Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people in the past 12 months have been arrested and charged with offences relating to the proscribed terrorist organisations Hamas and Hezbollah.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government takes proscription offences seriously. Hamas and Hizballah are both proscribed in their entirety in the UK, with their listings extended in 2021 and 2019 respectively.
Data on arrests, charges and convictions for the proscription offences in sections 11 to 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000 can be found in the quarterly Home Office publication ‘Operation of Police Powers under the Terrorism Act 2000’.
Data is not published on the specific proscribed organisation that the arrest, charge or conviction relates to.
The most recent publication up to year ending June 2024, was published on 12 September 2024: Operation of police powers under TACT 2000, to June 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which 10 local authorities in the UK had the most asylum seekers in the most recent year for which figures are available, and how much funding each of those 10 local authorities received to support asylum seekers.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly. This includes our accommodation sites, as the Home Office continues to identify a range of options to minimise the use of expensive hotels and ensure better use of public money, whilst maintaining sufficient accommodation to meet demand.
The most recent data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, at: Asy_D11 Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Home Office has had various grants through which we provide funds to support local authorities housing asylum seekers.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which 10 local authorities in the UK had the most asylum seekers supported by the Home Office by proportion of population in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly. This includes our accommodation sites, as the Home Office continues to identify a range of options to minimise the use of expensive hotels and ensure better use of public money, whilst maintaining sufficient accommodation to meet demand.
The most recent data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, at: Asy_D11 Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The Home Office has had various grants through which we provide funds to support local authorities housing asylum seekers.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which countries are regarded as unsafe in human rights terms and to which their citizens cannot be deported from the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
All asylum and human rights claims are carefully considered on their individual facts and merits in accordance with our international obligations.
The Home Office’s assessment of the situation for different groups in different countries is set out in the relevant country policy and information note, which are available via https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/country-policy-and-information-notes.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people in each of the last three years have been allowed to remain in the United Kingdom as a consequence of a country having been declared unsafe on human rights terms.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
All asylum and human rights claims are carefully considered on their individual facts and merits in accordance with our international obligations.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 15 May (HL4217), under what arrangement 50 illegal migrants were returned from the Republic of Ireland to the UK in the past seven months.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Individuals lawfully in Ireland who enter the United Kingdom unlawfully, and individuals lawfully in the United Kingdom who enter Ireland unlawfully, are liable to be refused entry and returned to the country from which they arrived.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what arrangements are in place with the government of Ireland for illegal immigrants to be returned from that country to the United Kingdom.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We have no plans for a specific returns agreement with Ireland on the return of asylum seekers.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they take to ascertain whether illegal migrants arriving and being registered in the Republic of Ireland are improperly entering the UK via Northern Ireland; and if so, what estimate they have made of the numbers reaching the UK by this route; and what arrangements, if any, are in place to effect their return.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
There is a high level of cooperation on border security between the UK and Irish Government to ensure we are taking all the necessary measures to protect and secure Common Travel Area (CTA) routes, including between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The UK carries out intelligence led operations to target potential abuse of CTA routes including between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Anyone identified attempting to circumvent UK border controls is liable to be removed if they are not lawfully present in the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they are giving to launching an independent review into the investigation, expenditure and private prosecution of Mr Jamie Bryson in the light of the ruling by District Judge Amanda Brady to terminate the case.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As the regulator of the private security industry, the Security Industry Authority (‘the Authority’) can bring private prosecutions for criminal offences contained within the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (‘the Act’). Section 22 of the Act makes it an offence for anyone knowingly or recklessly to make a false statement to the Authority, in connection with the exercise of its functions.
Concerning the prosecution of Mr Jamie Bryson, the invoices received for the proceedings from 2019 to date (encompassing both the prosecution, and also responding to judicial review proceedings) total £106,992.00.
The final costs incurred cannot be updated at this time, as not all legal invoices have yet been received by the SIA for payment. The costs will be incorporated within the SIA’s existing budget. This is funded from licence fees, and not from funding allocated by the Treasury.
As legal proceedings continue, the Government cannot provide further comment, or the additional information sought within question HL1692.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total cost to the taxpayer of the failed prosecution against Mr Jamie Bryson on charges of making a false statement to the Security Industry Authority in 2018, including Magistrates court proceedings and all Judicial Review proceedings.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As the regulator of the private security industry, the Security Industry Authority (‘the Authority’) can bring private prosecutions for criminal offences contained within the Private Security Industry Act 2001 (‘the Act’). Section 22 of the Act makes it an offence for anyone knowingly or recklessly to make a false statement to the Authority, in connection with the exercise of its functions.
Concerning the prosecution of Mr Jamie Bryson, the invoices received for the proceedings from 2019 to date (encompassing both the prosecution, and also responding to judicial review proceedings) total £106,992.00.
The final costs incurred cannot be updated at this time, as not all legal invoices have yet been received by the SIA for payment. The costs will be incorporated within the SIA’s existing budget. This is funded from licence fees, and not from funding allocated by the Treasury.
As legal proceedings continue, the Government cannot provide further comment, or the additional information sought within question HL1692.