in the UK.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Asylum: Criminal Records

3 Jul 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to ascertain previous offences of people claiming asylum in the UK.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Asylum: Criminal Records

3 Jul 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people claiming asylum had a criminal record before entering the UK in the most recent period for which data is available.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Asylum: Criminal Records

3 Jul 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department shares information with local police forces on the criminal records of asylum seekers placed in their area.

Strong linkSame MP, department and exact heading

Undocumented Migrants: DNA

10 Oct 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to collect DNA samples from of all immigrants who enter the country illegally.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Asylum: Hotels

11 Nov 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has issued guidance to police forces on the use of stop and search for weapons at hotels housing asylum seekers.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Members: Security

19 May 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne receives Government funded security.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Members: Transport

19 May 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne receives Government funded transport.

Unreviewed candidateSame MP and department; topic relationship is unreviewed

Home Office: Written Questions

17 Jun 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times her Department has responded to a written parliamentary question saying that the information is not held in 2026.