The Home Office has published its policy response to the Court of Appeal’s decision in Akinsanya v Secretary of State for the Home Department, reassessing the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) requirements for applicants relying on being a Zambrano primary carer.

The Home Office has published a post-legislative scrutiny on the implementation of the Criminal Finances Act 2017. The review found a significant improvement in the rates of civil recovery of criminal assets, in the powers available to law enforcement and their efficacy has been further improved by measures contained within the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 and the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. In addition to this, the review has found that no failure to prevent offences have resulted in a trial or conviction.

The Home Office has published the ‘Independent Review of Prevent: One year on progress report’, highlighting that 30 of the 34 recommendations made in the review have been completed in full, and 115 of the 120 sub-actions have been delivered. It notes that the new Prevent duty guidance for England and Wales, which took effect from 31 December 2023, now reflects key changes following the recommendations, including an update to the first Prevent objective to tackle ‘the ideological causes of terrorism’, having ‘Reducing Permissive Environments’ as a key theme in tackling ideological causes of terrorism, and clear definition of the term ‘vulnerability’.

The Home Office has published various reports on experiences of refugee resettlement and integration in the UK.

The Home Office has published research examining employer awareness and compliance with Right to Work checks. The study prepared for the Home Office by Verian in September 2024, found that while 89% of employers understand basic requirements, many lack detailed knowledge of compliance obligations. The research highlights increased non-compliance risks among smaller employers and specific sectors, particularly following the increase in civil penalties to £60,000 per illegal worker in February 2024. The findings also note preparation challenges for the cessation of biometric residency permits from 1 January 2025.

The Home Office has published its response to the public consultation on the draft code of practice governing requests for third-party material from victims under Chapter 3A of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. The consultation sought views on proposed guidance for authorised persons, including police, when requesting sensitive records such as medical notes, local authority files or counselling records. The draft code establishes a framework requiring requests for victims’ third-party material to be clearly justified, necessary and proportionate, with a strong emphasis on minimising intrusions into victims’ privacy.

The Home Office has published its response to the public consultation on legislative proposals to address ransomware. The consultation ran from 14 January to 8 April 2025 and sought views on three measures: a targeted ban on ransomware payments for public sector and regulated critical national infrastructure (CNI); a ransomware payment prevention regime; and a mandatory incident reporting regime. A total of 273 responses were received and 36 engagement events were held. The response confirms ransomware is considered the most serious organised cybercrime threat to UK national security. Feedback was broadly supportive and highlighted several cross-cutting themes, including the need for clarity on scope and definitions, proportionate penalties that avoid revictimising victims, tailored guidance and support, and improved cyber resilience. The government intends to continue to develop the proposals in collaboration with stakeholders, explore appropriate enforcement mechanisms and publish guidance to support implementation.

The Home Office has published the government's response to the Law Commission's review of the suspicious activity reports (SARs) regime. The Law Commission was commissioned by the government to review the SARs regime and provide its recommendations and consider whether there is scope for reform of the system of voluntary disclosures. The Law Commission published its report in 2019 making 19 legislative and non-legislative recommendations. The government has accepted, either fully or partially, 13 of the 19 recommendations that were made by the Law Commission.

The Home Office has published the results of a survey of Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa holders living in the UK. The survey took place in two parts, the first being in April to May 2021 with 250 participants, and the second in August to September 2021 with 250 further participants. The survey has shown that 32% of BNO visa holders are between the ages of 35-44, 74% are married or have been living with a partner of more than two years, 41% have no children, 69% have degree-level education or higher and 96% intend to stay longer than the duration of their visa and/or indefinitely.

The Home Office has published the revised Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE 1984) code of practice H in connection with the detention, treatment and questioning of persons under the Terrorism Act 2000 (TA 2000). The revised code reflects the new section 43B in the TA 2000 which provides the power for a constable to arrest without warrant a terrorist or terrorism-connected offender who has been released on licence if the constable has reasonable grounds for suspecting that the offender has breached a condition of their licence and reasonably considers that it is necessary, for purposes connected with protecting members of the public from a risk of terrorism. The revised code was laid before Parliament on 12 December 2022 and will come into force once it has been debated and approved by both House of Parliament.

The Home Office has published the second report of the Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences titled ‘Fraud in the Digital Age’. This report examines the key barriers to the detection, investigation and prosecution of fraud committed against businesses and individuals. The report notes that fraud accounts for 44% of crime in England and Wales, with an estimated 4.1 million offences in the year to June 2025, and concludes that the Fraud Act 2006 remains broadly fit for purpose while making 47 recommendations to strengthen fraud detection, corporate accountability, investigations, prosecutions, victim support and international cooperation in response to digitally enabled fraud.

The Home Office has published new caseworker guidance on the Single Protection Interview process, which enables certain protection claims that are regarded as likely to be refused to be processed following a single interview, replacing the usual separate screening and substantive interviews. In this first instance of the guidance, the process may only be used for non-complex claims by nationals of EU Member States, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and the US, including dual nationals. The process may be used where the available information indicates that the claim appears to be clearly unfounded, there are no indicators suggesting that a fuller examination is likely to be required, it is likely to be unnecessary to test credibility and there are no safeguarding concerns or vulnerabilities making the process inappropriate. EU claims must first be considered under the inadmissibility process and, where admitted to the UK asylum process, may be considered for a Single Protection Interview if the eligibility criteria are met. The process does not apply to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children or individuals subject to an active age dispute, although children may be included as part of a family claim where the eligibility criteria are met. Where further interviewing, evidence gathering, safeguarding measures or enquiries are required, the claim must proceed through the standard asylum process.