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 - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
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 how many migrants arrived improperly in the UK from otherwise safe countries in each of the past five years; and why they keep no electronically accessible records of which countries those migrants previously resided in or were registered in.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Home Office publishes statistics on detected irregular arrivals to the UK in the ‘Irregular migration to the UK’ statistics release, available on gov.uk. Data on irregular arrivals by method of entry is published in table Irr_D01 of the ‘Irregular migration to the UK detailed datasets’, with the latest data up to the end of September 2023.
Information on the country asylum seekers were previously residing in before coming to the UK can be collected in case notes at different stages of the asylum process, so is not collected in a reportable manner.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there are any plans for an independent review of the College of Policing.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
An independent review of the College of Policing will take place in 2024/25 as part of the Public Bodies Review programme.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill on the continuing application of the provisions in Article 2 of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland (Rights of individuals).
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Bill will apply in full in Northern Ireland in the same way it does in the rest of the UK. This is also set out on the face of the Bill reflecting that immigration policy is a UK-wide matter.
There is nothing in the Windsor Framework that affects that. The rights chapter of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement does not affect any clause within the Bill in any way.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill on the operation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights as given effect by Article 2 of the Protocol and the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Government takes its legal obligations seriously, the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill complies with those obligations.
The Bill will apply in full in Northern Ireland in the same way as it does in the rest of the United Kingdom. This is explicit on the face of the Bill and will always be the case, reflecting that immigration policy is a UK-wide matter.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill ensures that Northern Ireland has the same immigration rules as the rest of the UK.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Government takes its legal obligations seriously, the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill complies with those obligations.
The Bill will apply in full in Northern Ireland in the same way as it does in the rest of the United Kingdom. This is explicit on the face of the Bill and will always be the case, reflecting that immigration policy is a UK-wide matter.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill for the operation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Government takes its legal obligations seriously, the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill complies with those obligations.
The Bill will apply in full in Northern Ireland in the same way as it does in the rest of the United Kingdom. This is explicit on the face of the Bill and will always be the case, reflecting that immigration policy is a UK-wide matter.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the appointment of independent members to the National Policing Board and the current compliance of that process with the law.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The standing membership of the National Policing Board comprises senior policing leaders along with the relevant ministers and government officials.
On an annual basis, policing leaders in Northern Ireland and Scotland are also invited. The Board’s Terms of Reference provide a full list of members and are published on gov.uk.
These also provide the flexibility to invite additional representatives and specialists where the agreed programme of work requires it. Minutes of the National Policing Board are published on gov.uk and list all the members and special invitees in attendance.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the undocumented migrants arriving on small boats in 2022 were first registered in other countries as asylum seekers or immigrants; what were the numbers in the top 10 countries of such registrations; and what were the numbers by nationality from the top 25 countries of origin of such migrants into the UK.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
Figures relating to registration of asylum claims in third countries are not available in a reportable format and to provide the information could only be done at disproportionate cost.
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 Baroness Penn on 19 February (HL5309), what checks on amounts of duty-free tobacco and alcohol the Border Force carry out on passengers from the Republic of Ireland entering Great Britain by ferry or aircraft to ensure excise duty is paid where allowances are exceeded.
Answered by Lord Murray of Blidworth
Border Force is committed to detecting those who would attempt to evade Duty Free controls and deploys to risk using tested but continually assessed intelligence and targeting techniques.
Border Force does not record or publish information relating to the number of checks carried out against specific cohorts of arrivals into Great Britain. Doing so would publicise operational practices which would be used to assist in the evasion of customs controls and compromise Border security.