Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the availability and accessibility of voluntary sector organisations and foodbanks to people in receipt of asylum support during the ASPEN card transition period.
Answered by Kevin Foster
A necessary period of disruption to the outgoing provider’s service from 5pm on Friday 21st May 2021 is required to enable the process of transferring card balances to the new provider ready for use on Monday 24th May 2021 at 9am. Throughout this period of service disruption over this weekend, service users will be unable to use their ASPEN card.
c43,000 new payment cards have been dispatched to date. Comprehensive, translated advice has accompanied the cards including guidance in relation to the weekend of 21st May. To prepare for this period of service disruption, we have advised service users to withdraw funds or make purchases needed for the weekend prior to its commencement.
We have been communicating with service users directly, indirectly via our strategic delivery partners and numerous stakeholder representatives to alert them of the forthcoming period of disruption. We are also working with the voluntary sector to minimise disruption to the people we support during the period of service disruption.
Longstanding arrangements for the provision of Emergency Cash Payments (ECPs) will not be affected by the period of transition and will remain available throughout. We have also planned to manage any increased need for ECPs should this be required.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the ability of people in receipt of asylum support to access funds during the three days within the ASPEN card transition.
Answered by Kevin Foster
A necessary period of disruption to the outgoing provider’s service from 5pm on Friday 21st May 2021 is required to enable the process of transferring card balances to the new provider ready for use on Monday 24th May 2021 at 9am. Throughout this period of service disruption over this weekend, service users will be unable to use their ASPEN card.
c43,000 new payment cards have been dispatched to date. Comprehensive, translated advice has accompanied the cards including guidance in relation to the weekend of 21st May. To prepare for this period of service disruption, we have advised service users to withdraw funds or make purchases needed for the weekend prior to its commencement.
We have been communicating with service users directly, indirectly via our strategic delivery partners and numerous stakeholder representatives to alert them of the forthcoming period of disruption. We are also working with the voluntary sector to minimise disruption to the people we support during the period of service disruption.
Longstanding arrangements for the provision of Emergency Cash Payments (ECPs) will not be affected by the period of transition and will remain available throughout. We have also planned to manage any increased need for ECPs should this be required.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to extend the provision of biometric enrolment services to the Tees Valley.
Answered by Kevin Foster
UK Visa and Citizenship Application Service (UKVCAS) centres are run by Sopra Steria Ltd (SSL) on behalf of UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI).
To determine the service points network when this service was incepted, SSL undertook market research to identify service locations; their research included the impact on customer travel time, cost and accessibility.
When Sopra Steria undertook this research, they found c.88% of customers would be within 25 miles of a service point. These locations are not fixed and are designed to evolve with demand through the contract term.
Where UKVCAS find there is excess demand for appointments they work to increase capacity at existing sites and open new sites in the region to ensure all customers are able to book an appointment.
Since the start of the contract, several new sites have opened to meet customer demand, including a new enhanced service point in Sunderland in July 2020 to improve appointment availability in the North East overall.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2020 to Question 122689 on HMCTS: Weapons, how many (a) arrests have been made made and (b) prosecutions commenced as a result of weapon confiscations in courts in the last five years.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office collects and publishes data on arrests for possession of weapons offences. These figures are published annually in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin. The latest bulletin, covering arrests from 2006/07 to 2019/20, can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2020
In the last five years, there have been 92,991 arrests for possession of weapons offences in England and Wales (excluding Greater Manchester Police and Lancashire Police).
Data on prosecutions resulting from weapons confiscations is not held by the Home Office or by HM Courts and Tribunals Service.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylums seekers have been waiting for a decision on their case for more than (a) six months and (b) twelve months within (i) Stockton Borough Council area and (ii) Tees Valley Combined Authority area.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not publish data on the number of asylum seekers who have been waiting for a decision on their case for more than (a) six months and (b) twelve months within (i) Stockton Borough Council area and (ii) Tees Valley Combined Authority area.
However, the Home Office does publish data on the number asylum applications awaiting an initial decision by duration, for main applicants only. This data can be found at Asy_04 of the published Immigration Statistics:
The Home Office are committed to ensuring asylum claims are considered without unnecessary delay, individuals who need protection are granted asylum as soon as possible and can start to integrate and rebuild their lives, including those granted at appeal.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the amount of additional office accommodation in square metres that will be required to provide a covid-19 secure workplace for UK Visas and Immigration staff to enable them to address the backlog of immigration documents.
