The first duty of the government is to keep citizens safe and the country secure. The Home Office has been at the front line of this endeavour since 1782. As such, the Home Office plays a fundamental role in the security and economic prosperity of the United Kingdom.
Rt Hon Priti Patel MP
Home Secretary
NAO Department Guides: Departmental Overview: Home Office (Oct 2018) A Short Guide to the Home Office (Sept 2017)
Oral Answers to Questions is a regularly scheduled appearance where the Secretary of State and junior minister will answer at the Dispatch Box questions from backbench MPs
Other Commons Chamber appearances can be:Westminster Hall debates are performed in response to backbench MPs or e-petitions asking for a Minister to address a detailed issue
Written Statements are made when a current event is not sufficiently significant to require an Oral Statement, but the House is required to be informed.
| Date | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Jul. 13 | Oral Questions | Oral Answers to Questions |
| Jul. 22 | Urgent Questions | Intelligence and Security Committee: Russia Report |
| Mar. 18 | Westminster Hall | Organised Crime in Rural Areas |
| Jul. 21 | Adjournment Debate | Misuse of Nitrous Oxide |
| Title | Last Event | Next Event Date | Last Updated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windrush Compensation Scheme (Expenditure) Act 2020 | Royal Assent (Minutes of Proceedings) 8 June, 2020 | 24 Jun 2020, 5:38 p.m. | ||
| To provide for the payment out of money provided by Parliament of expenditure incurred by the Secretary of State or a government department under, or in connection with, the Windrush Compensation Scheme. | ||||
| Extradition (Provisional Arrest) Bill [HL] 2019-21 | Report stage: House of Commons 8 September, 2020 | 11 Sep 2020, 12:21 a.m. | ||
| A bill to create a power of arrest, without warrant, for the purpose of extraditing people for serious offences | ||||
| Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill 2019-21 | Committee: 4th sitting (Minutes of Proceedings): House of Lords 16 September, 2020 |
Report stage: House of Lords 30 Sep 2020 |
24 Sep 2020, 9:26 p.m. | |
| A Bill to make provision to end rights to free movement of persons under retained EU law and to repeal other retained EU law relating to immigration; to confer power to modify retained direct EU legislation relating to social security co-ordination; and for connected purposes. | ||||
| Fire Safety Bill 2019-21 | 1st reading (Minutes of Proceedings): House of Lords 8 September, 2020 |
2nd reading: House of Lords 1 Oct 2020 |
23 Sep 2020, 11:07 a.m. | |
| A Bill to make provision about the application of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 where a building contains two or more sets of domestic premises; and to confer power to amend that order in future for the purposes of changing the premises to which it applies. | ||||
| Domestic Abuse Bill 2019-21 | 1st reading (Minutes of Proceedings): House of Lords 7 July, 2020 | 15 Jul 2020, 9:33 p.m. | ||
| To make provision in relation to domestic abuse; to make provision for and in connection with the establishment of a Domestic Abuse Commissioner; to prohibit cross-examination in person in family proceedings in certain circumstances; to make provision about certain violent or sexual offences, and offences involving other abusive behaviour, committed outside the United Kingdom; and for connected purposes. | ||||
| Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill 2019-21 |
1st reading: House of Commons (no debate) 24 Sep 2020 |
24 Sep 2020, 12:43 p.m. | ||
| A Bill to make provision for, and in connection with, the authorisation of criminal conduct in the course of, or otherwise in connection with, the conduct of covert human intelligence sources. | ||||
| Dates | Department | Title | |
|---|---|---|---|
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Published 21 Sep 2020, 3 p.m. |
Home Office | The Citizens’ Rights (Application Deadline and Temporary Protection) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 | |
| The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (c. 1) (“the Act”) implements the Withdrawal Agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU, the EEA EFTA separation agreement and the Swiss citizens’ rights agreement (“the Agreements”). | |||
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Published 21 Sep 2020, 2:55 p.m. |
Home Office | The Citizens’ Rights (Restrictions of Rights of Entry and Residence) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 | |
| These Regulations save and modify the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/1052) (“EEA Regulations 2016”). They ensure that decisions to deport certain EEA nationals and their family members who are protected by the EU Withdrawal Agreement, the EEA EFTA Separation Agreement or the Swiss Citizens’ Rights Agreement (the “Agreements”) (see section 39 of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (c. 1) for the definitions of these Agreements) or by the United Kingdom’s domestic implementation of these Agreements can be made in accordance with Chapter VI of Directive 2004/38/EC, where that deportation is made on the basis of conduct committed before the end of the transition period provided for by the Agreements. Directive 2004/38/EC was implemented in the United Kingdom by the EEA Regulations 2016. | |||
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Published 21 Sep 2020, 2:53 p.m. |
Home Office | The Citizens’ Rights (Frontier Workers) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 | |
| These Regulations make provisions for frontier workers in order to fulfil the United Kingdom’s obligations under the withdrawal agreement, the EEA EFTA separation agreement and the Swiss citizens’ rights agreement (see section 39 of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 for definitions of each of these agreements). | |||
| Dates | Department | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Laid 21 Sep 2020 In Force Not stated |
Home Office | Citizens' Rights (Restrictions of Rights of Entry and Residence) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 Parliamentary Status - Text of Legislation | Draft affirmative procedure |