Answered by Kevin Foster
It is unclear which application route the Hon. Member is referring to.
If in relation to the issuing of Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs), the Home Office works closely with the DVLA, which produces BRPs, and TNT/Fedex, which delivers them, to ensure service level agreements are met and performance is improved, through improved reconciliation reporting and clearer escalation processes.
More generally, we publish information on the proportion of applications processed within service standard, where a service standard applies, at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration/about-our-services and have worked carefully, and at pace to use available resource to best effect to maintain service standards against the backdrop of the pandemic.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what number and proportion of suspects in criminal cases have been bailed to return in each of the last five years.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Since April 2017 the Home Office has collected information on the numbers of individuals released on pre-charge bail by police forces in England and Wales. These data are published as part of the annual ‘Police Powers and Procedures’ statistical release, available in Annex B here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/935355/police-powers-procedures-mar20-hosb3120.pdf
Data are not available on the proportion of suspects in criminal cases that have been bailed to return.
The police retain the ability to use pre-charge bail where necessary and proportionate, including to protect witnesses and victims.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much police forces have spent on equipping custody suites with video technology equipment.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Home Office does not collect data relating to police force spending on video equipment in custody suites. This is an operational matter for police forces.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that children and young people at risk of sexual abuse and exploitation, who may have gone unnoticed during the covid-19 lockdown, are identified and supported as soon as possible.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Protecting those at risk from abuse and exploitation is a priority for this Government. We are acutely aware that for some children and young people, the Coronavirus pandemic may have brought with it additional risks and dangers, as well as reducing contact with professionals and trusted adults. This Government is committed to doing everything we can to support and protect those at risk of harm.
That is why, following the Chancellor’s announcement of £750m funding for the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector, the Home Office and Department for Education (DfE) launched a £7.6m joint fund to provide financial hardship relief for national VCSE organisations that support vulnerable children across England and Wales. Further funding will also be dispersed through direct awards due to be finalised imminently, and recipients include organisations working to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse.
DfE are also funding a £7 million new See, Hear, Respond service led by Barnardo’s. This will support children who are hidden from view, not currently receiving support from statutory agencies and at risk of harm and/or experiencing adverse impacts on their health and wellbeing. The service will develop a dynamic sector response that intervenes early, supports and safeguards these children, mitigating against escalation of need and long-lasting harm to children and families.
As part of this the Government made £1.6 million available immediately for the NSPCC to expand and promote its national helpline for adults concerned about the safety of children, alongside disseminating safeguarding messaging to key community partners to raise awareness of how and where they can raise concerns and seek advice about the safety and wellbeing of children.
Existing programmes, such as our £13.2m Trusted Relationships Fund, have also pivoted their response to sustain support to vulnerable children and young people during the restrictions. Our 11 local authority-led projects working with 10-17 year olds at risk of sexual exploitation and other harms, have adapted their support by: moving this to virtual platforms; creating 24 hour support helplines; engaging in schools where vulnerable children are still attending; planning diversionary activities to engage young people over the summer; and resuming detached youth work where this can be delivered safely.
Building on the Government’s intensive efforts to protect vulnerable people from hidden crimes such as domestic abuse and child sexual abuse during this period, the Prime Minister’s Hidden Harm Summit on 21 May was an opportunity to share emerging best practice at the local and national level and identify areas to go further over the coming months. The Home Office will continue champion and support collaboration across partners, including by continuing to promote a child-centred and trauma-informed policing approach.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department is providing to LGBTQ+ people who have experienced parental abuse during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Home Office has taken considerable action during the pandemic to assess and combat the impact of COVID-19 on all victims of domestic abuse. This includes LGBT+ individuals and the guidance we have published on gov.uk provides specific advice for members of the LGBT+ community.
We also continue to support the National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse helpline, providing £120,000 of funding each year since 2016. The helpline provides a vital service for LGBT+ individuals who are or have been victims of domestic abuse, including parental abuse. This important service has remained available to victims throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to our regular funding, the Home Office has announced £2 million in funding to alleviate the increased pressures of COVID-19. This money ensures that helplines and online services continue to be readily available to victims. £1.2 million of this has already been allocated, including funding for the charity Galop, the organisation that runs the LGBT+ helpline.
This funding is on top of the Treasury’s £750 million package to bolster charities, £76 million of which will support survivors of?domestic abuse, sexual violence and modern slavery, whilst also ensuring that vulnerable children and young people continue to get the help they need.