| These Regulations save and modify the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016 (S.I. 2016/1052) (“EEA Regulations 2016”). They ensure that decisions to deport certain EEA nationals and their family members who are protected by the EU Withdrawal Agreement, the EEA EFTA Separation Agreement or the Swiss Citizens’ Rights Agreement (the “Agreements”) (see section 39 of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (c. 1) for the definitions of these Agreements) or by the United Kingdom’s domestic implementation of these Agreements can be made in accordance with Chapter VI of Directive 2004/38/EC, where that deportation is made on the basis of conduct committed before the end of the transition period provided for by the Agreements. Directive 2004/38/EC was implemented in the United Kingdom by the EEA Regulations 2016. | |||
|
Laid 21 Sep 2020 In Force Not stated |
Home Office | Citizens' Rights (Application Deadline and Temporary Protection) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 Parliamentary Status - Text of Legislation | Draft affirmative procedure |
| The European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 (c. 1) (“the Act”) implements the Withdrawal Agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU, the EEA EFTA separation agreement and the Swiss citizens’ rights agreement (“the Agreements”). | |||
| Current Signatures | Final Signatures | Title | Petition Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
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598,254 Petition Closed |
Ban all ISIS members from returning to UK Gov Responded - 27 Nov 2018 Debated on - 18 Mar 2019 |
6 May 2019 closed 1 year, 4 months ago |
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Ban all ISIS members from returning to the UK, remove their citizenship and passports |
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72,524 c. 381 added daily |
77,172 (Estimated) |
Give non-British citizens who are NHS workers automatic citizenship Sign this petition Gov Responded - 6 May 2020 Debated on - 25 Jun 2020 |
7 Oct 2020 closes in 1 week, 5 days |
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Give NHS workers who are EU and other Nationals automatic UK citizenship if they stay and risk their own lives looking after the British people during the COVID crisis. |
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71,178 Petition Closed |
Introduce automatic approval of visit visas for families of British Citizens Gov Responded - 22 Jan 2018 Debated on - 9 Jul 2018 |
6 Jun 2018 closed 2 years, 3 months ago |
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Family members of UK Citizens shouldn’t have to meet the same criteria as other applicants for a visit visa. Not being a citizen doesn’t make our parent, siblings, children or grandchildren any less a part of our family. The only requirement should be that a British relative sponsors them. |
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Home Office Select Committee Home Page
Select Committees are a formally established cross-party group of backbench MPs tasked with holding a Government department to account.
At any time there will be number of ongoing investigations into the work of the Department, or issues which fall within the oversight of the Department. Witnesses can be summoned from within the Government and outside to assist in these inquiries, and the Select Committee will occasionally publish formal reports of their findings.
| Date | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Sep. 24 | Immigration statistics, year ending June 2020 second edition | Statistics |
| Sep. 24 | New legislation protects national security capability to fight serious crime | News and Communications |
| Sep. 24 | Covert human intelligence sources: draft code of practice | Guidance and Regulation |
Written Questions are submitted by Members of Parliament and the House of Lords to receive information or updates from a Department.
Departments are required to respond in a timely fashion and provide a response or requested information. Written Questions can compel detailed and specific information to be produced, and are frequently used as the source of news stories about the work of a Department.
| Date | Title | Questioner |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Sep 2020, 6:36 p.m. | Asylum | Stuart C McDonald |
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Question To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to increase the asylum support rates, beyond the increase made in June 2020. Answer (Chris Philp) The standard allowance given to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute was raised to £39.60 per week from £37.75 per week with effect from 15 June, an increase of around 5%. This increase was significantly higher than the general rate of inflation, which Office for National Statistics data shows was only 0.5% in the 12 months period to May.
Further work is being done, as it is every year, to ensure the rate is enough to meet the essential living needs of asylum seekers (the legal test) and we will announce the outcome in due course.
The taxpayer also provides free accommodation, with utilities and council tax paid for and there is free access to the NHS and free access to education for their children.
The UK has a generous record in supporting asylum seekers. Last year, we made around 20,000 grants of asylum or protection (one of the higher figures in Europe), as well as offered protection to 3,000 Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children – the highest number of any country in Europe. In addition, we have directly resettled around 20,000 people from the most dangerous areas of the world (especially Syrians) in the UK over the last 5 years. Finally, we spend around £14 billion per year in Overseas Aid, helping millions of people around the world. This is the highest amount of any country in Europe and we are the only G7 country to meet the 0.7% of GNI Overseas Aid target. |
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